A child is an extra dimension

Christmas is a good time at the rancho of the Gonzales family at Punta Boca del Salado in Baja California, Mexico.
This is for one reason only.
All the children of the large family are there.
And this brings a liveliness to the place that makes feel joy, hope and bliss.

Twice a day they want “classos”.
That we all sit around the table under the big palmtree leaved roof.
Each child having a piece of paper and a pen.
On top of the paper they write their name, the date and draw a large box.
This box serves to note the stars they are going to make when having accomplished the challenges successfully.

They chose themselves what subject they want: English, Spanish, mathematics, drawing.
And they chose themselves how many stars they have earned for the job they did.

What makes this teaching so interesting is to try to give as much independence to the child as possible.
It is absolutely authoritative to decide for a child how good or how bad the result of working is.
The child knows this very well and can decide him/herself how much should be awarded.
And the child should chose what it wants to do.
There are moments a child is for example more ready and in the mood to do mathematics.
Then why impose to want to teach English?

Another vital aspect to the teaching that makes it so interesting and such a joy is that children remain interested and eager to learn if the challenges are presented to them each time in a new and different way.
This asks creativity and inventiveness of the teacher.
The rule is, the more of this is put into it, the more will come out.
So, in fact the children are teaching the teacher also.
To be creative and inspiring.

Never a session with the children is ended without telling them:
muchas gracias, estudiantes.
And this is sincere because the children are adding a fantastic dimension to life.



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a child a work of art

Temporary lodging has been found in exactly the same street in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where 15 years were lived.
In fact, from the current window a fantastic view is seen of the house once owned.
Therefore, sometimes, reminiscing takes place now and memories come back of the time when life was lived in that house.
Very clearly it can be pictured how the interior looked: the furniture, the African masks and international tapestry on the walls.
But also clearly are the friends remembered that dined and partied in that house.
And of course the women that shared the life in that wonderful dwelling.

Yesterday was an invitation to come to the street dinner the current inhabitants of the street had organized.
They had obtained permission from the authorities to block the street from any traffic.
And parked cars were absent.





Everybody brought food and drinks and the children could play without limits because the street was theirs.



One child in particular was observed.
An 11 year old boy.
The son of two of the best friends.

And it was realized seeing this boy manifest himself that he was as much a work of art as any product of an artist.
He is like a painting.
Created by his parents who have been putting their best in this boy.
Teaching him to be kind, helpful, honest, loyal, fair and many other aspects of life.

A boy was seen that was in balance.
Grounded.

Kind and nice.
Happy too.

An artist can look at his oeuvre and be content with what he has been making.
But a parent can look at the child and be as content.




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an elephant as a gift

There are these very good friends for many years.
They have children and these kids are the greatest in the world.

Let's face the truth: most children are a pain in the neck.
They are annoying, spoiled, irritating, noisy, demanding, smelling and obnoxious.
Only a very small amount of children are really nice kids.
Like the ones of the dear friends.

A boy and a girl.
Doing well in school.
Playing tennis and hockey.
Reading books and playing chess.
Respecting their parents and adults.

Each time when this lovely family is visited, a present is offered to the two children.
And it is a tradition now that they don't get silly things like a toy or a computer game or some other nonsense, useless and senseless thing.
Instead, each time they get a bookstore-check.
With which they can go to the bookstore around the corner and buy a book.
The intention is to give and learn the kids independence.
That they can make decisions for themselves.
To choose what book to buy.

Of course as an adult one can make a choice of a book to offer to a child.
Contemplating what would be educational and entertaining for the kid.
But in a way this is very patronizing.
Imposing certain ideas and thinking.
We can trust most children to be able to enter a book shop, look around and make an adequate choice.
They feel great when they are allowed this opportunity.
They believe they are taken serious by adults and that gives them the very necessary feeling of self confidence.

Nevertheless, the child must remain aware that it is the adult that is in charge.
And this can be done in a playful way.
An adult, really, doesn't need to shout and threaten the child to keep the authority.
There is another way.
More clever and effective.

Yesterday a phone call was made to the dear friends.
The young son happened to answer the phone.
Immediately the opportunity was grasped to make a memorable joke and teach the kid who is the upper dog.

