Whatever the topic, whatever the situation, there will be moments of panic and crisis. It is important to have re-centering checklists in order to maintain focus.

The first checklist is internal: be confident, be calm, take one step at a time. Haste makes waste. Saying “I can’t” is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The second is a version of the scientific method: observe, ask, guess, test, tell, record iterate. Whatever the subject: am I being observant? analytical? methodical?

The third involves communication with others. One version would be: listen, empathize, encourage, thank. Another is to remember that how you say what you say can be more important than what you say. You can speak too loudly to be heard. Be self-aware and do the triple check: tone, look stance.

Long Term cycles: K-12

Any important question worth asking and investigating in any depth merits revisiting on a periodic basis over the course of a K-12 education – whether every year or every two or three years. This calendar deserves the attention of the most senior administrative bodies in the school system as well as debate among the general public.

Examples of such questions are: the meaning of justice, the difference between science and pseudo-science, how to recognize rhetorical fallacies and statistical manipulation.

Medium Term Cycles: Monthly

Within an academic year, a recurring monthly thematic sequence will maximize the odds of retention of the most important ideas. For example in a civics course with four big themes, here are four options.

     Option A      Option B             Option C                   Option D

Short Term Cycles: Daily

A recurring daily thematic pattern can also serve to maximize the odds of achieving a deep understanding of critical distinctions – as in this example between facts, opinions, and premises, between individual decisions and group compromise based on issue prioritization and give and take.                                  

Monday                   Tuesday         Wednesday   Thursday           Friday

Without the exchange of ideas, thinkers tend to retreat into private universes. The Socratic dialogue is an indispensable tool for sharpening of thinking and avoiding dead ends. Science is a collaborative process. Learning is a team sport.

Matrix Exchange To Master Matrix Construction

          Beginning                             Middle                                 End

If there is one thing I learned as a student and a teacher, it is that the quality of a discussion is a function of three variables

a.) the amount of written work each participant has done before hand (reading without writing is like eating without digesting)

b.) the ability of the teacher to manage the discussion process such that each student gets roughly equal time to express her views and be challenged;

c.) the systematic summary of the collective wisdom of the class so that what is learned can serve as a foundation for future learning.

The construction and exchange of matrices before formal discussion begins prevents the degeneration of conversation into a “mutual rant” where the path of the conversation resembles a random walk with each party looking for the weakest point in the argument of the other. Discussion wanders jaggedly away from what matters most, maximizing ill will and frustration. The sands shift constantly: “that’s not what I said,” “that’s not what I meant at all.”

To get beyond the echo chamber, build up as diverse a possible a group of friends committed to becoming more disciplined citizens.

These friends must be willing to meet regularly and do written homework before each session.

Without a master matrix to build on, future conversations will be re-enactments of the prior one. Constant wheel reinvention is not a recipe for progress.

Every course in every subject should lead to a capstone performance.
The performance should include written, oral, and graphic presentations.

Samples:

              Science                                     Civics                                Arts

Essays ramble. Matrices get to the point. They focus the mind on what matters. So what should every high school or college graduate know about physics, chemistry, ethics, history, economics, political science, art, music, fitness? What is the best way to teach the critically important concepts?

Let’s figure this out by exchanging curricular matrices.

Each subsequent page attacks a specific discipline. The hope is that experts in each field will individually and collectively come forth with better ones. The general format is as follows:

Topic x (Science, Humanities, Arts)

If there is a topic worth teaching, there is a topic grid worth committing to memory. Any topic worth studying has at least three key ideas that can be demonstrated in multiple ways – using words, numbers, and images. The better the teacher, the better the framing of the demonstrations, the sequencing of questions and the more ubiquitous and cheap the objects needed so that the student can more easily repeat the lesson for the benefit of others outside the classroom.

Imagine the now blank walls of countless classrooms and hallways brought to life by thought-provoking matrices that help focus the minds of students on what matters most and how to apply these concepts in multiple settings.

The best graduation test for a student would be the ability to walk a prospect  through the school enchanting her with the stories graphically displayed.

Imagine a prime time “Academic Idol” television show in which aspiring or experienced teachers compete by bringing to life a learning matrix or even just one of the squares in it.  The judges might be the President, the Secretary of Education, the chairman of the Fed, Beyonce, Warren Buffett, or Michael Jordan.

The higher the rewards for great teaching, the greater the desire to become one.

Let the crowd sourcing begin.

The Daily Journal

Writing disciplines thought and provides a foundation upon which to build a sustained argument. A journal collects thoughts in one place and facilitates continuity of thought from hectic day to hectic day. In the absence of such a device, constant wheel re-invention is the order of the day. Logs can be of as much use to physicists and biologists as much as to humanists and poets.

Each course in a general education curriculum should have as a daily requirement the writing of at least one paragraph prior to the day’s class hour and another afterwards.

The purposes of the two paragraphs are to prepare for class with the articulation of questions and hypotheses with respect to the day’s subject matter and to synthesize the knowledge gained during the class hour and after related research and reading into a reformulation of those questions and hypotheses.

The Eureka Journal

Each core curriculum or general education course would have a class specific log or journal. However, there should also be a journal of journals or a EUREKA LOG for the highlighting of the quantum leaps in observation, understanding and insight over the college career of the student. Ideally, of course, each discipline-specific course should lead to moments worthy of the EUREKA LOG.

The Eureka Log should also include a discussion of the major decision points in a student’s undergraduate life and the rationale behind them: eg. choice of major, minor, extracurricular activities, post-graduate plans, voting decisions, religious affiliation decisions etc.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

The Eureka log in particular would become of priceless value to each student for the rest of his or her life. And imagine the value to their children, grandchildren, etc. Did your grandfather die before you were born? Mine did. I envied those more fortunate. Then, a few years ago, I found in the attic a box filled with articles and poems tracking his thoughts and feelings from 1914 to 1939. The elation was gut-wrenching.

Where would we be without Darwin’s journals? Newton’s? Anne Frank’s? Logs (journals) have been used for millennia by men and women, young and old, in all fields. Benedictine monks and Puritan settlers tracked their spiritual pilgrimage toward grace. Darwin jotted down observations and drew connections between types of finches.

Mathematicians and physicists charted their path toward discovery of natural laws. Captains logged their progress. Accountants kept watch on expenses and revenues.

Reading without writing is like eating without digesting.

As the ancient Chinese saying says, the palest ink is better than the best memory.

If used correctly, the thematic journal can turn a college or high school education from a random walk from course to course into a disciplined journey toward self-knowledge and mastery of a broad range of skills.