My 8 year old daughter told me she saw that Donald Trump has a golden toilet. Thats so funny she said. Then she says "I hope he doesn't bring back slavery. Im light, so ill be ok but it makes me so sad." I said who's to say white people won't be the slaves? Darker skin has more pigment and is stronger against the sun. "She looked at me with wonder saying we should have been the slaves momma." Yes I led her into that one but it led to a good discussion on skin color and inner beauty , accepting not hating people that are different. She then asked me why hasn't there been a woman president. I told her that woman are starting to become equals with men and hopefully they will be paid as much as them for the same work. She said "ya in trumps old America woman just stay home and do the dishes." She said she wants to be a scientist that invents things. " Good talk:)
As I'm watching my girl discover Her thoughts and opinions on people I'm reminded of the thoughts and opinions I was told to have about people. Atheists in particular were too evil to even converse with as they were close associates of satan. So to brainwashed christians, That aint true! We don't even believe in satan, although he seems a lot friendly than the god of the Bible:)
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All children need to learn about slavery. It's not enough to teach them that slavery is bad. They need to know why it's bad. And they need to know that slavery isn't just about whites kidnapping blacks out of Africa. The Romans enslaved millions of white people from France and Britain. The Barbary slavers from North Africa enlaved many thousands from coastal villages in the British Isles. The Vikings enslaved large numbers of Europeans. The Maori enslaved (and ate) people captured in wars. Just about every culture has engaged in slavery. Even Athens, the cradle of democracy, was a slave state.
The word "servant" in the King James Bible doesn't mean a butler or a maid hired to run someone's house. It means a slave, a bought person who owns nothing, not even his or her own body. Jesus has encounters with slaves, but never speaks out against owning people.
Slavery is happening right now in Europe and America.
Slavery is bad because every human is a self-aware individual who should be free to follow his or her own hopes, dreams, ambitions.
Slavery is bad because it holds back innovation by using humans in place of machines.
Slavery is bad because people have a moral right to enjoy the fruits of their own labor.
Sorry to rant. I get a bit hot under the collar about freedom and slavery.
Algebe
I agree completely It needs to be taught and talked about because it is still happening. There is so much racism hidden under the surface that people don't/can't/won't address. Sadly, many white people think its a thing of the past. It gets me worked up too.
@JamieB: You have an insightful young woman on your hands!
Thank u chimp3. She's a pretty sweet gal.
At 6 we offfered her dance or Kung fu and I was hoping she chose dance. We could do some routines together but she chose Kung fu something I knew nothing about. She learned fast and loved doing punches kicks but as time came for her to test for her belts she didn't want to do it. She did it for over a year then it became too expensive and we ended up playin with cousins a lot more. This summer she is toying between building motors like engineers or minecraft something. I think Kung fu might be good for her again too as she gaining confidence :)
Kung fu / martial arts are very good for growing minds. I remember a science article in the early 1970's. An Astrophysics professor was trying to get his University students to understand zenith and nadir . The students were not grasping this concept. It dawned on him that these students were lifelong bookworms and lacked the rough and tumble play other kids had. Therefore they lacked the spatial awareness to understand the point directly above and below them in space. So, he put them through a grade school level tumbling class. The students grades and comprehension improved.
Chimp3
That makes so much sense about spacial awareness. There are so many abilities we learn as a child in sports and activities. There was an interesting experiment I saw on tv recently. People were given belts with magnetic sensors and they learned how to walk blindfolded toward true north. There bodies somehow learned this new sense that many do not tap in to. They have done studies with blind people to sense the magnetic force with the belt to help orientate.
You'd better stay way out in front of her to make sure her questions are ones you can answer as she matures. Eight years old is a fine age to engage with children and they elicit it from you. Best to know the world that's unfolding before them so you can stay engaged. Many parents don't and the rift starts there. Have fun with her. That was a challenge for me. Then whamo!! Al Gore invented the internet and they didn't need me anymore. Fine.
On this topic I have a question for all who have experienced a child going through the educational system.
Have you noticed that the text books and methods they're using now pretty much dispense with the old ways of learning certain subjects, such as mathematics, to the extent that parents can no longer be of any help whatsoever to their kids? Does anyone know why Common Core was ever considered as a legitimate method to teaching arithmetic?
Clues?
Clueless?