The voice was deformed so he would not recognize who was calling.
"Are you by chance Martin E. ???" the voice asked.
"Yes, that is me!", the young boy replied.
"Well, Martin, my name is Robert Caruso and I am from the Foundation for the Protection of the most rare species in the world".
"I see", Martin said impressed.
"We may congratulate you, Martin, because you have won our annual contest!!!"
"That is great", Martin: already happy.
"So, tomorrow we will come to your house and bring the first price you have won!!!"
"What is the first prize then?", Martin asked.
"You have won this baby elephant and we hope you have a garden where it can roam and play, Martin".
"An elephant???"
"Yes, an elephant from Africa already about two meters high and eating tons of grass. You will be delighted with this elephant."
"But our garden is small and I don't know if my parents allow me to have an elephant."

Before the boy could become upset not knowing how to handle receiving an elephant, the voice was changed back to the normal mode and he understood then who was really calling.
Children like these kinds of jokes.
But we may wonder though who in this case is the child.



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Low battery

Almost every day in the Lux Photo Gallery in Amsterdam, the Netherlands appointments take place to give consultations.
The persons that come are photographers with several years of experience or photographers who recently finished their studies.
They come to talk about their work, their career, their creativity, their network and their ambitions.

Some of the persons that have booked a consultation come from far away.
They sometimes have travelled for two to three hours.
Just for a one hour consultation.

This though should never influence the way the consultation goes.
It would be a short time pleasing of a person to sugar coat only because a person has come from far away.
In the long term the person would be confronted with issues that were seen but not reported during the consultation.

Therefore, hundred percent of honesty is applied to persons coming for a consultation.
The truth is told.
If it is not good, the person is told.
If it is fabulous, that is expressed as well.
Even if they come from far away.

However, the way things are said during the consultation is always with love.
With consideration and empathy.
It is told in a diplomatic way.
And always offering alternatives.
A new way to go.
New ideas to work on.
It is never burning down and not planting immediately after.

This method of working is extremely exhausting.
It asks with each person one hour of total concentration.
And total commitment.

As there are two to three persons coming for consultations almost every day, slowly most energy available is drained.
It feels like being sucked empty.
And a longing comes to be again at the deserted beach in Mexico for a while.
To charge the battery.



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783 = 421 + ...

For not very serious reasons the teachers in La Ribera, Baja California, Mexico have closed the school for several days.
They say it is because of the rain.
But that needs hardly an umbrella.
So maybe they were just needing a break.

As a consequence, the children of the Gonzales family are at the rancho at Punta Boca del Salado where the Fuso Szulc is located these days.
And these kids ask if they can get classes again.
Not in English, geography or history.
No, they want mathematics.

Okay, okay, in the class of this bush school the children themselves make the decisions.

One effort that is made teaching the glorious kids is that each time something new and surprising is offered to them.
To avoid they get bored with again regular mathematical challenges.
Like 25 + 47 = how much ?

Now, the great thing with kids is that when it is announced that this time it will be completely different from the last time, no kid protests.
They look while thinking and reflecting, but not one says: "Hold on, we don't want anything new and different, Mr. Teacher".
They all accept and await openly what is coming at them.

Therefore they got this sum to work on:

72 = .. + ..

They could fill in themselves numbers that totaled 72.
This was explained and off they went.

It worked well.
They pained their brains and came up with solutions like 25 + 47.

Until clever Juan came with an intelligent solution to 5899 = …. + ....
He returned his paper with this: 5899 = 5898 + 1

Of course he was applauded by everybody and he got two stars: the rewards for every good solution.

However, as the professor, it can never be allowed that the students outsmart with tricks like 5898 + 1
A kind of superiority must always be solidly there in order to survive.

Therefore the new sum was 783 = 421 + ...
A groaning "Aaaaaiiiii Miguel" came from every student.
How to tackle this one?

Observing them work hard on this new challenge, it was noticed that none got the idea to remodel the sum.
Changing 783 = 421 + … into 783 - 421 = … to find the solution.

When eventually that trick was explained, from then on it was all piece of cake.
And they felt proud they had learned to solve a complicated sum in a new way.


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Stop her or let her?

Let's say you have a daughter.
Her name is Laura and she is 13.
She comes home and she says she wants to sail around the world by herself in a 8 meter sailing boat.
What are you going to say?
OK, darling, let's go to the supermarket and buy your supplies?
Or will you tell Laura to finish her school first?

In reality, there is a 13 year old Laura that wants to sail around the world in a 8 meter sailing boat.
She lives in the Netherlands.
And without sailing one mile she is already the talk of the country.

Her parents are avid sailers.
Taking the daughter along.
Teaching her how to sail.
Having her once sail by herself from the Netherlands to the UK crossing the North Sea.

