http://www.commoncraft.com/taxonomy/term/213/feed The taxonomy view with a depth of 0. en http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education <p>Looking back at my education, I wasn't a great student.&nbsp; I made decent grades and went to a good university and grad school, but school was never my thing.&nbsp; Looking back, I can pin-point a couple of points at which I lost faith.<br><br>It was sixth grade and I was in a math class with Mrs. Paine (it's true - Paine).&nbsp; The subject was least common denominators.&nbsp; I didn't get it.&nbsp; My worksheets came back with red marks, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing.&nbsp; The class moved on while I was caught up in trying to memorize the details. Instead, what I needed was an understanding of the reasoning - not how, but why. It was at this point that I fell behind and began to dread math, as I do today.<br><br>Another example was college and grad school - I went to business school and took a few accounting classes.&nbsp; Again, the light bulb just didn't go on. I passed, but not because I fully understood the reasoning of Accounting as I do now.&nbsp; I remember the first day of my first accounting class.&nbsp; The instructor went directly into T accounts, debits and credits, revenue and expenses.&nbsp; I felt blind-sided.&nbsp; My first reaction was to try to memorize all the debits vs. credits instead of looking at it from a broad perspective of how money flows. I had no context to build an understanding.<br><br>Looking back, context is what I have always missed in education.&nbsp; If someone could put a new idea in the context of the real world or show me how it enables other things, I would get it.&nbsp; It's just my learning style - I need the big picture before the details make any sense.&nbsp; By diving directly into T accounts and least common denominators, I got caught up in trying to memorize instead of understand.&nbsp; What I needed to know was why - why this works the way it does - and why it matters to me.<br><br>So, I think the connection to our style of videos is obvious.&nbsp; They are based on all the things that don't work for me in education. When I see explanations on the Web, the remind me of school - they assume too much.&nbsp; They sometimes dive directly into how something works and spend little time on context.&nbsp; </p> <p>For me, it's a big problem - a problem that I believe others feel too.&nbsp; When it comes time for me to try to explain something,&nbsp; it just feels right to look at the world from the perspective that would have made sense to me that first day of accounting class - build meaning with context first, then explore details.</p> http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education#comments commoncraft education lesson ourwork personal videos Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:56:06 -0400 leelefever 1617 at http://www.commoncraft.com http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education <p>Looking back at my education, I wasn't a great student.&nbsp; I made decent grades and went to a good university and grad school, but school was never my thing.&nbsp; Looking back, I can pin-point a couple of points at which I lost faith.<br><br>It was sixth grade and I was in a math class with Mrs. Paine (it's true - Paine).&nbsp; The subject was least common denominators.&nbsp; I didn't get it.&nbsp; My worksheets came back with red marks, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing.&nbsp; The class moved on while I was caught up in trying to memorize the details. Instead, what I needed was an understanding of the reasoning - not how, but why. It was at this point that I fell behind and began to dread math, as I do today.<br><br>Another example was college and grad school - I went to business school and took a few accounting classes.&nbsp; Again, the light bulb just didn't go on. I passed, but not because I fully understood the reasoning of Accounting as I do now.&nbsp; I remember the first day of my first accounting class.&nbsp; The instructor went directly into T accounts, debits and credits, revenue and expenses.&nbsp; I felt blind-sided.&nbsp; My first reaction was to try to memorize all the debits vs. credits instead of looking at it from a broad perspective of how money flows. I had no context to build an understanding.<br><br>Looking back, context is what I have always missed in education.&nbsp; If someone could put a new idea in the context of the real world or show me how it enables other things, I would get it.&nbsp; It's just my learning style - I need the big picture before the details make any sense.&nbsp; By diving directly into T accounts and least common denominators, I got caught up in trying to memorize instead of understand.&nbsp; What I needed to know was why - why this works the way it does - and why it matters to me.<br><br>So, I think the connection to our style of videos is obvious.&nbsp; They are based on all the things that don't work for me in education. When I see explanations on the Web, the remind me of school - they assume too much.&nbsp; They sometimes dive directly into how something works and spend little time on context.&nbsp; </p> <p>For me, it's a big problem - a problem that I believe others feel too.&nbsp; When it comes time for me to try to explain something,&nbsp; it just feels right to look at the world from the perspective that would have made sense to me that first day of accounting class - build meaning with context first, then explore details.