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 # Discussion
 
+-   Q1:  Would you say that the Montessori philosophy follows a \"verb\"
+    based methodology, where an abstract action is performed on an item,
+    without locking the action to what the item can support, like an
+    Object-oriented language would do? 
+    -   e.g.  \`throw(rock)\` instead of \`rock.throw()\`, i.e. a
+        function in a global namespace, instead of a function belonging
+        to an object?
+    -   A: i\'d like to think about this some more, but honestly i think
+        its a bit of both? there\'s certainly some things I can think of
+        that are more like \`rock.throw()\`\... Here are the things you
+        can do with these materials, and that is it. On the other hand,
+        I\'ve certainly seen inventive uses of educational materials
+        that follow more of a \`throw(pencil)\` type of thing.
+    -   The philosophy is highly observation based, so I\'m thinking
+        about the difference of something like \`Child::new.learn()\` vs
+        \`learn(some-child)\`.  In this case I do feel like the \"verb\"
+        based methodology is more appropriate. We need to stop and
+        observe a child, to notice what is driving them, what they\'re
+        responding to, and where they are in their abilities. Depending
+        on our observations, we may offer different kinds of input. Its
+        certainly much less like \"oh i have another Child object and I
+        need to have them do x, y, z\" in order to get to point B.
+    -   I hope this somewhat answers the question. I\'ll keep pondering
+        :)
+        -   Thank you, I guess some children favour one method over
+            another, but it\'s not as black and white as I initially
+            thought. Thanks!
+-   Q2: How old do you think childen need to be to start exploring with
+    Emacs?
+    -   A: Children 0-6 are in a phase called the \"absorbent mind\". It
+        is this miraculous superpower that children have to absorb
+        everything around them. The ability to learn language is
+        probably the most obvious example. So, if children can interact
+        with Emacs, they can start exploring it. Of course, as a text
+        editor, basic literacy is pretty important.  I personally have
+        not tried teaching young children Emacs, but I believe with the
+        right kinds of interfaces, it could be possible.
+-   Q3: How to let my kids exploring Emacs?(No need to answer this.
+    It\'s simillar to Q2)
+    -   A: Great question! Much of the early childhood Montessori work
+        is highly tactile. Abstract concepts are embodied in physical
+        objects. One example is the \"binomial cube\" which is a set of
+        blocks that demonstrates (a + b)\^3. Children know nothing about
+        the math behind it, but by interacting with it as a tactile
+        puzzle, something about the math concept behind it, the
+        abstraction, is available to the child and their absorbent mind.
+    -   That is to say\... perhaps there are ways to bring Emacs into
+        the physical world for the very young. I\'ve been fantasizing
+        about some kind of \"physical lisp\" where young children can
+        interact with a sort of physical programming language. I don\'t
+        have a lot of concrete ideas on how to get young children
+        exploring Emacs, but I  do believe it is possible.
+    -   For older, literate children, I believe simple things that give
+        instant feedback are a great way to encourage interaction. Being
+        able to do something like (set-cursor-color \"orange\") and see
+        it work at your finger tips is amazing. I believe that a well
+        prepared set up where M-x is easy to access and you get some
+        kind of completion to show you what you can do would go far. 
+        Even ielm could be useful. Children are not nearly as afraid of
+        a command prompt as some grown ups are. They come to it with
+        much less preconceptions on how it should be used.
+    -   I would like to think more about this, as giving children the
+        opportunity to experience Emacs feels critical these days, when
+        they may be forced into using much non-free software just do do
+        their school work.
+-   Q4: How big of an impact does the environment have on the children
+    that you teach?
+    -   A: the environment is huge. giving children a prepared space
+        where everything is accessible to them, down at their level, the
+        correct size, etc, it can lead to amazing things. When I worked
+        with 1.5-3 year olds, I remember telling people it was like
+        managing a restaurant where my employees were toddlers. I could
+        work with a group of children to get food served into properly
+        sized dishes, beverages poured, ceramic plates and glass cups
+        set on the tables, napkins folded, and so on all finished in
+        time to get everyone down for lunch before we had major melt
+        downs.  This would not be possible in a normal grown-up
+        environment. 
