Have you ever had a discussion with your child on the subject of 'Free Will'? I cannot say that I have ever 'directed' a conversation on that topic with my sons but they have listened, and participated, in such a discussion with myself and my husband. On that memorable occasion, we were debating the problem of free will, omnipotence and omnipresence and my husband, raised a Catholic and product of a Jesuit college, said firmly, 'When the subject came up in school, the priest's response was simple: When God gave man free will, he CHOSE to surrender omnipotence.' This was in response to my comment that I couldn't understand how man could have free will, behave badly -- get into pain and suffering, and be allowed to do so. As a parent who dearly loves her children, I couldn't IMAGINE watching a child heading into disaster without trying to stop or redirect it. If God was indeed a loving God and parent, how then could this be possible? My husband's answer -- to his mind, allowed for a loving God who willing surrendered the power to protect. This conversation was taking place in the car on the way to Gymnastics and my husband had, cleverly, timed his comment to coincide with our arrival at our destination. The subject, I thought, was closed.
I should have known better.
Several WEEKS, not days, not hours, but WEEKS afterwards, I was having a vocal struggle with my six year old. He wanted to do something that I considered dangerous and I had said 'NO!' In frustration, he finally stormed "I BELIEVE IN FREE WILL AND I WANT MINE!" Snort. It is a good thing that I have lived with this roller coaster since his birth, I retorted 'Well, I am not God and so cannot afford to give up that power. The answer is "No!" To say that I 'won' the argument would be overly optimistic. He didn't do what he wanted to do but I have no doubt that the subject of Free Will will come up again. To that end, I am now working up a 'lesson plan' on the subject of Free Will and Responsible application thereof... Grin.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Television as a teaching tool
Okay, before you begin shuddering in fear at the mention of the big bad TV, I should clarify: I am not talking about WATCHING television -- quite the opposite. I am talking about using the IDEA of television as a tool for teaching...
You might well ask - WHAT could the idea of Television teach? The answer is best given by illustration.
You see, we did succumb to the lure of the blue box: My husband wanted to watch World Cup Soccer and my sons were hooked on a mystery series called "Tower Prep". But the World Cup ended and so too did "Tower Prep"(without ever answering the questions it had raised). And then my sons discovered the HORRIBLE truth: There was nothing else to watch on T.V. "The ads" said Xander, "are the best thing on!' But Jason and Xander are not the sort to surrender easily. Rather than simply toss the idea of T.V. (and they are still enamored of the idea) they decided to create their OWN television shows.
The ideas they have generated to this point include 1) Xander's 'The story of pretty much Nobody" ( "Four kids live with their Dad. Dad is never home because he is always off job hunting and mom died four years ago so... the kids wander around in the wilds of their backyard/neighborhood having 'kid-like' adventures -- falling into pits and finding velociraptor skeletons. That kind of thing.") and Jason's "Adventures of Captain Wavy Cape" based on the book/comic strip he wrote when he was five.
Now, I am a homeschooling mom so this screams 'teachable moment' -- I agreed that making our own TV shows was a good idea. I suggested that we work as if we were professionals. We will:
1)create a story board. There is also a site called Jacob Lawrence Whitney which offers not only several Storyboard formats but also offers instruction on how to animate using Powerpoint.
2)sketch up story lines/plots
3) create a cast/character list including pictures of said characters. (I found another form here: Edhelper.com)
4)Then we will write dialogue. I found a handout on writing a TV script which looks quite interesting and useful.
5)and either animate the stories or cast the roles. There is a site that allows you to animate online. We will try that, I think, though I really would rather try out the suggestions from an animator over at Pixar. He offers instruction at 'Tricks to Animating Characters on the Computer'.
Laugh. Oh, this does sound like a fun project! Think I may have to try my own hand at creating a 'television' show!
You might well ask - WHAT could the idea of Television teach? The answer is best given by illustration.
You see, we did succumb to the lure of the blue box: My husband wanted to watch World Cup Soccer and my sons were hooked on a mystery series called "Tower Prep". But the World Cup ended and so too did "Tower Prep"(without ever answering the questions it had raised). And then my sons discovered the HORRIBLE truth: There was nothing else to watch on T.V. "The ads" said Xander, "are the best thing on!' But Jason and Xander are not the sort to surrender easily. Rather than simply toss the idea of T.V. (and they are still enamored of the idea) they decided to create their OWN television shows.
The ideas they have generated to this point include 1) Xander's 'The story of pretty much Nobody" ( "Four kids live with their Dad. Dad is never home because he is always off job hunting and mom died four years ago so... the kids wander around in the wilds of their backyard/neighborhood having 'kid-like' adventures -- falling into pits and finding velociraptor skeletons. That kind of thing.") and Jason's "Adventures of Captain Wavy Cape" based on the book/comic strip he wrote when he was five.
Now, I am a homeschooling mom so this screams 'teachable moment' -- I agreed that making our own TV shows was a good idea. I suggested that we work as if we were professionals. We will:
1)create a story board. There is also a site called Jacob Lawrence Whitney which offers not only several Storyboard formats but also offers instruction on how to animate using Powerpoint.
2)sketch up story lines/plots
3) create a cast/character list including pictures of said characters. (I found another form here: Edhelper.com)
4)Then we will write dialogue. I found a handout on writing a TV script which looks quite interesting and useful.
5)and either animate the stories or cast the roles. There is a site that allows you to animate online. We will try that, I think, though I really would rather try out the suggestions from an animator over at Pixar. He offers instruction at 'Tricks to Animating Characters on the Computer'.
Laugh. Oh, this does sound like a fun project! Think I may have to try my own hand at creating a 'television' show!
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