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authorSacha Chua <sacha@sachachua.com>2021-12-04 21:05:14 -0500
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@@ -19,36 +19,36 @@ drives present in everybody that allow us to explore and make sense of our world
# Discussion
-- Q1:  Would you say that the Montessori philosophy follows a \"verb\"
+- 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
+ - 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
+ - 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\"
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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
+ - 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
@@ -57,23 +57,23 @@ drives present in everybody that allow us to explore and make sense of our world
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)
+ 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
+ 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
+ - 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
+ 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. 
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ drives present in everybody that allow us to explore and make sense of our world
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
+ - 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
@@ -106,22 +106,22 @@ drives present in everybody that allow us to explore and make sense of our world
- 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
+ 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
+ - 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
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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)?
@@ -139,27 +139,27 @@ drives present in everybody that allow us to explore and make sense of our world
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
+ - 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
+ 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 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
+ 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
+ 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. 
+ 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
@@ -180,8 +180,8 @@ Links and other notes:
- <https://github.com/takaxp/org-tree-slide>
- <grant@churls.world>
-- \@kheya\@mastodon.social
-- <http://blog.shoshin.digital/> (there\'s not really anything there
+- @kheya@mastodon.social
+- <http://blog.shoshin.digital/> (there's not really anything there
xD)
# Outline