In the midst of setting up for this weekend's birthday party, I'm also finishing up a few of my old projects, so I feel all ready for a fresh "semester" on Monday.
One of my projects was putting together a list of songs I want to be able to play independently (this is separate from the list of songs I've been working on with different friends, and from the list of songs I've been working on with the bass, which I'll need to eventually persuade other people to play with me). I made the list awhile ago, and I'm now about halfway through gathering the chords for all the songs and I've added about half of those to my regular practice schedule. I intend to finish gathering the chords this weekend.
Today Sarah and I watched an episode of Rich Steves' Europe -- it's a lowkey little show, kid-friendly (at least for all the episodes I've seen so far), and he's got an upbeat, friendly style of speaking. This episode was on micro-nations in Europe, including Vatican City, Luxembourg, Lichtenstein, Monaco, and a couple others. I was particularly fascinated by the fact that the pope was holed up in Vatican City for something like 60 years until he signed a treaty with Mussolini giving the Church total control, making Vatican City an independent nation. Tonight I'll probably watch one of the science programs I've got saved.
This weekend I'll also gather all my resources in one place in preparation for both my and Sarah's summer sessions, and post the online ones here. I'm holding myself back from trying to finish up any other projects, though -- between Sarah's birthday party on Saturday and volunteering for Pride on Sunday (and gearing up for Monday's dentist appt :( and Tuesday's mini-golf party), I need to conserve my energy, no matter how enthusiastic I'm feeling right now.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Summer 2011
Sarah and I decided to take off most of the Spring from any sort of structured learning, because we've just been so busy with limited-time-only homeschool opportunities -- swimming, bowling, soccer, etc. The plan is to start up again the week after her birthday, and I'll be writing more about that over on the Sarah-homeschool blog at some point this weekend.
For us, summer starts the day after her birthday celebrations finish up, and runs until September 23 -- for people who love the cooler weather of Autumn and early Spring, we sure do stretch summer out for as long as we possibly can!
So my summer session runs about 16 weeks, which can be further broken down into four 4-week segments.
I'm breaking down my plans for this season into 4 main categories: alt ed, music, science, and what I'm thinking of as my distribution requirement, which will be a catch-all sort of category.
Alt Ed:
* read 4 books on alternative ed, write a synopsis/analysis of each one, and discuss them with various alt ed colleagues
* read 4 articles on alt ed, write a synopsis/analysis of each one, and discuss with various alt ed colleagues
Music:
* prep for homeschool music gatherings, family music gatherings, sacred song
* practice each instrument on a regular basis (tentatively 3 times a week each)
* find mentors for each instrument
* do one small research project on music theory
* do one small research project on the history of each type of music I'm drawn to
* find one musician in each musical genre and familiarize myself with their repertoire
Science:
* read 4 books on basic/general science
* finish watching the series on physics I've been watching
* read 3 articles a week from my backlog of science magazines
* keep nature journal with Sarah
* build one thing
Misc:
* finish the books I've got out of the library (intro to blues, prehistory, archaeology, congress, american presidency)
* read 5 newspaper articles a week (or equivalent)
* each week look into one topic in further detail inspired by the above assignment
* read one book (or equivalent) on basic polisci
* prep for the civics class I'll be offering in the fall
* work my way through the New Testament
* watch one program a week related to one of my educational goals
That comes out to just about:
* 1 book a week
* 8 articles a week
* 2 small research projects a week
* 3 videos a week
* 9 music sessions a week
* finishing one misc project every 4 weeks or so
It'll be interesting to see whether that's feasible.
For us, summer starts the day after her birthday celebrations finish up, and runs until September 23 -- for people who love the cooler weather of Autumn and early Spring, we sure do stretch summer out for as long as we possibly can!
So my summer session runs about 16 weeks, which can be further broken down into four 4-week segments.
I'm breaking down my plans for this season into 4 main categories: alt ed, music, science, and what I'm thinking of as my distribution requirement, which will be a catch-all sort of category.
Alt Ed:
* read 4 books on alternative ed, write a synopsis/analysis of each one, and discuss them with various alt ed colleagues
* read 4 articles on alt ed, write a synopsis/analysis of each one, and discuss with various alt ed colleagues
Music:
* prep for homeschool music gatherings, family music gatherings, sacred song
* practice each instrument on a regular basis (tentatively 3 times a week each)
* find mentors for each instrument
* do one small research project on music theory
* do one small research project on the history of each type of music I'm drawn to
* find one musician in each musical genre and familiarize myself with their repertoire
Science:
* read 4 books on basic/general science
* finish watching the series on physics I've been watching
* read 3 articles a week from my backlog of science magazines
* keep nature journal with Sarah
* build one thing
Misc:
* finish the books I've got out of the library (intro to blues, prehistory, archaeology, congress, american presidency)
* read 5 newspaper articles a week (or equivalent)
* each week look into one topic in further detail inspired by the above assignment
* read one book (or equivalent) on basic polisci
* prep for the civics class I'll be offering in the fall
* work my way through the New Testament
* watch one program a week related to one of my educational goals
That comes out to just about:
* 1 book a week
* 8 articles a week
* 2 small research projects a week
* 3 videos a week
* 9 music sessions a week
* finishing one misc project every 4 weeks or so
It'll be interesting to see whether that's feasible.
