Comments on: How a 5-Year-Old Orphan Realized his Dreams

By: Jane Chin

Jane Chin — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 15:47:45 +0000

What a wonderful and inspiring story, Steve, thank you for sharing it.

Perhaps he did not ask you questions because he was in storytelling mode.

By: German Girl

German Girl — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 20:17:00 +0000

Steve,
I’m home-schooling my almost 6 year old daughter, who is a very curious young lady. It is trips to the Science Center and the Children’s Museum that make for new subjects at home. She asks questions, and I figure out ways to teach her more about her favorite subject. I am always amazed at how she takes things, and what she has to say about them. She is my little teacher a lot of the time. :)

By: Michele

Michele — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 00:45:16 +0000

HI, I stumbled onto your blog a few weeks back. I have yet to not check it at least once every couple of days. I am glad you just started, as I feel that I would be compelled to spend months catching up with the archives.

I just wanted to point out that there are millions of stories out there, like the one you illustrated today. I always felt that everyone could be on biography. Sometimes it would be boring, but sometimes not so boring, as your story points out. But I have met many people, like you did at the Science Museum, that have wonderful things to tell as long as I am willing to listen. To me? Pure magic.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 15:01:58 +0000

ndtwc,

Walter wasn’t abandoned. His dad died of TB and his mother died of cancer.

By: ndtwc

ndtwc — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 07:21:50 +0000

Hi!

LOL I like great stories.

What a pity that such a great doctor, and father too, was abandoned by his parents when he was a little kid. His parent sure had inherited some good genes to him. He’s a doctor himself, and too a father of 3 doctors! LOL that is a very talented family.

I deeply believe curiosity can lead to many possibilities, and what brings up curiosity? Obviously, for me, I think there are only 2 ways: by education, and by self-discovering. And good education should boost themselves to self-discover more things, thus to bring them more curiosity, and eventually, to know wider, and deeper, of more things. Teaching is just part of educating, which is only bringing new knowledge to people directly, without requiring them to think, which is, of coz a very bad thing. But teaching is also important by telling them basic knowledges and truths, without these basic stuffs, no matter how many curiosity they have, they will not have enough basic knowledge to discover more. So actually I don’t quite agree with “I don’t believe in teaching”.

Everything must appear together harmoniously to have good results. Just curiosity, or just education, or just teaching, will not have any good results.

ndtwc

By: Craig Harper

Craig Harper — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 22:31:35 +0000

Hey Steve,

Over the last few years I have been involved with an increasing number of interfering, meddling, over-protective, paranoid (yes, well-intending and loving) parents who have successfully produced kids with virtually no skills for life in the real world; not the synthetic, manufactured version of the world they were raised in; but the dirty, lumpy, bumpy, unfair, unpredictable world that most of us inhabit.

They love their kids and want the best for them but sometimes it’s more loving to let a child fall over, get a little grubby, dust herself off, get up and keep going, than it is to race her off to the doctor every time she gets a scratch on her knee.

Discovery is the key!

Craig Harper

By: AdventureDad

AdventureDad — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 21:28:28 +0000

Thanks for that great story. Of course you shouldn’t take a break from blogging:-) This reminds me that I’m a spoiled shit who should stop complaining about things. Walter’s theory of learning also reminds me of a great article I read to today about “unschooling”. Kind of like homeschooling on steroids. The kids learn whatever they are interested in and are free to do what they want. I’ll email you the link tomorrow since I’m right now at a bar having a few beers and blogging…… I think this story ties in beautifully with your post the other week about howt he school system crushes souls and that there are much better ways to learn than simply go to school.

By: TOMAS

TOMAS — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 19:43:37 +0000

Hey Steve, I think the story was definitely worth breaking your “blog-fast”. :) The advice offered is pretty cool, I was always told what to do so you can imagine how difficult it was to leave for college and find that I had no idea how to take care of myself. It would’ve been nice if my parents allowed me to ‘discover’ things on my own without always getting in trouble. :)