From: Andrew.Probert@f20.n772.z3.fidonet.org (Andrew Probert)
Newsgroups: k12.ed.tag
Subject: Gifted Children       1/
Date: Sun, 03 Jan 93 01:03:00 PDT
Organization: FidoNet node 3:772/20 - IBM NZ Ltd Gate, Auckland

Hello , Lori, I am really sorry about the delay. I got caught in the
Christmas hassle, and I was away for about a week. Anyway, I sincerely
hope that you and your good family had a very merry Christmas and are
lookin forward to a happy new year. There are a number of points I would
like to bring up. I will just deal with them one after another.

You said in your last message

LL=8>Underlying our decision to homeschool is our basic philosophy, Libertarian
LL=8>We believe that our children are our responsibility, and
LL=8>not the responsibility of the state.
LL=8>For instance, the system teaches obedience to authority and
LL=8>conformance to peers; we believe that one should always
LL=8>question authority and that being and becoming one's own
LL=8>individual self is preferable to being like everyone else.

You sound like a person after my own heart. i have always believed ahd
have tried to put my beliefs into practice that it is the differences
among people that make them interesting, and that these differences
should be fostered and not stifled. However, I also believe that there
is little point in forcing these differences on people who are not
prepared to accept them. I like people and I like to be like. It took me
many years to learn how to be liked without giuving up my individuality.
You see i have always behaved and thought slightly differently from most
of those around me. When I was younger I had not learned to disguise my
difference or at least to make it appear unthreatening. I learned and
the lesson hurt. I would not like to see your children hurt as I was
simply because they have not learned to " fit in" or at least to appear
to "fit in". I hope you are ensuring that your kids are learning to be a
part of the society to which they belong, as well as learning to be
individuals. I assume of course that you are already well aware of this
problem. I don't mean to appear as fif I am lecturing you. I guess that
this topic just brought back some painful memories. I would hate to see
your kids hurt as I was just for doing things differently.

You also said

LL=8>Although I could easily argue that my kids are being "better" educated by
LL=8>being home educated, many of our reasons for homeschooling
LL=8>are not academic ones, but are due to the other aspects of
LL=8>the public school system.

I have heard that the US state school system is really bad. Is this what
you mean? I(n what ways is state schooling in the US so awful?
I was lucky I think. While I was educated in a state school, our state
school system here in NZ is quite good really, at least it was at the
time i went through it .There have been some changes to the system in
the past few years.

Furthermore, you said

LL=8>At our home school, there is constant one on one attention;
LL=8>impossible in the typical classroom.  Each child is allowed
LL=8>to choose their areas of study at any given time, and to
LL=8>find their own level and progress at their own pace.
LL=8>At our home school, there is constant one on one attention;
LL=8>"self-learner" ever since.  BreAna (almost 5) seems to have
LL=8>a good head for math and is very intuitive.  They both have
LL=8>atypically long attention spans, and work well
LL=8>independently.

Do you suggest things to the kids that they can learn? Do you guide them
sometimes?
Also,

LL=8>It's interesting that you chose the above examples - Amber
LL=8>learned chess by playing with the computer tutor, and just
LL=8>yesterday was teaching BreAna to play it the traditional
LL=8>way (on a board).  She enjoys SimCity and reads
LL=8>voraciously.  She's learned some good math concepts as
LL=8>tools in programming.

What sort of books does Amber read? Has she discovered the Earthsea
trilogy by Ursula Le Guin? This has got to rank as one my alltime
favourite series. I still reread the trilogy about once a year. Moreover
has Amber yet come upon the Dragon books by Anne MacCaffery. I myself am
a fully committed citizen of PERN and have been since I discovered the
books when I was 11 or 12.
You say that Amber is an avid fan of chess. So am I. Perhaps she and I
could play a game or so ( a very slow one mind you given the time lag)
over the BBS. Is Amber familiar with chess notation? I'll start the ball
rolling with an opening move in a minute.
What sort of maths is Amber familiar with? Has she discovered the joys
of calculus and matrix algebra yet? Has she discovered fractals and
Mandelbrot set? I am just now myself teaching myself Chaos and
Catastrophe theory, which will come in very useful in me studies of
economics.  Perhaps she and I, and your other daughter could exchange
some maths problems and discussions in the future?

Now, to open the chess game I say to Amber
                                           P - Q4 ( or d4)

LL=8> Well, was my answer too long, or did it just give you more questions?
LL=8>   Thanks for your input, and your indulgence. -Lori L
>>> Continued to next message
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