Author: Mr. Money Mustache

Annotation: Frank.Cr

Little MM and me self-educating with some Orson Scott Card, way back in 2017. We’ve come so far together since then!
 

Orson Scott Card is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead won both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award.

sequel: a book, movie, etc., that continues a story begun in another book, movie, etc.

So it looks like my 15-year-old is officially a high-school dropout.

dropout: a person who stops going to a school, college, etc., before finishing : a person who drops out of school

Halfway through ninth grade, emboldened perhaps by the taste of freedom that Covid-era remote learning had provided, he realized that the whole system was just too slow and inefficient for him, and was “Getting in the way of his work.” So as it looks now, he’ll probably never return to any sort of in-person schooling, and I will be surprised if he ever attends college.

halfway: not total or complete

embolden: to make (someone) more confident — usually used as (be) emboldened

He was emboldened by the success of his speech.

inefficient: not capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy : not efficient

in the way or in someone's or something's way: making it more difficult for a person to do something : preventing something from happening

We have important issues to deal with, but these petty arguments keep getting in the way

petty: relating to things that are not very important or serious

Yes, he is technically “home schooling” and will still end up with a high school diploma of sorts, but in reality he is pretty much winging it. And needless to say, I have mixed feelings about this.

of sorts or of a sort: in some ways but not entirely or exactly

It was a vacation of sorts. [=it was like a vacation in some ways, although it wasn't really a vacation]

wing it: to do or try to do something without much practice or preparation

needless to say: used to say that the statement you are making is obvious

I’ll start with the worries and the negative stuff, because as a parent I of course want the best for my child. And when I look back on my own childhood, it feels like school was a fountain of formative experiences.

fountain: a device or structure that sends a stream of water into the air in a garden, park, etc.; the source of something

formative: used to describe the time when someone or something is growing or being formed

His family traveled widely during his formative years. [=when he was young]

Sure, the education itself was slow and crappy – I was always craving more advanced material and more creative learning formats which just weren’t there in my small town high school. But isn’t enduring crappy and antiquated systems a critical part of getting ready to live in a modern society where things don’t always go your way? After all, the only way to renew a drivers license or a passport (or a medical license for that matter) is to dive head first into the ridiculousness and grin and bear it for the sake of the end goal.

crappy: of poor quality : not good : lousy

lousy: of poor quality : not good or skillful

crave: to have a very strong desire for (something)

format: the form, design, or arrangement of something (such as a book, magazine, or television or radio program)

endure: to deal with or accept (something unpleasant)

antiquated: (of things or ideas) old-fashioned and no longer suitable for modern conditions

renew: to cause (something) to continue to be effective or valid for an additional period of time

dive: to start doing something with enthusiasm — usually + into or in

grin and bear it: to accept something that you do not like because you have no choice

grin: to smile widely

end: always used before a noun, adjective, final

And of course there were plenty of good parts: I had so many amazing experiences and friendships and adventures through high school and university. Beginner romances and heartbreaks, brushes with the law, late nights around the campfire, terrible minimum wage jobs at gas stations and convenience stores that I thought were amazing, all bathed in a swirling Marijuana-tinged soundtrack of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Soundgarten and Primus and Tool. Doing reverse snow donuts in my mom’s 1988 Dodge Caravan filled with eight friends and then getting out to dance crazily in the headlights to the Wayne’s World soundtrack blasting from the giant stereo system I had built into the minivan with my own 16-year-old hands.

romance: an exciting and usually short relationship between lovers

heartbreak: a very strong feeling of sadness, disappointment, etc.

brush: noun, a situation in which you briefly experience or almost experience something bad, dangerous, exciting, etc. — + with

She had a brush with [=briefly saw or met] a famous actor at a restaurant in New York.

minimum: least or lowest possible in amount or degree

wage: an amount of money that a worker is paid based on the number of hours, days, etc., that are worked

bath: to wash (someone) in a container filled with water : to give a bath to (someone)

swirl: to move in circles or to cause (something) to move in circles

marijuana: the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant that are smoked as a drug

tinge: to give a small amount of some quality to (something) — usually used as (be) tinged with

reverse: to drive (a vehicle) backward

reverse snow donuts: the act of drawing a shape of donut on the snow by reversing your car

blast: to make a loud and usually unpleasant sound

Their music was blasting all night

stereo: of or relating to a system that directs sound through two speakers

minivan: a small van

van: a vehicle that is larger than a car, that is shaped like a box, that has doors and windows at the back and sides, and that is used for transporting people or things

