1 Year Completed, 6.5 To Go

When I was in college and heard about this I tried to do it then. I tried a few years later with my roommates post college, but could not get into it. In some ways, technology has helped me to accomplish this goal, which is probably not the intended result you may think it is.

Imagine if you actually read every page of a 3,000 page wiki how long would it take you? Now nearly double that number and you get an idea where I am going.

Last year on August 3rd, 2012, the 13th cycle of the worldwide studying of the Talmud, known as Daf Yomi, began with Brachot, which means blessings. I started this as a deal with my kids since we were home schooling them last year. I figured if they had to learn on their own so to speak, so did I. Not to imply I do not learn regularly, I do, not every day at that time, but on a weekly basis I have been for years.

The novel idea of Jews in all parts of the world studying the same daf, or page front and back, each day, with the goal of completing the entire Talmud, was put forth at the First World Congress of the World Agudath Israel in Vienna on 16 August 1923 by Rabbi Meir Shapiro, then Rav ofSanok, Poland, and future rosh yeshiva, Head of School,  of Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin.(from Wikipedia)

Picture the effort required to go through all 2,711 pages, in fact 5,422 since it is front and back of a page we cover, to the known Babylonian Talmud. There are two versions of the Gemara or Talmud. One version was compiled by scholars of Israel, primarily of the academies of Tiberias and Caesarea, which was published between about 350-400 CE.("yirushalmi") The other version by scholars of Babylonia, primarily of the academies of Sura, Pumbedita, and Mata Mehasia, which was published about 500 CE.("Bavli") By convention, a reference to the "Gemara" or "Talmud," without further qualification, refers to the Babylonian version. (from Wikipedia)

Naturally it is not all exciting or interesting to modern man, especially when discussing topics of ceremonies no longer in usage since the Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed. However, one learns quite a bit about economics, law, finance, human relations, spirits (both medicinal and supernatural), farming, families, governments, management and of course holidays and details for the Jewish religion.

Doing this does not make one a Rabbi, although if one had more time, in parallel, one could obtain ordination by the end. Learning more details about common accepted ideas or topics and finding out where other references come from has been enlightening, to say the least. 

Technology which is generally outlawed on Shabbat and other holidays has provided more people the benefit of learning, not just the Daf Yomi but every day things as well. One can listen to podcasts from teachers, read translations in their own languages, Skype with people across the world and still have everyone learning the same page on the same day. This is nothing new, but for me and others that travel for work, it has made it much easier. Last year I was able to be in Raleigh, London, Las Vegas, New York to name a few places I benefited from the internet and the technology available.

Here's to 6.5 more years!

Are You Smarter Than Your Phone? Or your Kids?

Your smartphone is probably infinitely smarter than you.

Not to worry, you got it on the longevity scale, but still, do you feel insignificant or like you are in remedial life?

There are sites to show you how to do so many things, do you ever use them? Do you even look for them?

Do you understand in any way shape or form how email works? SMS(texting for you non-techies)? Web Sites? Your Phone Apps? For that matter, your phone?

Do you care? Should you care? Does it matter?

What if no one knew anything anymore because it was all "online"? The Matrix movies were all about downloading information into your brain to even fly a helicopter with a few clicks of a download. As an aside, I remember IBM giving out Matrix DVDs to promote KM, Knowledge management.

The road less traveled is now growing weeds.

I have argued that iPhones make people stupid. The truth is they enable one to access information but do you really grok what you are reading? And is this how you want your kids to learn too? Think about that last line....is this how you want your kids to learn too?

Too early for a definitive answer about the pros and cons. What we do know is the future is NOT that hunk of hardware you call a laptop or desktop or server. It is the Cloud. Tablets more likely, but at least for me, a keyboard.

When your kids ask you why the sky is blue or how rainbows are made or anything, what do you do? Do you answer them in kids terms or adult terms? Do you make them look it up? Or do you first ask them what they think and work with their logic process? Maybe a little of each of these?

Or do you make something up or just brush off the question?

What message do you send your kids when you do this? Would you treat your customer or employee, or worse, your employer that way?

Parenting is expanding, or as some point out, returning, to the original ways, namely something akin to home schooling.

