

Summer Camp Neurosis - aspirant
http://joshwhiton.com/?p=300

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aspirant
I know an independent software developer who says his kids are going to learn
to program and configure servers at the earliest possible age. He doesn't care
if they pursue programming as a career later on, helping him with tech jobs
will be just another one of their chores; like taking out the trash or mowing
the lawn.

I think he's on to something as far as spotting what modern "chores" should
be. And the kids will probably benefit from knowing they are doing something
skilled that actually benefits their family.

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DanielStraight
I tend to agree with both this post and the linked pg essay, which I just read
for the first time.

I do have a qualm with something pg says in the essay though. He says that the
cause of this situation is specialization and the increased time required for
training, but at the same time he says that little to no real teaching is
going on in schools. If specialization requires increased training, which
requires increased time in schools, then how can we be achieving
specialization without actually teaching anything during this extended time in
schools? Surely the time itself does not make us capable of specialization.

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aspirant
Your first if statment = false. Most specialization doesn't require increased
training. You're thinking of brain surgeons when most specialization means
operating a cash register or pushing a button on an assembly line. Therefore
most specialization doesn't need increased training but a numbing of ambition.

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joshkaufman
This is one of the reasons I'm planning to home-school my children:
encouraging them to do real work as early as possible. 13+ years of fake,
unimportant projects is a very efficient way to generate apathy.

Recommended Reading: John Taylor Gatto's _Underground History of American
Education_ (<http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/toc1.htm>) Interesting
tidbit from Chapter 1: Admiral David Farragut
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Farragut>) entered the US Navy at the age
of 9, and received his first command when he was 12 years old. Kids are
capable of far more than we currently give them credit for.

