Most of us are familiar with Moore’s Law. It is manifested in many ways in the computer world. The speed of computers doubles every three years. The amount of storage doubles in about the same time. It governs the number of transistors on a chip. I heard a talk last year by an executive from Intel, the company that makes most of the computer chips. He said that they could actually exceed Moore’s Law in developing new computer chips, but were restricted by company policy not to exceed it so that they could sell their inventory before they were made obsolete by the new advanced chips.
This last week there has been a lot of talk about President Obama’s new automobile standards. Now that the government is in the automobile business, maybe it will actually make a difference. Remember the mid-eighties when we had a Pontiac 6000 and a Nissan Stanza? Both of them got thirty miles per gallon on the highway. The reason they got thirty miles per gallon, incidentally, was because of government standards imposed after the oil embargo years of the early eighties.
What if Moore’s Law, instead of government standards, applied to cars? Since 1985 we have had eight cycles of Moore’s Law. Computer capacities have increased by 28, or 256 times. If cars had kept up with Moore’s Law, they would get 7680 miles per gallon on the highway. The catch, however, is that our cars would be crashing all the time through no fault of the driver. If a car ever had problems the way to fix it would be to pull off the road, close all the windows, and re-start it.
An interesting footnote to this essay is that the price of computers hasn’t changed. Each year or so since the eighties the big computer companies have come out with a new model home computer for about $2000. It is actually a little less than that now. What has happened in the same time to car prices? In the mid-eighties a new car cost about $10,000. Computers have gotten 256 times better without getting more expensive. Cars have gotten 2.56 times more expensive without getting any better.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Work
Work equals Force times Displacement. This is a simple physics equation. Work has some weird definitions, though. I mean, how much work does dad actually do sitting behind a desk? He doesn’t go anywhere. It doesn’t take any force to send an email across the world. Maybe when he goes out to lunch somewhere he does work in getting there, but he will come back after his lunch break to the same place where he was, so there wasn’t any displacement. Technically dad doesn’t do any work at work. So what does he do?
There is a classic physics equation that shows that there is no work done when an object goes down a hill and then back up a hill to the same height as where it started. That is because the potential energy lost in going down the hill is all gained by going back up the other hill. Of course this only works in a perfect world.
There is a hallway in the Clyde (Engineering) Building here at BYU where there are two flights of stairs that look like they have absolutely no point. First you go down ten steps, and then five feet later you go up ten stairs. There is nothing at the bottom of these stairs. The only option is to go back up. For the longest time I’ve wanted to put up a sign on these stairs, which would read: “If this were a perfect world, you would do no work on these flights of stairs.” I’m pretty sure the engineering kids would get a kick out of it.
While hiking on the backpack one year, I was discussing physics with dad, and he told me that for every pound you have in your backpack, you lift a ton for every mile you hike. We even worked out the math one year. I forget how it all works; I was going to show how the math worked out if I remembered. But I felt pretty proud of myself for lifting 135 tons on Friday.
On Friday I had the last physical test for wildland firefighting. It is called the Pack Test. It really isn’t all that hard…if you are physically fit. I heard along the way of testers who would hurl afterwards from working too hard. The Pack Test consists of a three mile hike with a forty-five pound pack. (It doesn’t matter what constitutes the forty-five pounds—apparently someone wanted to wear their sousaphone one year because it weighs that much and they were used to it from marching band.) This hike has to be done on level ground in less than forty-five minutes. Jogging is a disqualifier.
So, from this math that dad explained to me a long time ago (you’ll have to explain it better sometime, dad), I lifted 135 tons in 40 minutes and 55 seconds. That would beat the strongman contest, wouldn’t it? And it didn’t really feel that hard. The pace was kind of quick, but it wasn’t anything we wouldn’t see on the backpack to Lost Lake. It made me feel good to be in shape.
Power can also be described in physics terms. Power is the rate at which work is exerted, or P = W/t. Therefore, because I got a lower time than twenty of the other hikers, I am that much more powerful than them.
