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The part I love the most is that his father let him find his own answers instead of telling him the answer. I am on the board of a small science education non-p

The part I love the most is that his father let him find his own answers instead of telling him the answer. I am on the board of a small science education non-profit. We do hands on science with kids under age 12. The hardest part about hiring teachers is that most teachers love sharing what they know - and thus give kids the answers. We want kids to explore for thier own answers. We have better luck hiring story tellers and teaching them enough science to deliver the lesson.

onurcel 11y ago
I've always wondered if he did this on purpose. I asked him recently but he doesn't remember, so there's a good chance that he just wanted to hack his stuff on his own :-) But as I mentioned he is a teacher, so let's say he did this unconsciously.
- irascible 11y ago
  Just wanted to say, this was a beautiful story and was very moving. Thanks for posting it. :)
- cyphar 11y ago
  My parents were both teachers and did the same thing. From my perspective, I think that asking a child (or student) why they think something, or "what do you think X should do?". This is the main reason I despise Australia's education system, it doesn't cater to students that actually want to learn.
  - cgio 11y ago
    My bad experience with Australia's education system was when my 5yo son got chastised for looking at the clouds...No matter the context, i.e. he was the last one back in class, I can't fathom a worse educational approach. He was asking me whether he was allowed to look at clouds for months afterwards.
    - cyphar 11y ago
      That's horrible. I would take it up with the teacher and tell them that's not acceptable. Another thing that irks me about the Australian education system is how it's designed to create pacifists who aren't motivated to protect themselves. If another child in the playground hits you, you're meant to do nothing. That's not how to create a generation of people who can stand up for themselves. My parents were very pissed off when they found out that's what I'd been taught at school. Sure, it makes life easier for teachers, but that's not the point of education. But it's probably a cultural thing, since my parents came from a country that was at war and that experience taught them how to protect themselves.
drzaiusapelord 11y ago
I suspect this is why the kinds of people who get good with technology tend to be somewhat asocial. As a kid, I never, ever asked for help. I'm not exactly sure why, but I do know anxiety and lack of confidence talking to adults played a part in it. Another part was I just assumed I should be able to do these things, afterall wasn't everyone just doing things on their own? So I just soldiered away over and over until I got something that worked. I remember building an RC car from a kit (Team Associated's RC10) when I was in 6th or 7th grade and not being able to finish one part. It took me a long time to ask my dad to take me to the hobby shop to get it fixed. It almost felt like a defeat. Now that I'm older, I have no real sense of this. I'll just ask for help and see tough projects as naturally being team projects. I am glad I had these experiences as I tend to be more technically competent than my more social peers who learned these life lessons earlier. On the flipside, I work with a guy in his 40s with this attitude. He has a "dont read documentation, don't ask for help, cant take direction" attitude and he's constantly struggling and he's a nightmare to work with. I guess some people don't outgrow this.
- VLM 11y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agency_%28philosophy%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agency_%28philosophy%29 "the capacity of an entity ... to act in any given environment" Some cultures and personalities encourage it, some strongly discourage it. The educational system and large corporate employers generally strongly discourage it.
colechristensen 11y ago
The key is letting learners find things out on their own but making sure the right information is within reach and not spoon-fed.
moheeb 11y ago
This reminds me of being forced to do math by hand in school, instead of using a calculator. Mostly this just left me with contempt for the teachers.
frandroid 11y ago
When I took Calc I in school, I was hanging out with another student from Hungary who had done the course already in the old country but somehow needed the credit here (in Canada), so he decided to read the "additional reading" that the professor recommended. He discovered that one of the books suggested to instructors to make errors on purpose when demonstrating a calculation on the blackboard. The idea is that once you reach the part where the equation doesn't resolve, you have to go line by line and examine everything carefully to see where the error is, and that's how as a student you better remember the calculus strategy used. The professor who I thought was a distracted older lady was actually a wily teacher :)
- cyphar 11y ago
  Well now I feel bad for thinking my high school physics teacher was underqualified. :/
- jessaustin 11y ago
  It's my impression that Calculus is one of the courses most commonly taught using this method. I'm not sure that's always on purpose, however...

