Saturday, April 28, 2012

How to spell "Intrinsic Motivation"

There are hundreds of websites containing valuable information useful to homeschooling families. Lately I've been concerned about the intentions of the people behind some of those websites. A website offering a complete homeschool curriculum states that the only way they'll bring the USA back to Jesus is through the homeschooling movement. People with strong Libertarian or Objectivist leanings develop websites for the purpose of teaching about history, the Constitution and their interpretation of the words of our Founding Fathers. I feel I need to be on guard to protect my child from corruption by people with radical agendas.

I've been reading "Don't Think Of An Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate: the Essential Guide for Progressives" by Goerge Lakoff. One of the things he says is that we often vote according to our core values. The Republican Party spends many millions on think tanks which are tasked to create the language frames that will appeal to their voters. This is why Fox News is loved by some and hated by others. because the language that appeals to Conservatives repulses Liberals and vice versa. I'm also reading, "Raising Children Who Think for Themselves" by Elisa Medhus, M.D., and she states that parents need to help their children develop their own moral compass, so that they can make good decisions for themselves, rather than needing us to act as their conscious all the time.

It's not unusual for me to read several books at once but it's rather synchronous that I happen to pick up two random books that help address the issue that's been keeping me awake at night. It's simple. If the child knows who he is, he won't be easily transformed into an End Days SuperPrepper. He apparently won't be as likely to become a crackhead, either.

And then, I saw this video on Youtube, called "The High Price of Materialism," about how materialism is externally motivated and does not lead to happiness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oGab38pKscw

If I were superstitious, I would think my spirit guides are conspiring to send a message.

I almost bought a "how to homeschool" type book, until I saw in the reviews that the author advocates spanking children who won't study hard enough. I do not wish to lean on my son and force him to do what he should. I want him to be intrinsically motivated. He's old enough to understand the connection between education, the ability to think, and thriving in today's world.

Last night I asked him to fill out his schedule for today. I said, "Think about what you need to accomplish in order to succeed and have the life you want to have. And then think about what tasks you need to perform each day to get there. Then make out a schedule with all of those tasks on it." And so he did. And today he stuck to his schedule. I was so proud of him.

Spelling has been a stumbling block for him. The tactic I have been using is to have him pick a word from his spelling list that's been a challenge for him to spell. We spend several minutes focusing on that word. We talk about the word's origins. We say it in Latin. We talk about how the particular word traveled. For instance, "Music." Rumored to originate in Persia, where it traveled to Greece, then Greece to Rome. We talk about how the Romans traveled to what is now France, and those people began using that word. From there it traveled to England with rest of the English language, then to the USA, and later to places like India and China. We talk about why this word matters, and the things we wouldn't be able to say quite so accurately without it. We look at the synonyms we'd have to use if that word didn't exist. Finally, we break it down into consonants and talk about the spelling rules that apply to that word. By the end of this time, he is better acquainted with this word. He spells the word. He looks at me in surprise - he didn't think he'd do it. A few hours later, I quiz him again. He remembers. We contemplate the importance of language.

He seems to have so much faith in me. I want him to be able to transfer that faith to himself. Even if he barely gets the core subjects by the skin of his teeth, (of course we hope he will do much better than that) if he has faith in himself, that will make a big difference for him.

No comments:

Post a Comment