Learning Case 1
Vn88.1 9/8/77 Over the past few weeks, Miriam has spoken, in the context of repressing her desire for things she can’t have, of having “an eraser mind.” When asked to explain what she meant, Miriam conveyed the image of ideas written on a tablet and subject to erasure. As supper drew to a close this …
Vn87.1 Turtle Tactics 9/7/77 This night is the last of summer, so defined by the children’s beginning school on the morrow. Over this summer they have gradually become accustomed to going to bed late, and now, in order to rise early, they should go to bed early. No one found this argument convincing. We negotiated …
Vn84.1 Go Cart Demon; Knock-Knock Jokes 9/5/77 The third-floor tenant in our landlord’s mansion was moving out today. Robby and Miriam went to help. One comment of Miriam’s came floating up from the court yard. When she chanced upon a collection of records brought down in a wooden case, Miriam said, “Hey, Robby, let’s ask …
apparently, this file needs to be recreated, from earlier sources. The tags attached to the source suggest it is important.
Vn82.1 Hanging Designs 9/3/77 After today’s session was complete, I asked Miriam why she had not pinned on the wall — as she had said she intended — those designs made in yesterday’s session (Logo 58, 9/2/77). She explained that she had started to do so earlier but needed help. I separated the designs from …
Vn81.1 Imitating Machines 9/3/77 Ever since their first encounter with the Votrax Voice Box back in May (Logo Session 5, 5/22/77), both children have thought it funny to imitate the peculiarly mechanical tone of that speech generator. I have suspected some correlation between my asking them questions they consider stupid and their adopting this mode …
Vn79.1 Sums Over a Hundred 8/29/77-9/1/77 8/29 While we sat at lunch today, Miriam introduced the topic of adding with this claim: “Daddy, if you live for another hundred years, I know how old you’ll be.” When I expressed surprise Miriam demonstrated: “A hundred 37.” Two complications derailed this discussion. Robby introduced my birth on …
Vn77.1 A Geometric Puzzle 8/29 & 31/77 8/29 Since Miriam’s completion of our work with picture puzzles (cf. Logo Session 40, 8/1/77), it has been my intention to examine her performance with geometric puzzles. In the past, she has played with a puzzle, the Pythagorean puzzle, which I had made from wood. The Pythagorean puzzle …
Vn76.1 Where Do Ideas Come From? 8/29/77 In this hot, humid weather, Gretchen and the children have been spending all day at Logo with me. This morning I found Sylvia Weir had taken a desk in the room where Robby had just laid claim to an empty desk. She seemed intent on reading, and knowing …
Vn75.1 Logo Seahorses 8/29/77 At the end of the day’s work (Logo Session 56), when the recording equipment was packed away for the trip home, I was preparing material for tomorrow’s session. Robby had been using procedures where DELTA named a variable increment applied to a linear distance and today was introduced to a use …
Vn74.1 The Light Brigade 8/27/77 Miriam, Robby, and I watched on TV this evening a movie about ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade.’ The movie was an important one for several reasons. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, I try to lead the children in extending their sense of connection to other places and other times. …
Vn73.1 Not Being Ready; Logo vs. School 8/26/77 For the past week Miriam has been mentioning that she doesn’t ‘feel ready for school.’ I’ve tried to find out what Miriam means by her feeling ‘not-ready.’ In one case, she explained to me that she didn’t know what they do there. In another incident, at the …
Vn72.1 Tic Tac Toe with Robby 8/25/77 Having seen Miriam play tic-tac-toe with me and feeling a little left out, Robby asked to play with me after Miriam went to bed. Game 1: Robby moves first (numbers) 2 | C | 4 5 | 1 | D A | 3 | B Robby originally made …
Vn70.1 8/22/77 Over the past few weeks, Robby has shown an interest in playing frisbee. Miriam has tried to play with us but has been so inept that the game always became a squabble. Robby usually argued that since the frisbee was his, he should choose the players for the game. It was an obvious …
Vn68.1 Continuous Quantity 8/18/77 As is the case with many who have a few fine things, we hardly ever use them. Our silver and china are in some dark corner, our Venetian glassware sits empty, hardly touched. At dinner our common wine goes into common wine glasses. Through accidents at table and sink, the usable …
Vn63.1 Another Birthday Party 8/12/77 This was a party for Robby’s Boston friends, boys he has met while at school here. With respect to planning, this party was pretty much a rerun of the party in Guilford (cf. Vignette 53). The party favors were the same: Hershey bars, bubble gum, and balloons. Match box racers …
Vn62.1 Multiplication 8/7 & 11/77 8/7 Robby has many times now seen Miriam on my lap receiving some instruction in addition. Complaining of feeling left out, he has asked for help in math. Robby said he needs help with addition of numbers such as 9 plus 6 and 8 plus 7. I found him a …
