Bucket list item 21

February 9, 2014

One of the most amazing things in life is how one can detour around, under, over, and beside quests that have a life-long, deep and abiding interest. About every six months over the past half century the idea of creating a system or concept of learning that provides a way out of the labyrinth we currently refer to as “public education. If pushed, my brain could recall literally thousands of times in which conversations with students, colleagues, family members, and total strangers turned to the quest for some way of reaching students who didn’t fit the profile of whoever it was that the educational machine crafted modern education to serve.

My sister Lynda and brother Glenn have walked this path with me hundreds of times, creating magical curricula and training plans. Almost all have included widely varying opportunities for students aimed at challenging minds and awakening the senses. My mentor, Dr. Arturo De Hoyos sees a system in which adults craft their own curriculum by reading extensively from fiction, humanities, history, science, geography, philosophy, spiritual materials, physics, geometry, physiology, and astronomy. Each reading would culminate with reasoned, logical analysis of the material presented.

Students would share their analysis with other students and discuss their findings and report. These reports would not be not be caustic, or negative, but simply presentations of understanding and interpretation. A portfolio of “understandings” would be maintained with the ultimate goal for each student of achieving a personal level of satisfaction that each had achieved the personal goal of understanding their personal worth, why they are here, and what the eternities hold.

A system reaching only one subset of humankind is twisted. Some of the brightest, most logical, far-sighted students have found themselves lost in the fray as straight lines, shocking quiet, drab colors, and boring duplicated materials are answered; then answered again. How many times must a human learn that 12 x 12 = 144. At what age do the great gurus of educational progress demand that we know how to spell cat. Further, how many times must we learn that same thing and at what age do we magically stop needing that same answer. Imagine, moving through the grade levels and somehow missing a critical point say 12 x 12 = 144. This fine student is now magically transported to the next level sans the information critical to the next step; then, the next step and the next until she comes completely off the rails and determines that educational is unattainable.

Then as if by magic those who, for whatever reason, learn differently from the “norm” such as those with autism appear on life’s big screen. My declaration is that individuals that each person, whether blind, deaf, autistic, Down’s, ADHD, anxious, and any other handle one might tack on to humans is just that; a convenient tag declaring that person unlike the others.

You are all welcome to chime in, but I am really only interested in hearing from those of you who understand that we are all different and that we are all children of our Heavenly Father; that he loves us and has charged us with blessing the lives of those in our care. Next week I will share the first level of an educational game with you. It will be based on a United States historical text, “Miracles and Massacres” by Glenn Beck unless I change my mind. Student goals will be three-fold:

1.       Learn Spanish or English as required (oh, by the way, students will be given simultaneous translations and move back and forth between Spanish and English verbally and in writing.

2.       Learn the art of reading, understanding, and enjoying

3.       Learn some elements of United States History lost in current public school textual materials.

God bless each of us as we challenge our hearts and minds to do the will of God.

Duane Jacobs, grandfather, father, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend