Please use me and my son Eddie as resources. I'm a 25-year retired computer guy who served on private school boards, taught and attended an Ed School before moving to Ukraine and starting a second family. Not nearly as illustrious a pedigree as you, but I do speak several languages and read very broadly - 559 Amazon reviews.
Nobody, NOBODY wants to hire an octogenarian for anything. Leaves my time fairly free. Neither are they interested in observations on society and education as it was in the 40s and 50s.
My chief interest at the moment is how humanity will work its way out of its fertility cul-de-sac. See my blog and my Rumble movie on The Evolution of What Women Want, also review of Edward Dutton, most recently The Past is a Distant Country.
A guy with your talent must certainly have some detachable tasks to give away. Parameters would be for me no tight deadlines, for you minimal need for oversight. Email is on my Substack posts.
People like you will hopefully form a nucleus of peer to peer, each one teach one, completely decentralized local community
, all ages new kind of education. Education as part of life - real and honest. No administrative personnel needed. No paid participants. No energy draining meetings. No prison like government schools.
I worked with your 31 pages last night. Showed the problem to my home schooled 11-year-old son Eddie this morning. When we got up to six, he said "Dad, it's Fibonacci." He doesn't understand it, but he remembered it.
We tackle one topic at a time. Recently went through human evolution. This morning inventions in the period from agriculture up to metals and the contemporaneous spread of genes and languages throughout Europe. Looked at illustrations from Spencer Wells, Luigi Cavalli-Sforza, Phillip Lieberman and (gasp) Philippe Rushton.
Gratefully accept your dropbox offer. Whatever talent Eddie has, you make an overwhelming argument that ordinary education would not make optimal use of it.
What I am doing is not whatsoever scalable. May not even be reproducible - I'll be a nonagenarian when his youngest sibling reaches this stage. But I see no alternatives. Since Plato and Aristotle education has been a personal thing, between apt pupils and inspired teachers. Don't see any way to shortcut the process. We use the Internet, but can't see it becoming a primary vehicle, especially for younger pupils.
You and Feynmann make it look easy. My most recent effort, teaching English to Ukrainian 5th thru 7th graders, was a bust. Language takes hard work, which was not in the culture of the school. The mindset seemed to have become "meets minimal" before I got these kids. Nothing I would love more than to learn how to be more effective.
God bless you, Sir, for providing a much-needed service at such an affordable price. I homeschooled from 1990-2006, and mathematics is the Achilles heel of homeschooling. For parents without the skills, the cost of tutoring is often prohibitive, assuming a tutor can even be found. When you are up and running, I will share with my friends who are still in the trenches.
I will be 70 in April. I was an A student in high school, including in Physics. I went to Carnegie-Mellon to study acting. I teach the Transcendental Meditation technique. I have studied the vaccine issue 12 years every day for hours. I need to now have facility in statistics if I am to go further in my understanding of the vaccine issue. I will be as a complete beginner in this area, but I am determined to learn. I will be willing to pay $5 a month if your courses can teach a complete beginner what I need to know about statistics. Practical application motivates me. I already work with Excel spreadsheets fairly regularly. Thank you.
Early materials will focus on much of the same path from the ground floor to graduate level statistics that I walked my wife through as she got her PhD. Though it will be a while before we have calculus curriculum unless the right curriculum developer volunteers.
Mathew, I am fairly certain that you know this stuff, but on the ‘off chance’ you don’t, this is a great explanation of why our education system looks like it does.
Fantastic channel, btw. The John Taylor Gatto interview/film is something every American should watch 5 times.
Great concept but what we need in the face of where we find ourselves now is a decentralized concept of education by and for the people. Peer to peer, volunteer, each one, teach one. All ages.
I don't think that volunteer work will run the system. I do think people will sell their time for service just as with most services. And we will see markets for tutors in STEM areas command good rates. But volunteers will always be needed to fill in gaps for those who cannot afford any help at all.
Actually, kids should be around other kids, and be allowed to develop their curiosity, rather than a rigid pre-determined curriculum. To be honest, our goal as a society is to strive to create learning [and work] environments that generate a feeling of exploration and play-like, rather than laboring. IMO, it will yield much better results for society as a whole. Kids should be able to experience as many things as possible, and choose their own paths according to their interests and curiosity. It’s also the case that mixing ages creates situations in which the older kids teach the younger ones (like, how to read), kids will team up on projects, help one another, or follow their interests individually.