Vn60.1 Surprise Party 8/8/77 Spoiled by living in the air-conditioned comfort of our Connecticut home during the mid-July heat wave, when the next spell of hot weather found us in the hot air heated loft of our Boston carriage house little persuading was needed to induce Gretchen to join Miriam and me at Logo yesterday. …
Vn58.1 Owning an Angle 8/4/77 As far back as the end of June (in Logo Session 32) making hexagonal mazes has been a part of both children’s Logo work. Before our Connecticut vacation both children worked together generating pictures of mazes (7/8/77: Logo Session 36). During that session, Miriam “discovered” the 60 degree angle input …
Vn57.1 Desserts 8/3/77 When I was a small child, there was rarely dessert in my house. On special occasions my mother might make some rice pudding or tapioca (when cooked, the large size tapioca became transparent balls we children pretended were the eyes of frogs). When my children pester after every meal for dessert, I …
Vn55.1 About Taxes 8/1/77 Since the beginning of the High School Studies Program, the children and I have come to Logo to use the system from 8 to 10 am. One consequence is that we occasionally skip breakfast. Even when we do not, the children have become accustomed to mid-morning snacks. The favorite: apple pie …
Vn53.1 A Birthday Party 7/28/77 Robby’s birthday comes in August. Connecticut friends whom he would like to have at a party can not come to Boston. When he suggested an early party during our vacation, we agreed. Preparations for the party focused on choosing activities and procuring treats and prizes. If you have ‘prizes’ at …
Vn52.1 Fort Griswold 7/26/77 From many places in Boston when you look to the north you can see the obelisk on Bunker Hill rising above the buildings of Charlestown. There is a similar but smaller monument in Connecticut, at the site of the lone major battle of the Revolutionary War that took place in that …
Vn51.1 Paper Ships 7/25/77 This has been a rainy, midsummer day with both children at home in an acoustically live house. Having slept ill last night, under pressure of the noise and our common confinement, I went to bed early. When the children failed to fall silent instantly, I “yelled” at them, i.e. I told …
Vn50.1 The Go-Cart 7/25/77 Kept inside on a rainy day and with me working in the living room, Robby and Miriam were constrained to play quietly (more or less) in the kitchen-dining area of our Connecticut house. Since we vacationed in an unfurnished house, they had few of their usual toys and a limited selection …
Vn47.1 Losing a Tooth 7/20/77 Miriam lost her first baby tooth today. The fact is easily stated, but to show how Miriam considers this a watershed defining event in her life requires some elaboration. About a month ago, Miriam visited the dentist. The occasion was the existence of a small abscess above a dead tooth …
Vn46.1 Rotten Hints 7/19/77 Two years ago, Miriam took swimming lessons. She was in the class of ‘Blueberries.’ Their course of instruction amounted to splashing at the edge of the lake. Their most advanced achievement was to say their names with faces held in the water. Last year, in our move from Connecticut to Massachusetts, …
Vn45.1 Going Home 7/15/77 When today’s Logo Session (#39) and errands were finished, we hurried home to pack up provisions for a 2 week vacation in Connecticut. The house is empty between tenants, and since we are renting it unfurnished, it IS empty. What did the children expect of this vacation? What did they look …
Vn44.1 A Boring Session 7/12/77 Riding home after this morning’s session (Logo Session 38) Miriam said she thought the work was boring today. When I asked why, she said, “Oh, I don’t know.” I have to look otherwheres for an explanation. Today I tried to exhibit for Miriam the relation between closed polygons and in-going …
Vn43.1 Binary Counting 7/7/77 At dinner this evening, the topic of counting on fingers arose. After performing some finger sum, Miriam turned to Robby with 2 fingers of her left hand raised and all the fingers of her right and asked: Miriam Robby, how much is this? Robby 7. Miriam No. It’s 25. Tricked by …
Vn42.1 7/6/77 Because the High School Studies Program begins next week and the lab will be filled with teenagers all day every day, we moved into my office the equipment not to be used by the high school students: the slot machine, the floor turtle, and the music box. Since moving things around brings change …
Vn41.1 7/5-7/77 Whenever we ride to Logo in the MG, Miriam has a standing request that we follow Memorial Drive down past the underpass at Massachusetts Avenue. The children like the magnification of their voices provided when they shout in a closed place. Over the past several years, we have agreed that they may do …
Vn40.1 Logo After Hours 7/4/77 During the bicentennial year Miriam was too young to enjoy the fireworks. She was frightened by the noise of amateurs’ exploding firecrackers and so sleepy by 9 o’clock that we abandoned a half- hearted attempt to watch the display from the vantage of Corey Hill in Brookline. Radio forecasts promised …
Vn39.01 Good News 7/1/77 At lunch today we told the children that Gretchen is pregnant. When the children and I finished our morning’s experiment (Logo Session 33), we joined Gretchen at home, picked up a stack of their favorite books, and all went to the doctor’s office. We all suffered a delay (the doctor was …
