pumps and siphons (and unschooling)
Sandra Dodd
One image I have in my head of how this kind of parenting works is
like a hand pump. Some of you might never have used a hand pump on
a well, but if it's been sitting a while or the well is deep you
might pump this big long handle down and up several times, and
nothing happens, but finally you hear the water and then it floods
out, more water than you needed. Then the next pump can be
controlled because there's water in the pipe already, and it takes
just the lightest touch.
Or similarly, siphoning liquid with a short hose, where the beginning
is scary and creepy and doesn't seem at all like it would work, but
once it's flowing, you don't have to do anything except make sure the
end of the hose is below the level of the weight of the water or
whatever it is.
Learning and growth are like a limitless reservoir, but we have
factors in our culture that limit our access or control or faith that
it could even work, or our feeling of ownership of knowledge of
growth and learning. Experts. Timetables and charts.
Just in case it would help anyone else to think of it as the flow of
water but siphons and hand pumps are unfamiliar, here are some
pictures (and they're just interesting anyway):
http://www.bisonpumps.com/
http://www.dsmit.com/dwhp.php
That second one is very interesting. The water container is plastic,
but it's a traditional pottery design, because it's in India. In the
U.S. we have plastic water buckets, but they're a traditional metal
bucket design. I'm taking this to my Thinking Sticks blog.
http://thinkingsticks.blogspot.com
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
like a hand pump. Some of you might never have used a hand pump on
a well, but if it's been sitting a while or the well is deep you
might pump this big long handle down and up several times, and
nothing happens, but finally you hear the water and then it floods
out, more water than you needed. Then the next pump can be
controlled because there's water in the pipe already, and it takes
just the lightest touch.
Or similarly, siphoning liquid with a short hose, where the beginning
is scary and creepy and doesn't seem at all like it would work, but
once it's flowing, you don't have to do anything except make sure the
end of the hose is below the level of the weight of the water or
whatever it is.
Learning and growth are like a limitless reservoir, but we have
factors in our culture that limit our access or control or faith that
it could even work, or our feeling of ownership of knowledge of
growth and learning. Experts. Timetables and charts.
Just in case it would help anyone else to think of it as the flow of
water but siphons and hand pumps are unfamiliar, here are some
pictures (and they're just interesting anyway):
http://www.bisonpumps.com/
http://www.dsmit.com/dwhp.php
That second one is very interesting. The water container is plastic,
but it's a traditional pottery design, because it's in India. In the
U.S. we have plastic water buckets, but they're a traditional metal
bucket design. I'm taking this to my Thinking Sticks blog.
http://thinkingsticks.blogspot.com
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Schuyler
I can remember my parents priming pumps. I don't know where, but I can remember using hand pumps to fill sinks, I loved that process. Sometimes, though, the pump was dry and we'd use the water that we had in the car to drink on the way (it was in a little red colemon water carrier that had two lids you could drink from and a tap, in case you needed the visual. Dad or mom would pour it down the line. I never really understood how it worked but google brought to me the information. When there is air in the line the pump isn't sealed as well. Maybe, in your analogy, lists like this are priming of a sort. Maybe we help to make the pump work more efficiently from the off by showing what can and does happen in a system where there is a straight run from water to sink.
Schuyler
http://www.waynforth.blogspot.com
----- Original Message ----
From: Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, 4 October, 2008 1:49:00 PM
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] pumps and siphons (and unschooling)
One image I have in my head of how this kind of parenting works is
like a hand pump. Some of you might never have used a hand pump on
a well, but if it's been sitting a while or the well is deep you
might pump this big long handle down and up several times, and
nothing happens, but finally you hear the water and then it floods
out, more water than you needed. Then the next pump can be
controlled because there's water in the pipe already, and it takes
just the lightest touch.
Or similarly, siphoning liquid with a short hose, where the beginning
is scary and creepy and doesn't seem at all like it would work, but
once it's flowing, you don't have to do anything except make sure the
end of the hose is below the level of the weight of the water or
whatever it is.
