It's Bright in Here

(12) from work to get a tire replaced, so we could have a car, and I went with him to help with the driving (we are rural) and get camping supplies, so that's why we did no art, no algebra, and no history. Pi did do extra online work, and more word problems, plus reading, and hiking.

(11) and set forth a strong and clear thesis, the rest becomes much easier, and if you can remember that, that it will be hard at first and then get easier if you just get past that hill, then it doesn't feel so impossible. And that was it. I remember now what came up, my partner had to take off-

(10) at all, and a thesis and a feeling of coherency can seem impossible at first, but that once you get past that first paragraph that can feel like a steep uphill climb, the work plateaus, and then begins to speed up like coasting downhill. If you lay the groundwork for the piece in the beginning

(9) tends to make the writing more interesting to read on the principle that if the writer is interested, then the reader will be by virtue of that. And then also we talked about how it's generally difficult to begin, feels like a whole lot of blank paper in front of you, and too many ideas or none

(8) about the key points to remember when writing, I mean, that writing is to entertain, inform, and persuade, and to make sure you are doing all three to some degree, but also that you should write about something that interests you, because that makes it easier in terms of motivation, but it also-

(7) good he felt then, being done and having done a good job, as opposed to how he felt struggling to get the first paragraph and his thesis right, and how trying and working and persevering got him from the place of feeling really poorly about himself and the work to feeling so good. And we talked-

(6) time customs, and heck that ended up being a good paper. He had some minor changes to make, mostly related to proof reading (my experience is that kids will never proofread, but you still keep reminding them to and showing them how), but other than that it was great, so we also talked about how

(5) have trouble to the point of just not getting something at all, I set it aside and say next time. We laid the groundwork for understanding this, and next time we will make more sense of it because of that. We graded word problem homework, and read the penultimate draft of his essay on odd meal-

(4) much of that and it's okay, in fact it's good to sometimes show your kid that you don't get something too, and that there is no shame in it and it need not be a source of frustration. I believe that repeated exposures to certain ideas helps make them become clearer, and so when either Pi or I-

(3) or was. In movies we talked about His Girl Friday, and meant to watch it during art, but something came up and I can't remember what now because it was on Friday and this is now Tuesday of the next week because i am behind. In astronomy we read about cosmic inflation and I did not understand-

(2) obscure words there was ballagarraidh, the awareness you are not at home in the wilderness, and foreclearing, the act of deliberately refusing to learn the scientific explanantions of things out of fear that it will ruin the magic, and ne'er-be-gone, a person who has no idea where their home is-

Week 28: Fri 6/20. ASL wotd was anthropology, which is a unique sign, and then in ASL basics we learned tell, which looks too much like say or speak for me, so I can see me getting confused seeing that. In unusual words we had flim flam, which Pi thought was nonsense but really means trickery. In-

(13) goosebumps. The man was brilliant. We were so lucky to study two such brilliant men. In world history we started learning about the birth of Islam, and in earth science we talked about the creation of matter, no small stuff, and in algebra we graphed linear equations using slope intercept form

(12) he tried to explain it to others, he winnowed it down the most potent and powerful of words, the words that meant exactly what he thought about it all, and that drove him to do what he did, "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Gives me

(11) addressing this specific event, honoring the dead and wounded and claiming that ground as a cemetery, it also represents a linear progression in thought from his 1st inaugural. He is saying the same thing, only way more concisely, like this is all he thought about, and as time went on, and as

(10)wonderful. We also read Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, twice, once with me reading it and once with Pi reading it. Because I spent so much time talking about Frantz Fanon, I don't want to go into Lincoln too much, but I am just blown away by the man's brain, and how the Gettysburg address, while

(9) the masses and create a new and inclusive cultural identity. I think I misspelled his name earlier, and it's Fanon, with two n's not three. Anyway, I am getting his book, I encourage you too as well, this is an example of how teaching my kids has turned into teaching myself as well, and it's

(8) Rawl's veil of ignorance, they just can't or don't, because self interest is too strong. Fanon said that the oppressed tend to mimic the behavior of the ruling elite (no wonder, the ruling elite have forced their culture on everyone else), so a real transition away from colonialism must involve

(7) that got it its land and resources. This that he said I think is so important, that trying enact reform in the standard way, between the colonizers and the privileged elite of the colonized, just recreates the same colonial injustices. I would pipe up here to say it's because people can't dawn

(6)society that in inclusive and decolonized. This that he said, and he was speaking specifically about the colonization of Africa, but I think this stuff is applicable elsewhere, for instance a modern democratic republic that has based its cis white male power structure on the colonizing principles

(5) all the work that has to go into making that happen, and all the things that have to die for those values to remain in place. Fannon based his ideas on the notion of the dignity and value of ALL people regardless of race or background, and that all can be involved and all can benefit from a

(4) things in political science. And I had never heard of him before. I feel like he should be a common name, especially in these times. He talks about the assumptions of cultural superiority and the oppression that follows, forcing the white minority's values onto the entire society. Think about

(3) finished up our section of the political theory of Frantz Fannon. I am going to try not to write too much because I need to actually read his book, The Wretched of the Earth, before I can really go off, but this man who died at 35 seems to have said some of the most practical and needed to say

(2) know it, merreness, the lulling isolation of driving late at night, and justing, the habit of telling yourself that just one more tweak could solve all your problems. We went over Pi's word problem homework and he got more word problem homework as well as online math and language arts. Then we

Week 28: Thurs 6/19. Juneteenth! ASL wotd was social work, which looks like it's rock paper scissors, and basic ASL was signing. Unusual words was fez, and obscure words included vulture shock, the nagging feeling that no matter how many days you spend exploring a foreign country you knew really

(6) Art Deco episodes on YouTube and while Pi painted and I worked on drawing.

(5) many paths. We read about women in the time of Jesus vs in the early church for history, as well as Paul's influence on the shift from the early followers of Jesus to the rigid structure of a church replete with rules and rituals. In science we learned about Einstein. In art we watched some

(4) He also has reading to do, more word problems, and his online algebra and language arts work. In algebra together we worked on slope intercept form and then related it back to point slope form to show how it's all connected which is really neat. It's really neat how much math has to offer, so

(3) or at public and private events. We went over Pi's word problem homework and he got them all correct, neat, and then we went over his essay. He's finished the first draft, and it was largely good after all the work we'd done step by step to get there. He has some notes to work on editing it.

(2) ever trim their beards and can they carry their kirpan in a world concerned about all weapons except guns. So we looked that up. I did find that some Sikhs do trim their beards, but I didn't find much of anything about if they have a religious pass to carry their kirpans on things like planes