Vn38.01 Robby’s Place in the Project 6/28/77 Robby raised a very difficult question today — how much of the work he does at Logo will be a part of my doctoral thesis. The answer Robby required, and it is a superficial answer, that the thesis will be about Miriam’s development, was bound to disappoint him. …
Vn37.1 Explaining SHOOT 6/26/77 While visiting some friends with a summer place at Lake Winnepesaukee, the nature of our work at Logo came up in conversation. When I asked the children if they would like to explain any part of it, they agreed to explain how SHOOT works. They designated a mid-floor hot air register …
Vn034.01 Candle Fire Crackers 6/23/77 We usually dine by candlelight. We enjoy making candles and using them, and the ill distribution of light in our dining area makes this practice a useful enjoyment. Having agreed that he will not play with fire, Robby has the responsible job of candle man: he brings the candles to …
Vn031.01 Collecting Tolls 6/19/77 Robby and Miriam each receive a nominal ‘allowance’ weekly, regardless of whether they’ve been ‘good’ or ‘bad’ or done what we parents have wanted them to. They know it is computed by multiplica- tion: for each child the ‘allowance’ is 5¢/year times the child’s age. Thus Miriam recently began receiving 30¢/week. …
Vn004.01 The Clever Hack (2) 5/12/77 At dinner this evening we talked over some of the incidents of the day. It had been one of novelty for Robby. His friend John (the son of a former naval officer with whom Robby shares an interest in naval battles and model building) came to Logo with Robby …
Vignette 26.1 The Clever Hack (3) 6/13/77 After not using the SHOOT programs for nearly a month, today (in Logo Session 24) Miriam returned to playing with that game. She started using the Clever Hack to run up her score (keying ‘H’ followed by ‘SHOOT 0’; the former locates the turtle inside the origin-centered target, …
Vgn024.02 Writing Stories(2)6/12/77 After dinner this evening, Miriam, who has been making late Mother’s Day presents for Gretchen, brought me “an early Father’s Day present.” The present, duplicated as Addendum 24 – 1, shows combined a typical drawing with another story in the WRITER model. Miriam could not spell the words, so she dictated it …
Vn024.01 Writing Stories Robby called me from Miriam’s bedroom: “Dad, come see the puppet show.” They have played with, even made, hand puppets for a while and enjoy giving shows — whose typical script has been, “Hello, my name is Owl. Goodbye.” I was in high spirits after a very successful arithmetic session with Miriam …
Vignette 23.1 Arithmetic Ripples 6/5 & 11/77 Miriam does not yet recognize the existence of negative numbers. The typical problem this causes her was shown as we rode home from buying a Sunday paper (the children go with me to buy chewing gum). Miriam was discussing making change with Robby. She knew that paying for …
Vignette 21 Miriam’s Room 6/5/77 Miriam is suffering a change about which she is unhappy but which I believe is for the best. Until last night, she and Robby shared a bedroom. Yesterday Robby moved into the third bedroom of the carriage house in which we live. Miriam has complained that it’s lonely in her …
Vn20.2 In the Gymnasium (2)6/3/77 This evening I asked Miriam whether she usually stood aside from the games in gym as she did yesterday (except for Animal Farm). She replied that she doesn’t like running around (her allergy to dust and its chronic incipient wheezing make her feelings quite understandable). But Miriam justified her alternative …
Vn017B Arithmetic Ripples5/30/77 As Robby and Miriam came in from play for a little refreshing juice, I heard from the kitchen the squabbling one expects of near-aged siblings: Miriam I can add big numbers. Rob Oh brother! Miriam I can. I can do one thousand and thirty five plus two thousand. Rob Easy. Miriam No. …
Vn009.01 Tic Tac Toe (2) 5/22/77 Miriam asked Robby to play with her this afternoon, offering “Sorry,” “Raggedy Ann” and “Chinese Checkers.” All were refused. Robby finally agreed to playing TIC TAC TOE. I asked the children to come sit in the reading alcove. They did so while I got out my tape recorder. Two …
Vn007.01 A Willing Subject 5/18/77 Today was the most difficult experiment of the initial series, separating the variables implicated in the flexibility of bending rods (Cf. The Growth of Logical Thinking from Childhood to Adolescence, Inhelder and Piaget). Of the many experiments through which one may distinguish concrete from formal thinking, this one shows best …
Vn005.01 Tic Tac Toe 5/13/77 Years ago I bought a tic-tac-toe game for playing with Robby. The board is 12 x 12; the X’s and O’s are large yellow pieces. At that time I taught Robby a single strategy for playing the game: look for two ways to win. Robby quickly became quite good at …
Vn003.02 Journals5/11/77 When collecting the data reported in ‘Pre-Readers’ Concept of the English Word,’ I was shown by one of the children, Tina, a 3×5 notebook her mother gave her for writing down any words she wanted to learn to read. I bought Miriam such a notebook (a green one) some weeks ago for such …