How will my son grow up as a well-adjusted adult without the 2020s equivalent of such experiences?

well-adjusted: able to deal with other people in a normal or healthy way

The school aims to produce well-adjusted members of society.

equivalent: something that has the same value, use, meaning, etc., as another thing

But when I obsess over these thoughts, I know I am falling into the oldest of parenting traps: assuming I know what’s best for my child, and that his own desires and thoughts are not valid, even though he’s on the verge of adulthood himself. So I remind myself of the positive side of this situation:

obsess: to think and talk about someone or something too much — usually + about or over

trap: a bad position or situation from which it is difficult to escape

assume: to think that something is true or probably true without knowing that it is true

valid: based on what is logical or true

She had valid reasons for not supporting the proposals.

proposal: something (such as a plan or suggestion) that is presented to a person or group of people to consider

The world of 2021 is a very different place from my equivalent perch in 1991. And my son happens to be sitting in an unusual but still promising (I hope) little corner of it.

equivalent: having the same value, use, meaning, etc.

perch: a high seat or location

happen: to do or be something by chance — followed by to + verb

promising: likely to succeed or to be good : full of promise

promise: an indication of future success or improvement

Her early novels were full of promise. [=were very promising]

Because of the Internet, and to be honest a damned large dose of privilege due to having two educated parents always available because we were retired before he was even born, he has been able to feed his thirst for knowledge with incredible efficiency. This is an advantage that is still not available to most people today, let alone to what people of my generation had to work with in 1989. So he has already gone beyond college level in the standard fields that they cover in school.

damn, also damned: adverb, a swear word that people use to emphasize what they are saying, very or extremely

That was a damn good movie.

privilege: a special opportunity to do something that makes you proud

thirst: a strong desire for something

incredible: difficult or impossible to believe

efficiency: the ability to do something or produce something without wasting materials, time, or energy : the quality or degree of being efficient

let alone: — used to refer to something that is even less likely or possible than the thing previously mentioned

I can barely understand it, let alone explain it.

field: an area of work, study, etc.

cover: to have (something) as a subject : to relate to or provide information about (a particular subject)

So of course he has noticed that the existing school system is not as efficient as his custom-crafted alternative. Like me, he feels frustration with many of our institutions. But it’s a frustration born of love and a desire to help out, rather than just a complainypants attitude and a desire to criticize. Public school for all is a great thing and a great idea.

craft: to make something using special skills, especially with your hands

custom: made to fit the needs or requirements of a particular person

custom-built: built to fit the needs or requirements of a particular person

institution: an established organization

established: officially recognized and accepted by the government of a country

born: brought into existence

Their relationship was born of necessity [=established because it was necessary in some way], but it has developed into a true and lasting friendship.

a complainypants is someone who complains about a situation they either put themselves in or have not made any effort to get themselves out of.

But like everything in life, we can only improve by first acknowledging that we currently suck.

acknowledge: to say that you accept or do not deny the truth or existence of (something)

suck: to do something very badly

The first thing that little MM did upon retiring from formal schooling, is to create this entire 48 minute mini-documentary about the system he just left:

upon: — used to say that someone or something is very close or has arrived

retire: to move to a different place

He retired to the library to study.

https://youtu.be/0Qi36WcylLs

(click that link to get to get the full experience on YouTube itself and see the description, show notes and comments. I’ll include an embedded version below for lazier people

also, a hint for any YouTube creator you want to reward: their algorithm heavily recommends and promotes videos which people watch for longer. So, let it roll and enjoy the epic soundtrack!)

promote: to make people aware of (something, such as a new product) through advertising : to make (something) more popular, well-known, etc.

let it roll: to do something without inhibition or restraint, typically with great enthusiasm or force.

