I really don't have this much time on my hands...
I'm a nerd, and this isn't news to anyone. I like to think of myself as an idea person, not a philosopher so much, but a person who comes up with ideas for things...a good portion of them applicable. No one person has the energy to see every idea that I have through, but as a writer, I can throw them out at the general public and see if anything catches on.
One thing that's been niggling at me lately (well for a long time), but more lately, is how to form a more effective educational system, specifically in regards to languages. I'm terrible with foreign languages myself. I know about ten-twenty words in about 4 languages that aren't English and how to say "hi" in a few more. It's better than nothing, but it would be nice to know a second language better.
I think one of the biggest problems with America's educational system is that we wait til highschool to introduce children to a foreign language. It's better than nothing, but to really make it stick, foreign language education needs to begin much earlier.
I've been introducing some Spanish to my preschoolers, and most of my two year olds can count to ten in Spanish now just as well as they count in English. Why? Well, we go over the numbers in English and then Spanish everyday we have class. I'm starting to do the same thing with colors, but I don't know my spanish colors as well so I haven't gotten into a regular habit yet.
Once a month, we have a country day. On that day we (try to) sample a food, listen to music, look at a map/globe, make a craft (often the flag if it's simple), dress up, and/or do other things related to that country. They have some neat counting / colors books for other countries at the library which is fun, because it lets me do some more foreign language introduction.
I'm trying to develope what I'm calling the "Renaissance Method" for teaching. And since I had the morning off, for fun I thought I'd try to lay out how this would look/work at the elementary level. Yes, this is sort of thing I do for fun.
The basic idea is to try to introduce children to a large body of knowledge, while repeating key concepts. This is my play on breaking down what would go into what class. Everything would need to be modified for age appropriateness, etc. And the languages I picked are more intended to be examples than set in stone... meh, I'm not really trying to sell this, just thinking out loud.
Renaissance Man / Polymath
[1 hr] Languages (5)
[1 hr] Science (3) - Math (2)
[1 hr] History (2) - Life Skills (2) - Theology (1)
[1/2 hr lunch]
[1 hr] Physical Education (5)
[1 1/2 hr] Arts: Visual (2) - Musical Instruments (2) - Literary (1) - Preforming (Integrated)
[1/2 hr] Recess
[1/2 hr - 1 1/2 hr] Study Hall / Tutoring Sessions. (Optional)
Languages:
English
Spanish
Latin
Greek
Hebrew
Chinese
Japanese (Hindi)
Arts:
[Visual]
Drawing
Painting
3D / sculptural
Design
Photography
[Musical]
Theory/reading music
Piano (keys)
Flute (wind)
Guitar (finger strings)
Drum (percussion)
Violin (bow played)
Vocal
[Literary]
Literature / Story Telling
Poetry / Song writing
[Preforming]
Theatre
Debate
Dance (preforming aspects)
Exhibitions / Art Shows of fixed media
Theology:
Beliefs (Philosophy)
Ethics (Application)
History
Comparison
Physical Education:
Swimming
Archery (targetting) [Ad fire arms safety course for 13 and up.]
Track (running)
Tennis/Baseball (striking)
Basket ball/dodge ball/kickball/soccer (ball handling/team)
Martial Arts (fighting with a defense focus)
Dance (technical aspects)
Health (knowledge...break up into 10 minutes perclass.)
First Aide training
Science:
The Scientific Method
Geology
Physics / Chemistry
Plants growth/farming
Animals
Anatomy
Technology (Simple to Modern)
Math:
Basic
Geometric
Abstract Concepts
Algebra
History:
Local (One week)
State (Three weeks)
Nation (Remaining Semester)
World (2nd Semester)
Geography (Inter woven/2nd Semester)
Life Skills:
Domestic (cleaning / food preparation)
Repair (mechanical / carpentry / home repair basics)
Budgetting / Accounting
Legal / Government (theoretical and practical)
Technical Writing / Legal Writing
Typing / Computer Use skills
I have two hours before I need to meet with an insurance agent. So I'm gonna play around with how to adapt this on the preschool level...yes, I want to have nerdy babies. :)