Archive for the ‘Guest Writer’ Category
23 October 2012
Homeschool Roadblocks – Four Traps to Avoid
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Guest Writer.
Common traps to homeschooling can tear down even the best intentions when you set out to begin homeschooling. No matter whether you are a beginner or a veteran, it is always a good idea to review your homeschool program to ensure that you are avoiding some of the most common pitfalls that can be detrimental to both your student and your homeschool program.
HOMESCHOOL FAMILIES LOVE WHAT THEY DO. They love the freedoms that are afforded to them. They love the fact that they can suit their homeschool program to fit their values and objectives, and they love the flexibility to do so on their schedule. However, there are some common traps that homeschool families need to be on the lookout for in order to ensure that they meet their goals with integrity, value, and purpose and that their students have an easy access to post-high school options. Several of these common traps can easily be avoided with a little attention to scheduling and accountability.
1. Often, homeschool families try too hard to make themselves look like the local public school. They tend to run themselves from activity to activity and co-op class to co-op class in an attempt to fit the model that other schools have. Another similar symptom of this is in thinking that every subject must be taught from a text book with worksheets and posters to create. The trap of trying to look like a public school at home prevents many homeschoolers from utilizing fantastic resources and options that are available to them in on-line courses, block schedules, and modified daily routines. In the long run, trying to look like the local public school will dilute the freedoms that homeschoolers have just by virtue of choosing to homeschool.
2. One of the biggest mistakes that homeschoolers make is to spend too much time on non-core subject activities with the hopes that their students will be noticed by competitive college recruiters for such teams and organizations as Debate, Football, Drama, or Choir and Band. When this happens, homeschool students are left with core academic deficiencies. Students become compromised in their academic foundations and find themselves unprepared for college work. Be sure that these activities are not the foundation of your homeschool program. Academics must take priority!
3. Not taking standardized tests seriously is another mistake that homeschool families make in their homeschool programs. While some colleges will accept simple portfolios as proof of the work that a student does while in a homeschool setting, nothing speaks louder to the college admissions officers than a high score on an SAT or ACT test. Taking the time to prepare for these tests appropriately, and earning high scores while enjoying the flexibilities of homeschooling, will open many more doors to a homeschool student than not doing so.
4. And finally, homeschool families often fall into the trap of thinking that they do not need to be accountable to anyone when they plan and implement their homeschool program. While each family should have the freedom to design their program to fit their unique goals and objectives, assuming that they are meeting the state standards, it is still always a good idea to have an accountability partner for your students. This can take several forms, some of which might be an outside adult who works with your student in a particular subject area and provides an objective assessment of their skills, or a homeschool coach who you check in with on a regular basis. Get feedback from others on how your homeschool program is doing and on any areas that need strengthening for your student’s sake.
As a homeschool parent, it is easy to get lost in the freedoms that you have in doing school in this way. However, with freedom comes responsibility. Responsibility to your program, your children, and to the community around you in which homeschooling is still scrutinized. It is important to be a homeschool family with purpose, accountability, and planning. These core values will allow you to equip students with solid academic skills, and therefore train future leaders. No one intends to “water down” the academic foundation when they begin to homeschool, and statistics will show that most do not, but on occasion, it is good to review your homeschool program to ensure that you are not falling into any of these traps.
A successful homeschooling program is not just about the options for college that your student will have, but avoiding the pitfalls that drag your student’s prospects down. You can give your student many more choices when it comes time to leave for college if you provide a thriving environment for your homeschool. With improved choices come increased opportunities for their future, something that should be a part of a successful homeschool program.
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If you need more information on our products, services, conferences, or coaching options, visit the National Homeschool Academy website, http://www.nationalhomeschoolacademy.com or, to find out more about Camille Rodriquez, visit her website, Joy Abides, http://www.joyabides.com
Article Source: Homeschool Roadblocks – Four Traps to Avoid
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11 October 2012
Recognising Signs of Autism in Children
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Guest Writer; Special Needs.
A number of people have expressed interest in autism and what they can do about children who are diagnosed with the disorder. Here’s a guest post by Sarah Lim – the first of a series – that should point the way forward.
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A Different Kind of Learning
By Sarah Lim, EAP Malaysia.