Until Laura came up with this plan to sail by herself around the world.
Somehow, she managed to convince her parents this was a brilliant idea.
They got her the boat and started preparations.
Seriously planning to send their 13 year flesh and blood on that journey that will take 2 years.
Leaving September 1, 2009.

Now, this costs money.
So, Laura and her parents went to look for sponsors.
Companies that would make the journey financially possible to get publicity in return.
This is when the plan became publicly known.

Naturally, the Government service that supervises education got to know about Laura's plan.
In the Netherlands a child is obliged by law to study in an official school until the age of 18.
If parents do not take care the child goes to school, they are punished by law.
So, Laura's parents cannot simply allow their daughter to go on a 2 year sailing trip abandoning the school where she is studying now.
The parents are claiming that Laura will study while sailing but this has not been accepted by the authorities.
In fact, the Government went to court to obtain the right to take Laura away from the supervision of her parents.
This means Laura has to go to a temporary and neutral situation, that could be foster parents.
To stop her from getting on her boat to sail away.

Because Laura's boat is ready to sail, many believe she will slip away soon.
Just get on her boat and go in spite of the objections of the Government authorities.

This whole idea of a very young person sailing the oceans is not new.
There is this English chap called Mike Perham, 17 years old who is now finishing his trip around the world in a sailing boat all by himself.
When he was 14 he crossed the Atlantic Ocean although his Dad was in another sailing boat just behind him.
And we have 16 year old Zac Sunderland from California, USA on his $ 6,500 sailing boat taking off for a trip around the world this Saturday.

Obviously, 13 year old Laura in the Netherlands has been thinking that what those boys can achieve, she could do better.

The public debate these days in the Netherlands is whether it is responsible to let a 13 year old girl go on such a trip.
Many people ask themselves if they would allow and support a daughter of 13 to sail the oceans for two years.

On national Dutch TV experts were saying it is entirely possible.
Physically she is believed to be able to handle it.
Persons who know her say mentally she can do it as well.

It is a difficult issue to have a point of view.
One could say she better finishes her school first successfully before to even talk about sailing the world.
But one could also say that it will be the most important experience of her life learning much more than in school.
That is, if she survives.

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To learn more about Zac Sunderland, click on:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90990386

To learn more about Mike Perham, click on:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/sailing/5859614/British-teenager-Mike-Perham-aims-for-round-the-world-sailing-record.html


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The best kids

Living a nomadic life offers some exclusive surprises.
Due to circumstances with the Fuso Szulc, for some time now life is lived in a small community on a lovely estate in Southern California.
Long time friends who are happy people.
Who have a harmonious and loving relationship.
And have created a little paradise in a canyon.

But the most beautiful aspect of being here is the fact that two grandchildren of the long time friends are also part of the little community.
We have Pearl, a beautiful and bright 13-year-old girl and her brilliant brother Buster of 5.
Their father was a Yakima Indian who drowned in a river.

The thing with children is that in principle they are open to have a new friend.
And the interesting pre-condition they have is that first they see if their standards are met.
Is the adult accepting them for who they are?
Is the adult prepared to spend quality time with them?
Does the adult have true interest in them?
Once they are convinced the adult is really on their side, the loyalty and warmth is total.

This is a situation and condition ideal to be educational.
In a playful way.
Once there is trust, children love to learn.
When presented in a way that is like a game to them.

Last night for example was dinner in a Chinese buffet restaurant.
It is unacceptable of course that the dinner conversation is exclusively between the three adults.
That the two children are just sitting there boring themselves and likely to become obnoxious.
So, they are integrated in the social interaction.
Once adults do this, it will be a surprise how interesting the discussions remain.

During this dinner, Buster, the 5 year old, was asked if he wanted to answer a “difficult question”.
Yes, he said while his sis was watching curiously.
So, the question was: “What is the meaning of red and what is the meaning of green?”
Buster, brilliant as he is, didn’t have to think long.
He replied: “Red means stop and green means go”.
He was applauded by all present for this very correct answer.
And he immediately asked for another “difficult question”.
Followed soon by a request from his sister Pearl.
The long time friends also got involved.
They too came up with “difficult questions” and it was a communal thing now with all actively involved.
Having a lot of fun.

It is so interesting this thirst of kids to want to learn.
But it depends completely of the social circumstances of the child and the way the learning is presented.
Offering a fabulous challenge and immense responsibility to adults to create a situation beneficial to children.
In many cases, a troubled child not doing well in school is only a reflection of the context.
But last night Pearl and Buster were the best kids around.





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