When a Child/When a Parent

When a child demands, she's called bossy.
When a parent demands, she's called firm.

When a child yells and screams, she's 'out of control'.
When a parent yells and screams, she's exasperated and tired.

When a child doesn't answer, he's called rude.
When a parent doesn't answer, she's called busy.

When a child isn't satisfied, she's called spoiled.
When a parent isn't satisfied, she's called discerning.

When a child is angry, she's 'out of line'.
When a parent is angry, she's justified.

When a child hits, society calls her violent and aggressive.
When a parent hits, society calls it 'discipline'.

--Lu

Schoolchildren can also learn complex subject matters on their own, researchers find

Schoolchildren can also learn complex subject matters on their own, researchers find

Falling Cages, Flying Birds

When I was in traditional school, I felt like I was in a very restricting cage that was plummeting to the ground. I had little to no say in what I did, or how I went about doing it. I felt that if I could only break out of the cage I'd be able to spread my wings, and fly.

Just imagine, if all the time we spend in school were instead spent exploring the world around us, how different would our existence be?

Yes! Let's explore.

Part One: Life

THE BRAIN is wider than the sky,
For, put them side by side,
The one the other will include
With ease, and you beside.

The brain is deeper than the sea, 5
For, hold them, blue to blue,
The one the other will absorb,
As sponges, buckets do.

The brain is just the weight of God,
For, lift them, pound for pound, 10
And they will differ, if they do,
As syllable from sound.

~Emily Dickinson

Logo

I love computers. They are wonderful tools for everything from word processing to socialization. Even as a little kid from the '90s I recognized their potential. I knew it was just a matter of time before we had video calling, small laptops, handheld tablet computers, and virtually everything else we could imagine at our fingertips. No, at that time I did not see how crucial things like spell check would be in my life, but it didn't take me long to recognize how much I needed them. I wouldn't be blogging without it.
Many of my earliest memories from when my family lived on the shores of a lake near Little Rock Arkansas are of my many attempts to make little computers or cellular phones out of printer paper or cardboard, glue, tape, paperclips, and staples (I actually made one about 11 years ago that had a striking resemblance to the Apple iPhone...). I wanted to build my own computer, write programs, and just play around with technology.
Then I went to school. I remember learning time and time again in grade school that I was bad at Math. I figured this out from my grades, my teacher's attitudes about Math, and the numerous times thought all of Elementary and Middle School that a teacher, or parent, or friend, or random person tried to comfort me with "It's ok that you didn't get a good grade on your Math test, you're just not good at Math."
I'm sorry for not finding that a very motivating pep talk, but if the purpose of modern education (be it public or private) is to inspire me to develop a passion for Math than I don't think I'm the one who failed.

Here’s my main point:

I was interested in computers, but thanks to the way school taught me to hate math, I put that passion on the back burner for years. And there it stayed until just a few weeks ago.



I was sitting in the Tutoring and Writing Center at my College where I get one General Elective credit towards my AA degree by helping students with English, or whatever else they may need. It was my first day, and as it was very slow I had time to work on some Student Employment applications, check my email, play around on Facebook, and eventually, I found LOGO - Math Playground - Don’t you just love that little turtle? Anyways, I actually programmed on another site that I couldn’t find again, but I got the turtle to make a little flower! Playing with LOGO programming online felt great because I was able to apply & explore some ideas from mathematics that I had covered in classes, but never given much thought.

Here is what I programed:

Isn't it a nice little flower? My mom said it reminded her of a poinsettia.

For an skeptic, here is the program itself:

pencolor red
lt 70

fd 50

rt 50

fd 50

rt 130

fd 50

rt 50

fd 100

lt 50

fd 50

lt 130

fd 50

lt 50

fd 50

lt 40

fd 50

lt 50

fd 50

lt 130

fd 50

lt 50

fd 100

rt 50

fd 50

rt 130

fd 50

rt 50

fd 50

pencolor white

lt 25

fd 20

lt 180

fd 40

lt 180

fd 20

rt 90

fd 20

rt 180

fd 40

rt 180

fd 20

pencolor green

rt 135

fd 150

lt 135

fd 60

rt 35

fd 60

rt 145

fd 60

rt 35

fd 60

rt 162.5
fd 80

lt 180

fd 80

hideturtle

I guess play has revitalized my intrinsic love for math, technology, and learning.



Jean Piaget

The following is the translation of a speech made by Swiss Developmental Psychologist Jean Piaget. I'll try to post the title of the movie I got it from later.

     "We classify education into two main categories: passive education, relying primarily on memory, and active education, relying on intelligent understanding and discovery. Our real problem is-what is the goal of education? Are we forming children who are only capable of learning what I already know? Or ... should we try to develop creative and innovative minds, capable of discovery from the preschool are on, throughout life?
     Since we cannot distinguish 'true' from 'false' by the content of memory, it follows that every memory contains an element of reconstruction of the past. The activity of memory is usually presented in terms of code: coding and de-coding. When an event is perceived, just as I perceive this auditorium, a number of perceptions are recorded in code form. Later on, when I think of you in my memory, there is a de-coding.
     The code permits us to organize a memory, from the moment it is recorded until it is evoked. Dr. Inhelder and I posed this problem: is the code of memory invariant? Is it the same at all ages -the same for preschool children as for 10-15 year olds? Or does the code itself change? Our hypothesis is that the code of memory depends on intelligence-on the child's operational level. The code changes from one level to another. It improves, becomes more structured, according to the progress of the child's intelligence."

