The Greening of Gavin

Tell Ben That You Care

@ By 23 Comments

We were marking Ben’s home school work today and stumbled across this piece of work.

The hypothetical situation was that he had to pretend to be a radio DJ, and he was asked to write a short talk about something that he disliked in the world.  He wrote this;

“Meanwhile in in the world, global warming is taking place.  Ice caps are melting and sea levels are rising.
I almost feel like half the world doesn’t care.”

How astute that he has realised this at age 13.  We certainly don’t talk about this subject every day, and mainly I keep my own concerns about climate change close to my chest so as to shelter him a little.  Sad, that he feels like our generation is not concerned about one of the biggest issues facing his generation, and what is left of our own.

So, lets do something special for Ben.  Leave a comment if you care, so that we can show him that at least a big percentage actually cares and wants to do something to make it better.  I am sure that it would make us all feel a bit better, and show the lad some hope.

Gav x

Fun At ScienceWorks

@ By 4 Comments

“Cracking good job, Gromit!”

Well, that’s what Ben and I thought when we saw these scenes at the Scienceworks Museum in Melbourne on Monday.

Ben and I visited this wonderful centre of learning as an excursion treat for home school, as I had the day off.

I believe that a world without knowledge of science is a world without knowledge of truth, and it is a lack of general scientific knowledge, and connection with the natural world which is the reason why most of us don’t give a damn about things happening all around us, and pursue a shallow existence within the consumer kulture (I know its a long bow to draw, but there, I said it).
Anyway, I digress.  Gromit is very happy in this shot measuring his marrow.  His little garden looked perfect and so real.  In fact, I wish I had onions, carrots, and cauliflowers looking so good in my garden!
Other than the Wallace & Gromit exhibition, we visited all the normal displays like the Lightning room where they simulated lighting (of course), and the Planetarium.
In the Planetarium we learnt about the tilt of the Earths axis, and how it makes the seasons change. We also learnt about what is in the night sky right now.  We were shown that Mercury and Mars are in Scorpius in the west at sunset (in Melbourne), and whilst on the subject of Mars they showed us pictures and a movie about Curiosity lander that is now on the surface.  Maybe they will find out why Mars may have changed from having water a few billion years ago to that dry state it is in now.  It might even answer some questions about Earths own future.
We also learnt all about how light behaves, having a play with all sorts of light type experiments. 
There was even lots of information about how we are making climate change is happening, and some things to try and prevent it.  It was at a basic level, however I think it was pitched at kids.  I wish there was something pitched at the parents, calling on their sense of moral obligation.  Alas, no such display.
We also learnt about the origins of my favourite drinking vessel, the Keep Cup.  Hopefully you can read the poster also.  Millions of disposable cups saved from ending up in landfill.  I see so many of them now, that my coffee drinking method has become mainstream!
Other great displays were how our curbside recycling bin gets sorted into the separate components (tin cans, plastic bottles, paper etc.).  There were some cool hands on displays where you got to separate the waste yourself with magnets, blowers, and shakers.   
Anyway, as another treat I bought Ben two small kits to learn more about basic electronics.  The kits even have small solar panels!  
I remember having this type of kit bought for me when I was a kid, and I played with them for years learning all about simple radio circuits and the like.  I am looking forward to helping the lad do some experiments in the coming weeks.
We had a great day, and by the time we departed, our heads were swimming with so much information we would have put Einstein to shame!  However, I did remind Ben on the way home that just because science shows us that something is possible it doesn’t mean we should pursue the outcome, and that we must use wisdom to do what is right with this new knowledge.  I believe he understood what I meant.
I will leave you with this thought for the day;

The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. ~ Isaac Asimov

Wise Words Wednesday – Homeschool

@ By 7 Comments

Today’s question comes from Michelle who writes a blog at “A Vision Splendid“.  I believe that Michelle began to blog around a year earlier than I did.  Anyway, here is the email, with her permission.

“Hi Gavin and Kim,
Just wondering how the homeschooling is going ? We are seriously considering this option for our boys ( now almost 11 and 14). It seems like such a natural progression in the lifestyle path we have taken.

I have spent today talking to other homeschooling families, one in particular who now has two sons in uni and others still at home learning in a rich environment. These families started from the ‘beginning’ though so could not talk to me about the transition from school to home.

I was therefore hoping ( if you had the time) you could let me know of your thoughts on the transition and whether you have met any other homeschooling families around your area.

thanks in advance

Michelle” 

Now I did reply to Michelle, however if anyone else has had home schooling experience, I would love to hear how your transition went, for Kim and my benefit.  It would also help Michelle make up her mind as well.  So here is my answer.

Hi Michelle, 

The home schooling is going very well. We took Ben back a grade so he has consolidated for this month and will be starting year 7 work in a few weeks. The curriculum that we are using is from http://www.homeschooling.com.au/ which is set about two years ahead of mainstream ed so we started him off on what they call year 4. Our eldest daughter is a year 7 & 8 high school teacher so she knows where they are up to in mainstream education and we believe that year 4 in this curriculum is equivalent to year 6/7. We took the time to met Valerie at the homeschool place a few times now when we tested Ben and picked up the material. She wrote most of the books and we think they are quite good and easy to follow most of the time, and is quite the advocate for home schooling.  She also taught all of her children at home. With the books, at least the answers are in the back (which we ripped out and hid) for those of use who went to school a very long time ago. 😉 

Kim teaches Ben from 9am to 1.30pm on the 3R’s, spelling, social studies (history, geography), and languages. After lunch he does art/home subjects, like drawing, painting, modelling, cooking and baking. I get to teach him gardening, animal husbandry, and DIY on weekends, and every second Wednesday, I take him on an excursion that relates to one of his subjects for that week 

As for Ben adjusting, he was a bit of a loner at primary school with only a few friends so he has adjusted very well. He is racing ahead of where he should be with this one on one attention and we can add in subjects as we see fit and according to our values. He loves it, as does Kim, because even with her mild MS, when she has a bad day with fatigue, she can set him some work and explain anything he doesn’t understand. He also does school work when he is sick! Also I get to spend some great time with him during the excursions, and now I feel like I am part of his growing up and a larger contributor to his education instead of being just a bystander and an observer of the process. 

As for socialisation, he sees his friends more now after school than he did before, and has quality time with them. He also actively participates in workshops and events we hold for our sustainable living group, like the worm farm workshop I just wrote about. We haven’t met any other home school families in our area, however, one of our friends also enquired about the process regarding registration here in Victoria. Talk about influencing others in a short amount of time! 

Hope this helps, and I really could not recommend it highly enough, if you are disgruntled with mainstream education, and have the time, or want to enhance your boys education with lots of sustainable living topic that are unheard of in our schools today. 

Warm regards, 

Gav & Kim

So as I mentioned, does anyone else have any similar experiences that they can share?  Kim and I would love to here your story if you have chosen this type of schooling for your children as would Michelle!