WE HAVE HEARD THE SAYING, “CHILDREN ARE LIKE SPONGES.” They naturally soak up information from everything that happens around them. This makes learning very easy for the typical child. However, children who have autism learn differently. They are often caught up with a specific interest, which may cause them to look as if they are disengaged with their surroundings. This makes it necessary for them to have one-to-one care and lessons so that they are taught the same skills which typical children pick up naturally. Teaching children with autism requires specific strategies and the use of repetition in order to relate a lesson or a skill to the child.
What is Autism?
Autism is a Neurological disorder featuring delayed or abnormal development in three areas. These symptoms usually appear before the age of three:
• Language Development. The child does not understand or say many words, repeats things or uses the third person.
• Social Skills. The child is not interested in peers, shows no imitative play, has poor eye contact, doesn’t respond when spoken to, and doesn’t show or point to things.
• Behavioral Repertoire. The child repetitively plays with objects in a specific way, insists that things be done the same way, or engages in self-stimulatory actions such as hand flapping, staring at hands or fingers or smelling things.
Also, it is important to note that autism is a spectrum disorder. This means that no two children with autism are the same. They can express a variety of behavioural habits and each child has a unique way of learning.
Recognizing Autism
Sometimes parents may suspect that something is different about their child by the age of two. There are two ways of recognizing early stages of autism. An early onset is when your child does not develop speech, is difficult to engage, and engages in odd mannerisms. However sometimes autistic tendencies may only surface when you notice a regression in your child’s learning patterns. This is when the child develops speech and other age appropriate skills, but then loses these skills later on.
Some ways of recognizing autism at an early stage are when children display the following:
•No babbling or cooing by 12 months
•No gestures (finger point, wave, grasp) by 12 months
•No single words by 16 months
•No two-word phrases by 24 months.
•Any loss of language skill at any age
Other red flags may include when your child does not point to show interest in something nor shows interest in other children. Also when you notice that your child does not respond when you call his/her name and has poor interaction skills such as not bringing objects to adults, or not looking at objects when adult points to them, and when he/she does not imitate adult’s movements.
What next?
Being aware about the issue of autism, understanding what it really is, and knowing how to recognize its symptoms is the first crucial step in tackling the issue. The next step is to seek appropriate help and this could occur in the order of first getting a diagnosis to find out if the child has autism, and then only finding suitable therapy methods and therapists who can guide your child towards improvement in the child’s area of need.
In the following articles, we will discuss what steps parents can take in order to provide help for their children and the expectations that come with raising a child with autism. Meanwhile, if you have any questions, please contact us.
Early Autism Project Malaysia
Tel: 03-2094 0421
Email: info@autismmalaysia.com
Website: www.autismmalaysia.com
Blog: www.eapmalaysia.blogspot.com
5 June 2012
Sports Day fun for homeschooled kids
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Extra-curricular Activities; Guest Writer.
Guest Writer: Amy Delph
edisonmom.blogspot.com
THE HOMESCHOOL SPORTS DAY STARTED WITH A PUSH from Chong See Ming and Chan YeeSend in the Facebook page for the Malaysian Homeschooling Network. YeeSend does a lot of events and parties for children so she had almost all the equipment and ideas we would need for games. See Ming coordinated the volunteers and before you know it, we were off and running, so to speak! The date for the event was set for 28th May.
To add to the fun, stalls to sell things were added and we had a great response. I think we had at least 10 stalls selling various things from crafts to freshly squeezed juice, ice lollies, brownies, sandwiches, noodles, etc. This was a great opportunity to give children the chance to practice their entrepreneurship skills. My daughter, Katelynn, has vowed to set up a stall for cinnamon rolls the next round. She and I also noted what makes a stand successful based on our observations and experience, so even though we didn’t sell anything we learned a lot for our debut next time!
The field in section 5 P.J. was perfect with enough shade, and a nice large flat field. The activities this time around catered to younger kids – primary age and mostly 10 and below. Each age group (except 2 & 3 year olds) had a relay (team event) and an event where everyone of that age competed against each other separately. The team work of setting up, judging and organizing the children to compete worked beautifully. The Facebook page created for the event helped tremendously. We had all sorts of races from egg and spoon to obstacle course. Just check out the pictures!
There was also an event for parents and their children to compete together in a three-legged race and the tug of war. After that we broke for lunch. No need to bring a lunch because there was plenty to choose from at the various stalls.
