Educating Lucy: Maths
As I have said before, I do not like the way in which schools teach maths, so what do I do instead? Do stuff that is fun, that encourages the underlying skills rather than focusing on arithmetic. (more…)
Why teach toddlers to read?
As promised in my post on how we taught my daughter to read, here is why I think children should be taught to read as young as possible. There are three good reasons, and the first one is more than enough. (more…)
Educating Lucy: learning to read
I strongly believe in teaching children to read young, and our experience with Lucy so far has been confirmed that belief. We largely used the methods my mother used, because I knew they had worked for me and my sisters. (more…)
Schools teach maths the wrong way
The idea that what should be a beautiful and fun subject is being destroyed by schools is not mine: a mathematician has expressed it much better. Personal experience seems to confirm it. (more…)
Teachers against learning
I have always had doubts about how well IT is, or even can, be taught in schools. It seems to reach its very worst in the case of a teacher who confiscated a pupil’s property to prevent them learning about a technology the teacher seems to have some sort of ignorant grudge against.
Lies we tell children
After having a go at Paul Graham yesterday for writing outside is area of (considerable) expertise, I am eating my words a little by responding to just such an essay by him. It is true that many people do lie to children. This is what I think we should do.
Don’t eat killer fruit!
One of the reasons given by The Guardian for the failure of a scheme to encourage children to eat more fruit, is that schools are reluctant to give children fruit with stones because they might choke. What is even more amazing is that the journalist writing it could let this idiocy, and the disturbing reasons for it, pass with absolutely no comment. (more…)
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