Living in New York, I actually have to document and validate what is in my brain. I will hurry and post this as is as I listen to my three year old pounding nails into hopefully the board he is supposed to (with baby brother looking admiringly on), older kids packing upstairs and take a deep breath before almost a month of awesome historical field trips and visitors!!
(Tomorrow Gettysburg and next week Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg!!)
I have also updated our
daily schedule to more accurately reflect our current schedule.
September 13, 2016
Dear Medina District support team for
homeschoolers,
Statement of Intent: I intend to
homeschool _________ Biesinger for the 2016-2017 year. They will be
in _____ grade. We will turn in quarterly progress reports and test
them at the end of the year.
I will submit reports at the end of
October, the end of December, the end of March and the end of the
year in June, along with testing in June. Thanks for all you have
done to make our experience in New York a success so far!
Hours of Education:
As for the number of hours that we
homeschool our children, that is difficult to measure. They get at
least as much learning time in as any child does in school and
perhaps more, when one considers the “down time” that happens as
teachers address behavioral issues or the repetition of instruction
necessary when teaching 20-30 students. What I can tell you is what
we don't do. We don't have
electronics (video games/computer games) at all in our home. The
limited number of programs we watch during the week all have
educational purpose. Truly, my children are being educated almost
constantly when one looks the many ways a child can be educated:
--doing chores
--personal reading
of quality literature (my kids don't read “fluff” books like
“Captain Underpants” :).)
--writing to record
thoughts or when accounting for the learning done in a day
--service rendered
in the community
--family sports
activities
--nature study
--moral education
through daily family devotionals and scripture study
--anger management
and socialization through play
--drawing
--playing games:
custom skill (depending upon the game: i.e.Monopoly—math,
economics; Scrabble: spelling, etc.), sportsmanship, communication,
perseverence, how to lose, strategy
--cooking
--sewing
--exposure to
quality books through parent-led family reading times twice daily
(books like “Don Quixote,” “I am Malala,” and “Tom
Sawyer”)
--painting
--meal-time
conversations together about what we have learned, world events (like
9/11) or concerns
--home improvement
projects
--music lessons for
sign language, piano and choirs
--self-discipline
through accountability and self-directed studies and planning
--field trips and
preparation for those trips (Gettysburg, National Zoo and
Smithsonian, Williamsburg)
--discussion of
world events as they come up in a home with parents who love learning
--reading done
aloud on the way to and from church events and field trips, not to
mention the quizzing initiated by my husband, road games developed,
crisis management and patience and resilience learned with siblings
in close quarters
Truly, in light of
the fact that we carry on our learning schedule through the summer
with slight variations (more field trips, swimming lessons, cultural
events like Shakespeare plays in the park), you can see that they are
educated almost year round. To try and compartmentalize the
education into bite-size, measureable packets would be extremely
difficult as you can see. I can only assure you that they are
exceeding the required about of study time for their grade level.
Material Covered: I
would ask you to indulge me for a moment as I try to briefly
illustrate my approach to educating my children.
Weekly
Accountability:
#1 Weekly
charts
I
will include a sample page of ______'s weekly chart, which covers
material like math. Be assured that I am mindful of where my child
is at and am always seeking improvement. Some children learn skills
like mathematics at different speeds and I believe that a child that
has confidence in their learning will learn faster than one is
constantly being pushed into the ZPD, or the zone of proximal
development.* (See end notes)
However, I believe
that daily exposure and immersion in math skills and logical
processing is important. We use the following:
--Proficiency level
(not grade level) Saxon math books
--”Hand's On
Math” curriculum
--dice and other
math games
--flash cards and
hand's on practical application of mathematical skills: i.e.
measuring and cooking
Similarly, I
require my children to do writing, piano and many other worthwhile
tasks daily. These must be fulfilled before they get any privileges
on the weekend that involve the media or friends.
#2 Monthly Outlines
I have monthly
outlines that follow a theme that will strengthen both the “core”
and the “crust”** of my children, as well as expose them to the
four “lenses of learning.” (See article and chart on attached
sheet.) As you can see from the chart and my lesson plans for the
upcoming two months, my children get a scope of learning that will
serve them well. I don't only want to fill their minds with
knowledge. I want to teach them how to process it and apply it to the
world at large in a meaningful way.
