by Kelly Knowlden
In the olden days when teachers could sign out reel-to-reel movies from the Intermediate Unit for children to watch, I signed out a likely film called “Safety for Children.” Mrs. Tripp told us to always preview films and usually I did. However, due to many pressures, I did not get a chance to watch this one before the day I needed to show it to my class of first and second graders. We were watching it together and it started out with play-ground safety - reminding children to not walk in front of the swings when someone was swinging, to be careful to hold on to the monkey bars, etc. (Pay no mind to the fact that we had access to neither of those things at school.) Then it moved into the ‘safety at home’ section and talked about not putting things in outlets, not running down stairs, and stay away from dad’s tools in his workshop. It then proceeded to show a boy of about 9 or 10 running the radial arm saw over his han.... PROJECTOR OFF! LIGHTS ON!
It strikes me that parents make my mistake all the time. They give their children things that have serious consequences in their using, but do not teach them how to use them. “Safety” is not even in their thinking. I am thinking of things that children see as necessities and parents are sure that not having them will scar their children. Things like cell phones with abilities to communicate ‘facelessly’ or be on the internet with little or no restraints. (Why is ‘sexting’ an issue?) Or even the ‘harmless’ game systems that are the desires of every boys heart. They would be odd-man-out if they didn’t know something about Call of Duty, right?
Let me be frank with you. You are paying big money for one of the best educations in the city. We have hired the best teachers in the world. However, they cannot compete with the adrenalin-pumping action of gaming systems nor the text- induced drama of social media. Students will yawn when hearing of the wonders of God’s world. Eyes will glass over when reading the stories of men and women who have lived nobly. The tools provided are like radial arm saws to their souls ... unless you have been vigilant in teaching them how to use them.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Language is Peppered
by Kelly Knowlden
“Keep your nose to the grindstone.” “Too many irons in the fire.” “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” ”Nature abhors a vacuum.” “Make hay while the sun shines.”
You and I hear these kinds of phrases often in our conversations. They add a dimension to communication by making references to commonly understood ideas. The problem is that language and ideas suffer when the populace no longer understands nor uses these expressions. Hence, a good education will expose children to the cultural background of these expressions by three things: family ‘field trips,’ good reading together, and sending children to a school that values the historic content of education.
A trip to a grist mill might provide you with information about the “nose to the grindstone” quote. It was important for the miller to smell the flour periodically to tell if the grindstones were too close and therefore scorching the wheat. [It could cause fire or explosions!] Visiting a blacksmith would help you understand “too many irons in the fire.” The blacksmith would put irons in the fire to heat them up to bend. Too many at once would disallow him to effectively keep track of all of them. Wide reading will expose students to Lord Acton, a Catholic historian, that made many observations about governing bodies and individuals in his quote about power. Knowing a bit about Aristotle from a solid academic education will help understand his observation about how water pumps work and why he would say, “nature abhors a vacuum” and its application to situations where there is an empty space that usually gets quickly filled. Of course, knowing a bit about making hay from the local farmer [cutting hay too soon and it will be too green and spoil; too late and it may get wet from the rain and not be suitable for baling] will help interpret the need to use the window of opportunity at hand to get work done.
I mention all these not so that you will “brush up” on your understanding of American idioms, but rather to show the need to give children a good education while they are young so that they will be able to understand the world that we live in.
“Keep your nose to the grindstone.” “Too many irons in the fire.” “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” ”Nature abhors a vacuum.” “Make hay while the sun shines.”
You and I hear these kinds of phrases often in our conversations. They add a dimension to communication by making references to commonly understood ideas. The problem is that language and ideas suffer when the populace no longer understands nor uses these expressions. Hence, a good education will expose children to the cultural background of these expressions by three things: family ‘field trips,’ good reading together, and sending children to a school that values the historic content of education.
A trip to a grist mill might provide you with information about the “nose to the grindstone” quote. It was important for the miller to smell the flour periodically to tell if the grindstones were too close and therefore scorching the wheat. [It could cause fire or explosions!] Visiting a blacksmith would help you understand “too many irons in the fire.” The blacksmith would put irons in the fire to heat them up to bend. Too many at once would disallow him to effectively keep track of all of them. Wide reading will expose students to Lord Acton, a Catholic historian, that made many observations about governing bodies and individuals in his quote about power. Knowing a bit about Aristotle from a solid academic education will help understand his observation about how water pumps work and why he would say, “nature abhors a vacuum” and its application to situations where there is an empty space that usually gets quickly filled. Of course, knowing a bit about making hay from the local farmer [cutting hay too soon and it will be too green and spoil; too late and it may get wet from the rain and not be suitable for baling] will help interpret the need to use the window of opportunity at hand to get work done.
I mention all these not so that you will “brush up” on your understanding of American idioms, but rather to show the need to give children a good education while they are young so that they will be able to understand the world that we live in.
Monday, September 10, 2012
What a Good Education is NOT
Stating what does NOT comprise a good education will be a good and practical exercise in contrasting what our goals are.
A good education is not driven by getting a good job. (A good job may be the by-product of a good education. The key here is focus... what is it that impels me - or my student.) Here is how that works.