The kids I know who were encouraged to follow their own interests and goals, have become far more competent, interesting, well-adjusted, and well-rounded human beings. They also communicate and solve problems better.
Not to mention, they aren’t ‘institutionalized’
Side note, children are people, they should be treated more like adults, rather than infants. That’s another problem in schools, one that is hard to overcome in homeschooling, if that happens to be the family dynamics.
"Actually, kids should be around other kids, and be allowed to develop their curiosity, rather than a rigid pre-determined curriculum."
No argument here.
"To be honest, our goal as a society is to strive to create learning [and work] environments that generate a feeling of exploration and play-like, rather than laboring."
That's a reasonable goal for more people than currently realize it.
"It’s also the case that mixing ages creates situations in which the older kids teach the younger ones (like, how to read), kids will team up on projects, help one another, or follow their interests individually."
When one realizes what were the stated goals of those who imported the [education] system we have, to which they then added their own demented twist, it suddenly becomes clear. The ‘Trans Agenda (more like ‘Sterilization in Any Means Necessary’ Agenda, but it’s the current iteration)’ is a feature not a bug.
Even if we strip the eugenicists’ ‘add-ons,’ we’re left with a Germanic system which openly aimed at creating good obedient workers, and make sure those who are “useless eaters” stay with their kind (class-mates) and don’t have any ideas. (99% I have the right name there, but...)
But I think there was so much evil 100 years ago, starting with the Flexner Report, which you undoubtedly know all about... followed by the Federal Reserve, taxes and then WWI (and perhaps preceded by the Spanish American war) , which even Churchill said the US should have kept out of.
I don't know the answer; but I do know that the horrible fraud Margaret Mead (Coming of Age in Samoa was a complete fraud) had perhaps one thing right in her life; "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
This is such a thrilling proactive follow up to your last article about education being the root of it all. Willing to volunteer to make media presentable graphics and/or video should you chose to utilize. Want to lift you and this idea up as I can.
I'm so excited!!! I'm looking at starting a homeschool resource center to give families a way to get their kids out of the government schools, have support, and access to teachers who also don't want to be part of the broken system anymore (incidentally, I work in government schools in special ed). I can't wait to check this out! All families, even single parent families, can home educate. With a little thinking outside the box, pairing up with friends/family to help each other, it can happen. Thank you! Blessings on your endeavor. I look forward to taking some of your math classes too. I feel dumb when it comes to math.
"I n the end all corruption will come about as a consequence of the natural sciences…Søren Kirkegård, 1813 - 1855 Note that he was not dissing science, but rather corrupt scientists. Full context below.
Almost everything that nowadays flourishes most conspicuously under the name of science (especially as natural science) is not really science but curiosity. In the end all corruption will come about as a consequence of the natural sciences… But such a scientific method become especially dangerous and pernicious when it would encroach also upon the sphere of the spirit, let it deal with plants and animals and stars in that way; but to deal with the human spirit in that way is blasphemy, which only weakens ethical and religious passion. Even the act of eating is more reasonable than the speculating with a microscope upon the functions of digestion… A dreadful sophistry spreads microscopically and telescopically into tomes, and yet it the last resort produces nothing, qualitatively understood, though it does, to be sure, cheat men out of the simple profound and passionate wonder which gives impetus to the ethical… the only thing certain is the ethical-religious.
Tom Knight at Harvard jokes about a scientist that does an experiment and finds something twice as complicated as he thought. “Great,” he says. “Now I get to research it more and write a paper.” Meanwhile, an engineer encounters the same issue. “Dang,” he complains, “Now how do I get rid of that?"
And oh yes.... "Science can flourish only in an atmosphere of free speech" - Albert Einstein
Please use me and my son Eddie as resources. I'm a 25-year retired computer guy who served on private school boards, taught and attended an Ed School before moving to Ukraine and starting a second family. Not nearly as illustrious a pedigree as you, but I do speak several languages and read very broadly - 559 Amazon reviews.
Nobody, NOBODY wants to hire an octogenarian for anything. Leaves my time fairly free. Neither are they interested in observations on society and education as it was in the 40s and 50s.
My chief interest at the moment is how humanity will work its way out of its fertility cul-de-sac. See my blog and my Rumble movie on The Evolution of What Women Want, also review of Edward Dutton, most recently The Past is a Distant Country.