After lunch we had the medals ceremony and then everyone hung out, socialized and played for awhile before we all pitched in to clean up.
I think what this shows is that homeschoolers are starting to come together to organize much bigger events and social media is really helping to make it possible and easier! I also like the fact that it opens greater possibilities to meet more homeschoolers and introduce an element of healthy and friendly competition which is an important part of learning that many times is absent. I hear there is now a homeschool science fair on the cards for 17th June. Katelynn and I are looking forward to participating.
To view more photos, please visit Amy J. Delph’s Facebook photo album titled, Homeschool Sports Day May 28
About the author:
Amy Delph who resides in Malaysia is mother to two homeschooled kids. She is also the founder and director of EDISON Enterprises, a company that specializes in critical and creative thinking for children, youths and adults.
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18 May 2012
Ideas to Help the Bright ADHD Child Succeed Socially
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Guest Writer; LD.
GUEST WRITER: Dr. Steven Richfield
soprislearning.wordpress.com
Bright children with ADHD may succeed in the academic world but have trouble socially. Knowing the right answers, even when attention drifts in and out of focus, is not as challenging as figuring out how to appropriately direct their behavior in the presence of others.
As ADHD compels children to seek social stimulation—be it from peers, siblings, or adults—they may appear needy and annoying, and embarrass themselves and family members in the process. Doors of social opportunity close, and friendships erode; emotional pain and social exclusion result. Parents and teachers watch helplessly as the book-smart ADHD child unwittingly sabotages his or her social standing.
If this circumstance resonates with the dramas and dilemmas facing a child you know, read on for coaching tips.
Build a dialogue that blends sensitivity to their circumstances and confidence that they can improve their people skills. Observe how aware these children are of the disapproving signals sent from others when their social approach oversteps boundaries. List the ways they may overstep: talking too much, voice volume too loud, interrupting conversations, imposing self-serving topics, ignoring obvious cues to show interest in and listen to others, physical restlessness and verbal impatience with delays, etc. Reassure them that these social errors can be corrected, just as they can correct problems on assignments and tests in school.
Most ADHD children know their diagnosis but do not comprehend the social struggles related to their condition. Educating a child about this issue does not offer an excuse to escape from responsibility. In contrast, it reinforces the vital importance of learning social intelligence to ensure that ADHD does not inhibit their climb to happiness and success in life. Explain how the task of managing feeling states (frustration, eagerness, happiness, impatience, boredom, excitement, etc.) affects all kids and teens, but that ADHD makes it harder due to the trouble with impulse control. Liken impulsivity to fuel that pushes feelings into verbal and physical behaviors.
Emphasize that the first step to being more “socially smart” is building a pause button in their thinking when they feel the early signs of impulsivity starting to push them into behaviors. Help them identify these physical precursors to impulse discharge, such as finger tapping, hand drumming, fidgetiness, bodily warmth, chest heaviness, queasiness, or some other warning sign. Gently tell them what you have noticed about their impulsivity issues and offer observations from other teachers, coaches, instructors, or caretakers.
Develop a simple and practical plan for them to have at their disposal when social events threaten to trigger the costs of impulsivity. Delineate the various social groupings they come across, such as peer group, peer one-on-one, adult one-on-one, adult with peer group, family, extended family, etc. List the behaviors that others expect from them based on the implicit rules of these groupings (i.e., greater or lesser talking, elaborate answers, listening with interest, relevant questioning, etc.). Review their success after encounters and brainstorm ways to further improve.
Published with permission
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Steven Richfield is a child psychologist in Plymouth Meeting, PA. He has developed a child-friendly self-control/social skills building program called Parent Coaching Cards. It is available at www.parentcoachcards.com His new book, The Parent Coach: A New Approach To Parenting In Today’s Society is available through Sopris. It offers strategies to educators looking for practical, hands-on tools to help all children self-monitor and self-manage their behavior. Sopris offers a range of educational materials for children’s reading curriculum & writing curriculum.
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9 May 2012
Teaching kids how to make informed choices
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Guest Writer; Parenting; Socialization.
GUEST WRITER: Martha NLand
poundthegarlic.blogspot.com
RECENTLY IT DAWNED UPON ME that perhaps I should add a new aspect to my children’s education, which is the aspect of Emotional Intelligence. As parents we often have to deal with matters such as sibling squabbles, peer influences (bad and good ones), stuff that happens outside of home with friends/teachers/others, bad/good choices that were made by our children, often times when we were not able to be there to help them think/decide.
