Wed 05 Jun 2002 01:52
Yesterday, I was thinking about my new plan, writing my sister's web
form, practicing violin. It is my new plan, perhaps which makes me
quiet (there is writing in my pad).
Roger Schank's book is very good to read. His is a different perspective.
p213 from _coloring outside the lines: raising a smarter kid by breaking all the rules_ Roger Schank, 2000 harper collins.
He's big on ambition (understandably)--and interestingly I have taken myself to be ambitiously unambitious.
He also has ideas about how to help one (one's child) find one's true calling. (which, it would appear, I have not found)
Follow the course of least resistance intellectually and most resistance politically.
Least resistance intellectually--that might be for me to be something
like being a leader. It wasn't easy in that I didn't get all the guys
(or whomever) to be my buddies, but they did respect me, and it was
easy to organize good-sized projects. (Eagle Scout, Senior Patrol
Leader, Patrol Leader, Key Club Treasurer, then President) but because
it was easy, and perhaps because while even being a leader, I still did
not feel a part of the group I was leading, I, for the most part walked
away from it.
Exceptions are: being group
Leading is generally one of those things no one wants to do.
Most resistance politically?
_My mama had a dancing heart_ by gray, colon
Perhaps partly because I'm not one of the guys, it is easier to 'lead'
to go in new directions, which, in leadership, others will follow. In
art, others will don't necessarily follow.
first eagle scout in troop 681 in 10? years?
followed reasonably closely by two others, one of whom later killed
himself in Italy (on a college trip?) when his girlfriend broke up with
him. Patrick Coleman.
[me crying at my court of honor, realizing that it wasn't me who did
it, but all these people I was looking at who did it-- what?]
[just started on new file 'entry2.txt']
Most resistance politically?
I've followed more, most resistence/ perceived risk in self?
(attempting to see Kyle again, going to large school,
avoiding certain things (large project in fifth grade if attended a
different school). There was this big old project fifth graders had to
do in the public gifted and talented school I was going to. They went
somewhere special and presented it. I didn't want to do that. I did
want to go to the school my sisters went to, and got my mom to send me
there too. I am glad I did get to switch schools. welcome relief for
three years from rectangular red brick buildings.
Perhaps math wasn't as good-
dancing, moving, and now???) Yet all the same avoiding that big project
feeling (full-time work, many year degree seeking), except for certain
projects (web site, violin, dance, life).
p214 in any field, you'll progress further and faster if you develop your own area of expertise.
Schank a diversity enhancer (h bloom?) in many respects.
p216 What a young person chooses to read often provides insights into a
future field of study or a career. It is also useful for these dropouts
to spend a lot of time in bookstores and libraries.
when in school reading choice is constrained.
when free, sample all types of books and often find a subject that mezermizes
this can be used to guide choice of study should they return to college.
college isn't really for the young. It's discouraging how many view
college as a social experience rather than as a place to learn.
students who come back after being in the work force a few years are
much more committed to their studies and much less interested in
getting drunk and going to parties.
the three default careers for smart kids: Law, medicine, business.
don't waste your time.
when people (experts) told him to avoid teaching computers to
understand english, he was on to something new--where he could work
with new ideas/become an expert, himself.
p218 one-on-one instruction is as natural to animals as it is to people.(involving a parent and child)
p222 re: decent educational software:
these simulations aren't easy. Students invariably make mistakes and
take wrong paths as they attempt to resolve situations. In fact, the
simulations are designed to ead users toward expectations faiure;
events unfold in such a a way that kids make false assumptions that
lead to mistakes.
diverse experience. video editing, anchoring, blood testing, news wire...
reflection on and articulation of experience. - talk with experts.
My new project is as a teacher of techniques to achieve vitality. For some wit will be subways.
p 223 it's only when people are surprised that they can't solve a
problem as expected that they're receptive to helpful information.
p224
We routinely build simulations that accomodate different interests and
learning styles. Some people like to ask lots of questions and gather
information as they move forward. Others prefer to try things, fail,
and try again without asking many questions (me?). Programs that allow
kids to follow their interests and instincts maximize their desire to
explore and learn.
when expectations fail, the software should provide helpful choices in response to failure.
p224- question and answer- .
p225- You should purchase computers that can connect to the Internet
relatively quickly, preventing your kids from being frustrated by slow
connections and downloads.
p226
While some sites remain mired in text, others are more imaginative,
providing users with opportunities to ask questions, to talk to other
people with like-minded interests, and even to solve a problem or
navigate through different types of information.
p226 Ultimately, the Internet will become a more experiential medium as simuations take the place of pure information.
there will be much more doing.
p227 The Internet demonstrates to them that there are others out there
with the same interests, no matter how esoteric those interests might
be.
p228 telling stories about one's experiences.
one-on-one exchanges with peers.
taking your kid out of the house to a real place where he can experience the same areas that interest him when he's on-line.
p232 schools exert a powerful influence on kids that few analyze or question.
it's never too early or too late to raise a smarter kid.
p234 expertise is a difference-maker; people who demonstrate true mastery of a needed skill are the ones who get ahead.
six traits-
self-invention. their expertise is a result of their innovative thoughts and actions.
on-the-edge cases.
p238 and always struggle to be content with a life that they find moderately interesting and moderately successful at best.Nurture and support the "oddbalness" of your child.
p239
to help your children dream interesting dreams.
prevent your adult child from bitterly looking back and wishing he had pursued something that fascinated him.
p240
one final argument against school
Cheating is endemic to our schools- all quadrants, all levels.
You could even make an argument that the use of Cliffs Notes and taking
courses designed to boost test scores area forms of cheating.
As long as kids feel the need to cheat on tests, the educational system is broken.
when adults are working at a job they care about, they want to know what they're doing wrong in order to improve.
Students cheat because the academic subject is meaningless to them.
(What are Schank's courses like to take?)
Until schools allow students to learn by doing, every argument in favor of our current school system is bankrupt.
p242 most children are inherently conservative and will
You have to play the bad guy sometimes and insist they work in a soup
kitchen for a week or engage in some other unfamiliar experience.
working part-time or in a job that provides sufficient flexibility for
at least one parent to be home when the child is there can be a viable
alternative.
Kids can be tedious, annoying, and exasperating, usually in direct
proportin to the amount of time you spend with them. After a hard day
at the office, the last thing you might want to do is engage in a
Socratic diaog with your surly child.
p243-244
Shank's vitality:
1. Have the courage of her convictions and pursue her goals with tremendous tenacity.
2. Be able to think on his feet, demonstrating a quick wit and having
the ability to make a cogent and articuate argument. (not me?)
3. Set her sights high, wanting to achieve great things and believing herself capable of doing so. (potential maya)
4. Create original ideas that push the boundaries.
5. Demonstrate a relentless curiosity, manifested by her desire to ask interesting questions and explore the answers.
6. Size up a situation quickly and accurately, cutting through the clutter and reasoning out effective solutions and strategies.
gumption, verbal proficiency, ambition, creativity, inquisitiveness, and analytical ability ..
it may not help her earn great grades and citizenship awards or pa...
but it will enable her to
Shank's vitality:
achieve her goals, work at what she's passionate about, and lead a fulfilling life.
to a parent, it's the most meaningful report card of all.
(my keyboard sucks. j, l, o, what else? clean it.)
0349
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