I'm stumped but I'm sure someone closer to the source might be able to explain. I listened to all the supportive "logic" that it gets and quite honestly I liken it to faith-based thinking much more than pragmatic, real world thinking.
Wanna know what I think?
Yes? Okay, since you're curious.
Money.
The publishers usurp the educational system. Minor changes to current text books do not embody much profit because the books are largely also-rans and the small revisions to them come cheap to the school system. But, introduce a completely new method requiring all kinds of new texts, including the support material for teachers to engage in it prior to launch, and your generate a whole new product that comes at a retail price to the educational system. And...AND...because the parents can't know it to teach it the publisher ensures his product will remain the sole source for quite some time for the school systems and private sector (parents) buying it up to keep abreast of the system.
Savvy? The publisher. Satan in disguise on many levels. He is willing to sacrifice the rich contribution and bond parents develop with their kids at home, needing their input to help with their homework, for the sake of his wallet. Ain't the free market system wonderful?
"The Common Core is not a curriculum. It is a clear set of shared goals and expectations for what knowledge and skills will help our students succeed. Local teachers, principals, superintendents, and others will decide how the standards are to be met. Teachers will continue to devise lesson plans and tailor instruction to the individual needs of the students in their classrooms."
This was from common core website
My teacher clients were frustrated at first with the change and Felt overwhelmed with work to begin this new way. They said it wasn't a new curiculliam of books and guidance but made them do a lot of the creative thinking and evolving with students. Much more work but they aren't complaining now. I find it hard to help my daughter in mathematics because they go about it in a complete different process. But she is able to power through math now. It's supposed to help them compute big numbers and problems easily as they progress. My education in the public school system was lacking. So I'm thinking it's better but that's just from mom of a 2 nd grader perspective.
Pitar,
Remember Janet Napolitano? She was the brains behind the Common Core program. She got George W. Bush to push it as part of the national agenda.
https://www.usnews.com/news/special-reports/articles/2014/02/27/the-hist...
She expanded upon Ronald Reagan's Secretary of Education William Bennett's ideas for setting national standards.
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Surprising-Conserva...
https://thinkprogress.org/conservatives-reject-common-core-standards-an-...
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/102/hr2460/summary
Education standards have been part of every President's agenda since Reagan. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php
The most watched, and in my opinion one of the best TED Talks, talks a bit about the education system and the state it is in.
https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity
Beyond that talk,
With the aid of the entire internet in your pocket accessible wherever you go, the education system needs to change. It is no longer about rote memorization of large amounts of facts, but instead teaching people how to critically think, and use computers/internet to aid them in achieving tasks, communicating and so on.
Why does anyone need to know George Washington's birthday? Just about anyone can have the answer within seconds at anytime.
Learning math now should be more about learning concepts, and how to read and understand math, not memorizing endless amounts of formulas and equations.
Hopefully no schools are teaching kids how to write cursive anymore, basic legible non cursive is more than acceptable now. Emphasis should be placed on writing concise clear organized thought. Not how to spell every word, or the endless grammar rules, computers can navigate that for us.
People that do not know how to work closely with computers are the ones that are going to be left behind.
We are rapidly advancing to the point that computers are going to do all the grunt work for us. We will just be around to supervise them. Leaving most of us free to do more creative endeavors, the arts, writing new code, inventing new things, perfecting other things. The only people that will need to know really advanced math are the people that code/edit/maintain the math programs, or want to advance math in new directions.
If our education system does not change and adapt, how can we as humans adapt to the rapidly changing times?
Oh and there is no room for abandoning critical thinking, and jumping into the various religions at are schools, that is counter productive to what our goals for educating our children should be in this new world.
@LogicForTW: "Not how to spell every word, or the endless grammar rules"
I think good grammar provides an essential framework for expressing thoughts logically and clearly so that other people can understand what you mean. And believe me, people judge you on both spelling and grammar, although they might not tell you at the time. You can end up losing opportunities if you turn in proposals, etc., that are littered with basic errors.
Even worse, if you get the spelling wrong, your incantations won't work and you won't be able to conjure up demons and angels.
To learn more about 2d and 3d shapes worksheets. These worksheets help kids identify and group 2D and 3D shapes, and they come in two-page letter-size formats. Each worksheet asks kids to cut out and paste the shapes into two columns. You can find worksheets with US and UK spelling, so you can use one of each if your students are studying that particular language.
Atheists express their rage against God, although in their view, He does not exist.
C. S. Lewis