So while browsing through the library, I came across this book, “Teaching Emotional Intelligence: Making Informed Choices” by Adina Bloom Lewkowicz. I think it’s a pretty good book, that’s divided into 3 sections: Feeling Positive, Thinking Wisely and Acting Sensibly. Topics covered include Self Awareness, Managing Emotions, Choice Making, Self Acceptance, Perfectionism, Friendship, Strengthening Family, Peer Pressure, Put downs, Manipulation, Listening, Assertiveness, Cheating, Abuse and so on.
What I like about this book is that lessons provided are broken down into various activities such as discussion, stories, brainstorming, drama, role play and observation.
So today, we started with Chapter One, about making choices.
Then following an activity suggestion from the book, Nel and Jo took turns walking around the room while the other observed. After the walk, we discussed the choices made while walking around the room. Did they make deliberate choices, or simply walked automatically and then sat down?
After a discussion about how we can think about our choices, the girls walked a second time. The second time, both girls walked with consciously made choices about speed, posture, direction to take when walking, what to do with objects in the way etc. This was quite humorous as they made quite a drama out of it!!
Our discussion went like this:
ME: Suppose a friend visits and says “Let’s play together, but let’s lock your sister out of the room and not include her.” What would you do? Let’s talk first about how you would feel.
MY CHILDREN:
A) I’d feel that I really didn’t want to play with my sister. I might dislike her then if she’s been irritating.
B) I’d feel like I needed time alone with my friend, without my sister.
C) I’d want to play with my sister too.
D) I’d like to play with my sister and friend, but don’t know which to choose. Maybe play with my sister later.
ME: Ok, those are true feelings that we feel, and it’s ok to feel that way. Now let’s discuss how we could think these feelings through.
MY CHILDREN:
A) I’d think about playing with my friend first and my sister later.
B) I could think to include my sister even if I don’t feel like it.
C) I like my friend’s idea of leaving my sister out, but I shouldn’t hurt my sister.
D) Find a solution like find my sister another friend so she’ll be happy, then I can go play with mine.
ME: Ok, now that you’ve thought about it, here comes the important part. How would you act?
MY CHILDREN:
A) Invite another friend over, wait, then let my sister play with her friend, then go play with mine.
B) Sit my friend and sister down, and read them both a story and play together.
C) Encourage my friend to play with my sister.
D) Talk to my sister and explain that I need 10 minutes with my friend first, and promise to play with my sister later.
ME: Ok, good. So we’ve learnt that despite how we feel about a decision, we should first think deliberately before making a decision. Then act on the thought-out decision. We should always make deliberate choices instead of just acting on our feelings. About the above, if we didn’t think, we could have slammed the door on our sister and hurt her badly in reality.
Then a discussion ensued between Jo and Nel about how they’d been hurt by this situation before and we liked solution D.
I think this lesson was so needed and effective (at least for today it was.) I’m sure they will need many more reminders before they consciously put this into practice, but it is a start. 🙂
In fact, I realise I need to put this into practice too!
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About the author:
Martha is homeschooling mom to two lovely daughters. She is also a volunteer at Start Society, an academy that employs the arts to serve underprivileged children in the community. Martha also blogs at flourpaint.blogspot.com
16 April 2012
Aesop’s Fables, Molecules and Physics
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Curriculum; Guest Writer; Preschool.
Guest Writer: Amy Delph
edisonmom.blogspot.com
Education is not about compartmentalising curricula and subjects as if they were independent of each other. The good thing about homeschooling is the freedom to break down the walls of compartmentalization and integrate learning across curricula. Amy Delph shares how a simple reading and comprehension session with her preschoolers became a lesson about physics and chemistry.
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TODAY I THOUGHT WE DO SOME WORK on comprehension and critical discussion of a reading passage with Katelynn. I chose an Aesop fable, “The Crow and the Pitcher”, from Teaching with Aesop’s Fables. It started out innocently enough. I had Katelynn read the fable by herself, but what happened next blew me away.
In the fable the crow is unable to get a drink on a hot day from a pitcher, so he adds stones one by one until the water level rises enough for him drink. We started out talking about the moral, but the discussion quickly moved on to how the crow could get the water to rise.