Long term goals
I feel as if I should write at length about my philosophy of learning, and the most essential goals of education. But, honestly, these days I'm loathe to waste time on waxing poetic or philosophical when I could be using that time to start moving toward my goals and getting things done if I'm feeling productive, or to spending time dawdling about with my daughter or with my banjo if I'm feeling reflective and dreamy.
So, the quick and dirty version: education should prepare you for whatever you want to do next, it should prepare you to be an informed and active citizen of the country and the world, and it should prepare you to take your place in the ongoing cultural conversations of curious, enthusiastic, informed people.
What does that look like, broken down into slightly-more-manageable chunks and made personal?
Whatever I want to do next:
* something in alternative education (possibly another democratic free school, in a few years)
* or something in nutrition or food-related activism (organics? slow food? world hunger?)
* or something in science (possibly going back to school to finish up that engineering degree)
* AND make lots and lots of music, all sorts
An informed and active citizen:
* versed in basic polisci
* versed in basic US history
* versed in basic world history
* versed in rhetoric and logic
* versed in the science and politics behind issues like GMOs, climate change, and other subjects I feel passionate about
* versed in basic econ
* versed in basic comparative religion
* versed in basic sociology/anthro
Ongoing cultural conversations:
* have a basic sense of how things work (scientifically, politically, psychologically...)
* keep up with current events
* continue reading books and attending cultural events which deeply engage me
Oh! And the last requirement -- be capable of being a competent adult, managing a household, including:
* versed in basic home repair
* understand how the car works and be capable of talking about it with repair people
* be capable of making a variety of things from scratch (bread, dressing, sauce, etc.)
So, the quick and dirty version: education should prepare you for whatever you want to do next, it should prepare you to be an informed and active citizen of the country and the world, and it should prepare you to take your place in the ongoing cultural conversations of curious, enthusiastic, informed people.
What does that look like, broken down into slightly-more-manageable chunks and made personal?
Whatever I want to do next:
* something in alternative education (possibly another democratic free school, in a few years)
* or something in nutrition or food-related activism (organics? slow food? world hunger?)
* or something in science (possibly going back to school to finish up that engineering degree)
* AND make lots and lots of music, all sorts
An informed and active citizen:
* versed in basic polisci
* versed in basic US history
* versed in basic world history
* versed in rhetoric and logic
* versed in the science and politics behind issues like GMOs, climate change, and other subjects I feel passionate about
* versed in basic econ
* versed in basic comparative religion
* versed in basic sociology/anthro
Ongoing cultural conversations:
* have a basic sense of how things work (scientifically, politically, psychologically...)
* keep up with current events
* continue reading books and attending cultural events which deeply engage me
Oh! And the last requirement -- be capable of being a competent adult, managing a household, including:
* versed in basic home repair
* understand how the car works and be capable of talking about it with repair people
* be capable of making a variety of things from scratch (bread, dressing, sauce, etc.)
Getting Started
I've always been drawn to the idea of life-long learning -- by both temperament and family culture, and reinforced by all the curious, enthusiastic, DIY folks with whom I've surrounded myself. The deeper I've gotten into homeschooling Sarah, the more I've looked forward to finding the time and resources to focus my own homeschooling, creating the sort of long-, mid-, and short-term plans for myself that we've worked together to create for Sarah.
I was intrigued by a new site for self-directed learners as an alternative to college. I signed up for an account, poked around for a few hours, and discovered that it's not at all what I was hoping it would be (that is, a spot to organize and reflect on my own self-assigned projects). Instead, it seems to be intended more as a place for kids in a traditional college age range to talk about the process of how to learn on their own, and to connect with mentors who may or may not charge for the privilege. (and, honestly, I'm not looking for a random online mentor -- I do a damn fine job of mentoring myself, and of figuring out when to reach out for specific advice or assistance -- there's a reason the title of this blog was almost "cranky free schooler"! I wavered between that and "cantankerous free schooler" before going for the subtle West Wing reference.) I was extremely bummed to realize that the site wasn't what I was expecting -- I'd been looking forward to having a spot to spell out my long term plans, break them down by general field/topic, sketch out a overall plan for how to reach each of the goals, lay out a season-by-season "curriculum" for myself (can you tell how much I loved to play school as a kid?) and keep track of how the assignments were going.
I noticed, as I was grumbling to myself, that I had a *really* detailed idea of what I was looking for. So, here I am, creating exactly that space for myself, tailor-made for my own learning and organizational styles.
I was intrigued by a new site for self-directed learners as an alternative to college. I signed up for an account, poked around for a few hours, and discovered that it's not at all what I was hoping it would be (that is, a spot to organize and reflect on my own self-assigned projects). Instead, it seems to be intended more as a place for kids in a traditional college age range to talk about the process of how to learn on their own, and to connect with mentors who may or may not charge for the privilege. (and, honestly, I'm not looking for a random online mentor -- I do a damn fine job of mentoring myself, and of figuring out when to reach out for specific advice or assistance -- there's a reason the title of this blog was almost "cranky free schooler"! I wavered between that and "cantankerous free schooler" before going for the subtle West Wing reference.) I was extremely bummed to realize that the site wasn't what I was expecting -- I'd been looking forward to having a spot to spell out my long term plans, break them down by general field/topic, sketch out a overall plan for how to reach each of the goals, lay out a season-by-season "curriculum" for myself (can you tell how much I loved to play school as a kid?) and keep track of how the assignments were going.
I noticed, as I was grumbling to myself, that I had a *really* detailed idea of what I was looking for. So, here I am, creating exactly that space for myself, tailor-made for my own learning and organizational styles.
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