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diff --git a/2021/talks/montessori.md b/2021/talks/montessori.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..8c734ad9 --- /dev/null +++ b/2021/talks/montessori.md @@ -0,0 +1,234 @@ +[[!meta title="Emacs and Montessori Philosophy"]] +[[!meta copyright="Copyright © 2021 "]] +[[!inline pages="internal(2021/info/montessori-nav)" raw="yes"]] + +<!-- You can manually edit this file to update the abstract, add links, etc. ---> + + +# Emacs and Montessori Philosophy + +[[!taglink CategoryPhilosophy]] + +[[!inline pages="internal(2021/info/montessori-schedule)" raw="yes"]] + +As a former Montessori guide and now parent, I often think about the +relationship of this particular educational philosophy and how it manifests +in my work with software, Emacs in particular. This talk introduces the +concept of Emacs as an educational environment and how it expresses elements of +Montessori psychology regarding "Human Tendencies". Human tendencies are innate +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" + 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 +- Great perspective in that talk. +- the reference to Montessori made me think of Alan Kay's talks about Frenet and Papert. + - i was thinking the exact same thing regarding Alan Kay and his talks about education, and of his philosophies behind Smalltalk (the programming language). + - and Smalltalk as a platform shares a lot with Emacs, both are a world where a user lives and develops + - garjola: yeah...the whole thing about discovery, figuring things out for yourself, having an epiphany. + +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 + xD) + +# Outline + +- 5-10 minutes: (brief description/outline) + Quick overview of a Montessori classroom environment: + + - the adults or guides primarily observe and present material + - the children are free to explore materials as they choose (within limits) + - the environment itself is prepared specifically to foster engagement + + Enumerate the "Human Tendencies": + + - Abstraction + - Activity + - Communication + - Exactness + - Exploration + - Manipulation (of the environment) + - Order + - Orientation + - Repetition + - Self-Perfection + - Work (also described as "purposeful activity") + + How does Emacs express these things? + + - in the short version, pose the question, and perhaps give one example. + - Emacs is an environment that provides facilities for individuals to + find their way to proficiency through their Human Tendencies. + - We are all both learners and guides, Emacs is our classroom + +<!-- +- 20 minutes: (brief description/outline) + This would follow the same outline as above, but go more deeply into how + Emacs fosters understanding and growth by allowing individuals to express + the various Human Tendencies. + +- 40 minutes: (brief description/outline) + I don't have in mind to do a 40 minute talk, though a friend and fellow Emacs + user is also a former Montessori guide and we had talked about sharing our + experience together in this presentation. This would include more anecdotal + evidence of what we experienced ourselves observing children as well as our + journey to competency as software developers through the classroom of Emacs. +--> + +[[!inline pages="internal(2021/captions/montessori)" raw="yes"]] + +[[!inline pages="internal(2021/info/montessori-nav)" raw="yes"]] |