There is a classic physics equation that shows that there is no work done when an object goes down a hill and then back up a hill to the same height as where it started. That is because the potential energy lost in going down the hill is all gained by going back up the other hill. Of course this only works in a perfect world.
There is a hallway in the Clyde (Engineering) Building here at BYU where there are two flights of stairs that look like they have absolutely no point. First you go down ten steps, and then five feet later you go up ten stairs. There is nothing at the bottom of these stairs. The only option is to go back up. For the longest time I’ve wanted to put up a sign on these stairs, which would read: “If this were a perfect world, you would do no work on these flights of stairs.” I’m pretty sure the engineering kids would get a kick out of it.
While hiking on the backpack one year, I was discussing physics with dad, and he told me that for every pound you have in your backpack, you lift a ton for every mile you hike. We even worked out the math one year. I forget how it all works; I was going to show how the math worked out if I remembered. But I felt pretty proud of myself for lifting 135 tons on Friday.
On Friday I had the last physical test for wildland firefighting. It is called the Pack Test. It really isn’t all that hard…if you are physically fit. I heard along the way of testers who would hurl afterwards from working too hard. The Pack Test consists of a three mile hike with a forty-five pound pack. (It doesn’t matter what constitutes the forty-five pounds—apparently someone wanted to wear their sousaphone one year because it weighs that much and they were used to it from marching band.) This hike has to be done on level ground in less than forty-five minutes. Jogging is a disqualifier.
So, from this math that dad explained to me a long time ago (you’ll have to explain it better sometime, dad), I lifted 135 tons in 40 minutes and 55 seconds. That would beat the strongman contest, wouldn’t it? And it didn’t really feel that hard. The pace was kind of quick, but it wasn’t anything we wouldn’t see on the backpack to Lost Lake. It made me feel good to be in shape.
Power can also be described in physics terms. Power is the rate at which work is exerted, or P = W/t. Therefore, because I got a lower time than twenty of the other hikers, I am that much more powerful than them.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Visiting Teaching
I am just finishing up Visiting Teaching interviews for our ward. There are about 100 visiting teachers. We got 40 to come in for an interview and are trying to talk to the rest by phone. It is very interesting to see the different responses to the calling to be a visiting teacher. It makes me think about the importance of being creative in our lives. Elder Uchtdorf, in his talk to the General RS last November said if we want to be happy we need to include two things in our lives – creativity and service. This applies not only to women, but also to men. If we would all be a little more creative in our approach to connecting with the people we visit teach and home teach, we would not only bless their lives but also our own by fulfilling that need to be creative. But usually what happens is the same approach is used month after month to try to see a family, and then we wonder why we keep getting the same results. Let me give you a few simple suggestions: Call the person at the beginning of the month and ask when they will be available that month. Set an appointment early. That is not even being creative. The creativity can come in with the lesson. If your family is not very cooperative in setting an appointment then is the time to get creative. Try different times of day or night, try planning activities together, try just dropping in – I am sure you can be much more creative than I can think of right now, but the key is to not just try once, or one way and then give up.
I just read a book called “The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas.” (Sorry, Jon and Megan for talking about this so much.) It really made me think about our relationship to others. The boy in the book lived outside the concentration camp fence, looking in at the people in the stripped pjs, thinking how lucky they were to get to wear them all the time. He saw lots of children and thought how lucky they were to be able to be together. He often took a piece of cake, or other food to share with his friend on the other side of the fence as they sat and talked through the fence, but he would get hungry before he saw his friend and would eat the food himself. His prospective was so self-centered and oblivious, that he could not even imagine his friend’s perspective – starving, being beaten, always afraid, etc. It made me wonder how often I am like that with other people. How often I don’t even see the need they have and just “eat the cake” myself.
Anyway, I don’t mean to be depressing, but just thoughtful. The Visiting Teaching and Home Teaching programs are inspired programs and it is important to support them the best we can, both in being creative in our approach to teaching, and in being creative in finding ways to serve.
