the third drawer
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I just had to share this with people who'd appreciate it the way I do.
My 10yo dd asked me to get her a belt out of her room, and she told me it was in the third drawer of her dresser.? I went to look for it, but it wasn't there.? She was sure that's where it was, so she came in to prove it.? She walks right up to the dresser, counts with her finger from the bottom of the dresser, 1, 2, 3, and opens the drawer, and voila, there's the belt.? I laughed, and said, 1, 2, 3, from the bottom?? Like a building?? And she smiled and said, yeah, why not??
It made me think about other examples of how we ("we" - our society/schools, not "we" - us here) define things as 'the right way' and 'the wrong way,' instead of the 'standard' or 'traditional' way, when there is often more than one way of thinking that makes sense, and by not recognizing that, we have the potential to damage our kids' ability to think clearly, because they don't trust their own minds.
I think it was John Holt who used an example of this in one of his books when discussing helping learn kids to read, and points out that a chair is still a chair if you turn it around backwards or upside down, but if you do the same thing to the letter 'b,' it becomes something completely different, and if we treat that as something that just 'makes sense,' kids may conclude that their own common sense is faulty and just resort to taking other people's word for it.
Invented spelling is another one.? And the thing about right and left -- if I'm looking at a pair of pants, isn't the right pants' pocket the one one *my* right?? Does it change if someone is wearing them??
Of course, all of this is not to say there's no benefit to using agreed-upon standard definitions and rules for things.? You might actually want someone to be able to get you your belt.? <g>
-Patty
P.S.? I'm sorry if random question marks appear throughout my post.? Just so you know, it's something my email program is doing, and not an intentional expression of complete lack of confidence.? <g>
?
________________________________________________________________________
Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
My 10yo dd asked me to get her a belt out of her room, and she told me it was in the third drawer of her dresser.? I went to look for it, but it wasn't there.? She was sure that's where it was, so she came in to prove it.? She walks right up to the dresser, counts with her finger from the bottom of the dresser, 1, 2, 3, and opens the drawer, and voila, there's the belt.? I laughed, and said, 1, 2, 3, from the bottom?? Like a building?? And she smiled and said, yeah, why not??
It made me think about other examples of how we ("we" - our society/schools, not "we" - us here) define things as 'the right way' and 'the wrong way,' instead of the 'standard' or 'traditional' way, when there is often more than one way of thinking that makes sense, and by not recognizing that, we have the potential to damage our kids' ability to think clearly, because they don't trust their own minds.
I think it was John Holt who used an example of this in one of his books when discussing helping learn kids to read, and points out that a chair is still a chair if you turn it around backwards or upside down, but if you do the same thing to the letter 'b,' it becomes something completely different, and if we treat that as something that just 'makes sense,' kids may conclude that their own common sense is faulty and just resort to taking other people's word for it.
Invented spelling is another one.? And the thing about right and left -- if I'm looking at a pair of pants, isn't the right pants' pocket the one one *my* right?? Does it change if someone is wearing them??
Of course, all of this is not to say there's no benefit to using agreed-upon standard definitions and rules for things.? You might actually want someone to be able to get you your belt.? <g>
-Patty
P.S.? I'm sorry if random question marks appear throughout my post.? Just so you know, it's something my email program is doing, and not an intentional expression of complete lack of confidence.? <g>
?
________________________________________________________________________
Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com
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Sandra Dodd
-=-And the thing about right and left -- if I'm looking at a pair of pants, isn't the right pants' pocket the one one *my* right?? Does it change if someone is wearing them?-=-
Heraldry and theatre took that into consideration.
I don't like "to the right" and the left of knobs. If I'm looking straight on at a round dial or doorknob and someone says to turn it to the right...
The bottom part is going to go to the left. The sides are doing to go up or down. Where's all this "right"?
Sandra
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Heraldry and theatre took that into consideration.
I don't like "to the right" and the left of knobs. If I'm looking straight on at a round dial or doorknob and someone says to turn it to the right...
The bottom part is going to go to the left. The sides are doing to go up or down. Where's all this "right"?
Sandra
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Vicki Dennis
Along with knobs, there are bolts and screws and plumbing connections. We
started long ago using "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" with the
assumption that it is "as you look at it". But I wouldn't be surprised to
learn that there are cultures where the clocks run a different direction?
Not to mention digital clocks :-) :-). Maybe the words have a function
even if one is not familiar with analog clocks?
vicki
started long ago using "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" with the
assumption that it is "as you look at it". But I wouldn't be surprised to
learn that there are cultures where the clocks run a different direction?
Not to mention digital clocks :-) :-). Maybe the words have a function
even if one is not familiar with analog clocks?
vicki
On 10/2/07, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> I don't like "to the right" and the left of knobs. If I'm looking straight
> on at a round dial or doorknob and someone says to turn it to the right...
>
> The bottom part is going to go to the left. The sides are doing to go up
> or down. Where's all this "right"?
>
> Sandra
>
>
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Helen Cain
>Along with knobs, there are bolts and screws and plumbing connections. WeWell, in the southern hemisphere the *clocks* don't... but sundials do.
>started long ago using "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" with the
>assumption that it is "as you look at it". But I wouldn't be surprised to
>learn that there are cultures where the clocks run a different direction?
I was an adult before I realised that clockwise was probably that way
because it's the way sundials are in the northern hemisphere. Here in
Australia sundials read anticlockwise.
And it was probably about that time that I realised why my "mental
maps" of places I visited in the northern hemisphere never worked.
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west everywhere, but passes
to the north in the southern hemisphere (hence our anticlockwise
sundials), and to the south in the northern hemisphere. So I would
automatically assign north to south and vice versa, but not switch
east and west. And end up lost. <g>
Cheers
Helen in Melbourne, Australia
Cindy Andras
I know what you mean. I work in a theatre, and often, if there is an issue,
I am on the radio asking "house right or stage right"?
Cindy in SoCal
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I am on the radio asking "house right or stage right"?
Cindy in SoCal
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Robyn L. Coburn
<<<< I know what you mean. I work in a theatre, and often, if there is an
issue,
and Opposite Prompt (OP). The visiting Americans from touring productions
were always confused and would always say "OP right" ( ie Stage Right).
Robyn L. Coburn
issue,
> I am on the radio asking "house right or stage right"? >>>In Australia this is dealt with by following the English system of Prompt
and Opposite Prompt (OP). The visiting Americans from touring productions
were always confused and would always say "OP right" ( ie Stage Right).
Robyn L. Coburn
cyrusnmayasmama
> Along with knobs, there are bolts and screws and plumbingconnections. We
> started long ago using "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" with theMy DH and I had an ongoing thing about how *I* like the toilet paper
> assumption that it is "as you look at it".
> On 10/2/07, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
> >
to be on the roll. He would always ask, "You want it to come over the
top, right?" Well either way it comes "over the top" After years of me
always changing the roll to the way I liked it (he didn't have a
preference as to which way it went, but bless him he always tried to
make me happy and he always relpaced the roll!!) Anyway, one day it
finally ocurred to me to explain my preference as the roll spinning
"clokwise" - so he asks, "on the left end or the right?" At that
point my kids were getting old enough to be able to replace the roll
themselves and like so many other things since they came along I
changed my mind - which way the paper spun was not even half as nice
as having paper there when you needed it!
On another note I recently started knitting. My girlfriend that
showed me how kept saying to "bring it around the back" and I was
habitually knitting backwards. On vacation I found myself hopelessly
messed up and walked into a knit store to ask for help. The woman
said, "oh, you just need to wrap counter clockwise instead of
clockwise" Now it THAT made sense and I am no longer confused.
-Alyse