Rosyl Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 (edited) Hi everyone, This weeks topic is awe and wonder. How do we put awe and wonder into our high school? Awe - a feeling of respect and amazement brought on by something beautiful or sacred. Wonder - a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable. Are awe and wonder important in the high school years? ​How do you add awe and wonder to your subjects? What subject are you in awe of? Does wonder lead you? Where does it lead you? Edited May 15, 2017 by Rosyl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosyl Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 (edited) ​I have struggled with this topic for the last couple of years regarding math. I can get to the beauty and truth of the subject, I can get it down to the basics...awe and wonder, too? No. :closedeyes: Not in math. ​This was my last year homeschooling my oldest. For the past 2 years we fought to find the beauty and truth and wonder in math. There has to be something more than the drudgery of just doing it. I have no awe and wonder for math either, that didn't help. I searched the web for better ways to explain and stumbled on several videos that reinforced the truth of formulas, clarified beauty by allowing deeper understanding, and allowed for repetition to marinate in the truth. I was still lost on the awe and wonder. ​My oldest isn't going to benefit, but the rest of my kids are going to listen to some TED talks such as Fibornacci's numbers and do a few art projects that show how the math is used. A quick search of math art on pinterest brings up quite a few options. I had to find the awe and wonder first. It wasn't until I got excited that I was able to relay to him the awe and wonder of the equations. Two of our local high schools showed examples of problems that made a pic. they had to creat problems that formed a picture. One was from Alg 2 class and one was from a Calculus class. That showed me some awe and wonder. Edited May 15, 2017 by Rosyl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 :closedeyes: Well, when I read this post, I thought of MATH as the subject my oldest gets the most awe and wonder out of. He's hard-wired that way and always has been. He loves the beauty of math, but often is simply excited about some new wondrous finding in math. He often will be laying in bed with a dreaming look - I ask him what he's doing and he replies thinking about math. He's also written about the elegance of math for Brave Writer. I'm sure that's a completely different perspective for writing teachers. Guess what he's studying in college. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 (edited) We find awe and wonder in some subjects: math, physics, astronomy, literature. We discover it without purposefully looking for it; I don't know how one could add it. I don't think the kids would express it as "awe and wonder", but rather as "hey, this is so cool! Did you know...?". I am content with having this feeling in certain subjects and don't go out of my way to find it in the other areas. I want my kids to feel the excitement about some academic topics, but am don't think they need to have it in all areas. Edited May 15, 2017 by regentrude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 I think it's right to say that all people don't need to personaly experience this in all subjects. I do think though it is valuble to see even the things you find less exciting through the eyes of those who find them wonderful. Sometimes it really sparks something, but even when it doesn't, it keeps us from being too parochial. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 I think it's right to say that all people don't need to personaly experience this in all subjects. I do think though it is valuble to see even the things you find less exciting through the eyes of those who find them wonderful. Sometimes it really sparks something, but even when it doesn't, it keeps us from being too parochial. Absolutely. But that is very difficult to create this in a homeschool without interaction with somebody who is excited about the subject. (I won't instill awe of chemistry in my children because we all loathe chem ;) It is wonderful for students to encounter people who are passionate about their subjects; this was one of the greatest benefits to DE for my DS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Thanks for posting this week Rosyl. This is a topic I have struggled with with my oldest. I've tried to find anything to make math more enlivened for her. We've done the TED talks. She's had great tutors. Still no awe or wonder. She hates it. I think we've done better with biology and epidemiology through books and then my own personal experience. I have to admit it's been easier as we both have similar likes on that sort of thing. However I don't hate math. I wish I could at least get some acknowledgement of something besides dread for it from her.......she might need some distance I think. Sometimes I wonder if it's an element of her personality. Even as a small child she didn't get excited about much- at least that she would show-, so perhaps it's foolhardy to expect it over academia as a teen in her case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 (edited) Are awe and wonder important in the high school years? Awe and wonder are always important. I think they can be a tonic for the stressful and introspective (often self-critical) high school years. ​How do you add awe and wonder to your subjects? Reading biographies and trade books. Attending local lectures at universities, museums, libraries etc. can also help to make a subject seem more relevant and real. There is so much development going on in the high school years that it's sometimes necessary to separate core subjects from other aspects of life. In other words, expecting a teen who is working through normal teenage independence struggles to do a subject they have no interest in -- and be full of awe and wonder while they do it -- can result in both a hatred of the subject and damage to the parent/teen relationship. Sometimes the parent expressing awe and wonder in regards to a subject is reason enough for the teen to be totally and completely jaded and bored. Sometimes the same subject being taught by someone with no other ties to the teen results in a different outcome. The situation gives fertile ground and space for awe and wonder to develop. (At the very least, it allows the teen to brood in peace.) Sometimes approaching non-school subjects from a place of awe and wonder is more productive because there is no pressure -- no expectations. There are an endless number of subjects that have the potential to make us marvel in amazement. Zeroing in on a particular 5 or 6 or 7 might be counterproductive. Does wonder lead you? Yes. Where does it lead you? When I remember to make time for wonder to be a priority, I not only literally stop to smell the roses, but I also take time to nurture them and to scatter them about my home. I allow myself to wander down the path of the science of roses. I make it a priority to spend time with the literature that they have inspired through the ages. Roses are an easy example - especially this time of year. The same pattern holds, though, no matter what the topic: allowing time to be totally immersed in a subject. Or not. Sometimes just staring at the stars is enough. Like beauty, awe and wonder are in the eyes of the beholder. Edited May 15, 2017 by Woodland Mist Academy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alittledeal Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 (edited) Posted accidently. Edited May 15, 2017 by Alittledeal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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