I just read a book called “The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas.” (Sorry, Jon and Megan for talking about this so much.) It really made me think about our relationship to others. The boy in the book lived outside the concentration camp fence, looking in at the people in the stripped pjs, thinking how lucky they were to get to wear them all the time. He saw lots of children and thought how lucky they were to be able to be together. He often took a piece of cake, or other food to share with his friend on the other side of the fence as they sat and talked through the fence, but he would get hungry before he saw his friend and would eat the food himself. His prospective was so self-centered and oblivious, that he could not even imagine his friend’s perspective – starving, being beaten, always afraid, etc. It made me wonder how often I am like that with other people. How often I don’t even see the need they have and just “eat the cake” myself.
Anyway, I don’t mean to be depressing, but just thoughtful. The Visiting Teaching and Home Teaching programs are inspired programs and it is important to support them the best we can, both in being creative in our approach to teaching, and in being creative in finding ways to serve.
Would Jesus Carry a Franklin-Day Planner?
May 5, 2009
We receive the Utah Valley Magazine thanks to the people who lived in our house before us. This month Stephen Covey was on the cover. From his interview, I learned that he has other people screen all his email, write the first draft of most letters, and only gives his cell phone number to his wife and to his secretary. (He didn’t mention this, but I’m assuming that someone else does his laundry, cleans his house, and cooks his food.) I learned that he is working on 8 new books. He has planned the next two years. I learned that he “disciplines” himself to “fill [his] mind with new information for at least two hours per day.” At the age of 76, he still has a full schedule of consulting and training governments from all over the world, including both Bush and Obama and their staff. The most important advice he could give to graduating high school seniors? “Write a personal mission statement.”
The next article in the same issue of Utah Valley Magazine is called “High School Students Who Will Change the World.” Principals from each of the 16 high schools in Utah Valley nominated one high school senior from their school who they feel best fits this category. Reading through the ½-page biographical sketches on each student, I was struck by two things.
First, when asked what their ipod favorites are, nearly half of the students listed 80s music among their favorites - who would have thought?!
Second, I realized that chances were high that each student would actually be successful in reaching their goals. But, how honorable are these goals? Are these kids focused on what really matters, or are they floundering without any real direction in their lives?
How Will You Change the World?
1) “I’ll be an example and get involved. . . “
2) “I am not afraid, and I have a deep love for people…”
3) “By helping individuals. . . “
4) “I don’t think I’ll become world famous, but I can change the world a little at a time by giving a smile here, a service project there, and by simply being the best possible person I can be.”
5) “I’ve learned changing the world doesn’t mean doing one big thing but lots of little things.”
6) “By constantly being involved. . . “
7) “I see the good in everyone and look for ways to inspire them. . . “
8) “by sharing a simple smile with someone. . . “
9) “I will be engaged, optimistic and persistent, seeking opportunities to make myself useful. . . “
10) “I want to promote kindness and acceptance. The most important thing can be as small as a smile.”
11) “The world can be changed by small acts of kindness.”
12) “A positive attitude!”
13) “Just taking it one day at a time.”
14) “By promoting others to be themselves. . . I can change the world by. . . being myself.“
15) “By being a good influence to all around me. . . “
16) “Attend MIT, majoring in physics and minoring in chemistry. Expand scientific understanding while spreading my conviction of the harmonious synergy between science and religion.”
Don’t you agree, that these high-schoolers will most likely all accomplish their dreams? And, was I the only one who noticed something different about #16?
Is being nice the more important thing we can do? Or should being nice be the way we are, but not what we do?
We receive the Utah Valley Magazine thanks to the people who lived in our house before us. This month Stephen Covey was on the cover. From his interview, I learned that he has other people screen all his email, write the first draft of most letters, and only gives his cell phone number to his wife and to his secretary. (He didn’t mention this, but I’m assuming that someone else does his laundry, cleans his house, and cooks his food.) I learned that he is working on 8 new books. He has planned the next two years. I learned that he “disciplines” himself to “fill [his] mind with new information for at least two hours per day.” At the age of 76, he still has a full schedule of consulting and training governments from all over the world, including both Bush and Obama and their staff. The most important advice he could give to graduating high school seniors? “Write a personal mission statement.”