A guy with your talent must certainly have some detachable tasks to give away. Parameters would be for me no tight deadlines, for you minimal need for oversight. Email is on my Substack posts.
It sounds like you are an underutilized treasure!
The early days will be a little slow in building, but there is often much wisdom that can be shared simply and easily.
People like you will hopefully form a nucleus of peer to peer, each one teach one, completely decentralized local community
, all ages new kind of education. Education as part of life - real and honest. No administrative personnel needed. No paid participants. No energy draining meetings. No prison like government schools.
I worked with your 31 pages last night. Showed the problem to my home schooled 11-year-old son Eddie this morning. When we got up to six, he said "Dad, it's Fibonacci." He doesn't understand it, but he remembered it.
We tackle one topic at a time. Recently went through human evolution. This morning inventions in the period from agriculture up to metals and the contemporaneous spread of genes and languages throughout Europe. Looked at illustrations from Spencer Wells, Luigi Cavalli-Sforza, Phillip Lieberman and (gasp) Philippe Rushton.
Gratefully accept your dropbox offer. Whatever talent Eddie has, you make an overwhelming argument that ordinary education would not make optimal use of it.
What I am doing is not whatsoever scalable. May not even be reproducible - I'll be a nonagenarian when his youngest sibling reaches this stage. But I see no alternatives. Since Plato and Aristotle education has been a personal thing, between apt pupils and inspired teachers. Don't see any way to shortcut the process. We use the Internet, but can't see it becoming a primary vehicle, especially for younger pupils.
Personal interaction is more scalable in results than people usually realize. We will try to make it so.
You and Feynmann make it look easy. My most recent effort, teaching English to Ukrainian 5th thru 7th graders, was a bust. Language takes hard work, which was not in the culture of the school. The mindset seemed to have become "meets minimal" before I got these kids. Nothing I would love more than to learn how to be more effective.
God bless you, Sir, for providing a much-needed service at such an affordable price. I homeschooled from 1990-2006, and mathematics is the Achilles heel of homeschooling. For parents without the skills, the cost of tutoring is often prohibitive, assuming a tutor can even be found. When you are up and running, I will share with my friends who are still in the trenches.
Fantastic idea, my local college offers nothing at night school. I want to do computing but I cant find anything that starts off at ground level...
I will try to bait in instructors for entry level programming quickly.
I will be 70 in April. I was an A student in high school, including in Physics. I went to Carnegie-Mellon to study acting. I teach the Transcendental Meditation technique. I have studied the vaccine issue 12 years every day for hours. I need to now have facility in statistics if I am to go further in my understanding of the vaccine issue. I will be as a complete beginner in this area, but I am determined to learn. I will be willing to pay $5 a month if your courses can teach a complete beginner what I need to know about statistics. Practical application motivates me. I already work with Excel spreadsheets fairly regularly. Thank you.
Early materials will focus on much of the same path from the ground floor to graduate level statistics that I walked my wife through as she got her PhD. Though it will be a while before we have calculus curriculum unless the right curriculum developer volunteers.
If I can learn statistics as your wife did, I will be very, very grateful!
That’s wonderful, and probably the most pressing issue in front of us.
John Taylor Gatto would be proud ♥️
I’ve been sharing the interview/documentary series with him a lot lately, for this exact reason.
Will let the parents around me know about it.
Thanks
Very excited to see this coming together. I am stoked to explore some real math training.
Mathew, I am fairly certain that you know this stuff, but on the ‘off chance’ you don’t, this is a great explanation of why our education system looks like it does.
Fantastic channel, btw. The John Taylor Gatto interview/film is something every American should watch 5 times.
Goes hand-in-hand with Vera Sharav’s film
FWIW
Much love
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmmQ8peduhspYv4j-Cj6zppAO75vDP-_t
Great concept but what we need in the face of where we find ourselves now is a decentralized concept of education by and for the people. Peer to peer, volunteer, each one, teach one. All ages.
I don't think that volunteer work will run the system. I do think people will sell their time for service just as with most services. And we will see markets for tutors in STEM areas command good rates. But volunteers will always be needed to fill in gaps for those who cannot afford any help at all.
