Education 02 (Sep 09 - Jul 10)

[iam802]

My kid has to do some research on 'What they can make with XYZ flowers?'

After observing how she skim through the Google results, I decided that it is better for her to step away from the computer, think about what she can create with the flower first before embarking on this research assignment.

The rationale is simple:
- Like most Internet users (myself included), we tend to place trust in the search engine.
- If we can find it, then it is 'there'. But, what if it is not 'there yet'.
- eg. What if this thing have not been created yet? Or it has not been published yet? An invention.
- Just like we will never find information on this financial crisis back in early 2007.

Let me blain storm for you

1. Put the flowers in tea and make flower tea
2. Mash up the petals and add water - viola! A homemade pH indicator. Try adding diluted vinegar and diluted shampoo to observe colour changes
3. Use some watercolors and dip the flowers into it, making your own batik prints onto drawing paper
4. Take a bunch of them, string them up together to make a hawaii flower necklace. Must pierce thru the stalk, not the petals

Here's what my kid came out with (nothing as detailed as yours)

Hidden Content:

++ What Can We Make With Jasmine

*By Senses

*Smell*
- tea
- perfume
- oil
-shampoo
-DIY airfreashener
-powder
-candles with jasmine smell

*Touch*
-soap
-lotion
-art

*See*
-decoration
-wreath

*Taste*
-honey

[iam802]

The boy's school is having a "SHOW AND TELL" session for English lessons. In it, they bring their favorite object and do a 2-3 minute presentation during their English classes.

One of the kids brought a Nintendo DS to school and it was stolen after the SHOW AND TELL.

The school's teachers and discipline master had no choice but to search the schoolbags of all the children.

They found the stolen DS in a girl's bag, which she later confessed to the crime. Can you believe it??

I think this is indicative of a larger problem within our society.

While I acknowledge that it is a serious issue for the girl to steal...

I am equally amaze that the parents allowed the boy to bring a DS to school for 'Show and Tell'.

I suspect my kid's school get around this potential time bomb by restricting the 'Show and Tell' to certain themes or items.

[millionairemind]

ya.. The Mrs. told me that when they called the mum on her cell, she actually hung up on the teacher!!!

How do we instill good moral values in our kids when the parents don't even work with the teachers?

How can there be NO consequences for one's actions?

Sigh....

[iam802]

Throw out homework, let kids read comics - principal

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/educati ... -principal

Notes:
- Study shows "zero evidence" that homework helps to improve time management or study skills.
- Suggested homework had no positive impact
- Parents suggested to >> Let them play. Talk with them. Share with them.

[millionairemind]

Throw out homework, let kids read comics - principal

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/educati ... -principal

Notes:
- Study shows "zero evidence" that homework helps to improve time management or study skills.
- Suggested homework had no positive impact
- Parents suggested to >> Let them play. Talk with them. Share with them.

Interesting.... I wonder how that Professor got his phD?? Just by playing crossword puzzles??

Having said that, I do agree that less is more.

I don't remember having spend more than 2hrs every day to do my home work from Primary thro' JC. I probably spend only 1/2hr every day on homework when I was in Primary school.

The kids nowadays have way too much homework. They DO and DO and DO.. like a monkey trained to perform tricks, but they DO NOT UNDERSTAND Y A+B = C.

I was teaching my nephew differentiation for A. Maths. I CANNOT believe that the teacher just teach them to "differentiate" but does not explain to them Y the 1st differential leads to the gradient. I had to painstakingly go thro' the whole basics so that he has a good foundation and understanding.

Less is more... as long as they understand the basics, just teach them to think, that is the most important aspect of education.

[la papillion]

Hi mm,

Haha, same problem here. Most teaching these days is to prepare the kids for exams, never mind the underlying principles. But to be fair, most of them aren't interested anyway. Chicken n egg issue?

But I'm different. I..ahem...always teach from first principles. It's always magical when students stumble upon results when someone is guiding them towards it. The sense of eureka in discovering the result themselves (and checking that it's the same as what the textbook is saying) is quite satisfying

Some students really can't be bothered...oh well

[kennynah]

lapap :

u r doing a wonderful job...it is conceivably harder to teach from first principals...easier, just to mechanically describe the steps to perform, say dy/dx, then to explain using the slope of a curve...

those children will remember you for life...those who have the zest for learning....

[kennynah]

just teach them to think, that is the most important aspect of education.

absolutely

the entire purpose of education can be summarised as the process of engineering a student's brain to think profoundly and independently...

[Poles]

just teach them to think, that is the most important aspect of education.

absolutely

the entire purpose of education can be summarised as the process of engineering a student's brain to think profoundly and independently...

before you can teach the kid to how to think...u got to teach the parents how to think first...

[kennynah]

if the parents cant think...then too bad for the child/ren...and the consolation is, hopefully, the education system can instil some good training for the children