Don't catch 'em young

As part of learning about weather, season and climate, my son was taken for a field trip to the Met Dept. (Of course, *he* had a blast walking around the place instead of sitting is school doing "work".)

When I spoke to the teacher, she had a different story to tell. She was disappointed by the level of interest showed by the folks at the Dept. Apparently they first asked which class the children belonged to, and then on learning that they were surrounded by first graders, zoned out and were not too interested in talking to them or showing them around.

This is a trend I see all around me. My son learns karate, music and yoga, and the impression I get at ALL these classes is that they are waiting for him to "grow up" before they can really teach him stuff.

Which is so sad. Children are supposed to be learning sponges when they are small -- that ability diminishes as they grow older. And yet, irrespective of discipline (atleast where I live), we are waiting for them to "grow up".

Is this why when people really do "grow up" and get into the job market they are mostly such blinkered, unable-to-think-for-themselves souls?

I wish I was 6!

How education has changed over the years.

My six and a half year old gets to answer "comprehension" questions based on "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss, a "composition" about himself (with questions that he needs to answer), and best of all, a book review where HE gets to choose the book.

The chosen book this time is "Great Snakes", whose "characters" are "snakes, lizards, and eggs". The "setting" is "deserts, seas, mountains, and trees".

The teacher is going to get some creepy submissions this week!

"Leaving Microsoft to Change the World"

Just got done reading "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World".

What struck me as major contributor to the success of Room to Read was the fact that their vision was VERY clear, well articulated and everyone pulled in the same direction to achieve it.
Of course, I am sure having the razor-sharp brain of an ex-Microsoft executive at the helm helped no small measure as well.

This is why their results are so different from other not-for-profits which begin with a huge pot of money and a desire to "do some good". Such not-for-profits, while being good "social badges" for their founders (thanks, Mudita :-)), fail to produce the kind of impact that they actually can given the amount of money that flows in and around them.

Next on my to-read list: Three Cups of Tea :-)

The Cat Report

Here's some interesting homework that came home last week.

A list of cats (siamese, lion, etc.), from which my son had to select one. The next step was to find a book about the chosen cat, read it and then come up with a "Cat Report".

He selected "Slinky Malinki" by Lynley Dodd, and so his report was about a "thieving Siamese cat", complete with a hand-drawn picture!

Update on the Art of Getting Help

A few months ago, I had written a blog entry on The Art of Getting Help , pointing out that some people do not know how to communicate well enough to get help on technical forums.

Well guess what? I am not the only person who thinks so.

The "issue" of poorly asked questions has gotten on peoples' nerves to such an extent in the Watir forum, that there is an entire thread discussing how to handle "newbies/clueless posters"!

The creator of Watir, Brett Pettichord tweeted "I couldn't stand all the clueless questions on watir general."

More here.