School Improvements

Mattanaw, Christopher Matthew Cavanaugh

Published October 29th 2019

There are two purposes to this page.

The first purpose is to provide potential ideas for improving the education system at various levels.

The second purpose is to provide ideas to use in the classrooms for teaching interesting lessons. Lessons that might be more memorable or meaningful than what you find elsewhere.

Memorable is important for obvious reasons.

It’s a beautiful thing for students to remember what they are taught. But it is much greater for students to learn the total experience of the lesson

• including the method the teacher is using in creating the lesson,
• the reason why it would be memorable,
• the use of the lesson in the real world,
• the total experience of the class, including reactions from other students and the teacher,
• and a way to remember the entire thing as a single story that could be re-told.

Such teachings could be relayed with ease to parents, who might learn such things themselves.

It seems that the best lessons have characteristics these characteristics. Except, sometimes the method may be hidden to create a “magic act” type feel. However, I think some students really benefit from knowing all aspects of the lesson with nothing hidden. This is what open source is outside of the education domain. Exceptional students may need to learn that there are better authorities than the source of the teachings used in the classroom.

Right now I’m thinking of a class trip I took to hear arguments at the Supreme Court. Field trips seem to have characteristics of such a style of teaching, but it can be done within the classroom as well.

I was a tutor for a while. I know it’s challenging to try to come up with new lessons on a daily basis. I hope this helps if you are a teacher or tutor facing the same issue.

Terms and Conditions. Exclusively written, edited (when that happens), and maintained by Christopher Matthew Cavanaugh. All Rights Reserved.

Sunday, February 16^th, 2020, 5:58 PM Alaska Time

Learning Logic by Critiquing Marketing.

One way that we can learn about good reasoning, is to find examples of poor logic, and determine all the things that are wrong with them.

By doing this, we can teach the real use of logic in everyday life.

We can find things that are harmful, and protect children by showing them why they are harmful.

We can empower children to find examples on their own.

We are fortunate, and really misfortunate, that Marketing and Advertising is our primary source of bad information.

it is designed to be all around us.

So, it is positive, that we can learn very easily, since we’ll have so many examples to draw from.

And we’ll always be able to find more examples, as long as Marketing and Advertising refuses to be truthful to us.

This will allow us to change ourselves for the better, change marketing, and in the end, probably change the world to be a more honest and truthful place, with less manipulation.

An example. “The 2021 Ford Explorer is the Best Adventure Vehicle Ever Made.”

It is not hard to find examples, but let me provide on now.

I heard a commercial from Ford saying that it’s new 2021 Ford Explorer, is, if I recall correctly (and I should be close):

“The best adventure vehicle ever made.”

I am not a fan of advertising, and I’ve worked hard to keep it out of my life.

But now I’m realizing I need to be current on advertising, to help counter it, and to be a good mentor.

This Ad commits at least two serious mistakes, already listed on my page of no-nos called Lists.

But what most people don’t realize, is it actually commits probably more than 10 mistakes.

• It doesn’t tell you what an adventure vehicle is or what the competition consists of.
  • It is basically telling you it is better than a tank.
  • It is better than a Hummer?
  • It is better than a Jeep?
  • It is better than a Land Rover?
• What is it better at?
  • “Everything” is what they want you to feel.
  • Can it climb large chunks of rock?
  • Can it descent steep slopes?
  • Does it need winter tires?
  • Does it have bullet proof glass?
  • Can I fire weapons off of it?
  • For road trips?
• It’s a truck designed for the roads and highways, not adventures?
  • I consider road trips adventures. Is this the best at it?
  • Even if they say it is the best at road trips, they don’t say how.
• How is it the best?
• From Lists. If it uses “best” we can mostly assume it is false.
• From Lists. If it uses “of all time” we can assume it is a lie.
• It doesn’t form anyone’s opinion. It is from a Marketing Strategy designed to sell. So it’s not even an opinion.
• It pretends it is being truthful, but it wants you to buy.
• It pretends it is helping you by giving you something that is the best. But it might hurt you to have it.
  • Can you afford it?
  • Is it the best priced vehicle?
  • Is it the best priced adventure vehicle?

By choosing examples from Marketing, we will always have a surplus of examples to teach logic.

We will always have things to critique in the real world.

It is better if they are improved, but if they are not, at least we can learn from it,

and children will have plenty of opportunities to test their knowledge.

Finally, they will have something that they can use

to protect themselves,

against older people, who will want to take advantage of them their whole lives,

and we can help them,

avoid becoming liars in their occupations themselves,

by changing the world.

Tuesday, October 29^th, 2019, 4:11 PM Alaska Time

A lesson about emotions.

You will be teaching yourself in this lesson,

and learning from others who might do the same.

Find a potato that “speaks” to you. LOL.

Draw a face on it.

Like a stick-figure face,

or something more intricate, if you like.

Place it beside your bed.

Or in a place where you will see it frequently.

I will put mine in my bed. (Seriously)

:).

Every few days, log how you feel about the potato.

How you’ve felt.

Then ask yourself,

“Am I becoming attached to this potato?”

…

I’m going to do this myself, and report my results.

My thought is that the result,

will not be rational.

I will want to keep the potato.

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