Read on »
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13 January 2011
Don’ts in Teaching
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Guest Writer.
Guest Blogger: Steven David Horwich
www.connectthethoughts.net
Homeschooling is a profound challenge for a parent. Sure, it’s a challenge for the student, too. But the parent has to suddenly become an expert teacher. And since it’s your children that you’re teaching, you want to be a great teacher!
Here are some don’ts to consider as you start (continue) your teaching adventure:
- Don’t restrict the student to the “three R’s”.
Listen, and when the student expresses an interest in a subject (other than video games), do what you can to expose them to subjects they’re reaching for. You may go through several of these and find your student rejecting them before hitting on one or two they love. Expect to waste some money and time. But those interests which they embrace will help shape the rest of the student’s life, provide them joy and possible security. This is a real advantage homeschool families have that schools generally cannot provide; flexibility in subject matter which can be tailored to the student’s interests. Interested students work harder at their studies than uninterested students.
- Don’t micromanage any more than is necessary.
The more responsibility the student takes, the more they’ll learn. We expect a lot from our children, but we rarely grant them authority equal to the level of responsibility. You probably don’t like it much when you’re told to do a thing but not given the freedom to do it your way. Your student doesn’t like it, either. A gradual, careful surrendering to a student of authority over their education empowers and prepares them for life. We call people who are entirely responsible for themselves “adults”. (At least, that’s the idea.) That should be where your student is headed.
- Don’t edit or “critique” your student’s creative efforts.
Creativity is a deeply personal thing. A creative work is nothing less than a part of the person who created it, shared with the world. Accordingly, few qualities are as fragile as creativity. A disapproving look at the wrong time can slow creativity down. Correcting spelling in a creative writing exercise, when creative expression and not spelling was the point, can blunt the student’s interest. And “helping” with ideas, plots, melodies, whatever, only tells the student that their own ideas aren’t enough, or good enough. Left alone with plenty of opportunity to experiment, almost anyone could become an artist of some sort. In the arts, study and experience (exposure and practice) generate expertise far more than critique ever did. Willing artists create far more than those who are brow-beaten and who have been “trained” to doubt their own insights and skills.
The Dos? Do listen, answer questions, provide resources and opportunities, and admire your students and their creations.
These don’ts and dos can go a long way toward making you an excellent teacher, to your student’s lifelong advantage.
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ABOUT THE WRITER: Steven David Horwich has been both a professional writer and a professional educator his entire adult life. He started authoring a curricula that would become Connect The Thoughts when he withdrew his children from private school in September, 2002. Incidentally, Steven’s daughter, Katherine, came up with the name Connect The Thoughts, and his son, William, was the first to complete the entire Upper School program. He worked exclusively authoring CTT from 2002 to 2010.
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18 June 2010
A global adventure
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Guest Writer.
[Here’s a great idea for geography lessons: Homeschooling mom Heather who blogs at Cultivated Lives takes her boys on a fun adventure around the world. It’s so cool you might just be inspired to take your own kids on a similar trip.]
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Going Global
We plan on traveling all over the world this summer…
…without ever leaving home.
That’s right, this summer we embark on a journey around the world and discover where we fit into it!
Xander already has my love of maps. Sometimes I wonder if it can be genetic. Afterall, I am the daughter of a cartographer dad and a geography-degreed mom!
This last year we’ve had fun running to our wall map of the world to find locations that come up in our reading. After reading a book about the earth, the boys set to work creating their own maps!
I was actually pretty amazed at the features and locations that Xander included on his map. He totally pegged where we live in his rendition of North America and was able to pinpoint where Ittiel lives (the Peruvian boy we sponsor through Compassion.)
Keegan drew a fanciful map of his ‘world’ which included mostly local places (our house, the store, the cookie store, Oma/Opa’s house, Aunt B’s, etc…)
[You can see more photos and read the rest of the kids’ global adventure at Cultivated Lives].
Thanks Heather, for letting me put your post here!
23 December 2009
Throw Out Your Perfect Standards
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Guest Writer; Social awareness.