#3 Self-directed Weekly Goals
I am a firm
believer in the efficacy of self-directed education: a self-directed
learner is a life-long learner. I have weekly interviews with my
older children assessing their previous week's goals and then being
present with them as they set goals for the upcoming week. Do they
always reach their all of their goals? No. However, they learn how to
fail and try again, a powerful lesson. And they do try again and
improve.
I will attach a few
sample sheets of these “Student Accountability Reports” (or SARs)
and have the record of every SAR in a folder right next to their
weekly charts. At the end of the quarter, I will review them and
submit a briefer report but these reports and charts are available
upon request.
I love to learn
with my children and am looking forward to a great year! Thanks for
your support.
*”The zone
of proximal development,
often abbreviated as ZPD,
is the difference between what a learner can do without help and what
he or she can do with help.[1] It
is a concept introduced, yet not fully developed, by Soviet
psychologist Lev
Vygotsky (1896–1934)
”
Various
investigations, using different approaches and research frameworks
have proved collaborative learning to be effective in many kinds of
settings and contexts.[17] Teachers
should assign tasks that students cannot do on their own, but which
they can do with assistance; they should provide just enough
assistance so that students learn to complete the tasks independently
and then provide an environment that enables students to do harder
tasks than would otherwise be possible.[14] In
the context of adults, peers should challenge each other in order to
support collaboration and success.”
(Wikipedia, “ZPD definition).
Many
educators feel that to push children into the ZPD at too early of an
age too regularly will kill their love of learning and confidence.
Puberty is an excellent time to push into the ZPD, when a child's
confidence is built up from their years in what my co-educators call
“the love of learning” phase.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**“The
Core and Crust of Leadership,” by
Timothy Clarke
Two
weeks ago, the charismatic German politician and heir-apparent to
Chancellor Angela Merkel, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, resigned as
minister of defense. It had come to light that his doctoral
dissertation was adorned with more than 300 instances of plagiarism.
A spectacular leadership failure to be sure, but why?
A
simple way to think about leadership is to divide it into two parts —
a core and a crust. The distinction gives us a clearer eye. The core
represents those things that are indispensable, while the crust those
things that are important. What then goes in the core? And what goes
in the crust?
The
core of leadership is character. It represents the essence of who you
are and what you stand for. It has nothing to do with Churchillian
eloquence, a puckish sense of humor or grasp of strategy. The crust
of leadership is all of that — all of your knowledge, experience
and skills. Both parts are important, but not equally important.
Viewed
through the core/crust lens, leaders congregate around three main
types:
1.
Strong core + strong crust = great leader. If you are strong in
both areas, you have the powerful combination of character and
competence. This is where greatness lies, because you have the
capacity and the intent to help others and accomplish meaningful
goals.
2.
Strong core + weak crust = nice leader. A nice leader is a person
of character who lacks competence. Leaders in this category work
hard, care and have integrity, but their lack of competence holds
them back from making a fuller contribution. We trust them
personally, but not professionally.
3.
Weak core + strong crust = dangerous leader. A dangerous leader
is a person who combines great intelligence and skill with flawed
character. When a leader has significant capacity and directs that
capacity toward destructive goals, people suffer.
In the
annals of history, great leaders become famous, dangerous leaders
become infamous and nice leaders become invisible. Thus, we remember
the Lincolns and the Stalins. Everyone else is lost in obscurity.
Now
let me ask two important questions: First, where do we spend most of
our time — on the core or the crust? Need I even ask? Most
individuals and organizations spend no less than 95 percent of their
development efforts and resources on the crust. We obsess on growing
and deepening the crust. We want our leaders to be clever.
Now
the second question: Where do the biggest leadership failures come
from? The core, of course. The erstwhile German defense minister is
Exhibit A. It’s always a collapse of the core.
The
essence of leadership is the process of influencing volunteers to
accomplish good things. Leadership begins with the core, with our
intent to lead. The first question of leadership is simple: Why do
you want to lead? Isn’t it interesting that we rarely ask such a
question when we hire or promote our leaders. And yet the question
reveals the motivational basis of a person’s desire to lead.
Let me
re-emphasize that people are volunteers. This acknowledgment reminds
us of a couple of things. First, leaders are no better than their
followers. Second, performance is based on discretionary
contribution. The history of leadership is largely a chronicle of
people being muscled, coerced and pressed into service. Actually,
this isn’t leadership at all, but we’ve been calling it that for
centuries and now it’s catching up with us. Increasingly, we see a
very interesting trend in organizations. In a turbulent, globalizing
world, talented people are less willing to put up with core-less
leaders, regardless of how clever they are. Next-Gen workers, in
particular, seem to have a highly developed sense of smell for
dangerous leaders. If you don’t pass the smell test, they will
resist your leadership or simply leave. The personal risk is just too
high.