</p> http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education#comments commoncraft education lesson ourwork personal videos Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:56:06 -0400 leelefever 1617 at http://www.commoncraft.com http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education <p>Looking back at my education, I wasn't a great student.&nbsp; I made decent grades and went to a good university and grad school, but school was never my thing.&nbsp; Looking back, I can pin-point a couple of points at which I lost faith.<br><br>It was sixth grade and I was in a math class with Mrs. Paine (it's true - Paine).&nbsp; The subject was least common denominators.&nbsp; I didn't get it.&nbsp; My worksheets came back with red marks, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing.&nbsp; The class moved on while I was caught up in trying to memorize the details. Instead, what I needed was an understanding of the reasoning - not how, but why. It was at this point that I fell behind and began to dread math, as I do today.<br><br>Another example was college and grad school - I went to business school and took a few accounting classes.&nbsp; Again, the light bulb just didn't go on. I passed, but not because I fully understood the reasoning of Accounting as I do now.&nbsp; I remember the first day of my first accounting class.&nbsp; The instructor went directly into T accounts, debits and credits, revenue and expenses.&nbsp; I felt blind-sided.&nbsp; My first reaction was to try to memorize all the debits vs. credits instead of looking at it from a broad perspective of how money flows. I had no context to build an understanding.<br><br>Looking back, context is what I have always missed in education.&nbsp; If someone could put a new idea in the context of the real world or show me how it enables other things, I would get it.&nbsp; It's just my learning style - I need the big picture before the details make any sense.&nbsp; By diving directly into T accounts and least common denominators, I got caught up in trying to memorize instead of understand.&nbsp; What I needed to know was why - why this works the way it does - and why it matters to me.<br><br>So, I think the connection to our style of videos is obvious.&nbsp; They are based on all the things that don't work for me in education. When I see explanations on the Web, the remind me of school - they assume too much.&nbsp; They sometimes dive directly into how something works and spend little time on context.&nbsp; </p> <p>For me, it's a big problem - a problem that I believe others feel too.&nbsp; When it comes time for me to try to explain something,&nbsp; it just feels right to look at the world from the perspective that would have made sense to me that first day of accounting class - build meaning with context first, then explore details.</p> http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education#comments commoncraft education lesson ourwork personal videos Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:56:06 -0400 leelefever 1617 at http://www.commoncraft.com http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education <p>Looking back at my education, I wasn't a great student.&nbsp; I made decent grades and went to a good university and grad school, but school was never my thing.&nbsp; Looking back, I can pin-point a couple of points at which I lost faith.<br><br>It was sixth grade and I was in a math class with Mrs. Paine (it's true - Paine).&nbsp; The subject was least common denominators.&nbsp; I didn't get it.&nbsp; My worksheets came back with red marks, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing.&nbsp; The class moved on while I was caught up in trying to memorize the details. Instead, what I needed was an understanding of the reasoning - not how, but why. It was at this point that I fell behind and began to dread math, as I do today.<br><br>Another example was college and grad school - I went to business school and took a few accounting classes.&nbsp; Again, the light bulb just didn't go on. I passed, but not because I fully understood the reasoning of Accounting as I do now.&nbsp; I remember the first day of my first accounting class.&nbsp; The instructor went directly into T accounts, debits and credits, revenue and expenses.&nbsp; I felt blind-sided.&nbsp; My first reaction was to try to memorize all the debits vs. credits instead of looking at it from a broad perspective of how money flows. I had no context to build an understanding.<br><br>Looking back, context is what I have always missed in education.&nbsp; If someone could put a new idea in the context of the real world or show me how it enables other things, I would get it.&nbsp; It's just my learning style - I need the big picture before the details make any sense.&nbsp; By diving directly into T accounts and least common denominators, I got caught up in trying to memorize instead of understand.&nbsp; What I needed to know was why - why this works the way it does - and why it matters to me.<br><br>So, I think the connection to our style of videos is obvious.&nbsp; They are based on all the things that don't work for me in education. When I see explanations on the Web, the remind me of school - they assume too much.&nbsp; They sometimes dive directly into how something works and spend little time on context.&nbsp; </p> <p>For me, it's a big problem - a problem that I believe others feel too.&nbsp; When it comes time for me to try to explain something,&nbsp; it just feels right to look at the world from the perspective that would have made sense to me that first day of accounting class - build meaning with context first, then explore details.