Are Schools Worth the Cost?

Ethiopian Children Teach Themselves

Indian Children Teach Themselves

Children Teach Themselves to Read

Kids Learn Math Easily When They Control Their Own Learning

Featured Quote - Doyle

"I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones."

-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet)

LEARNING PHYSICS AND MUSIC IN MIDDLE AGE

Carleen Hutchins (1911-2009) was both a dedicated scientist and innovative luthier. She studied how violins produce their distinctive sound, and in the process she became a sought-after viola maker. Over the years she encountered criticism for being a woman and bringing scientific inquiry into an esoteric discipline. But the quality of her instruments gradually earned the respect and admiration of many luthiers and players. In scientific circles she was known for her extensive work in acoustics research. All this she did after age forty! In her school days she had no idea how prolific her life would some day be.

As a child, Carleen Hutchins raised silkworms, joined the Girl Scouts, and enjoyed woodworking. When Hutchins entered college she studied entomology, but by the time of graduation she was interested in becoming a doctor. Because of little money and gender-based discouragement, she decided to become a high school science teacher. It was not until she was in her forties that Hutchins got involved with string instruments. She played trumpet in an amateur chamber music group during the late 1940s, but the group decided a viola would sound better. So she give up the trumpet and bought a cheap viola. Dissatisfied with her poor quality instrument, Hutchins set about to make her own. In 1949, after two years of work, her first viola was ready to play. It was around this time that she stopped teaching to start raising a family with her husband, Morton. That same year she began a six-year study with luthier Karl Berger. With his advice Hutchins made over twenty violas, four violins, and one cello. Also in 1949, Hutchins met Harvard physicist Frederick Saunders who had an active interest in acoustics. He wanted to experiment with the structures of string instruments, but luthiers and players do not like holes drilled in their expensive violins. Hutchins agreed to make “boxes” (unfinished but playable instruments) for the sake of science. Eventually she would turn her own basement into an acoustics laboratory filled with various instruments and electronic equipment. And so it was that she spent the 1950s learning both the art of violin making and the science of sound from two qualified mentors.

In her collaboration with Saunders, Hutchins made a collection of string instruments that underwent hundreds of experiments. Most of those instruments did not survive to the present day, but much was learned and many papers were published. Hutchins' skill in instrument making reached such a level that some of her instruments were being purchased by professional players. Over the years she devised a surprisingly visual method of analyzing the front and back “plates” of a violin. The setup involves holding the plate over a loudspeaker by placing foam blocks under its corners. Some glitter is sprinkled over the plate, and the speaker is activated with a frequency generator. The operator slowly changes the frequency while watching the glitter. At certain tones, the glitter will astonishingly move into definite patterns on the violin plate. These patterns are called Chladni patterns, and they indicate how the plate naturally vibrates. By observing these patterns and the frequencies at which they occur, a luthier can refine the shape and thickness of the plate for optimal tuning.

As Hutchins' knowledge of wood grew, so did her resourcefulness in finding quality materials. She obtained wood from such unconventional sources as wine crates and polo balls. One memorable story even tells of Hutchins and the famous doctor, Virginia Apgar, taking a shelf from a payphone booth under the cover of night. The shelf became the back plate of a viola and was replaced by a replica shelf of lesser-quality wood.

Once she had enough technical experience in acoustics, Hutchins felt the need to connect with other researchers and promote the sharing of information. To that end, the Catgut Acoustical Society was founded in the 1960s—bringing isolated minds into a group for studying musical instruments. The society's membership would grow to 800 in less than twenty years.

Perhaps Hutchins' most memorable contribution to violin making is her New Violin Family, also known as the violin octet. Composer Henry Brant came to Hutchins with a challenge in 1957. He wanted her to create seven new string instruments centered around the violin. Each instrument was to be tuned half an octave apart with the highest-pitched instrument tuned one octave above the violin. While certain members of this family are similar to the viola, cello, and double bass, they are designed as large violins, not mere copies of their conventional counterparts. The intention is a group of instruments that sing together in perfect harmony and with amazing clarity. With funding from the Guggenheim Foundation, Hutchins and her many collaborators had a complete octet ready for concert testing by the mid-1960s. The new family was impressive, but Hutchins would spend decades refining each violin for an ever-improving sound. In the end she made eight instruments—slightly modifying the traditional violin design. The members of this family are named the treble, soprano, mezzo, alto, tenor, baritone, small bass, and contrabass violins. The mezzo violin is tuned just like a traditional violin, but its body is longer. The alto violin is tuned like a viola, but it has an endpin and is played upright like a cello. Hutchins traveled the world on lecture tours to spread awareness of the violin octet. She was met with both admiration for her innovation and enmity for trying to change the classical orchestra. Because of this controversy, it took some time for the Metropolitan Museum of Art to display an octet. Nevertheless, the quality of the octet's sound is undeniable, and musicians are catching on to it. Yo-Yo Ma has made recordings using an alto violin, and the instrument has also been favored by William Berman and Randall Vemer.

COMPUTERS CAN IMPROVE EDUCATION!

Computers have become ubiquitous in modern life. We get news updates, find driving directions, communicate with one another, write papers, make calculations, and perform countless other tasks with the aid of various computers. Yet, as these fabulous tools increasingly permeate our lives, they remain undercapitalized in most classroom settings. Many kids learn to text with their cellphones years before they learn to type on keyboards. Why?