Learning and growth are like a limitless reservoir, but we have
factors in our culture that limit our access or control or faith that
it could even work, or our feeling of ownership of knowledge of
growth and learning. Experts. Timetables and charts.
Just in case it would help anyone else to think of it as the flow of
water but siphons and hand pumps are unfamiliar, here are some
pictures (and they're just interesting anyway):
http://www.bisonpumps.com/
http://www.dsmit.com/dwhp.php
That second one is very interesting. The water container is plastic,
but it's a traditional pottery design, because it's in India. In the
U.S. we have plastic water buckets, but they're a traditional metal
bucket design. I'm taking this to my Thinking Sticks blog.
http://thinkingsticks.blogspot.com
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Schuyler
http://www.waynforth.blogspot.com
----- Original Message ----
From: Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, 4 October, 2008 1:49:00 PM
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] pumps and siphons (and unschooling)
One image I have in my head of how this kind of parenting works is
like a hand pump. Some of you might never have used a hand pump on
a well, but if it's been sitting a while or the well is deep you
might pump this big long handle down and up several times, and
nothing happens, but finally you hear the water and then it floods
out, more water than you needed. Then the next pump can be
controlled because there's water in the pipe already, and it takes
just the lightest touch.
Or similarly, siphoning liquid with a short hose, where the beginning
is scary and creepy and doesn't seem at all like it would work, but
once it's flowing, you don't have to do anything except make sure the
end of the hose is below the level of the weight of the water or
whatever it is.
Learning and growth are like a limitless reservoir, but we have
factors in our culture that limit our access or control or faith that
it could even work, or our feeling of ownership of knowledge of
growth and learning. Experts. Timetables and charts.
Just in case it would help anyone else to think of it as the flow of
water but siphons and hand pumps are unfamiliar, here are some
pictures (and they're just interesting anyway):
http://www.bisonpumps.com/
http://www.dsmit.com/dwhp.php
That second one is very interesting. The water container is plastic,
but it's a traditional pottery design, because it's in India. In the
U.S. we have plastic water buckets, but they're a traditional metal
bucket design. I'm taking this to my Thinking Sticks blog.
http://thinkingsticks.blogspot.com
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Hema A. Bharadwaj
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlwaysLearning/message/39092;_ylc=X3oDMTJyaG9mNHF1BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzQ0MTAyNTAEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1NTQyMTExBG1zZ0lkAzM5MDkyBHNlYwNkbXNnBHNsawN2bXNnBHN0aW1lAzEyMjMxMzQ1OTQ->
For
those who may not know... the narrow neck of that yellow plastic water
carrier (in the water pump link) is helpful to hold onto.... as the base
sits on our hips. There are some photos as you scroll down this page of it
being on the hip: http://www.cbmphoto.co.uk/India/Womwater.html
I love watching how adept even little kids are at carrying these
containers.
I love this siphon analogy Sandra.
hema
Posted by: "Sandra Dodd" Sandra@...
<Sandra@...?Subject=+Re%3Apumps%20and%20siphons%20%28and%20unschooling%29>
sandralynndodd
<http://profiles.yahoo.com/sandralynndodd> Sat Oct 4, 2008 5:49 am (PDT) One
image I have in my head of how this kind of parenting works is
like a hand pump. Some of you might never have used a hand pump on
a well, but if it's been sitting a while or the well is deep you
might pump this big long handle down and up several times, and
nothing happens, but finally you hear the water and then it floods
out, more water than you needed. Then the next pump can be
controlled because there's water in the pipe already, and it takes
just the lightest touch.
Or similarly, siphoning liquid with a sh
--
Hema A. Bharadwaj
http://thebharadwajknights.blogspot.com/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
For
those who may not know... the narrow neck of that yellow plastic water
carrier (in the water pump link) is helpful to hold onto.... as the base
sits on our hips. There are some photos as you scroll down this page of it
being on the hip: http://www.cbmphoto.co.uk/India/Womwater.html
I love watching how adept even little kids are at carrying these
containers.
