Free thinkers-Wired magazine
http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/free-thinkers
“In 1970 the top three skills required by the Fortune 500 were the three Rs: reading, writing, and arithmetic.
In 1999 the top three skills in demand were teamwork, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. We need schools that are developing these skills.”
More Prep work
Today was filled with more fun in the sun. The kids and I visited some local beach shops hunting for possible kayak rentals and floats. I decided not to rent kayaks, as the price was steep for our length of stay. We bought a variety of swim floats instead, and the kids had fun riding the floats over the waves. The riptides have been rather strong these last few days, so we’ve had to be especially careful in the water. Not relaxing when you have to watch their every move. I selfishly like it when they decide to sit on the sand and build drip castles.
I’m up late again accomplishing more academic prep work. I think I’ve got a decent schedule in place for my oldest 2 sons. Now, I need to review curricula for the bottom 2 children and plan out their schedules. We will be covering a great deal of material, especially when you combine all four grades together. My current line of thinking is to cover subjects in block increments, and I’m trying to devise the schedule so that I’m covering the same subjects for each child at the same time minus their core subjects which will be studied daily. Not sure yet how this will go, but it looks good on paper.
Robots to take our jobs
Good read below from Wired magazine.
As a homeschooler,I’m trying to find ways to best expose my children to the technological revolution that’s exploding around us. They will need to be quite knowledgeable in this area to be able to compete in their future workplace. I haven’t figured out how best to do that so more to follow…
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/12/ff-robots-will-take-our-jobs/
“This is not a race against the machines. If we race against them, we lose. This is a race with the machines. You’ll be paid in the future based on how well you work with robots. Ninety percent of your coworkers will be unseen machines. Most of what you do will not be possible without them. And there will be a blurry line between what you do and what they do. You might no longer think of it as a job, at least at first, because anything that seems like drudgery will be done by robots.
We need to let robots take over. They will do jobs we have been doing, and do them much better than we can. They will do jobs we can’t do at all. They will do jobs we never imagined even needed to be done. And they will help us discover new jobs for ourselves, new tasks that expand who we are. They will let us focus on becoming more human than we were.
Let the robots take the jobs, and let them help us dream up new work that matters.”
words of Kevin Kelly
Kids contributing to household chores, whether they want to or not
I’ve never created a “chores chart” for my kids. A chores chart would be just something else I’d have to keep track of. Also, part of me feels that they should assist in household chores simply because it’s a necessity for maintaining the home. I’m a firm believer in teaching them that there are many things in life that you just have to do, whether you want to or not.
But…my one son is asking for the chores chart. He’s wired in such a way that I know he’ll reap many benefits from using such a device. So, I’m going to bite the bullet and create one for them. I honestly don’t see that we’ll be able to keep up with the duties every day that will be listed, but I’ll at least try it out. Good read below..
http://www.newyorkfamily.com/newyork/article-652-chores-without-wars.html
Ivy League Homeschooling 