Driving with Jordi
Posted by DrJeff
Copyright 2009 | About this blog
A blog post from Jordi and me.
I drive my 6-year-old son Jordan to school each morning. It’s 25 minutes of adventure. It always starts with some really cool question he asks about his world—our world—and I never know where it will end up. At his age, questions are unbounded by pre-conceptions and world views. And the questions are simple and elegant—which are the most powerful questions an explorer can ask, like, “daddy, how far can you see?” (Think about it…I can see that tree in the distance, that far off mountain … the moon, the Sun, and stars whose light left thousands of years ago, and is only reaching us now.)
I drop him off, reflect on what we just talked about, and am amazed at how the conversation got to here from there. It’s an interdisciplinary stream of consciousness through the sciences, learning, the arts, and the human condition.
These are experiences I treasure as a parent and teacher. I’m also blessed that as a scientist I can keep up with his questions—for now. I have no illusion that I’ll be his superman forever. Driving with Jordi is my way of sharing these wonderful experiences with you on this Blog, so that you can share them with your class or your own children. Let my Jordi be our guide.
And here’s a tip to deal with your students or your children when they have questions that knock your socks off, and you don’t have a clue. Don’t worry. Tell them you don’t know the answer, but you’ll find it—together.
Latest Driving with Jordi posts:
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2 Responses to “Driving with Jordi”
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colleen Says:
May 16th, 2009 at 9:50 amLove this site and especially the nature of this section. When my daughter was home with strep throat this week, she watched The Kid with Bruce Willis. In the movie, the kid kept asked Bruce why the moon looked orange sometimes. He started to make up an answer, got flustered that he didn’t know and then blew it off. With all the resources we now have available (many on your own site!) it’s fun to find the answers with our kids. Thank you
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Angie Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 4:55 pmThanks for sharing your special conversations with Jordi. I always treasured the conversations we had/have with our kids. Rides in the car or on the airplane can be very teachable moments so shut down that DVD and talk! Blogging the result of the conversation is a great way to remember them for all time!