I want children to pursue their education and work hard at understanding each subject from God’s perspective. I want them to know as much as they can about as much as they can. I want them to delight in the world that God has made and be awed by His work in all they see - everything from architecture (man’s dominion over the world), to zoology (a branch of biology concerned with the animal kingdom). Therefore, I will not stress over good or bad grades, but rather I will be concerned with them faithfully doing their work to the best of their ability (neat handwriting included!) and talking to them about what they’ve learned.
As they get older, I will continue that plan so that if there are difficulties in understanding, I will call the teacher to understand the problem and come up with solutions until we see success. Grades will only reflect whether they are “getting it” - not whether they are going to get a good job. (Smart children who “get it” and are lousy workers are not guaranteed a good job!)
Report cards are only that - reports to the parents about whether learning is taking place. They are not an indicator of intelligence, nor of diligence. They should not be points of stress for you or for your children.
I know that grades are important for getting into college, and I will address that in another topic. However, at this point, if you are not already, I would like to persuade you to shift your emphasis to doing well and learning everything.
A good education is not driven by getting a good job. (A good job may be the by-product of a good education. The key here is focus... what is it that impels me - or my student.) Here is how that works.
I want children to pursue their education and work hard at understanding each subject from God’s perspective. I want them to know as much as they can about as much as they can. I want them to delight in the world that God has made and be awed by His work in all they see - everything from architecture (man’s dominion over the world), to zoology (a branch of biology concerned with the animal kingdom). Therefore, I will not stress over good or bad grades, but rather I will be concerned with them faithfully doing their work to the best of their ability (neat handwriting included!) and talking to them about what they’ve learned.
As they get older, I will continue that plan so that if there are difficulties in understanding, I will call the teacher to understand the problem and come up with solutions until we see success. Grades will only reflect whether they are “getting it” - not whether they are going to get a good job. (Smart children who “get it” and are lousy workers are not guaranteed a good job!)
Report cards are only that - reports to the parents about whether learning is taking place. They are not an indicator of intelligence, nor of diligence. They should not be points of stress for you or for your children.
I know that grades are important for getting into college, and I will address that in another topic. However, at this point, if you are not already, I would like to persuade you to shift your emphasis to doing well and learning everything.
Monday, September 3, 2012
What is School Supposed to Do?
by Kelly Knowlden
On this first day, students are excited to be back and see friends and test their skills against a body of knowledge that they are supposed to re- member. It is exciting to see them all!
But what is it that you are trying to accomplish by sending them to school?
You might be thinking, “Duh, Mr. Knowlden. I want them to get a good education!”
So now comes our challenge. What is the definition of a GOOD education? Is it academically rigorous? Does it employ certain methodologies? And what is the goal? Some answers to these questions will be topics at our convocation this Thursday evening that will guide us toward a common goal in educating our children. But what I wanted to mention here is really a perspective that I ended last year with... that of having a long term vision for your task of educating your children.
Let me tell you an analogy that might help. If you enrolled your child in a good track and field program, they would go to practice with the goal of increasing their skill and performance in a specific area. They would do that particular task again and again. They would develop the muscles needed for that particular skill. They would assess with the coach what they are doing that is not helpful and how to improve. There would be small tests of skill along the way against teammates preparing them for their first meet. The big goal in mind would be to make it to some district or regional event if possible.
In schooling, it is the same. You are preparing them for life. You are giving them an education that is second to none that will prepare them to understand the world from God’s perspective. They will practice their concepts again and again with the goal of having them understand “why” the particular subject works the way it does. Along the way there will be little “tests” preparing them for the bigger goal of being ready to live as an educated person in this world and make a contribution to the society in which they live. As they buy into these goals, they will be useful in whatever setting they find themselves.
It is the Hebrews 12:1-3 perspective that has students learning to look at another inspiring runner (Jesus) who has done the race already and was successful. He will be their ultimate inspiration!
On this first day, students are excited to be back and see friends and test their skills against a body of knowledge that they are supposed to re- member. It is exciting to see them all!
But what is it that you are trying to accomplish by sending them to school?
You might be thinking, “Duh, Mr. Knowlden. I want them to get a good education!”
So now comes our challenge. What is the definition of a GOOD education? Is it academically rigorous? Does it employ certain methodologies? And what is the goal? Some answers to these questions will be topics at our convocation this Thursday evening that will guide us toward a common goal in educating our children. But what I wanted to mention here is really a perspective that I ended last year with... that of having a long term vision for your task of educating your children.
Let me tell you an analogy that might help. If you enrolled your child in a good track and field program, they would go to practice with the goal of increasing their skill and performance in a specific area. They would do that particular task again and again. They would develop the muscles needed for that particular skill. They would assess with the coach what they are doing that is not helpful and how to improve. There would be small tests of skill along the way against teammates preparing them for their first meet. The big goal in mind would be to make it to some district or regional event if possible.
In schooling, it is the same. You are preparing them for life. You are giving them an education that is second to none that will prepare them to understand the world from God’s perspective. They will practice their concepts again and again with the goal of having them understand “why” the particular subject works the way it does. Along the way there will be little “tests” preparing them for the bigger goal of being ready to live as an educated person in this world and make a contribution to the society in which they live. As they buy into these goals, they will be useful in whatever setting they find themselves.
It is the Hebrews 12:1-3 perspective that has students learning to look at another inspiring runner (Jesus) who has done the race already and was successful. He will be their ultimate inspiration!
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