</p> http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education#comments commoncraft education lesson ourwork personal videos Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:56:06 -0400 leelefever 1617 at http://www.commoncraft.com http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education <p>Looking back at my education, I wasn't a great student.&nbsp; I made decent grades and went to a good university and grad school, but school was never my thing.&nbsp; Looking back, I can pin-point a couple of points at which I lost faith.<br><br>It was sixth grade and I was in a math class with Mrs. Paine (it's true - Paine).&nbsp; The subject was least common denominators.&nbsp; I didn't get it.&nbsp; My worksheets came back with red marks, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing.&nbsp; The class moved on while I was caught up in trying to memorize the details. Instead, what I needed was an understanding of the reasoning - not how, but why. It was at this point that I fell behind and began to dread math, as I do today.<br><br>Another example was college and grad school - I went to business school and took a few accounting classes.&nbsp; Again, the light bulb just didn't go on. I passed, but not because I fully understood the reasoning of Accounting as I do now.&nbsp; I remember the first day of my first accounting class.&nbsp; The instructor went directly into T accounts, debits and credits, revenue and expenses.&nbsp; I felt blind-sided.&nbsp; My first reaction was to try to memorize all the debits vs. credits instead of looking at it from a broad perspective of how money flows. I had no context to build an understanding.<br><br>Looking back, context is what I have always missed in education.&nbsp; If someone could put a new idea in the context of the real world or show me how it enables other things, I would get it.&nbsp; It's just my learning style - I need the big picture before the details make any sense.&nbsp; By diving directly into T accounts and least common denominators, I got caught up in trying to memorize instead of understand.&nbsp; What I needed to know was why - why this works the way it does - and why it matters to me.<br><br>So, I think the connection to our style of videos is obvious.&nbsp; They are based on all the things that don't work for me in education. When I see explanations on the Web, the remind me of school - they assume too much.&nbsp; They sometimes dive directly into how something works and spend little time on context.&nbsp; </p> <p>For me, it's a big problem - a problem that I believe others feel too.&nbsp; When it comes time for me to try to explain something,&nbsp; it just feels right to look at the world from the perspective that would have made sense to me that first day of accounting class - build meaning with context first, then explore details.</p> http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education#comments commoncraft education lesson ourwork personal videos Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:56:06 -0400 leelefever 1617 at http://www.commoncraft.com http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education <p>Looking back at my education, I wasn't a great student.&nbsp; I made decent grades and went to a good university and grad school, but school was never my thing.&nbsp; Looking back, I can pin-point a couple of points at which I lost faith.<br><br>It was sixth grade and I was in a math class with Mrs. Paine (it's true - Paine).&nbsp; The subject was least common denominators.&nbsp; I didn't get it.&nbsp; My worksheets came back with red marks, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing.&nbsp; The class moved on while I was caught up in trying to memorize the details. Instead, what I needed was an understanding of the reasoning - not how, but why. It was at this point that I fell behind and began to dread math, as I do today.<br><br>Another example was college and grad school - I went to business school and took a few accounting classes.&nbsp; Again, the light bulb just didn't go on. I passed, but not because I fully understood the reasoning of Accounting as I do now.&nbsp; I remember the first day of my first accounting class.&nbsp; The instructor went directly into T accounts, debits and credits, revenue and expenses.&nbsp; I felt blind-sided.&nbsp; My first reaction was to try to memorize all the debits vs. credits instead of looking at it from a broad perspective of how money flows. I had no context to build an understanding.<br><br>Looking back, context is what I have always missed in education.&nbsp; If someone could put a new idea in the context of the real world or show me how it enables other things, I would get it.&nbsp; It's just my learning style - I need the big picture before the details make any sense.&nbsp; By diving directly into T accounts and least common denominators, I got caught up in trying to memorize instead of understand.&nbsp; What I needed to know was why - why this works the way it does - and why it matters to me.<br><br>So, I think the connection to our style of videos is obvious.&nbsp; They are based on all the things that don't work for me in education. When I see explanations on the Web, the remind me of school - they assume too much.&nbsp; They sometimes dive directly into how something works and spend little time on context.&nbsp; </p> <p>For me, it's a big problem - a problem that I believe others feel too.&nbsp; When it comes time for me to try to explain something,&nbsp; it just feels right to look at the world from the perspective that would have made sense to me that first day of accounting class - build meaning with context first, then explore details.</p> http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education#comments commoncraft education lesson ourwork personal videos Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:56:06 -0400 leelefever 1617 at http://www.commoncraft.com http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education <p>Looking back at my education, I wasn't a great student.