Skipping Steps: A Homeschooling Dialogue
A true homeschooling conversation between me and my son, lightly edited. He’s eleven and I’m teaching him algebra.
Father: Sorry, you got another problem wrong. Do you know why?
Son: [aggravated silence]
Father: Because you skipped steps!
Son: [further silence]
Father: Is it ever OK to skip steps?
Son: No.
Father: Wrong! It is OK to skip steps… when you are a master.
Son: And I’m not a master.
Father: You are not yet a master. Do you know how you become a master?
Son: No.
Father: By following the steps.
Son: I follow the steps, until I don’t need to follow the steps anymore?
Father: Exactly. Now start over, and follow the steps.
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