inhibition: a shy or nervous feeling that stops you from expressing your real thoughts or feelings

restraint: control over your emotions or behavior

Seeing him work so hard on this production definitely helped ease my fears about whether or not he will grow up to be a contributing member of society. He spent about three months researching the US school system, writing himself a script, composing a 16-track orchestral music score which is timed to the second to align with the appropriate parts of the film, creating 3-D models and animations in Blender to illustrate the main points, running multiple high-end computers overnight, night after night to render the complex scenes in 4K resolution, turning my house into a miniature version of a Pixar animation studio.

compose: to create and write (a piece of music or writing)

orchestral: connected with an orchestral

orchestra: a large group of people who play various musical instruments together, led by a conductor

score: a written or printed version of a piece of music showing what each instrument is to play or what each voice is to sing

miniature: very small; much smaller than usual

It looks like a miniature version of James Bond's car.

Then he practiced up his reading, set up a bright professional recording studio in my basement, recruited me to help build a teleprompter, and narrated his own script into the camera. And finally brought it all back to the editing software to cut it all together, with pretty stunning results from my admittedly biased perspective as his Dad.

basement: the part of a building that is entirely or partly below the ground

recruit: to persuade somebody to do something, especially to help you

teleprompter: a device used by people who are speaking in public, especially on television, which displays the words that they have to say

narrate: to say the words that are heard as part of (a movie, television show, etc.) and that describe what is being seen to do the narration for (something)

stunning: extremely attractive or impressive

bias: to unfairly influence somebody’s opinions or decisions

perspective: a particular attitude towards something; a way of thinking about something

But equally important, the danged kid has a point: schools really could be a lot better.

dang, also danged: used as a more polite form of damn or damned

And it could happen very quickly with just one main change as he explains in the documentary: switching from bland and repetitive teacher-led instruction, to extremely high quality videos instead. This would accelerate learning because the video content could be much more compelling than watching a human stand at the front of a room. But it would also free up the teachers to help individual students rather than just using their valuable time to repeat the same material, year after year.

bland: showing no strong emotions or excitement; not saying anything very interesting

instruction: the act of teaching something to somebody

compelling: that makes you pay attention to it because it is so interesting and exciting

Even better: most of these videos already exist. Through some sort of miracle, my son has chosen to invest the past five years of his free time seeking out astoundingly good YouTube channels, watching most of their back catalogs, and absorbing the contents of almost every episode.

choose to + verb: to make a choice about what to do

seek out: to search for and find (someone or something)

Her parents sought out the best doctors in the field.

astoundingly: in a way that is so surprising it is difficult to believe

back catalogue, also back catalog: all the recorded music previously produced by a musician

I’m often shocked at his level of knowledge in so many fields, so I sat him down and interviewed him on his top recommendations in some of the key ones.

sit somebody down: to cause (someone) to be seated; to put or get (someone) in a sitting position

The list below is what we came up with. I’ve seen a lot of these myself, and I can vouch for their quality. If you’re looking for places to send your own hungry-brained child, or for things to watch together, check out the following list.

vouch for something or someone: to say that (someone or something) is honest, true, or good

Flipping the Classroom:

As a context for all of this, you absolutely must know about Khan Academy first. This is a free video education in all major subjects, that is higher quality than most in-school lessons. Many teachers are already using this system to “flip the classroom”, and my own boy and I used Khan Academy to help him cover second through eighth grade math in only a month. That’s how efficient video learning can be!

Note: because we were so impressed and thankful, I also donated $9000 to Khan academy in 2016. That’s a great cause if you are looking for more places for your own philanthropy dollars.

philanthropy: the practice of helping the poor and those in need, especially by giving money

cause: an organization or idea that people support or fight for

Watch Sal Khan’s Ted talk here – and notice the special guest who joins him on stage at the end of it.