The Blindmen and the Elephant

It was six men of Hindustan

To learning much inclined,

Who went to see the Elephant

(Though all of them were blind)

That each by observation

Might satisfy the mind.

The first approached the Elephant

And happening to fall

Against his broad and sturdy side

At once began to bawl:

‘‘Bless me, it seems the Elephant

Is very like a wall’’.

The second, feeling of his tusk,

Cried, ‘‘Ho! What have we here

So very round and smooth and sharp?

To me ‘tis mighty clear

This wonder of an Elephant

Is very like a spear’’.

The third approached the animal,

And happening to take

The squirming trunk within his hands,

Then boldly up and spake:

‘‘I see,’’ quoth he, ‘‘the Elephant

Is very like a snake.’’

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,

And felt about the knee.

‘‘What most this wondrous beast is like

Is mighty plain,’’ quoth he;

‘‘‘Tis clear enough the Elephant

Is very like a tree!’’

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,

Said: ‘‘E’en the blindest man

Can tell what this resembles most;

Deny the fact who can,

This marvel of an Elephant

Is very like a fan!’’

The Sixth no sooner had begun

About the beast to grope,

Than, seizing on the swinging tail

That fell within his scope,

‘‘I see,’’ quoth he, ‘‘the Elephant

Is very like a rope!’’

And so these men of Hindustan

Disputed loud and long,

Each in his own opinion

Exceeding stiff and strong,

Though each was partly in the right

And all were in the wrong.

John Godfrey Saxe, The Blindmen and the Elephant

(1873)

Unschooling Avenues

          Well here it is, the first real blog post on Beyond Oxygen. I debated writing about the importance of giving yes a chance, in honor of SAY YES WEEKEND, just giving a brief introduction to the blog, and bitching about whatever thing was bugging me by the time I got to writing, (I also had a whole lot to say about this boy in the U.K. who decided that the uniform policy at his school was unfair, and how he's going about trying to reform the regulations, but I'll save that inspiring example of civil disobedience for another day). But this morning while I ate my waffles and toast I noticed this comic in my local newspaper-I knew what I needed to write about.

Grand Avenue 12 June 2011
By Steve Breen and Mike Thompson

          If for some reason you can't see the photo here is the link I got it from. You may need to select 12 June 2011 to see the cartoon.

          The cartoon shows the calendar with the 29th of May through the 12th of June perfectly structured, while the rest of the month of June is lying in a heap beneath Michael and Gabby’s feet where they can pick up the days and rearrange them. They could decide to do whatever they want with those days-literally. Anything from spending time catching up on sleep, to traveling, to writing a story (or poem, graphic novel, ect), drawing, walking their dog, talking with their grandma, playing videogames, you name it-they could chose to do it, or at least to try to do it.

          (A young woman from my high school just posted this as her status: “Ahhh yess. The type of summer busy that I like...optional. :) ”)

          Anyways, this cartoon got me thinking about how structured school is. Each day scheduled and planned in such a way that it is easy for adults to:

          1. Maintain Order and Control Over Students
          2. Present the Information that Society Believes is Important/Relevant to the Students
          3. Easily See that Students are Learning

          Depending on who you are, and what your expirence with school (or kids) has been, you probably have lots of different thoughts about that list. I can hear comments now…

          “Teachers need to maintain order and control for the student’s safety”
          “If the Teachers don’t maintain order and control who will?”
          “If Society doesn’t tell students what to study how will they know what to learn?”

I could go on, but I don’t want to waste anyone’s time.

           One of the first things that non-unschoolers notice about unschooling is that it isn’t structured like school at all. In fact, they often don’t see any structure whatsoever. They are almost right in thinking this, unschooling does not utilize any form of exteriorly forced curriculum, nor does it have any other sort of rules that are geared to control behavior or mental stimulation, instead unschooling allows – encourages – participants to find their own way.

          Through schools, society thinks for students. Think about that. Through schools, society thinks for students. The government, teachers, parents, and other citizens decide what must be taught, and how it must be taught. Half of education is just doing what other people want, in the way that other people want, with a couple thousand other students learning the exact same thing the exact same way.

          This isn’t to say that students don’t sometimes have the opportunity to write about what they believe, but in my personal expirence those papers (papers that require research, editing, and a thesis [coming from the Greek θέσις, which means “position”]) don’t come until years of being told to keep their opinions to themselves, both in their work, and in classroom discussion.

          Since unschooling participants are not required to learn what someone else thinks they need to learn, in the way that someone else thinks they should learn it, they are free to explore the world around them, and to prioritize and take responsibility for their own learning. If they want to sit, staring at a puzzle in a game, or an applicable math question for hours, they can. If they want to experiment with it until they get it right, they can. If they want to look up a formula online or in a book, they can. But most importantly, they can chose how they go about asking questions and looking for answers. Unschoolers have to do it all-and they still find time to be brain-dead zombies every once in awhile.

          Well, let the comments roll. If you have a good quotation about this send it my way so I can add it to the Quotations page. :)