If you are or could be your kids teacher would you? It's not for everyone. If not, do you complain when school is not meeting what you feel your kids need?

Are your ideas of education still last centuries, which was in some cases the previous centuries? Or as you have progressed have your views on education?

Are schools teaching your kids what they need to know? Are you so sure? If you don't think so, then get involved. Push for more, ask for more, within reason and budget.

Otherwise your phone really may be smarter than you and your kids.

(Good) Teachers Matter

Going back to my post from the other day, let's get back to teachers.

Right now a number of states are facing desperate measures to reduce their deficits. And naturally what gets cut? Education. We are messing around with our future leaders and employees, that can't be a good thing. Also what message does this send to the students?

Some states want to pay based on how the students do on standardized test. Self fulfilling prophecy? Good district, good grades and raises/bonuses for teachers. Bad district, bad grades nothing or get fired? Purely based on if the kids do well? You can't make kids do well. Some just can not take test and this system really is a bad idea and what teacher would approve of this measure?

Teachers unions should have been advocating for years for better pay and more advanced agendas on their curriculum. If you think something is above the kids, then it will always be above them. Push the envelope a bit please. Kids today are smarter than we were and really need to move faster sometimes.

In truth education in general has problems that no simple answer exists. Home schooling your kids is not easy and not for everyone. Individual learning is frowned upon because it does not allow for social interactions and group efforts in learning and social norms. I have news for you, your kids are more into social media than you are and want to use it. As a parent this is a problem for some people, either because of their own expectations or because they want their kids to grow up "healthy and normal".

What if your kids could get an individual education, via an authority of some sort, but could learn at their own pace and within a boundary of guidelines for homework, projects, tests? Would you do it? Should schools offer it? This may have been called enrichment, gifted or some other name through the years but now it seems to have hit a wall. What if your kids school will not help the kids who are that smart to move forward quicker? Doesn't this encourage the dumbing down of all classes to the lowest level in the classroom?

Great teachers are able to inspire you, challenge you, raise you to a new level. But for every teacher that does this, there are anywhere from 2-10 that do not. They may be good teachers, but just not great. Nothing bad here, in all professions some people rise to a different level, it does not mean the others are bad.

Should great teachers get paid better, or tenured or whatever benefits them? Yes, but how do you figure out who is that great? Often times it will not be obvious until years later or at least 1-2 semesters.

What about good teachers? How do you define their pay? I know some teachers that had bad years due to family/personal issues or some other things that caused problems. In some cases those problems did not become obvious until 1-3 years later and the ones with the problem are the kids who missed out and now may be behind in their grades.

I have written how I was surprised at my kids school lack of initiative when it comes to computer studies. Yes they are learning to type, which is great, and do some things which are important when first using a computer. But the problem is as they get older the curriculum is out of touch with reality. You have elementary school kids with iPhones and iPads, they are doing things the school thinks it needs to teach them in 5 years. Clearly the issue of education is not a teachers fault entirely.

So in 20 odd years while teachers salaries have barely moved by 25-50%, tuition at private schools has gone up 3-400% if not more. If the teachers are not getting that money, so we can entice more people to be teachers so they can live on their salary, where does the money go? Insurance and security costs are obviously much higher than years ago. We used to get buses to school, for a small fee, and lunch as part of our tuition, that's gone too.

When did school become a bloated corporation. How many administrators exist now at schools? When I was in school we had 2 principals, primary and assistant, some office staff like a secretary, finance person, development and maybe a few others. How many different levels of bureaucracy exist now in schools? How much of it is needed?

Ever see the States educational leaders taking pay cuts, and how many do so in private institutions? Few do. It's always the teachers getting less benefits and money. Teachers salaries are not enough for a family to live on and what do we do to encourage new people to enter the field if they don't see it as viable?

I believe there is no shortage of great teachers in the world, but perhaps at your school, so what do you suggest? How do you make teaching matter again? How do you encourage great teachers to join your low paying school? What can you as a parent, business person do to help the school or the kids?

Get involved, if they will let you, to enhance the education system. Encourage students to do more, try more, learn more and have more fun.