Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought. — Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, author of The Scientist Speculates In our high tech society the ability to research is vital to success. Yet many schools never teach it and even when they do, they usually overlook the simplest and most primary undercut:…
Students must be given an opportunity to explore their own passions — for passion and desire are vital components of education. And students should always be encouraged to tap into their own ingenuity. This is the way to awaken or keep alive that love of learning that resides deep within us.
What value do students get from doing homework? According to Kathy Seal, co-author of Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning, most homework does not advance the education of elementary school children. On the contrary, stuffing a great deal of information into their heads makes it harder to retain the data and can even damage…
His little hand squeezes mine As we venture into the darkness To gaze up at the sliver of a moon And try to count a zillion stars Feeling gone “forever” reappears Awe and wonder for that night When first I counted heavenly Stars with my own dear father By Carlynn McCormick Home education(1) can have…
Believe it or not, using one pronoun over another can actually improve a parent-child relationship. Using I over you is one such example. When Mom tells Joey, “I like it better when your bed is made in the morning,” he knows she is talking about herself. But if Mom says, “You didn’t make your bed…
Can you teach your child to think like a genius? Yes, that’s capital Y-E-S. But before we push children into the realm of genius, it would be good to look at what it means to be a genius. Most people equate geniuses with high I.Q but that is the last definition in Webster’s college dictionary.…
Susie is six and can’t count to thirty without missing a few numbers. Johnny has almost finished eighth grade but hasn’t started pre-algebra. “Oh dear, oh dear, my child is falling behind.” Just as one child can be given the label “Attention Deficit Disorder” because some adults cannot tolerate his activity level, so can another…
How do you like to go up in a swing, Up in the air so blue? Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing Ever a child can do! Robert Louis Stevenson: A Child’s Garden of Verses I love this stanza from Stevenson’s poem; it brings memories of pumping so high I felt I was…
“A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge,” —words penned by Scottish Writer, Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881). Beautiful words, kind words, but is a “loving heart” truly the key to all learning? And if it is, then shouldn’t it be the first lesson we teach our children? And so it is: mother’s tender kiss, father’s…