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These guys have created hundreds of programs that teach math without language through puzzles: Teaching Math Without Words, A Visual Approach to learning Math from MIND Research Institute
December 26, 2011
I just tried to teach my sister-in-law how to play the guitar. She initially struggled, unable to get her fingers to conform to simple chords and make it sound right. So we backed off on that and just had her try to get a clean note on a single string. She was able to do […]
December 24, 2011
An hour spent doing what you want passes so quickly, while an hour spent doing what you don’t want passes infinitely slower. A baby sleeping is a glorious thing.
December 20, 2011
At a societal level, with public schools, we need to have some measure of accountability. We can’t simply blindly trust that a school is well run and that the students are receiving a great education (hell, we probably can’t even agree on what a great education is). Right now multiple choice testing is the only […]
December 17, 2011
Yesterday I wrote: Creativity requires a wandering mind. You can expect to foster creativity when you’re telling the kid that’s spacing out and doodling in the corner that they need to pay attention. They’re literally being creative right then. To be fair, that statement was a little over the top, but I would say that […]
December 16, 2011
Interesting article about a parent dealing with educating their kindergardener through a parent co-op. The Pre-K Underground I don’t have any issues with this approach. Generally speaking I’m not very enthusiastic about what most traditional schools have to offer, so an environment that provides greater flexibility could be a very good thing. But parents shouldn’t […]
December 16, 2011
The Summerhill School seems to be another great example of the power of autonomy in education. Although I haven’t dug in too much Summerhill School seems to focus on two main principles: Non-mandatory classes: you don’t have to go to class if you don’t want to. Self-governing school: the students and adults all have an […]
December 16, 2011
Stumbled across this article today dealing with creativity in our schools: Teachers Don’t Like Creative Students They provide the great example of “how would you like to have a little Eminem in your class?”. Here’s the thing. They’re burying the headline. At the very bottom of the article they talk about the classroom environment: Creative […]
December 15, 2011
Not to harp on how great it is to be able to spend my day building software (Programmer – The Best Profession?), but I’m deep in to two projects right now and I can barely make time to feed myself and sleep (let alone spend time with my newborn daughter). I’m not entirely sure whether […]
December 13, 2011
The title of this post if a little over the top, but I do think that choice, or lack there-of, is at the heart of many problems we face as individuals interacting within groups like work or school or family. I read a lot about motivation. It usually relates to work (Drive & The Progress […]
December 26, 2011
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