Video URL: https://www.ted.com/talks/sal_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education#

General Science

Vsauce (which has grown to include Vsauce2 and Vsauce3)Physics Girl (fun to watch explorations of a wide range of real-world physics and science things)Thought Emporium (gene editing through both chemical methods and DNA 3-d printers! And art too)Scott Manley (a charming Scottish Astrophysist / Apple engineer with hundreds of great videos on the Kerbal Space Program simulation game, plus now detailed coverage on space and astrophysics)Anton Petrov – daily videos on new discoveries in science (and a fun look at current events from a science perspective too)Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell Short but intelligent summaries of all sorts of neat things, featuring a dynamic British narrator and fun cartoony graphics.Deep Dive – a relatively new but very promising channel with great big-issue science videos. We are hoping they put out more!Stratzenblitz75 – Kerbal Space program videos with nice lessons on the science behind them (like orbital mechanics)Wendover Productions – neat explanations of wide-ranging things, (including transportation logistics!)

Inventions and Building Stuff

Colin Furze – crazy, energetic, brilliant videos about building things like a home-made hoverbike, two story bicycle, giant mech robot suit.Simone Giertz – a super clever and witty engineer/builder, perhaps most famous for her DIY conversion of a Tesla model 3 into a badass mini pickup truck.Wintergatan – a hauntingly genius, gentle dude in Sweden who works on a beautiful “marble machine” musical instrument and so many other things. Awesome musician too!Mark Rober (a former Nasa engineer who now makes really fun videos about his complicated and whimsical inventions – best known for the “glitter bomb” anti-theft devices)Styropyro (guy who makes crazy powerful lasers, etc.)

Video creation, 3D Animation and Youtubing Strategy

Lazy Tutorials (Ian Huber teaches you 3-D animation with Blender at the speed of thought). He also maintains the Default Cube channel.Blender Guru – personable, easy to watch in-depth blender tutorialsCG Matter – fast, advanced Blender tutorialsCG Geek – longer, more detailed Blender tutorialsCaptain Disillusion (video editing and special effects – this man puts a lot of work into each of his super-entertaining videos)Daniel Krafft – useful blender tips and tutorialsIridesium – tutorials on how to create movie-quality special effects in Blender

Coding and Artificial Intelligence

Two Minute Papers (AI) – super smart guy summarizes academic papers in the Artificial Intelligence field in a really interesting and easy to understand way, with visual examples.Code Bullet (AI) – Software developer incorporates machine learning/AI into his own code and demonstrates the results in a wide variety of contexts.Carykh – AI and building some interesting apps including the famous “size of the universe” interactiveSebastian Lague – The Bob Ross of coding, this young gentleman walks us peacefully through a fun series of iterative improvements on a variety of advanced programming projects.CodeParade – great bits of coding, math, and graphics combined

Math

Vi Hart – the original “Mathemusician”, Vi’s soulfully brilliant explanations of math concepts are great for small kids and adults alike.Zach Star – math puzzles and other interesting stuffNumberphile – another fun math channel – sometimes with fun visuals and special guest experts.

History, English, Etc.

Tom Scott – Linguistics and various travel and geography storiesHistory of the Earth – the History Brothers cover multimillion year periods of our planet’s historyHalf as Interesting – light-hearted tidbids of English history and other things

Music

Andrew Huang – so clever, so energetic, so talented, and teaches you SO much about music! (his own songs are great too, as are his youtube buddies)Roomie Official – fun to watch, educational, and a ridiculously good and versatile singer.Davie504 – an amazing bass player, and fellow bass enthusiasts might learn a few things too.Adam Neely – fantastic music theory and neat analysis of existing stuff.AU5 – one of my favorite emerging electronic music artists, who also teaches you how to make the stuff in Ableton and related tools

So, What’s Next?

Like everything in life, I view this as an experiment. It might go well, but there will surely be some pitfalls and downsides as well. Neither of us is perfect and we make errors in judgement sometimes. But this feels right and promising right now, so we are running with it. We will learn from our mistakes and develop ourselves along the way, and make the most of it. Which is really a good plan for life itself.

pitfall: a danger or difficulty, especially one that is hidden or not obvious at first

Getting professional advice will help you avoid the most obvious pitfalls.

downside: the disadvantages or less positive aspects of something

run with something: to accept or start to use a particular idea or method

make the most of something/somebody/yourself: to gain as much advantage, enjoyment, etc. as you can from somebody/something

Congratulations my not-so-little MM, I am proud of you and I wish you the best in this next crazy chapter!