For the first few months of my research and involvement in the whole homeschool thing I kept hearing the term "STEAM". It was driving me nuts. There were whole websites devoted to this thing called STEAM but oddly, it did take a while for me to find a definition Note to STEAM providers... put a definition on your websites please! Yes, STEAM may seem a simple and almost ridiculously basic thing to those who have been around the homeschool traps for a bit... Like... Duh! But when you're a homeschooling newby there are SOOO many things you don't know, and it's the simple things that people don't think to tell you about. I'm also really crap at remembering to google these things, so it probably takes me longer to catch on! LOL So I finally figured it out and now I'm breaking it down and putting it our there for those, who, like me, are wading through brand new terminology and concepts and trying to piece it all together. In my words, STEAM is the term for lessons which are leveraging project-based learning across multiple core disciplines/subjects. In my (eventual) googling I discovered some variations, but here's the mnemonic for you:
0 Comments
Image courtesy of: http://www.j6design.com.au/setting-smart-goals/ Set your goals and stick to them!
That's what we've been told about how to get stuff done in this world. You decide what you want, and then put a systematic plan in place to get it done by the prescribed deadline. Although you may not be across the 5 Golden Rules of goal setting, if you asked, most people could tell you a goal must be S.M.A.R.T. to be successful. S = Specific M = Measurable A = Attainable R = Relevant T = Time based I have a BIG ISSUE with this. Don't get me wrong... goals are an important element of making something happen in your life. But perhaps goal setting is not really so SMART as we think... In fact... it's only HALF OF THE REAL STORY of how to successfully manifest your desired outcomes. I put it to you that without INTENTION, goals are limited, flawed and slightly impotent... Before I go into that though... what is the nature of a goal? Where does it come from? Goal Setting is Masculine and Mental We firstly determine what it is we want. Then we set about deciding on a set of steps to get us to that outcome. We agree on an acceptable or desired deadline for that goal to be realised. This process is applied to all people in all circumstances. It is a 'mass produced', or at least 'mass-adopted' consciousness. It is also very much a HEAD BASED, MENTAL PROCESS. More than that, it is inherently masculine. By that I mean egoic (based in personality opposed to heart/soul), external, thinking, linear, logical, left-brained, action oriented (doing), human-created construct. Of course, there's nothing wrong with this. It has it's virtues. The issue I have with it, is that we have been told this is the best and ONLY way to get things done...we have been taught this in our schools, our businesses, our entire life... Goals, in the traditional sense, have no roots or connection with the natural order of the Universe or with our inner consciousness. We set our goal and then lust after it, striving and forcing ourselves to 'progress' until we have it in our grasp. The thing we're wanting to achieve is external to us. It is something outside of ourselves that we do not yet have, and that which is currently outside of our control. We attempt to take control, and control an outcome, by setting a goal. For this reason, goals are a LIMITED and INEFFICIENT method of achievement as long as they stand alone... they are only one half of the whole picture and the mechanism of an aged paternal paradigm. Using goals alone to get where we want to go, means we are constantly operating outside of ourselves and will therefore always effect a forced outcome... we push and push until we hit our goal and we do not allow for flexibility or adaptability.... often times we make ourselves sick in the process of completing our goals. True you may achieve what you set out to do, but at what cost? Time, money, family, health? |
|