re: kids learning things.
It's very sad when they realize saying The Magic Word won't get them what they want. "May I have the deadly item that will kill me in .5 seconds, please?" "No, you can't have it." Pause while the mental computer visibly says "Does not compute, we used The Magic Word. Retry Y/N?" "May I please have it? Please?" "No, I'm sorry, you can't."
Such betrayed bafflement as the universe changes the rules again.
I don’t know about all of you, but learning that IQ isn’t fixed was a revelatory (and humbling) discovery for me when I first read about it.
Maybe that's why I feel so stupid at this new job!
I thought the big deal about IQ was that it wasn't a useful measure of much...
Allyson, FUCK. That's a whole lot of shit to pile onto one family. I'm so sorry.
Good god, I'm still in the office. What's wrong with me these days?
Oh, fucking hell, Allyson. I'm so sorry.
About to head off to an all-hands meeting for CJ's Search and Rescue team. Apparently fundraising hasn't brought in what is needed to keep the team afloat and we need to figure out what to do. He loves this SO MUCH, I'm heart broken at the thought that the team is in jeapardy.
Again, I need a zillion dollars so I can fund the team and travel to all the buffistas (cause, why wouldn't I travel if I had the funds?).
The article about how to talk to kids (the praise thing) is really fascinating. I can absolutely see how that would make a big difference in what kids will attempt and what they won't.
The article about how to talk to kids (the praise thing) is really fascinating. I can absolutely see how that would make a big difference in what kids will attempt and what they won't.
Yeah, I've seen that stuff before, and I make a point of introducing new concepts to my students with something like, "This is a new concept. You're not supposed to understand it immediately. It's something new, and not just a new way of doing old things, but a new way of thinking about how numbers work. You CAN understand it, but it's not the sort of thing that you just immediately understand -- you have to sit down with it for a while and try it out and practice it and frown at it for a few hours before you'll be able to really wrap your brain around it. It is something you can understand, but you have to work for it." I developed that bit after working a few summers with gifted kids -- there were always a few who just didn't know how to deal when they didn't understand something immediately.
Ah jeez, Allyson. Good luck to your family.
I just had a nice surprise -- when I was at work, my mother called and said she was at a board meeting around the corner from my house, and did I want to come have a drink with her at 5:30? (She's staff, not on the board....) I couldn't do it, because I was seeing the stupid apartment, so figured that was that. But when I got home and was making dinner, she called again and said, "Ann says you should come have dinner with us!" So I got back dressed, and thought we would be having dinner at the hotel restaurant with Ann (not that I know who Ann is, but whatever). Yeah, no. I totally crashed the board meeting dinner in jeans. The food was pretty good, though!
there were always a few who just didn't know how to deal when they didn't understand something immediately.
That's my oldest kid. He's still completely resistant to anything that doesn't come naturally or easily.
Good luck to your family, Allyson.