&nbsp; I made decent grades and went to a good university and grad school, but school was never my thing.&nbsp; Looking back, I can pin-point a couple of points at which I lost faith.<br><br>It was sixth grade and I was in a math class with Mrs. Paine (it's true - Paine).&nbsp; The subject was least common denominators.&nbsp; I didn't get it.&nbsp; My worksheets came back with red marks, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing.&nbsp; The class moved on while I was caught up in trying to memorize the details. Instead, what I needed was an understanding of the reasoning - not how, but why. It was at this point that I fell behind and began to dread math, as I do today.<br><br>Another example was college and grad school - I went to business school and took a few accounting classes.&nbsp; Again, the light bulb just didn't go on. I passed, but not because I fully understood the reasoning of Accounting as I do now.&nbsp; I remember the first day of my first accounting class.&nbsp; The instructor went directly into T accounts, debits and credits, revenue and expenses.&nbsp; I felt blind-sided.&nbsp; My first reaction was to try to memorize all the debits vs. credits instead of looking at it from a broad perspective of how money flows. I had no context to build an understanding.<br><br>Looking back, context is what I have always missed in education.&nbsp; If someone could put a new idea in the context of the real world or show me how it enables other things, I would get it.&nbsp; It's just my learning style - I need the big picture before the details make any sense.&nbsp; By diving directly into T accounts and least common denominators, I got caught up in trying to memorize instead of understand.&nbsp; What I needed to know was why - why this works the way it does - and why it matters to me.<br><br>So, I think the connection to our style of videos is obvious.&nbsp; They are based on all the things that don't work for me in education. When I see explanations on the Web, the remind me of school - they assume too much.&nbsp; They sometimes dive directly into how something works and spend little time on context.&nbsp; </p> <p>For me, it's a big problem - a problem that I believe others feel too.&nbsp; When it comes time for me to try to explain something,&nbsp; it just feels right to look at the world from the perspective that would have made sense to me that first day of accounting class - build meaning with context first, then explore details.</p> http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education#comments commoncraft education lesson ourwork personal videos Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:56:06 -0400 leelefever 1617 at http://www.commoncraft.com http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education <p>Looking back at my education, I wasn't a great student.&nbsp; I made decent grades and went to a good university and grad school, but school was never my thing.&nbsp; Looking back, I can pin-point a couple of points at which I lost faith.<br><br>It was sixth grade and I was in a math class with Mrs. Paine (it's true - Paine).&nbsp; The subject was least common denominators.&nbsp; I didn't get it.&nbsp; My worksheets came back with red marks, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing.&nbsp; The class moved on while I was caught up in trying to memorize the details. Instead, what I needed was an understanding of the reasoning - not how, but why. It was at this point that I fell behind and began to dread math, as I do today.<br><br>Another example was college and grad school - I went to business school and took a few accounting classes.&nbsp; Again, the light bulb just didn't go on. I passed, but not because I fully understood the reasoning of Accounting as I do now.&nbsp; I remember the first day of my first accounting class.&nbsp; The instructor went directly into T accounts, debits and credits, revenue and expenses.&nbsp; I felt blind-sided.&nbsp; My first reaction was to try to memorize all the debits vs. credits instead of looking at it from a broad perspective of how money flows. I had no context to build an understanding.<br><br>Looking back, context is what I have always missed in education.&nbsp; If someone could put a new idea in the context of the real world or show me how it enables other things, I would get it.&nbsp; It's just my learning style - I need the big picture before the details make any sense.&nbsp; By diving directly into T accounts and least common denominators, I got caught up in trying to memorize instead of understand.&nbsp; What I needed to know was why - why this works the way it does - and why it matters to me.<br><br>So, I think the connection to our style of videos is obvious.&nbsp; They are based on all the things that don't work for me in education. When I see explanations on the Web, the remind me of school - they assume too much.&nbsp; They sometimes dive directly into how something works and spend little time on context.&nbsp; </p> <p>For me, it's a big problem - a problem that I believe others feel too.&nbsp; When it comes time for me to try to explain something,&nbsp; it just feels right to look at the world from the perspective that would have made sense to me that first day of accounting class - build meaning with context first, then explore details.</p> http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education#comments commoncraft education lesson ourwork personal videos Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:56:06 -0400 leelefever 1617 at http://www.commoncraft.com http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education <p>Looking back at my education, I wasn't a great student.