The next article in the same issue of Utah Valley Magazine is called “High School Students Who Will Change the World.” Principals from each of the 16 high schools in Utah Valley nominated one high school senior from their school who they feel best fits this category. Reading through the ½-page biographical sketches on each student, I was struck by two things.
First, when asked what their ipod favorites are, nearly half of the students listed 80s music among their favorites - who would have thought?!
Second, I realized that chances were high that each student would actually be successful in reaching their goals. But, how honorable are these goals? Are these kids focused on what really matters, or are they floundering without any real direction in their lives?
How Will You Change the World?
1) “I’ll be an example and get involved. . . “
2) “I am not afraid, and I have a deep love for people…”
3) “By helping individuals. . . “
4) “I don’t think I’ll become world famous, but I can change the world a little at a time by giving a smile here, a service project there, and by simply being the best possible person I can be.”
5) “I’ve learned changing the world doesn’t mean doing one big thing but lots of little things.”
6) “By constantly being involved. . . “
7) “I see the good in everyone and look for ways to inspire them. . . “
8) “by sharing a simple smile with someone. . . “
9) “I will be engaged, optimistic and persistent, seeking opportunities to make myself useful. . . “
10) “I want to promote kindness and acceptance. The most important thing can be as small as a smile.”
11) “The world can be changed by small acts of kindness.”
12) “A positive attitude!”
13) “Just taking it one day at a time.”
14) “By promoting others to be themselves. . . I can change the world by. . . being myself.“
15) “By being a good influence to all around me. . . “
16) “Attend MIT, majoring in physics and minoring in chemistry. Expand scientific understanding while spreading my conviction of the harmonious synergy between science and religion.”
Don’t you agree, that these high-schoolers will most likely all accomplish their dreams? And, was I the only one who noticed something different about #16?
Is being nice the more important thing we can do? Or should being nice be the way we are, but not what we do?
Eggs
Jared just gave me the topic eggs to write about. I hear the word eggs and I think of Easter eggs, hiding them finding them, but mainly watching my kids in the search. I can picture them peering around the corner, and their face lightening as they find an egg.
Meanwhile, Braydon finds an egg, and eagerly tries to open it.
“Candy,” he says.
I reply, “Yes, candy, but let’s find more eggs first.”
However, all Braydon can think about is how to get the candy in his mouth immediately. His egg search comes to a halt until he can be satisfied by a nice bite of something sweet.
As the hunt comes to an end, the girls want to sort the eggs, empty a few, and then what else, hide them. This time they want mom and dad to find the eggs. For whatever reasons, we play along, and the kids enjoy a morning they can look back at and probably say it was a true delight.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Training
This week was intense. It pretty much all started last Saturday night, when Holly and Mike left for Colorado and left me in charge of Noah, Danny, Oak and Mercy. They were gone until Wednesday night. I guess that should have been the first red flag. I figured they are well-behaved enough; I could handle it.
The week actually went very well, with only one major hiccup. I took the days off work so that I could concentrate on taking care of the kids. Sunday was complicated, but I got help. The kids did so well in church and the whole ward loved them (I took them to my student ward). Noah and Danny even made comments in Sunday School. I was glad I could trust them enough to leave them with a friend while I gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting. Then, after church, I told some of the girls in the ward to play with them for an hour while I helped the bishop with his interviews. They ended up playing games with about ten other people from the ward, and loved it. In fact, the ward members loved the kids so much that they invited us back for dinner that night.
Monday went just like planned. I took the kids to school and gymnastics (and got to know pleasant grove pretty well because of it), and then after school picked them up again. We went to the nickelcade for family home evening.