Actually, kids should be around other kids, and be allowed to develop their curiosity, rather than a rigid pre-determined curriculum. To be honest, our goal as a society is to strive to create learning [and work] environments that generate a feeling of exploration and play-like, rather than laboring. IMO, it will yield much better results for society as a whole. Kids should be able to experience as many things as possible, and choose their own paths according to their interests and curiosity. It’s also the case that mixing ages creates situations in which the older kids teach the younger ones (like, how to read), kids will team up on projects, help one another, or follow their interests individually.
The kids I know who were encouraged to follow their own interests and goals, have become far more competent, interesting, well-adjusted, and well-rounded human beings. They also communicate and solve problems better.
Not to mention, they aren’t ‘institutionalized’
Side note, children are people, they should be treated more like adults, rather than infants. That’s another problem in schools, one that is hard to overcome in homeschooling, if that happens to be the family dynamics.
Just a thought.
"Actually, kids should be around other kids, and be allowed to develop their curiosity, rather than a rigid pre-determined curriculum."
No argument here.
"To be honest, our goal as a society is to strive to create learning [and work] environments that generate a feeling of exploration and play-like, rather than laboring."
That's a reasonable goal for more people than currently realize it.
"It’s also the case that mixing ages creates situations in which the older kids teach the younger ones (like, how to read), kids will team up on projects, help one another, or follow their interests individually."
Demonstrably true.
"Not to mention, they aren’t ‘institutionalized’"
Which may be the single greatest benefit of all.
Amen!
When one realizes what were the stated goals of those who imported the [education] system we have, to which they then added their own demented twist, it suddenly becomes clear. The ‘Trans Agenda (more like ‘Sterilization in Any Means Necessary’ Agenda, but it’s the current iteration)’ is a feature not a bug.
Even if we strip the eugenicists’ ‘add-ons,’ we’re left with a Germanic system which openly aimed at creating good obedient workers, and make sure those who are “useless eaters” stay with their kind (class-mates) and don’t have any ideas. (99% I have the right name there, but...)
So yeah, let’s go!
Good thoughts.
OMG word problems and logic problems combined? I would flunk for sure!
But I think there was so much evil 100 years ago, starting with the Flexner Report, which you undoubtedly know all about... followed by the Federal Reserve, taxes and then WWI (and perhaps preceded by the Spanish American war) , which even Churchill said the US should have kept out of.
I don't know the answer; but I do know that the horrible fraud Margaret Mead (Coming of Age in Samoa was a complete fraud) had perhaps one thing right in her life; "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
This is such a thrilling proactive follow up to your last article about education being the root of it all. Willing to volunteer to make media presentable graphics and/or video should you chose to utilize. Want to lift you and this idea up as I can.
I'm so excited!!! I'm looking at starting a homeschool resource center to give families a way to get their kids out of the government schools, have support, and access to teachers who also don't want to be part of the broken system anymore (incidentally, I work in government schools in special ed). I can't wait to check this out! All families, even single parent families, can home educate. With a little thinking outside the box, pairing up with friends/family to help each other, it can happen. Thank you! Blessings on your endeavor. I look forward to taking some of your math classes too. I feel dumb when it comes to math.
"I n the end all corruption will come about as a consequence of the natural sciences…Søren Kirkegård, 1813 - 1855 Note that he was not dissing science, but rather corrupt scientists. Full context below.
Almost everything that nowadays flourishes most conspicuously under the name of science (especially as natural science) is not really science but curiosity. In the end all corruption will come about as a consequence of the natural sciences… But such a scientific method become especially dangerous and pernicious when it would encroach also upon the sphere of the spirit, let it deal with plants and animals and stars in that way; but to deal with the human spirit in that way is blasphemy, which only weakens ethical and religious passion. Even the act of eating is more reasonable than the speculating with a microscope upon the functions of digestion… A dreadful sophistry spreads microscopically and telescopically into tomes, and yet it the last resort produces nothing, qualitatively understood, though it does, to be sure, cheat men out of the simple profound and passionate wonder which gives impetus to the ethical… the only thing certain is the ethical-religious.
Tom Knight at Harvard jokes about a scientist that does an experiment and finds something twice as complicated as he thought. “Great,” he says. “Now I get to research it more and write a paper.” Meanwhile, an engineer encounters the same issue. “Dang,” he complains, “Now how do I get rid of that?"
And oh yes.... "Science can flourish only in an atmosphere of free speech" - Albert Einstein
'MetaPrep Education Group LLC;
Not a good name.
Amazing work you do for students 👏👏👏