Over the last 10 years I have used my MEganize approach in homeschooling my 3 children, now 5, 9 and 13, developed around ‘best’ process and principles. The concepts behind this are explained in my MEgablogs and more fully in MEganize – Empower your child with an education for life! But talk is cheap and opinions are … well, common.
Over the last two years my youngest son has attended pre-school. I was very frustrated with the level of their learning programs and how long they continued to learn the basic alphabet, one letter a day for 2 years! I have found this common practice where subjects are belabored to a point of exasperation, and still missing the desired output. My daughter attended a private school for a year and they spent a whole term on the solar system. When assigned a geography project where she decided to do a ‘know the world’ demonstration, her teacher made a point of NOT allowing her to do her presentation to the class. When I raised the question of the curriculum with their renowned Head Master I was shut down. Needless to say she requested to move back to homeschooling. That school has now closed.
To the topic in question, I have decided to show the level of skills these children have achieved in their schooling to date. I do not believe that they are ‘gifted’. The whole concept of proving again the principles that IQ is not fixed and that capability can be developed, especially early-on, is crucial to our mindset. Lazlo Polgar’s work (his 3 daughters became chess Grand Masters, one at 15!) cannot go unrecognized to this principle, nor Alfred Benet who developed the IQ test specifically to prove that the French Public Schools were underperforming. A number of recent studies have further proven beyond doubt that ‘talent’ or IQ is developed by purposeful practice over time. (Read Dweck’s Mindset, Gladwell’s Outliers, Syed’s Bounce, all with a host of proof, both academic and real life; as well as the clear declaration that our centralized education is purposefully dumbing US down by reading C.T. Iserbyt’s ‘Deliberate dumbing Down of America’, John Gatto, Glen Beck and Dr. Pesta). It takes courage to stand up to the system. MEganize offers a clear, proven solution.
Be all that as it may, perhaps these snaps shots of their level of progress will convince you that YOUR child has GREAT potential! (and that our centralized education has been on the wrong track! )
If you have not read any of the MEganize material, the objective of MEganize is to develop cognitive capabilities (neural pathways) in the main thinking areas of memory, translation, transposition and logic, while ensuring a balance between EQ (1st Quadrant development and people skills), IQ (hard skills) and core skills (logic, memory, etc.) The secondary function is to offer a top-down structure of ‘what to learn’ and to know these well, or MEganize them. This all creates a higher level of auto-responsive processing capability, i.e. without ‘thinking’.
This is a summary of my youngest son’s capabilities at 5. Firstly, he was reading fluently at 4. This year I started to implement my Preschool Program with him (see Preschool MEgablog). In less than four months this is what he has learnt:
In geography (memory), he has mastered all the countries in the following continents: USA states and major rivers, South America, Asia and major rivers, and Europe. He also knows the pledge of allegiance and the Lord’s Prayer. Most of this is raw memory, but he has been introduced to the peg system. Under logic, he has mastered the Tower of Hanoi algorithm level 5 (in 28 seconds). He has started playing chess and working with numbers. To develop transposition skills he plays 3 songs on the piano with both hands, and does a typing program. To build his translation skills, he has been learning Italian for around a year and has a vocab of over 100 words. These are some finite aspects of his learning program, which take about an hour a day. No stress, no tests, just the 5 P’s of Performance. (See some of these on youtube.)
My older son (9) has reached higher levels of similar skills. These include:
Memory: Table of elements, World countries and major rivers, the titles of Shakespeare’s plays and Dickens’ books in order, 10 commandments, Greek and Roman gods, and a senior black belt in Taekwondo (about 10 forms each with 18 to 46 moves). He has a good understanding of the major memory systems. Under logic he easily completes Tower of Hanoi level 8 and plays chess. Translation: basic introduction level in 6 foreign languages, now working mainly on Spanish and French; programs in Java in Minecraft with Eclipse, and has completed a few game design courses. For transposition he plays the recorder and piano.
He has finished Grade 3 math, reads some science, history and English literature and completes school subjects. His reading speed is around 800 wpm.
This note is now timeous in that my daughter (13) is going to high school in a few months. She was a pioneer of my approach and has completed ‘the MEganize program’. In addition to the above, she knows:
Memory: Basic biology, anatomy, chemistry and scientific rules and principles. Also she has studied key major historical eras. Under logic she has completed Tower of Hanoi level 9, Rubik’s cube, some math algorithms and has finished the Prof Layton series. Translation: still working on Spanish and French. For transposition she can play the recorder, flute, clarinet, now focusing on violin, guitar and piano.
At 12 she finished Algebra 1 with a B+ at Timothy Ministries, has excellent grammar skills and is widely read for her level. Her reading speed is also over 1000 wpm.
The ‘what else to learn’ has become quite problematic. This is the structure of the MEganize approach i.e. to reach a high level of core knowledge BEFORE high school, which then becomes a platform for more career-oriented study, deeper relevant understanding and pre-college and even college accreditation. It is interesting to see that some high schools are offering additional career options, but sadly still first requiring the full standard school detail. The MEganize drive however MUST start in preschool to develop inner capability and foundational facts.
Of course, education is not all about facts. The real focus is on building a strong set of values, developing character and applying a sound process to learning that steers towards personal vocational interest. This is true empowerment and should be the goal of ‘education’. Is MEganize the future of education? I believe so, but as always, it’s your choice.
In closing, let me remind you that our culture is the driving force behind our destiny. At present the liberal Darwinistic approach is towards a ‘fixed IQ’ mindset, an egalitarian society with no real values, and certainly has little place for learning individualism and excellence. As explained in other MEganize writings, the negative results of this ‘control structure’ are openly apparent in our schools and rampant in all aspects of our lives. Our winning culture of old was based clearly on Christian principles. If we allow these to be eroded, especially in our schools, our children will be lost to an ungodly world, and reap the unforgiving rewards. We should be at war to fight for what is best for our children. This is MORE important than our national debt and our blithering liberal government.
As Christians, we believe that our faith and culture offers the best path for learning and social productivity. History has shown it to be the best culture overall. This is clearly explained in II Peter 1 “…. having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust… be wise in what is good and innocent of what is evil” (Romans 16). Our directive for learning, also from II Peter 1 is “… giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness…”
This then is our directive. Don’t forget the ‘ME’ in education. Empower your child! Visit the MEganize online homeschool program here.
Watch them on youtube:
At 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dq-9-KVnCw
At 13: https://youtu.be/Y05evtlkw6Q