Tuesday was the exciting day. It started out like normal, except that Dan said that he wouldn’t be able to come put the kids to bed because he already had made plans. (I had to go help the bishop with interviews again.) The kids were doing well enough that I thought they would just put themselves to bed, so I didn’t make any other plans.
When I got Mercy home from preschool, Oak was home, and we went over to the neighbor’s to play. I was getting to know the neighbors as well, all the while learning how to ride Oak’s ripstick. All of a sudden, the ripstick slid out from under me, and I landed front down on the driveway. I saw a little blood, and I thought, “oh, no. Not another nose bleed.” But then I checked my nose and nothing was wrong.
It was my chin that was bleeding. It didn’t really hurt. It had just bounced off the pavement, and I thought that it would have just bruised, but no. Some skin was broken.
After washing off with the hose, I thought to myself, “I’m taking care of these kids. I can be tough and show them that you don’t have to cry when you see your own blood.” Then I saw it in the mirror. I had about a three-quarter inch gash in my chin. I decided to ask the neighbor lady for her motherly advice, because I really don’t make that good of a mom. With her help I decided to call a babysitter and went to the ER and got stitched up (six big ones!) I realized I was learning more about taking care of kids than I could teach them in that time.
The next time I was trained, it was a little more formal. Friday and Saturday I had Wildland Firefighting training from eight in the morning to five at night. Friday was all just classwork, but Saturday we went on a field trip. In the morning we were issued all of our gear, and got to work the fire hose. In the afternoon we went out to a fire zone that was burning earlier that day, and dug fireline like we would on a real fire.
We were all in a line along the trail and the task was to widen it about six inches. That means to clear out everything that could burn so that the fire couldn’t jump the line. For the first little while, I had a shovel, so I was behind the guys with hoes and in front of the guys with rakes. I was supposed to scrape out the stuff that was dug up by the hoes. My back hurt so bad from it! After a while we switched and I took a Pulaski, which is a hoe on one side of the head and an ax on the other. That was so much easier, but I still hurt so bad now!
I guess what I learned best this week was kind of obvious: Training hurts! But, hey—what won’t kill me just makes me stronger!
The week actually went very well, with only one major hiccup. I took the days off work so that I could concentrate on taking care of the kids. Sunday was complicated, but I got help. The kids did so well in church and the whole ward loved them (I took them to my student ward). Noah and Danny even made comments in Sunday School. I was glad I could trust them enough to leave them with a friend while I gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting. Then, after church, I told some of the girls in the ward to play with them for an hour while I helped the bishop with his interviews. They ended up playing games with about ten other people from the ward, and loved it. In fact, the ward members loved the kids so much that they invited us back for dinner that night.
Monday went just like planned. I took the kids to school and gymnastics (and got to know pleasant grove pretty well because of it), and then after school picked them up again. We went to the nickelcade for family home evening.
Tuesday was the exciting day. It started out like normal, except that Dan said that he wouldn’t be able to come put the kids to bed because he already had made plans. (I had to go help the bishop with interviews again.) The kids were doing well enough that I thought they would just put themselves to bed, so I didn’t make any other plans.
When I got Mercy home from preschool, Oak was home, and we went over to the neighbor’s to play. I was getting to know the neighbors as well, all the while learning how to ride Oak’s ripstick. All of a sudden, the ripstick slid out from under me, and I landed front down on the driveway. I saw a little blood, and I thought, “oh, no. Not another nose bleed.” But then I checked my nose and nothing was wrong.
It was my chin that was bleeding. It didn’t really hurt. It had just bounced off the pavement, and I thought that it would have just bruised, but no. Some skin was broken.
After washing off with the hose, I thought to myself, “I’m taking care of these kids. I can be tough and show them that you don’t have to cry when you see your own blood.” Then I saw it in the mirror. I had about a three-quarter inch gash in my chin. I decided to ask the neighbor lady for her motherly advice, because I really don’t make that good of a mom. With her help I decided to call a babysitter and went to the ER and got stitched up (six big ones!) I realized I was learning more about taking care of kids than I could teach them in that time.
