Yarn-along: of shawls and summer and schooling theories

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~ Ginny at small things


Yarn-along: May 22, 2013

Yarn-along: May 22, 2013


Good morning! I don’t know if it’s allergies or a wicked cold, but I feel lousy today. That, however, will not keep me from a) knitting or b) reading or c) writing about both. Yes, I’m VERY brave.

First the book-front: as the home-school year winds down to nothingness (altho, truth be told, I do have them doing bits of math, reading, writing and science-with-Dad all summer just to keep them from being B-O-R-E-D!), my thoughts turn toward next year and schooling only two of the three (as HamBone heads to the Catholic diocesan high school). I was thrilled to find the two books on the library shelf: The Year of Learning Dangerously by Quinn Cummings and The One World School House by Salman Khan.

The one by Cummings (childhood actress and now mom to “Alice”) is excellent. It’s a highly readable (and enjoyable) explanation of how Cummings came to homeschool her only child … the memories and mistakes … the joys and sorrows … the whys and why nots. This is one of those books that is provocative from the get-go and the reader doesn’t notice how deep are the thoughts while reading since the text is great fun and highly accessible. Cummings (who I thought was a snit as a child-actress) has a great story-telling sense while revealing great truths (and fears) of teaching her daughter at home. A great read to get my “mojo” for planning next year.

Now, the only similarity between Cummings’ book and Khan’s is that they’re both talking about radical education — neither particularly likes the main-stream, NEA-endorsed way of education. Cummings is less against than Khan, who has devoted his life and personal fortune to creating the Khan Academy, an online site for free education at every level. The one thing I particularly like about Khan’s idea is that we need to go back to ensuring mastery of subjects before pushing the student onward and upward; we need to allow self-pacing to dictate what the student will learn. Khan’s book is a bit more dense, a bit less accessible than Cumming’s. I’m a bit leery of national curriculum, let alone international (“one world”) curriculum but the idea BEHIND it is good. I appreciate that each learns at their own pace and in their own place. This one will take longer to get through … but I’m thinking the adventure is going to be an interesting one.

On the knitting front, I’m working on a shop-model of my popular Season Spanning Cardi pattern. I’m going to be teaching a class on working this sweater in July so I want to have a model in the shop to stir interest. This is a great pattern done in worsted-weight cotton (the shop model is done in Plymouth’s Fantasy Naturale). I’m just about done with the body (done in one piece) and will then work the bodice and the top-down/short-rowed sleeves that are knit in.

I finished the Ultra Pima shawlKnittin’ Love came out beautifully, yes?

Knittin' Love ... a shawl to show just how much love you have in your heart!

Knittin’ Love … a shawl to show just how much love you have in your heart!

So what’s on your reading table and needles? Wanna come play over at Ginny’s ….

Comments
4 Responses to “Yarn-along: of shawls and summer and schooling theories”
  1. Education can be such a touchy subject although I do appreciate Kahn Academy’s online “classes” (even though we’ve not used any of them). Your shawl turned out beautifully!

  2. heathermama says:

    i love the pink of your WIP. so bright and happy. i do love pink. 🙂

  3. Meadow says:

    Lovely shawl! Thank you for sharing the books you are reading. I checked out the Khan Academy and it looks great. Like you I’m a bit leery when it comes to National and World Curr. but love the idea of kids learning at their own pace.

  4. Mary G says:

    I had my 14 yos get on there today and “free explore” and he’s fascinated with the site. He didn’t even balk when I said I’d be having him on there throughout the summer! It must be cool.

    Enjoy!
    mary G.

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