I love this siphon analogy Sandra.
hema
Posted by: "Sandra Dodd" Sandra@...
<Sandra@...?Subject=+Re%3Apumps%20and%20siphons%20%28and%20unschooling%29>
sandralynndodd
<http://profiles.yahoo.com/sandralynndodd> Sat Oct 4, 2008 5:49 am (PDT) One
image I have in my head of how this kind of parenting works is
like a hand pump. Some of you might never have used a hand pump on
a well, but if it's been sitting a while or the well is deep you
might pump this big long handle down and up several times, and
nothing happens, but finally you hear the water and then it floods
out, more water than you needed. Then the next pump can be
controlled because there's water in the pipe already, and it takes
just the lightest touch.
Or similarly, siphoning liquid with a sh
--
Hema A. Bharadwaj
http://thebharadwajknights.blogspot.com/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=-There are some photos as you scroll down this page of it
being on the hip: http://www.cbmphoto.co.uk/India/Womwater.html
I love watching how adept even little kids are at carrying these
containers.-=-
Thank you, Hema! I've added the link to the blogpost at
http://thinkingsticks.blogspot.com
That blot might eventually catch on, or not, but it's where I'm doing
what I do with my kids, and finding cool things and making connections.
After having put that up, I got a gardening catalog today, and there
are two rain collecting items. I can't afford them, but they were
right in keeping with the idea of plastic versions of traditional
forms. One is a wooden barrel and one is a big clay pot (but
really, both are plastic).
<http://www.gardeners.com/Deluxe-Rain-Barrel/Watering_RainBarrels,
06-323,default,cp.html>
<http://www.gardeners.com/Rain-Catcher-Urn/Watering_RainBarrels,
37-517,default,cp.html>
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
being on the hip: http://www.cbmphoto.co.uk/India/Womwater.html
I love watching how adept even little kids are at carrying these
containers.-=-
Thank you, Hema! I've added the link to the blogpost at
http://thinkingsticks.blogspot.com
That blot might eventually catch on, or not, but it's where I'm doing
what I do with my kids, and finding cool things and making connections.
After having put that up, I got a gardening catalog today, and there
are two rain collecting items. I can't afford them, but they were
right in keeping with the idea of plastic versions of traditional
forms. One is a wooden barrel and one is a big clay pot (but
really, both are plastic).
<http://www.gardeners.com/Deluxe-Rain-Barrel/Watering_RainBarrels,
06-323,default,cp.html>
<http://www.gardeners.com/Rain-Catcher-Urn/Watering_RainBarrels,
37-517,default,cp.html>
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Ed Wendell
and sometimes you have to prime the pump. I used to have to prime the electric pump to water my horse when I was a kid. Now, where we water the horses at the stable on Thursday nights after lessons, it is a regular faucet where you pull up the handle but due to the air in the hose it will often jerk and jump and as you're filling the bucket. It will flow steady and then all of a sudden it will whoosh out a pocket of air unexpectedly and get water everywhere, eventually the water will flow calmly, steadily. But every time the hose sits without flowing water for a while it is the same jerky start up process all over again.
Lisa W.
Lisa W.
----- Original Message -----
From: Sandra Dodd
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2008 7:49 AM
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] pumps and siphons (and unschooling)
One image I have in my head of how this kind of parenting works is
like a hand pump. Some of you might never have used a hand pump on
a well, but if it's been sitting a while or the well is deep you
might pump this big long handle down and up several times, and
nothing happens, but finally you hear the water and then it floods
out, more water than you needed. Then the next pump can be
controlled because there's water in the pipe already, and it takes
just the lightest touch.
Or similarly, siphoning liquid with a short hose, where the beginning
is scary and creepy and doesn't seem at all like it would work, but
once it's flowing, you don't have to do anything except make sure the
end of the hose is below the level of the weight of the water or
whatever it is.
Learning and growth are like a limitless reservoir, but we have
factors in our culture that limit our access or control or faith that
it could even work, or our feeling of ownership of knowledge of
growth and learning. Experts. Timetables and charts.