The next time I was trained, it was a little more formal. Friday and Saturday I had Wildland Firefighting training from eight in the morning to five at night. Friday was all just classwork, but Saturday we went on a field trip. In the morning we were issued all of our gear, and got to work the fire hose. In the afternoon we went out to a fire zone that was burning earlier that day, and dug fireline like we would on a real fire.
We were all in a line along the trail and the task was to widen it about six inches. That means to clear out everything that could burn so that the fire couldn’t jump the line. For the first little while, I had a shovel, so I was behind the guys with hoes and in front of the guys with rakes. I was supposed to scrape out the stuff that was dug up by the hoes. My back hurt so bad from it! After a while we switched and I took a Pulaski, which is a hoe on one side of the head and an ax on the other. That was so much easier, but I still hurt so bad now!
I guess what I learned best this week was kind of obvious: Training hurts! But, hey—what won’t kill me just makes me stronger!
Monday, May 4, 2009
How I’m Teaching My Kids to be Teenagers
May 3, 2009
The day it hit me was a Sunday when Noah was just three. Noah was being a back-seat driver. I was driving home from church and had a lot on my mind. Here’s the conversation I recorded at the time:
“Mommy, there was a red light and you didn’t stop. Why didn’t you stop at the red light, Mommy?”
“That light wasn’t for us, it was for somebody else.”
“For who somebody else?”
“For some other drivers. Noah, trust me, that red light was not for us.”
“But, Mommy, you didn’t stop. Why didn’t you stop at that red light?”
“I told you, Noah, that light wasn’t for us, it was pointed in the direction of some other drivers.”
“But I saw the red light and red light means stop. Why didn’t you stop at the red light?”
Now I’m exasperated, “Noah, forget it. I promise I know how to drive.”
A long pause. Then Noah gets in the last word as my backseat driver, “Just don’t crash into anything – only crash into the road.”
That’s when it hit me: I was teaching my kid how to be a teenager. Something about my own abrupt answers to repetitive questions gave me a flashback to the days when I was a teenager, giving abrupt answers to my parents or boring Sunday School teachers. I remember times when I was a teenager and my parents wanted to talk, but I didn’t. The more abrupt my answers, the more questions they asked in an effort to get some insight.
Soon after the driving incident, I caught myself doing it again - giving my son his daily lesson on how to be a classic American teenager.
Me: “Your babysitter is coming tonight so Daddy and I can go to this nice party.”
Toddler: “Why can’t I come?”
I had a sudden vision of the future…
Teenager: “Just drop me off at the party, you don’t have to come in and meet everybody.”
Me: “What’s wrong with me just coming in for a few minutes?” (in other words, “Why can’t I come?)
Since that time, I have started to see evidence everywhere. For example, my kids get up regularly everyday, always before 7:00 AM, even if they have been up late. They never let me sleep in! In the future, it will be me, goading my teenager to get out of bed, and they will think I never let THEM sleep in!
Now I get grumpy and unresponsive if my kids wake me up too early. In the future it will be my teenagers, grumpy and unresponsive with the same excuse. Now it is me needing to get away from my toddler to be with my friends, to keep sane with some “adult conversation.” In the future it will be my teenager wanting to slip away from family activities to spend time with his friends, to keep sane. Am I teaching my kids all these habits now, in the impressionable age, so that they will mimic me in the years to come?
