Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion What if you could start from scratch?

Pretend for a moment there are no state or national guidelines, no standardized tests. What should our kids REALLY learn? (The definition of "should really" is sketchy, of course, but what I have in mind, basically, is something that prepares them to be capable of living on their own, and to eventually have careers as professionals who contribute to their field).

How to problem solve across the board, how to set and keep positive realistic goals, how to work through the "tough stuff", how not to give up on yourself.... Just a start. :-)

Ooh... I like those. I had thought of problem-solving, but I like goal setting and tenacity, too. Conflict resolution? Analysis?

Here's some concrete stuff. (Some of this stuff can be taught at home... The venue doesn't matter. The point is stuff that should be learned, regardless of the setting):
-- first aid
-- cooking
-- basic car and home maintenance (at least enough to handle small stuff and know when you're not getting ripped off by the plumber or mechanic)
-- personal finance
-- basic economics
-- computer programming?
-- reading
-- technical writing
-- creative writing
-- I'm not sure what the term is, but consumer savvy?

What else?

conflict resolution/mediation - I like that. I like the concrete ones also.

How about:

--laundry,cleaning
--childcare -
--How do self advocate, resume writing etc.

And - etiquette beyond "please" and "thank you" My mom drove me CRAZY with this but in the end I have found myself in many situations where I was glad I knew which fork to use or felt at ease in an unfamiliar social setting.

Oh and also -

--Outdoor survival skills (making fire, orienteering, hunting, edible plants)

Breakaway4

Oh this is one I wish I had. And why they are important - not just because, but about how it helps you and others feel at ease. Slightly OT, but I'd love to know how to learn/teach this.

I like lots of the ideas too. Just because it's my thing, how about a basic understanding of history and geography. I don't mean the rainfall and major products of Some-minor-country, I mean enough to basically understand current events.

First would be humility and the understanding that the definition of wisdom is the realization of how little we as individuals know. There is nothing in this world that is more destructive than hubris.

Secondly, I would start with logic and critical reasoning skills and then from there your basic reading, writing and arithmetic, etc.

Also included, would be old school history and civics so that our children would know and understand how and why our Constitution and rights are so valuable.

I am always amazed and downright stupefied by college professors that pull old recycled Communist garbage from the trash dumps of history and present it as "original thought."

I would definitely prohibit under threat of immediate termination, any discussion regarding social engineering or any type of social indoctrination. What would be encouraged instead is the promotion of traditional etiquette such as being polite and honest.

Heinlein:


From the late Colonel Jeff Cooper:


Of course, these men are literate polymathic hoplophiles.

I think a simple way to put it is that Education should teach you how to find out what you want to know and give you the habits to be able to come to know it.

hmmm, Boy Scouts, 4H, church, and every day living on the farm is providing GS11 with almost all of the items listed above.

"If he does not know what has been tried in the past, he cannot very well avoid those pitfalls as they come up in the future."

Excellent.

Today even our intellectuals speak as if they have zero knowledge of history and what has failed in the past. Emphasis has changed from the belief that no one person or small group of people can possibly be more wise than the whole of conventional wisdom and past philosophy, to the theory that we all should assume we know everything because we "think for ourselves."

I've always wondered what good it does to think for ones self if one is an idiot.

This is interesting to ponder, Clay! And I find I do ponder it quite a lot, since we essentially are in this situation (we homeschool, and in our province, there is no testing required, nor is it required that we follow provincial curriculum or meet provincial learning outcomes; the required "educational plan" is entirely up to the teaching parent--so I essentially have "started from scratch").

It would be impossible (well, long, anyway, since I am incurably gabby) to write everything I want the boys to learn, but some of what is important to Frenchie and me--and where we are trying to head--includes:

-their understanding of what it takes (including, that is, the actual work itself--they garden & cook, spin & weave & sew, and learn carpentry skills) to feed, clothe, and house a family;
-their exposure to the very best of art, music, theatre, dance, and literature of many cultures;
-their cognizance of at least the broad outlines of the history of ideas;
-their understanding of the rewards of perseverance, and the unique satisfactions inherent in developing and completing a major piece of original work;
-their development of a flexible, individual, and elegant prose style;
-their spending as much time as possible in nature, learning to love the world around them;
-their commitment to social justice and cultivation of a grateful heart;
-their continuing ability to experience wonder; and
-their development of the faculty of discernment.

This perhaps seems rather vague, but I find it useful to have an overall philosophical sense of where I hope they are headed as happy, fulfilled, contributing men, and drape the specifics over that.

peace
minnie