Sweet Schoolin': 6/1/09

June 12, 2009

Need yet another reason to homeschool? Apparently it's ok to discriminate if the child is 5

Sorry, I am crossposting this on all of my sites. I simply feel the issue is too important to ignore. Thanks!

You might remember earlier this year about the teacher from Port St. Lucie, FL who had her class vote on whether Alex Barton, a child with autism, could remain in her Kindergarten class. He was voted out, traumatized and refused to return to school. There was a great uproar and teacher Wendy Portillo was suspended without pay for a year with her tenure revoked.

The school board quietly reversed its decision this week ...read the rest here, and you do need to read it if you care about special needs kids and/or education.

Thanks!

June 2, 2009

How To Teach Your Child To Think Logically

Darling daughter's classes are over for the year (yes, homeschooled kids get out sooner, one of the perks...though these classes are taught in an actual classroom, by an actual sort-of teacher.) She did quite well, and her new-found love is Logic. (wait, where are you going??) It's not scary, not really. AND you can start children easy, and they never know they are being ~~herded~~ lead into a life of logical thought. How? Glad you asked!

Start with patterning, at an early age. Counting bears, beans, rocks, whatever is a different color. Play Concentration, Seek & Find, What Comes Next. Get that little mind thinking logically. They will think they are playing games, only you will know the truth.

Once you have them ~~in your grips~~ interested, proceed to mazes, Sudoku and logic puzzles. Logic puzzles can work for even the youngest gradeschooler.

Have lots of conversations about life. Debate and discuss, what are the reasons for their views? Teach your child not what to think (the public schools do that!) but teach them how to think. Make them explain their position.

Practice teaching thorough Socratic Method. No, it's not hard! You are simply asking questions, leading them to their own answers. It's a beautiful thing. When they are ready, steer them towards formal logic, which will help them understand the way arguments are constructed.

*Warning! We here at Sweet Schoolin' will not be responsible for the fact that you will start to lose arguments with your child! Yes, they may soon out-argue you... but they will be thinking, so there's that.

p.s, about the title? All bets are off with teenagers about thinking logically. however they will still be able to out-argue you. Trust me on this...