Mother of Toddler
- Never gets to sleep-in
- Often woken up (too early) by Toddler
- Often stays up late to avoid Toddler
- Needs escape-time from Toddler
- Often feels exasperated by Toddler
- Feels that Toddler demands too much info (at times)
- Feels that Toddler asks silly, unanswerable,repetitive questions (at times)
- Feels that Toddler can’t understand what she feels, or think on the same level
- “Let Mommy have a rest”
- Acts and talks differently when she is with friends and away from Toddler
- Sees Toddler as irrational
- Sees Toddler as needing to change, to become Civilized and have Manners
- Thinks that she is in a position to occasionally make exceptions to established rules. (We’re not going to do the bedtime routine tonight! or, I get to eat in the living room when guests are here! Or, I know when it’s OK to say "stupid")
Teenager
- Doesn’t get to sleep-in enough
- Often woken up (too early) by Parents
- Often stays up late to avoid Parents
- Needs escape-time from Parents
- Often feels exasperated by Parents
- Often feels that Parent demands too much info, too many details
- Feels that Parent asks obvious or repetitive questions (at times)
- Feels that Parent can’t understand what he feels, doesn’t think the same way
- “Just leave me alone”
- Acts and talks differently when he is with friends and away from Parents
- Sees Parents as alien, doesn’t get their logic
- Sees Parents as needing to change, to “get with it”
- Thinks that he is in a position to occasionally make exceptions to established rules. (curfew)
It all goes to show that being a Teenager might not be an age as much as it is an attitude – the attitude of not wanting as much of someone else as they want of you. (One time I counted one of my toddlers saying “Mommy” 22 times in 4 minutes of conversation.)
What does this mean for me as a parent? Maybe I’m just getting a chance to show God and myself that I have repented of my own teenage snobbery. And, maybe it’s not too late to undo my kids’ accidental Teenager Training. I’m trying to curb my exasperation, and talk to my kids without the condescending tone of voice. They might do the same for me someday.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Unschooling
All right, here’s my rebuttal. And, please don’t take this as me being argumentative. But it’s kind of fun to see everyone’s different views.
Okay, so first off, I agree with what both Dad and Holly said, to a point. Holly, we haven’t seen many cases of this working well, but we have seen a few. There is at least one family in the ward that does this that have very good, well-adjusted kids.. Dad, I’m curious as to what sort of guidance the college kids got. Were they told that they would need to understand the basics of chemistry? Either way, it doesn’t surprise me at all that they would just pick the easiest courses, and that’s because of the way we are trained when we are young.
So many people these days learn that all that matters is the grade. In elementary and high school, most places won’t allow kids to be failed any more. So the kids learn that it’s not the work and the learning that matters, but the end result. For example, there was a policy in the Nashville area for a while, that everyone would get 50% on every test, whether they take it or not. This, of course, led to many students not taking tests, because they could get away with it and not fail the class.
The focus is on the degree or the diploma, not on what is learned in between. So the students take the easiest courses they can get away with.
This has passed over to home schooling to a degree. If parents decide to try the Unschooling, many are focused on the end result rather than the journey. The mindset seems to be: leave them alone, the books say they will learn it on their own. The parents have the same mindset that students have – taking the easiest route.
So while I think it is hard to find examples in real life, I would argue that it is very possible for it to work. The problem is that it needs more effort from the parents than just regular home schooling.
In our situation, we have elected to use a ready-made curriculum, with books that need to be completed and facts that need to be learned. This is easy, in the sense that all we need to do is get Taylor to complete the work, and then it’s done.
If we were to try unschooling, it would require some real work. First, it’s probably best if you start when the kids are young. Then they don’t get into the bad habits of just doing the work instead of actually learning. Then we would need to be able to show an example of how enjoyable it is to learn. This entails reading good books, discussing them with the family and others, and being an example of how to learn on your own. And doing this in full view of the kids. This means that the housework needs to be done quickly (because most of this example falls on the Mom, since she is with them all day), so there is still time during the day to read and discuss and learn.
Then, once this habit is established, you need to find out what the kids are interested in. This doesn’t mean find out what they want to do, because that is always going to be the easiest thing. But if you can find out what they are passionate about, and then provide them with guidance and materials they need to be able to learn about that. If Dad’s example, that would mean making sure they know that they need to know chemistry to know physics, and then find a way to keep them interested in that subject even when it is normally boring.