There
are no shortcuts to becoming a great leader. It takes hard work,
humility and self-discipline. Meanwhile, our society is in desperate
need of people with that all-too-rare combination — strong core and
strong crust. Both will be tested, but the toughest tests will be
tests of the core. And they certainly will come!
Timothy
R. Clark, Ph.D., is an author, international management consultant,
former two-time CEO, Fulbright Scholar at Oxford University and
Academic all-American football player at BYU. His latest two books
are "The Leadership Test" and "Epic Change."
E-mail: trclark@trclarkpartners.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From “Teach the Child”:
There are four “lenses”
that each child should have to properly view the world. Without
these lenses the “student is handicapped in his ability to see
things as they are.” Morality is the hub in which these things
function to help distinguish between right and wrong.
1. Math (for the ability to
induce truth through logic and reasoning - inducing truth)
2.
Science (for the ability to deduce truth through observation)
3.
Social sciences (for the ability to see truth by widening
perspective to see norms and values)
4. Arts and language (the
ability to judge truth through beauty/value).
From
Introduction to "The Gateway to the Great Books":
There
are 4 colors “representing 4 aspects of ourselves as we use words
to communicate what we know, think, feel or intend”:
1.
Yellow - works of imagination (arts and language)
2.
Blue - biographies and histories (humane letters or social
studies)
3.
Green - mathematics and natural sciences
4.
Red - philosophy or theology (morality)
You
can see from the visual below how I segregate subjects and skills
into different areas in the lenses and identify them as crust skills
or a core lessons. Some activities can serve as both: reading a book
can strengthen the core of someone's compassion for a culture as well
as teach them crust knowledge of geographical or cultural facts.
However, the chart gives you a general idea:
Here I inserted the "Core and Crust" visual of how I incorporate the Core and Crust concept with the lenses. Check out this video to describe it.
_________________________________________________________________________________
YEAR-LONG TOPICS AND
SOURCES
Time Period: Ancient
History
Pre-history through Fall of
the Roman Empire and Early Exploration
Monthly Break-down:
Month-long activities:
Theme-based devotionals,
memorization, and family reading
Spelling lists derived from
reading material and project studies, tested 2xs/month
Latin (“Getting Started
With Latin”)-1-3 daily exercises
Physical fitness: basketball
2-3 days a week, personal fitness programs (running, biking,
swimming) 2-3 times a week
“Authors in the Attic”:
free writing group that meets once a week where creative writing
submissions are shared (all ages)
The following activities
are ongoing throughout the year and are in addition to the monthly
outlines
Week 1: Leadership
Academy
“Painless Grammar”
Young Men Group led by Dad:
based upon “Man-votionals” and “The Art of Manliness” for
11 and older
-readings and discussion
-outdoor adventures
-leadership and planning
experience
-personal grooming
Young Ladies Group led by
Mom: based upon “Beautiful Girlhood” for 10 and older
-cultural activities
-readings and discussion
-manners and etiquette
-personal grooming
-outdoor activities
Week 2: Geo-conquest
Map studies and testing
Cooking and culture (field
trips where possible)
Learn points of interest in
continent/area of the month (changes monthly)
How to do Prezi's and
Powerpoints: present one during this week
“Book of Rule”: study of
governments of region
Week 3: Eureka!
Study symbols and tools of
science and math through various awesome books like “Go Figure!,”
“The Math Book,” “Mandala,” “Math Games and Number
Tricks,”etc.
Focus on one or more
examples from “Mathematicians are People Too” and do exercises
“Sharing Nature with
Children” activities
Euclid: do geometric proofs
Cover “The Art of
Argument” one day
Week 4: Imaginative Arts
Art projects and lessons
Plays: our goal is to do at
least one online production
“On Stage” games: acting
practice
“Play on Words” and
“Common Phrases” for cultural literacy and fun with words!
“Langston Hughes” and
other poetry
Well, I have been finally playing games and passed a personal hurdle today: I played Imperial Assault with my 15 year old! Imagine Axis and Allies...in Klingon.