Dads stories

26^th March 2000.

I hope you have recovered somewhat. Really sounds like food poisoning. Were you the only one it affected? Hedwig said: “tell him he should disinfect his emails before he sends them to us. All day yesterday I had the runs!”

Many thanks for all the work you put into “Trina” (one of Dad’s stories). I have taken your points and below made a few more comments. I have now corrected all the mistakes in the other two texts, as good as I was able to. Of course that is never 100% successful. But I think I could leave them the way they are, so, if you have had enough, I won’t need to send them to you.

But should you enjoy doing it, one of the stories is quite funny. Sometimes not all that suitable for kids, but still not as bad as I had feared. I worked on it for two entire months. Mainly because I was not familiar with the topic and was a bit fearful with it. Because whilst working with it one of course becomes more familiar with it, and everything appears to be quite normal, as if there was nothing wrong with this at all. Well..maybe there is nothing wrong with it. One has ones preconceived ideas for everything that is out of the norm.

The second story is not funny. It also has nothing to do with women ! J

Now your comments re the Christmas 97 CD are great. See, I had already discussed the Australian CD with an elderly teacher, and she also was completely enthusiastic. Hedwig has been pressing me for a long time to publish it. I better not show her your comments! Oh well, I did approach a couple of places. The ABC were very friendly. And the AMA in Bruehl were immediately impressed. So I wanted to ask someone privately what their opinion was. Now I really don’t know what else to do. Oh well…sleep on it is always the best thing.

You are happy with me! And I get afraid. For you see, you didn’t actually see the book, and Hedwig is only commenting on the book, the computer doesn’t interest her. Maybe I will try Penguin. I held back because I didn’t want to close all doors. Maybe your remarks give me courage.

Functions and their graphic representation. And why you do all that. And your rising reluctance. I can understand it all. Please allow me to voice my own opinions. (By the way..are you using the computer for this and if not, why not?.There should be simple function like the calculator in the computer with which one can quickly sketch it. It is possible via Microsoft Excal, but who would have access to that program and know how to use it!).

In general the young people don’t go to school to learn anything practical, apart from language and arithmetic. They go to school to train their brain, so that it is later on capable of thinking and making decisions, to have a foundation which can be expanded, should it be necessary. They are not all the same as our Peter, who at 6 said, he didn’t need to practice any music because he was a natural with a natural talent! And how often children are right! He has a remarkable capacity to understand, not that it makes things easier for him. But back to your pupils, who are not as talented. Exactly for that reason they have to practice, rehearse, the elctronic preparation for their own brain. Because if they DONT do it, their capacity to understand stays stagnent, the brain stays latend und is potentially useless. They simply have not established enough connections, onto which they can continue to build.

Despite all that, there could well be one of those rascals, who will have a similar experience as I did, that when he wants to fall back onto these graphical examples, he buys a book and studies! I spent my entire life doing nothing else but swatting. But more or less this is what happens to everyone. And if the person in question then knows that it is not impossible, he will most likely have a go. That is what happened to my entire family. Especially Robert, who had dreadful difficulties growing up in school. Now he has a leading position with a large bus company. And he is NOT a „natural“ like his brother Peter. By the way, a terrific bloke. He still gets the shits with formal learning. But then who doesn’t? I myself rather buy a few books and start at the back! But that doesn’t have anything to do with school. The foundation has to be built in the brain, despite if what is learnt appears not to have the slightest value. But I would like to add something here.

I am of the opinion that all children should learn to use the keyboard. The computer has become as important as language, in very job and also in ones private life. Here they simply discontinued to teach people keyboard skills. Actually no longer any of my business, and one day there will come such a clever dick and rediscover the importance! But it is difficult to accept this. Now..before I start to cry...let’s finish. But first back to your comments on Trina (what follows are some corrections to an extract out of Dad’s story and Dad’s comments on the corrections).