+    -   I\'m not sure i said this in the talk, but the environment is an
+        active process on all of us, not just children. the 0-6 year
+        olds (and beyond) are absorbing so much from the environment
+        that we simply filter out. i think this is important to consider
+        for new emacs users. I tend to filter out a lot of things that a
+        new user may pick up and stumble over.
+    -   To re-emphasize: the elements of education are The Learner, The
+        Guide(s), and The Environment. Montessori focuses on the
+        Prepared Environment, in order that it can be the most effective
+        for the child\'s ability to become an independent, self-realized
+        person.
+-   Q5:Do you have a good reference for the Montessori principles
+    (actually any nice book ref)?
+    -   A: I\'d like to find a more modern resource, I\'m sure they are
+        out there. Much of my experience was direct hands-on classroom
+        time.  I\'ve read much of \"The Absorbent Mind\" which really
+        lays out a lot of the observations Maria Montessori made of the
+        young child, 0-6 years old.  The other book I\'ve studied is
+        \"The Secret of Childhood\".  I would like to stress though, a
+        lot of the knowledge in Montessori is very very similar to
+        traditional knowledge. When I was learning more about Lakota
+        culture and parenting, I was finding that Montessori was
+        expressing much of the same thing. Any resource (book, human,
+        whatever) that respects children as whole human beings is worth
+        paying attention to. Another author I\'ve enjoyed is Aletha
+        Solter, who writes about parenting.
+-   Q6:How do you think Emacs could improve re: Montessori Principles
+    (if at all)?
+    -   A: My main takeaway is that we should acknowledge the three
+        elements of learning: The Learner (user), The Guides
+        (contributors), and The (Prepared) Environment. Each user coming
+        to Emacs is an individual with their own mix of internal drives
+        (human tendencies) that compel them to learn and experience.
+        Everyone that is a contributor to Emacs (whether in code, on the
+        web, or in chat) acts as a Guide in the environment (whether
+        they know it or not).  The Prepared Environment could be
+        considered how the application is set up for users.  I think
+        there is room for a friendlier Prepared Environment, though I am
+        always amazed at what I can discover where the self-documenting
+        feature helps me out.  Interactive tutorials teaching one how to
+        learn how to learn Emacs would be tricky, but I think some
+        interesting work could happen there!
+    -   Another principle is \"control of error\", meaning, when you
+        fail at something or make a mistake, it should be obvious, and
+        hopefully the correction of the error should be obvious as well.
+        This is hard to do in a huge software environment like Emacs,
+        but I think there could be some work done in this regard. I\'m
+        reminded of Racket\'s beginning student languages, which make
+        error messages more human focused and less computery is a good
+        example.
+    -   I think the community could also improve as Guides. I have
+        certainly had many pleasant interactions with Emacs users, but
+        sometimes you run into things like \"RTFM\" or \"read the
+        source\". While I don\'t disagree, it can come off as elitist
+        sometimes. Many new users are afraid to read source, or have
+        found a manual but still don\'t understand. We certainly want to
+        encourage independence, so offering techniques like \"have you
+        tried M-x describe-function?\"  is better than just answering
+        outright. Sometimes we need to take a moment and understand the
+        Learner we\'re working with. Maybe they aren\'t ready for \"read
+        the source\". I could keep writing, but I think I need to wrap
+        up. Anyone should feel free to email me to talk more! perhaps
+        i\'ll try doing some writing about it. 
+-   Q8: What was the presentation mode you used?
+    -   A: org-tree-slide - <https://github.com/takaxp/org-tree-slide> -
+        i love using this package because i can practice and edit my
+        presentation at the same time.
+
+Feedback:
+
 - having studied in a school which founded by following Montessori Philosophy, I can relate <3
 - Love the emphasis on creativity!
 - Such a cool talk