onurcel 11y ago

I've always wondered if he did this on purpose. I asked him recently but he doesn't remember, so there's a good chance that he just wanted to hack his stuff on his own :-) But as I mentioned he is a teacher, so let's say he did this unconsciously.

irascible 11y ago
Just wanted to say, this was a beautiful story and was very moving. Thanks for posting it. :)
cyphar 11y ago
My parents were both teachers and did the same thing. From my perspective, I think that asking a child (or student) why they think something, or "what do you think X should do?". This is the main reason I despise Australia's education system, it doesn't cater to students that actually want to learn.
- cgio 11y ago
  My bad experience with Australia's education system was when my 5yo son got chastised for looking at the clouds...No matter the context, i.e. he was the last one back in class, I can't fathom a worse educational approach. He was asking me whether he was allowed to look at clouds for months afterwards.
  - cyphar 11y ago
    That's horrible. I would take it up with the teacher and tell them that's not acceptable. Another thing that irks me about the Australian education system is how it's designed to create pacifists who aren't motivated to protect themselves. If another child in the playground hits you, you're meant to do nothing. That's not how to create a generation of people who can stand up for themselves. My parents were very pissed off when they found out that's what I'd been taught at school. Sure, it makes life easier for teachers, but that's not the point of education. But it's probably a cultural thing, since my parents came from a country that was at war and that experience taught them how to protect themselves.

drzaiusapelord 11y ago

I suspect this is why the kinds of people who get good with technology tend to be somewhat asocial. As a kid, I never, ever asked for help. I'm not exactly sure why, but I do know anxiety and lack of confidence talking to adults played a part in it. Another part was I just assumed I should be able to do these things, afterall wasn't everyone just doing things on their own? So I just soldiered away over and over until I got something that worked. I remember building an RC car from a kit (Team Associated's RC10) when I was in 6th or 7th grade and not being able to finish one part. It took me a long time to ask my dad to take me to the hobby shop to get it fixed. It almost felt like a defeat. Now that I'm older, I have no real sense of this. I'll just ask for help and see tough projects as naturally being team projects. I am glad I had these experiences as I tend to be more technically competent than my more social peers who learned these life lessons earlier. On the flipside, I work with a guy in his 40s with this attitude. He has a "dont read documentation, don't ask for help, cant take direction" attitude and he's constantly struggling and he's a nightmare to work with. I guess some people don't outgrow this.

VLM 11y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agency_%28philosophy%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agency_%28philosophy%29 "the capacity of an entity ... to act in any given environment" Some cultures and personalities encourage it, some strongly discourage it. The educational system and large corporate employers generally strongly discourage it.

colechristensen 11y ago

The key is letting learners find things out on their own but making sure the right information is within reach and not spoon-fed.

moheeb 11y ago

This reminds me of being forced to do math by hand in school, instead of using a calculator. Mostly this just left me with contempt for the teachers.

frandroid 11y ago

When I took Calc I in school, I was hanging out with another student from Hungary who had done the course already in the old country but somehow needed the credit here (in Canada), so he decided to read the "additional reading" that the professor recommended. He discovered that one of the books suggested to instructors to make errors on purpose when demonstrating a calculation on the blackboard. The idea is that once you reach the part where the equation doesn't resolve, you have to go line by line and examine everything carefully to see where the error is, and that's how as a student you better remember the calculus strategy used. The professor who I thought was a distracted older lady was actually a wily teacher :)

cyphar 11y ago
Well now I feel bad for thinking my high school physics teacher was underqualified. :/
jessaustin 11y ago
It's my impression that Calculus is one of the courses most commonly taught using this method. I'm not sure that's always on purpose, however...