This morning I shuffled like a zombie towards the North wing of the house to see who, if anyone, is stirring. I discovered smiley-faced Easton getting his day started. He turned on the bedroom light all by himself, which is a feat because the remote control is stationed higher up on the wall than a normal light switch. He changed from his diaper to big boy underwear, put on his house slippers and was sitting quietly in his bedroom floor reading Planet Earth. The book is filled with, "answers to fundamental questions about the human body, animals, planet Earth and the Solar System" according to the description. Sounds like light reading for a four-year-old, right?
Layla is slightly sick with a snotty nose and low-grade fever. We let Layla and Kendra sleep in while the two of us sat down to breakfast. Easton showed his gratitude for sharing my Cookie Crisp cereal by giving me a big hug and saying, "I love you bigger than the whole sun." That made my day! Anything else good that happens today will be icing on the cake.
Then he launched a barrage of questions that are probably abnormally inquisitive for a preschooler. He asked:
What do red blood cells do?
What would happen if you didn't have intestines?
Why do barn owls eat mice?
Where does wind come from?
Breakfast felt like a lightning round of jeopardy and I had no computer or smart phone close by to confer with Google. Even so, I did great until final jeopardy. He asked, "Why does Professor Zundapp want to blow up Lightning McQueen?" How do you explain a complex movie plot to someone with no concept of hate, revenge, or evil? I would have lost my wagered bet if this were Jeopardy.
The morning was a success because we shared quality one-on-one time. He loves to learn and I love to teach. This stage in Easton's life is incredibly fun and fulfilling for me. He has such a tender heart and open mind. I'm doing everything in my power to protect his heart and fill his mind.
I found a short video clip that describes a big missing piece of the educational / learning puzzle. The biggest tool I want to put in Easton's hands is divergent thinking. Here's the teaser for the video... Did you know that ninety-eight percent of kindergartners scored at genius level for divergent thinking? When adults are given the divergent thinking test, only two percent test at the genius level. This means my job as a parent is to not screw it up.
RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms
See you soon!
5 comments:
Loved this video! Great at identifying a significant problem of education. Wondering what the solution is??? Would love to hear what you would envision.
--joanie
Such an interesting video. Some of the thoughts and concepts have been discussed in our house and some have not...and now we will! Very interesting prescription map of ADHD. So where's the closest 'collaborative style' school in AZ?? Scott and I have long believed that standardized tests aren't capturing relavant data for the most part. Since each state has different standards they teach towards, the tests in each state are different. How can one even begin to decide which states rank higher in education when the data can't be matched across the board? Interesting topic, to say the least.
Joanie and Marisue are at the same place as I am. Now what? The divergent thinking concept is great, but how does a parent and/or teacher enhance and encourage divergent thinking? My plan is to research the concept and figure out the implementation details as I go. This will be a trail blazing journey because I don't think anyone has figured out the "how" yet.
Listening to talk radio on my way to work this morning, I heard a report about Kyrene Elementary School District. They are planning to introduce a new system of learning in a couple schools (and only a couple classes in those schools). The report said that it would specifically target math in the beginning and if it's successful, they would slowly incorporate other subjects. These pilot classes would be based on skill level, as opposed to age or grade. The reason we chose to live where we do is because of the reputation the school district has...sounds like by the time D&D get into elementary school, they may already have this system well on its way. I'm going to dig around to get a little more info, but I'm impressed, to say the least. Hopefully our school down the street is one of the pilot schools for the program!
Thanks for sharing, Marisue. I'm hoping (but not planning) for the school system to figure this out. I agree the school systems in our part of town are outstanding, but unless they make drastic shifts towards developing the appropriate atmosphere for education then I will consider them to be the best of the worst way to educate. We are still undecided on whether to home school so this information helps us make the best decision.
Thanks again.
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