Thinking Citizen Blog — The Corona Virus Journal, the Corona Virus Matrix, the Corona Virus Calendar

Thinking Citizen Blog — Friday is Education and Education Policy Day

Today’s Topic: The Corona Virus Journal, the Corona Virus Matrix, the Corona Virus Calendar.

The coronavirus has turned every home into a “pop-up school.” We are all homeschoolers now. What to do? Are all make-shift plans more or less equivalent? Well, as you might suspect, I have a plan. And its broad outline will come as no surprise to readers of this blog. Kids need structure and they need a mix of activities. Every day. How about using the “Seven Joys” model as the structure of each child’s at-home-school-day? Say 20 minutes to an hour for each of the joys (math, literature, science, music, art, sports, and history (aka “social studies,” or “thinking citizenship”). How about making writing the unifying thread? Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.

WRITING SHOULD BE THE FIRST PILLAR OF EACH CHILD’S DAY

1. “Mom, what did you do during the Pandemic of 2020?” (asked in 2040)

2. Writing is not only the most powerful tool of critical thinking ever developed — it can also be a gift of incomparable value to future generations.

3. As I never tire of saying, “reading without writing is like eating without digesting.” In fact, doing anything without writing is like eating without digesting.

NB: Every child should start keeping a thematic journal for each of the seven joys. Based on my personal experience, it is a life-enriching discipline for life.

DECISION MAKING, THE MATRIX, AND THE FAMILY MEAL — So what did you learn today?

1. Ever had a family meal where a child was asked “what did you learn in school today?” And the answer was “nothing”?

2. Every meal could be a super fun “What Matters Table” exchange. But to make it super fun, kids must prepare. This requires decision making. And vigilance.

3. Each family member should have a goal of thinking of three things and three reasons why these three things stood out. Think of a three by three matrix!

NB: If you can only come up with one thing and one reason for it, well, that’s infinitely better than “nothing.”

COOKING, SPORTS, MUSIC, ART, HOME REPAIR — Continuity key to mastery, depth of thought, and retention

1. No better science lab than the kitchen.

2. Suffering through fitness workouts together can ease the pain.

3. Best training in problem-solving may relate to home repair challenges.

NB: singing, dancing, and drawing can be learned together via how-to videos. Ditto for juggling….Remember to keep a separate journal for each activity. And make sure to keep each journal in a place that is easily accessible so it can

be updated. FINAL WORD and SHAMELESS PLUG — DIGESTIBLE CHUNKS (aka “triptychs”)

1. I like to think that the three-part daily posts of the Liberal Arts and Thinking Citizen Blogs (which I call “triptychs”) are “digestible chunks” that might provide a useful off-the-shelf curriculum for students young and old stuck at home.

2. Each is designed to serve as a launching pad for discussion between family and friends about something that I find interesting.

3. Could the three-main-points and three-sub-points format be the most valuable idea of all? Form liberates. The rule of three rocks. The sooner a child masters it the better. Just one guy’s opinion.

Liberal Arts Academy | Time to Re-Imagine Education and The Thinking Citizen.

Opinion | Coronavirus Makes Homeschoolers of Us All

How to Home School During Coronavirus

Opinion | I Refuse to Run a Coronavirus Home School

Opinion | Oregon’s Coronavirus Education Lockdown

The Kids Are Home. You Need to Work. What Do You Do?

YOUR TURN

Please share the coolest thing you learned in the last week related to education or education policy. Or the coolest thought however half-baked you had.

Or the coolest, most important thing you learned in your life related to education or education policy that the rest of us may have missed.

Or just some random education-related fact that blew you away. This is your chance to make some one’s day. Or to cement in your own mind something that you might otherwise forget. Or to think more deeply than otherwise about something that is dear to your heart.