Public schools seem to be built for intellectual stagnation. The most apparent academic goal in most students' minds is surviving the next test or exam. Grades are everything. Is there any consideration for the interests and talents of the students? No. You must learn these subjects, by this date, or you are a failure. If you excel linguistically and are passionate about history but have trouble with math, then your education will be plagued by a spotty record and perhaps impressions of inadequacy. Math adepts who are uninterested and unskilled in other classes will experience the same problems. The often uncompromising attitude of school authority “kills creativity” and subdues individual excellence. People's abilities shine most when they have the freedom to follow their passions.

What does that have to do with technology, especially computers? Computers allow us to exceed the academic limits of previous generations. Why memorize lists and tables of numerous facts when you can access them at will with a search query? Hard drives store raw information so that we can focus on interpreting and utilizing data instead of memorizing it. Email and satellite transmissions make long-distance communication nearly instantaneous. Software plots data faster, more accurately, and in more ways than a single human ever could by hand. People can do so much more with the aid of technology, and we are constantly finding new ways to exploit it. Government officials do not appear to care about a potential leap in human-computer capability. They just want test scores so they can rank with other countries. The quantification of students eases the task of assigning value to them and their schools. Much of the time schools are focused on improving standardized test scores and fail to devote energy towards exploring how students learn—much less how to improve their learning experience.

One problem that schools face is a shortage of teachers and a surplus of students. Standardization and mass production are themes that seem natural for dealing with this dilemma. Working out standardized problems with pencil and paper, in addition to reading standardized texts, is the classic approach that has emerged for cramming information and skills into students' brains. Is this still a valid method of learning, considering today's technology? With computers and the internet, a student can find countless sources of information regarding any topic in class. The versatility of computers enables any student to express their knowledge in myriad ways—slide-show presentations, animations, typed essays, etc. In light of this, the dull exams of today seem unnecessary. A common complaint for schools is the infrequent buying of new textbooks. The internet allows access to free, legal, easily updated textbooks written by qualified experts who value education above profit. Using digital textbooks and unconventional methods of assessing academic progress reduce the use of physical resources like paper. In this way, going digital is also going green.

Many schools seem to be in denial about the ubiquity of computers. Computer skills are more important than ever and can be very lucrative. But some schools do not even teach their students how to touch-type. Why is programming—or, at the very least, computer literacy—not a major subject alongside social studies and math? Programming develops language and logic skills while empowering individuals to innovate with software. Knowing how to use computers is necessary for countless careers, but that importance is overlooked by many teachers and administrators. The internet gives people access to vast amounts of knowledge, but students are severely limited in time that is allowed to explore it.

America's ideal economic model is one that provides individual freedom and allows personal experimentation. Ideally, citizens are free to buy what they want and start businesses selling what they want. This results in net economic growth because people will learn how to make a profit and provide for the needs and wants of customers. Such freedom is expected in virtually every facet of life except, it seems, in schooling. Unless you want to change your address, you cannot choose which public school your kids attend. Students have very little choice about what subjects they study until they get to the college level. Students must study the same subjects and devote the same amount of time to each one, and they have no say in the curriculum of those subjects. The administrators get to make all the decisions. This power structure is analogous to a communist state. Everybody gets equal pay, and the people in charge manage all the resources. With this you get low productivity and little innovation. If students had more freedom to choose what subjects they study and how to manage their time, then they would be more productive and creative. They have more freedom outside of school, and they quickly learn how to use cellphones, personal computers, game consoles, etc. as long as their families can afford such things. Once connected to the World Wide Web, a person is free to learn about any topic imaginable. The internet holds much more information than a room full of textbooks, but school systems are too rigid to take advantage of it.

There are some people who are trying to bring public education into the twenty-first century and use technology for academic benefit, but they cannot do it alone. School administrators need to be more open-minded. Teachers need to be willing to learn as much as their students. Parents need to speak up about the quality of their children's education. Students need to care about their education. Today's technology is just too powerful to be wasted.

DIY COMPUTER ANIMATIONS AND VIDEO GAMES

Have you ever watched a Pixar film and wished you could have a go at making CG animations? Do you aspire to becoming a video game developer, but you lack the resources to gain any experience? Blender might be just what you need. It is a 3D computer graphics program which is free and open-source. All you need is a reasonably fast computer and internet connection. This software is capable of building 3D models, rendering artwork, making animations, running user-created video games and simulations, and more. A diligent user's creations are only limited by imagination, and, in some cases, computing power. In commercial applications Blender has been used to make advertisements, short films, and was even used by the storyboard department of Spider-Man 2. The experience acquired from using this program can be invaluable if you are pursuing a career in the film/animation or video game industries. Learning to use Blender takes some time, but there is a lot of support via the Blender community. Users who are highly skilled often create tutorials to share their knowledge. Not only is the software free, but getting educated in how to use it is free, too. Below is a screenshot of Blender followed by a few short films.

Blender (software)

“Esign 2”

“Elephants Dream”

“Sintel” (some violence and blood)

WELCOME TO FRUEDU!

Independent learning is a hallmark of an enlightened society. The over-structured curricula of public schools often hinder creativity and divergent thinking. The mandates and requirements imposed on schools create a lot of stress for both students and teachers. Students are at times forced to learn about topics that are personally uninteresting and perhaps irrelevant to their career goals. Does a painter need to understand matrices and quadratic equations? Will a painter even remember such matters long after high school? Sure, people can be interested in both painting and mathematics, but generally such combinations are unwanted by students. By choosing their own subjects of study, students should learn better simply because the motivation is curiosity and passion rather than good grades. Also, students should excel more as they devote more time and energy to their interests.

This website is meant to facilitate self-directed learning for people of all ages. Whether you are in school and want to exceed the limits of your curriculum or you just want to pursue your interests on your own time and budget, Fruedu is your aid in finding quality information. If you have any suggestions for topics or sources to be featured, then leaving a comment would be greatly appreciated.