Books, childhood, Education

Autodidactism

I was listening to a podcast presenting a brief biography of Andrew Carnegie the other day, and although I’m somewhat familiar with the man, and very familiar with his legacy of libraries, I think the philosophy that led him to establish more than 2500 libraries bears repeating, and often. He believed that compiling knowledge in a… Read More Autodidactism

childhood, Education

Going On

To follow up with yesterday’s post on very early childhood education, I was looking at photos of my children when they were young, and remembering how they interacted. Because they modeled how they were treated, they taught each other. When the Little Man was 2, and the Eldest was 8 going on nine, she would… Read More Going On

Education, writing

Critical Thinking

Yesterday I was talking about the love of learning and how we have lost that… or how we have brutally and systemically destroyed that, depending on the schools and teachers you had. I hear far too many stories of my friends’ childhoods to not understand the toll the school system takes. I’ve been contemplating a… Read More Critical Thinking

Education, writing

Lost:: Love of Learning

So, I’ve been reading Dorothy Sayer’s Lost Tools of Learning, which I highly recommend. The pursuit of learning is unquestionably the most important part of success in life. If one cannot learn, and grow, one cannot possibly achieve great things. Whether those greatnesses are to be the best mother possible, or the best mechanic, or… Read More Lost:: Love of Learning

Education, Homeschool, science

Hydrostatic Skeletons: Or, why don’t we have ten foot tall slugs?

In a recent post I mentioned my childhood battle with slugs, and John in Philly commented, infecting me with the delightful mental image of a small girl holding a ten-foot tall slug at bay with her salt sprayer. So why don’t we have ten-foot slugs? Elephants can get that big. Whales get even bigger, although… Read More Hydrostatic Skeletons: Or, why don’t we have ten foot tall slugs?

Education

Sharpening the Mind

I miss school. I didn’t think I would, but this week was the beginning of a new semester. One of my former classmates texted me on her way to classes that it wasn’t going to be the same without me. I sat there thinking about the classes I didn’t take, but would have liked to…… Read More Sharpening the Mind