This is an excerpt from a speech given by Amy J. Delph at the 2008 EDISON Youth Achievement Awards Ceremony. Public service is a component of the award and here Amy is speaking about the need to do longer term public service projects and the benefits such projects have. Amy is the director of EDISON Enterprises, a company that specializes in programs that promote critical and creative thinking. Several homeschoolers have had stints with EDISON as well. You can find out more about these programs by calling her at 012-658-7587 or visiting the website.
A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO I READ a disturbing report about events in Haiti. The report began with this line, “It was lunchtime in one of Haiti’s worst slums, and Charlene Dumas was eating mud. Charlene, 16 with a month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country’s central plateau. ”
I read further to discover that the price of food had gone up by 40%, not just in Haiti, but in many Caribbean island nations. People like Charlene make up 80% of the population of Haiti and they get by on less than $2 U.S. dollars a day. Two cups of rice (back then in January) cost .60 cents. When they cannot afford the food the poor turn to eating dirt cookies.
Food shortages and hunger are just one issue. We’ve all seen how high oil prices can reduce opportunities for education, health care and other needs for people. We also have natural disasters like cyclone Nargis and the earthquake in China. While we will always have natural disasters, poverty, environmental pollution, and other problems, the severity and frequency with which we are seeing these events take place sends a strong signal that we can no longer sit on the side lines and let others take care of the problems.
We don’t even have to go across the ocean to see the urgent calls for public service. We find them right here in our back yard. And by that I mean the extraordinary change in the political landscape of Malaysia. The results of the March 8th elections have shaken things up considerably and open opportunities for more voices to be heard and more avenues to take action. Furthermore, I believe the results have underscored an important principle of democracy and that is citizen involvement. That doesn’t mean only in political ways. Involvement in democracy includes concern for the sustainable well being of fellow human beings as well as of the environment in which we live. It includes awareness of and concern for human rights and a willingness to consider the views of others.
I believe we are in a unique time period. If we fail to promote a culture of civic involvement among both adults and our youth, then the new democratic space will close. Either the old powers will reassert themselves or new powers will gain control. We must remember that democracy requires us to be active stakeholders. We must not lose sight of the original roots of the Greek notion of government and democracy, which is citizens working together to determine the character and direction of their society. Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher wrote, “All persons alike should share in the government to the upmost.
And so I have identified 3 important reasons why we should focus on voluntary public service:
The first deals with effectiveness of longer community service projects. The other two touch on the urgent signs that tell us that we dare not neglect community involvement.
But that is probably not enough to motivate you. Many of us are already aware of these issues, but we still resist active involvement. I think American writer and political activist Paul Loeb summed this resistance perfectly when called it the “perfect standard.” The perfect standard includes: The perfect time, the perfect cause and the perfect activist.
The Perfect Time
With the “perfect time” people believe they shouldn’t begin working for social change until the time is ideal. When the children are grown, when it’s not an exam year, after I finish my studies, etc. But we must realize that there probably is never going to be a time in our lives when we are not facing some kind demand or pressure. Paul Loeb says, “Instead each of us faces a lifelong series of imperfect moments in which we must decide what to stand for.” While we wait for the ideal time to arrive, weeks, months and years pass by. Our whole lives can go by before we fine the “perfect” time to get involved.
The Perfect Cause
With this one we want something that is easy to do and we will see results quickly and there is a perfect plan of action. In other words there is no uncertainty and the cause is already a winner. It has to be in the right location and must fit our schedules perfectly. As we wait for the perfect cause we squander repeated opportunities to involve ourselves in the larger community for causes whose reasons may be imperfect and whose outcome is far from certain – in other words, causes that are real.
The Perfect Activist
For this barrier, people of all ages feel they have to have all the knowledge and all the abilities required before they can get involved. They feel they have to have absolute understanding of the situation before wading in. That may be true of the fireman who walks into the burning building, but it is not the case for lending a helping hand in your community.
We don’t need absolute knowledge to get involved; we only need to have a sincere desire to make a difference. That desire is the starting point that puts us on the road to learn. We learn as we go, we learn from mistakes, we learn from our experiences and we learn from trial and error.
Take Tara Suri. When she was 12, she accompanied her parents on a visit to their homeland of India. While she was there, she was touched by the extreme poverty she witnessed all around her. When she returned back to the States, she decided to do something about it. Tara decided to raise money for orphanages in India and the Sudan. Did she know a lot about these orphanages or special techniques for raising funds? Did she have a lot of contacts that she could mobilize to raise millions of dollars? No. Tara started with what skills and knowledge she had. Her first effort was a bake sales and recycling used soda cans. Then she got her friends involved and started a club called HOPE. Step by step she and her friends worked on this problem. She has since joined forces with another NGO to form a website called Turn your World Around were she offers encouragement and practical help to young people who want to get active in making a change in their world.