Shirley read through this and gave me the following example: There is a family in one of the wards here that Shirley has met, that is very much into unschooling. Their son is very passionate about car washes (of all things!). This started at an early age, so they have used this to teach everything. The reading is about car washes. They teach math related to car washes, they have leaned about how to build a car wash, and the mechanics behind it. They have learned about running a car wash business. Etc. etc. Basically any of the basic knowledge can be related to whatever it is that the kid is passionate about, and they will be interested to learn it. The problem is finding something they are passionate about, and this can change.
So you see that this is a much more intensive method, and most people don’t really recognize that.
From our (Shirley’s) experience, there are many families who do very well at homeschooling, that use many of the ideas behind unschooling, but change it to fit their families, which I think is the key to a successful experience.
To me, the aspect of unschooling that I agree with the most, is that if kids want to learn something, they will learn it much faster than otherwise. So instead of waiting for them to decide they want it, learning needs to be encouraged. And the best way to do this is by example.
Okay, so first off, I agree with what both Dad and Holly said, to a point. Holly, we haven’t seen many cases of this working well, but we have seen a few. There is at least one family in the ward that does this that have very good, well-adjusted kids.. Dad, I’m curious as to what sort of guidance the college kids got. Were they told that they would need to understand the basics of chemistry? Either way, it doesn’t surprise me at all that they would just pick the easiest courses, and that’s because of the way we are trained when we are young.
So many people these days learn that all that matters is the grade. In elementary and high school, most places won’t allow kids to be failed any more. So the kids learn that it’s not the work and the learning that matters, but the end result. For example, there was a policy in the Nashville area for a while, that everyone would get 50% on every test, whether they take it or not. This, of course, led to many students not taking tests, because they could get away with it and not fail the class.
The focus is on the degree or the diploma, not on what is learned in between. So the students take the easiest courses they can get away with.
This has passed over to home schooling to a degree. If parents decide to try the Unschooling, many are focused on the end result rather than the journey. The mindset seems to be: leave them alone, the books say they will learn it on their own. The parents have the same mindset that students have – taking the easiest route.
So while I think it is hard to find examples in real life, I would argue that it is very possible for it to work. The problem is that it needs more effort from the parents than just regular home schooling.
In our situation, we have elected to use a ready-made curriculum, with books that need to be completed and facts that need to be learned. This is easy, in the sense that all we need to do is get Taylor to complete the work, and then it’s done.
If we were to try unschooling, it would require some real work. First, it’s probably best if you start when the kids are young. Then they don’t get into the bad habits of just doing the work instead of actually learning. Then we would need to be able to show an example of how enjoyable it is to learn. This entails reading good books, discussing them with the family and others, and being an example of how to learn on your own. And doing this in full view of the kids. This means that the housework needs to be done quickly (because most of this example falls on the Mom, since she is with them all day), so there is still time during the day to read and discuss and learn.
Then, once this habit is established, you need to find out what the kids are interested in. This doesn’t mean find out what they want to do, because that is always going to be the easiest thing. But if you can find out what they are passionate about, and then provide them with guidance and materials they need to be able to learn about that. If Dad’s example, that would mean making sure they know that they need to know chemistry to know physics, and then find a way to keep them interested in that subject even when it is normally boring.
Shirley read through this and gave me the following example: There is a family in one of the wards here that Shirley has met, that is very much into unschooling. Their son is very passionate about car washes (of all things!). This started at an early age, so they have used this to teach everything. The reading is about car washes. They teach math related to car washes, they have leaned about how to build a car wash, and the mechanics behind it. They have learned about running a car wash business. Etc. etc. Basically any of the basic knowledge can be related to whatever it is that the kid is passionate about, and they will be interested to learn it. The problem is finding something they are passionate about, and this can change.
So you see that this is a much more intensive method, and most people don’t really recognize that.
From our (Shirley’s) experience, there are many families who do very well at homeschooling, that use many of the ideas behind unschooling, but change it to fit their families, which I think is the key to a successful experience.
To me, the aspect of unschooling that I agree with the most, is that if kids want to learn something, they will learn it much faster than otherwise. So instead of waiting for them to decide they want it, learning needs to be encouraged. And the best way to do this is by example.
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