&nbsp; I made decent grades and went to a good university and grad school, but school was never my thing.&nbsp; Looking back, I can pin-point a couple of points at which I lost faith.<br><br>It was sixth grade and I was in a math class with Mrs. Paine (it's true - Paine).&nbsp; The subject was least common denominators.&nbsp; I didn't get it.&nbsp; My worksheets came back with red marks, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing.&nbsp; The class moved on while I was caught up in trying to memorize the details. Instead, what I needed was an understanding of the reasoning - not how, but why. It was at this point that I fell behind and began to dread math, as I do today.<br><br>Another example was college and grad school - I went to business school and took a few accounting classes.&nbsp; Again, the light bulb just didn't go on. I passed, but not because I fully understood the reasoning of Accounting as I do now.&nbsp; I remember the first day of my first accounting class.&nbsp; The instructor went directly into T accounts, debits and credits, revenue and expenses.&nbsp; I felt blind-sided.&nbsp; My first reaction was to try to memorize all the debits vs. credits instead of looking at it from a broad perspective of how money flows. I had no context to build an understanding.<br><br>Looking back, context is what I have always missed in education.&nbsp; If someone could put a new idea in the context of the real world or show me how it enables other things, I would get it.&nbsp; It's just my learning style - I need the big picture before the details make any sense.&nbsp; By diving directly into T accounts and least common denominators, I got caught up in trying to memorize instead of understand.&nbsp; What I needed to know was why - why this works the way it does - and why it matters to me.<br><br>So, I think the connection to our style of videos is obvious.&nbsp; They are based on all the things that don't work for me in education. When I see explanations on the Web, the remind me of school - they assume too much.&nbsp; They sometimes dive directly into how something works and spend little time on context.&nbsp; </p> <p>For me, it's a big problem - a problem that I believe others feel too.&nbsp; When it comes time for me to try to explain something,&nbsp; it just feels right to look at the world from the perspective that would have made sense to me that first day of accounting class - build meaning with context first, then explore details.</p> http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education#comments commoncraft education lesson ourwork personal videos Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:56:06 -0400 leelefever 1617 at http://www.commoncraft.com http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education <p>Looking back at my education, I wasn't a great student.&nbsp; I made decent grades and went to a good university and grad school, but school was never my thing.&nbsp; Looking back, I can pin-point a couple of points at which I lost faith.<br><br>It was sixth grade and I was in a math class with Mrs. Paine (it's true - Paine).&nbsp; The subject was least common denominators.&nbsp; I didn't get it.&nbsp; My worksheets came back with red marks, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing.&nbsp; The class moved on while I was caught up in trying to memorize the details. Instead, what I needed was an understanding of the reasoning - not how, but why. It was at this point that I fell behind and began to dread math, as I do today.<br><br>Another example was college and grad school - I went to business school and took a few accounting classes.&nbsp; Again, the light bulb just didn't go on. I passed, but not because I fully understood the reasoning of Accounting as I do now.&nbsp; I remember the first day of my first accounting class.&nbsp; The instructor went directly into T accounts, debits and credits, revenue and expenses.&nbsp; I felt blind-sided.&nbsp; My first reaction was to try to memorize all the debits vs. credits instead of looking at it from a broad perspective of how money flows. I had no context to build an understanding.<br><br>Looking back, context is what I have always missed in education.&nbsp; If someone could put a new idea in the context of the real world or show me how it enables other things, I would get it.&nbsp; It's just my learning style - I need the big picture before the details make any sense.&nbsp; By diving directly into T accounts and least common denominators, I got caught up in trying to memorize instead of understand.&nbsp; What I needed to know was why - why this works the way it does - and why it matters to me.<br><br>So, I think the connection to our style of videos is obvious.&nbsp; They are based on all the things that don't work for me in education. When I see explanations on the Web, the remind me of school - they assume too much.&nbsp; They sometimes dive directly into how something works and spend little time on context.&nbsp; </p> <p>For me, it's a big problem - a problem that I believe others feel too.&nbsp; When it comes time for me to try to explain something,&nbsp; it just feels right to look at the world from the perspective that would have made sense to me that first day of accounting class - build meaning with context first, then explore details.</p> http://www.commoncraft.com/talkin-bout-my-education#comments commoncraft education lesson ourwork personal videos Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:56:06 -0400 leelefever 1617 at http://www.commoncraft.com