The problem with our notion of the perfect activist is that we don’t think of people like Tara Suri. We look at people like Martin Luther King Jr. at the height of his influence and we think we need to be like that. But we have to remember that even Martin Luther King didn’t know everything about civil rights leadership before he started and he made mistakes and had failures too.
We do not make things worse by getting involved; getting involved helps things get better. In fact “knowing nothing” makes us easier to be around and easier to work with. We have no ego to get in the way! We should be like Tara Suri and take action despite our fears and less-than-perfect preparation.
How do we characterize a socially active person? Another wonderful quote from Paul Loeb says, “We are people of imperfect character, acting on the basis of imperfect knowledge, for causes that may be imperfect as well.” It seems to me that Mr. Loeb’s standard is one we can all live up to.
So we come back again to the question of, “What’s next?” Although as the leader of Edison Youth Achievement Award, I have answered that question, it reminds me of a saying about leadership. “If you think you’re a leading and you look back and no one is following, then you’re just taking a walk.”
The question has to be answered by each of you. If we are able to lay down our perfect standard, we can become an advisor for EYAA, opening an opportunity for five more youths to have the chance to grow in ways they never expect, just like you heard in today’s speeches. If we lay down our perfect standards, people like Charlene Duma don’t have to go hungry. And if we lay down our perfect standards we can shape this nation’s future rather than leaving it to rot in cynicism and indifference. How will you answer this question today?
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24 June 2009
What were we thinking?
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Guest Writer.
GUEST WRITER: Bill Smith
The other day I was rifling through some old computer disks in search of one I could copy some files to. To my amazement, some of the disks still worked. More amazing was one Microsoft Word version 5 file I found from 1993, our first full year of “official” homeschooling. The file was named simply “WHY.doc.”
I opened this little mystery nugget to find the brave declaration by parents of a six-year-old, parents who dared against cultural tide and conventional reason to homeschool. We lived at the time in a different country, far from support groups and curriculum fairs and far from American homeschool pioneers who could assure us we weren’t crazy.
Here, we took our stand, though the neighbors thought us alien in more than nationality. Here we did what no one trying to fit into a foreign culture should do—homeschool. There were so many doubts and so many sleep-delayed nights pondering what could be wrong with us that we would risk ostracism and damage to our six-year-old and her little sister. Each morning, mothers waved their children down our little street of tightly-packed houses toward the government school. Only our school-age child remained at home. What was wrong with us? What were we thinking?
And yet, the desire to educate our children at home would not hold back. Inside, we knew we were committed. Outside, we doubted and even grieved for the relationships strained by our decision. It was then that we realized we could not maintain this stand against the “natural order” of modern society unless we agreed on a “declaration.” Like Luther at Wittenberg, the colonial signers at Philadelphia, and lesser-knowns whose words have been lost, my wife and I made a list titled “Why We Desire Home Education.” I can tell you now that there were at least five and a half reasons. (Either that was enough or later editions of Word don’t read well the old version 5 files.)
In 1993, we nailed that list to the door of our minds to fend off doubts and doubters. We placed our John Hancocks under the fifth-and-a-half point to remind ourselves that even if no one else agreed with us, at least we agreed with each other. We also agreed that this was God’s direction for our home.
We have entertained few doubts since 1993. Making that list and agreeing on our course together set a foundation that we could point back to and remind ourselves that, even if what we do sometimes seems wrong, we do it in full agreement. Even if we and our children endure difficulty because of it, we know that we began this homeschooling voyage in faith that it is right for our family.
The decision to homeschool is still not easy for many. To sustain that decision through internal doubts and external opposition, making a list, agreeing together and posting it on the mind’s door is a great beginning toward staying the course.
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ABOUT THE WRITER: Bill Smith is father to two home educated girls and husband to one extraordinary homeschool mom. Bill and Derri Smith authored The Character Series for home education, and they provide values-based book reviews at BookAngles. Their current work is to prevent human trafficking. The above article first appeared at HomeschoolEnrichment.com