Just in case it would help anyone else to think of it as the flow of
water but siphons and hand pumps are unfamiliar, here are some
pictures (and they're just interesting anyway):
http://www.bisonpumps.com/
http://www.dsmit.com/dwhp.php
That second one is very interesting. The water container is plastic,
but it's a traditional pottery design, because it's in India. In the
U.S. we have plastic water buckets, but they're a traditional metal
bucket design. I'm taking this to my Thinking Sticks blog.
http://thinkingsticks.blogspot.com
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=-it is a regular faucet where you pull up the handle but due to the
air in the hose it will often jerk and jump and as you're filling the
bucket. It will flow steady and then all of a sudden it will whoosh
out a pocket of air unexpectedly and get water everywhere, eventually
the water will flow calmly, steadily. But every time the hose sits
without flowing water for a while it is the same jerky start up
process all over again.-=-
OH! That's like deschooling, or letting go of some parenting rules.
Sometimes there's a whoosh of unexpected activity or emotion and
after a while it's calm and steady. But every time a family goes
back to a curriculum or rules, it's going to be the same jerky start
up process all over again!
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
air in the hose it will often jerk and jump and as you're filling the
bucket. It will flow steady and then all of a sudden it will whoosh
out a pocket of air unexpectedly and get water everywhere, eventually
the water will flow calmly, steadily. But every time the hose sits
without flowing water for a while it is the same jerky start up
process all over again.-=-
OH! That's like deschooling, or letting go of some parenting rules.
Sometimes there's a whoosh of unexpected activity or emotion and
after a while it's calm and steady. But every time a family goes
back to a curriculum or rules, it's going to be the same jerky start
up process all over again!
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Ed Wendell
Yes - That is why I posted the scenario/analogy as I thought it is very much like what we go through with deschooling or some other new insight. And we don't even have to go back to "a curriculum or rules" to get this spurting before a new steady flow - sometimes it is moving forward (letting go of another something / parenting rule) that causes this spurting and "mess" before settling down to a nice even flow again. Sometimes it is a nice calm flow and sometimes it gets splattered all over with what seems to be a mess but really is just a refreshing, cleansing spurt before calming down again. At first the spurt of water is a bit of a surprise and can even be a bit of a shock if the cold water gets all over you - the horses toss their heads about to show their disapproval with the water spurts and noise (like some on this list) - but then you end up laughing and smiling at the fun of it all (at least that is how I respond to life in general).
Lisa W.
Lisa W.
----- Original Message -----
From: Sandra Dodd
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2008 9:58 AM
Subject: Re: [AlwaysLearning] pumps and siphons (and unschooling)
-=-it is a regular faucet where you pull up the handle but due to the
air in the hose it will often jerk and jump and as you're filling the
bucket. It will flow steady and then all of a sudden it will whoosh
out a pocket of air unexpectedly and get water everywhere, eventually
the water will flow calmly, steadily. But every time the hose sits
without flowing water for a while it is the same jerky start up
process all over again.-=-
OH! That's like deschooling, or letting go of some parenting rules.
Sometimes there's a whoosh of unexpected activity or emotion and
after a while it's calm and steady. But every time a family goes
back to a curriculum or rules, it's going to be the same jerky start
up process all over again!
Sandra
.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Robin
I saw a great toy at the beach and thought other unschoolers would
enjoy it. It consists of a bucket and clear pvc tubes and connectors
and basically the kids put it together however they want and watch the
water flow out the sprinkler heads. Just search Wacky Water Works.
Its based in NJ. I am not with this company, just love their product.
And I also thought I would make it myself but its actually cheaper to
buy. - Have Fun - Robin
enjoy it. It consists of a bucket and clear pvc tubes and connectors
and basically the kids put it together however they want and watch the
water flow out the sprinkler heads. Just search Wacky Water Works.
Its based in NJ. I am not with this company, just love their product.
And I also thought I would make it myself but its actually cheaper to
buy. - Have Fun - Robin