Discipline – It May Be EVERYTHING
It's common knowledge now, that success in general comes simply from putting more hours in and doing more reps than your competition. I've read studies that supposedly *prove* self-discipline is the most important determinant for academic success in college - as opposed to incoming SAT scores or high school grades... But I submit that outside [...]
Daily Educational Checklist
When unshackled from an *institutional education*, children and parents enjoy complete freedom - freedom to study, pursue, dabble, socialize, experiment, ponder, etc. whatever it is they decide upon. Of course, the choices they make and the discipline, energy, and savvy they employ are CRITICAL in determining long-term outcomes. And without any authority to answer to, [...]
Google….And Thou Shall Receive
Ever see that book before? It's a classic, I think. That was my father's *bible*. Every time something broke in the house he'd go looking in that book for the answer. Of course, armed with only that and being *knackless*....he really couldn't fix anything! But today a DIY fixer has the greatest resource EVER at [...]
Technology – Educational Friend or Foe?
Of course, the title question is rhetorical! Modern technology has always had the capacity to be a mixed bag. For example, nuclear energy....good, but nuclear missiles....well, not so comforting. But exactly how much have the latest and greatest breakthroughs changed education, if at all? For one thing, the internet is an absolute beast. I submit [...]
Parent-Led Education and Self-Discipline
The ONLY thing that the conventional compulsory, drop-off school approach to education has over individualized, *outside the system* learning is a modicum of imposed self-discipline. What I mean by that is, well, an early morning bus on one's doorstep and mandatory attendance and classes at least force each day to start early and, theoretically anyway, [...]
The Rising Anti-School Tide
There were over 300 kids, who are educated *outside the system* in New York City, at this year's Central Park picnic. Last year there were substantially less. And I heard the other day that *filing* (to opt out of NYC government schools) was up a full 10% from 2011. Okay, these numbers might not seem [...]
Back-To-School Planning?
It certainly means different things to different parents. For some, it's simply a matter of buying bigger clothes, a new lunchbox, and perhaps some notebooks and writing implements. However for those parents who have taken complete charge of their children's education....September can entail a whole lot more than a trip to the mall. Now our [...]
A Day In The Life – 1
One of the things my wife and I find ourselves continually doing is - describing to others what exactly it is we do on a daily basis, in terms of educating our own children. For example, yesterday... While it's mid-August and there are summer activities aplenty here on Long Island, we still manage to do [...]
Spoiled Brats or Incompetent Parents?
From a recent New Yorker article: In 2004, Carolina Izquierdo, an anthropologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, spent several months with the Matsigenka, a tribe of about twelve thousand people who live in the Peruvian Amazon. The Matsigenka hunt for monkeys and parrots, grow yucca and bananas, and build houses that [...]