Entry 108 – A letter for 10 years later. – updated one year later (10%) 9 more years to go.

What will the world be like?

I think the majority of my blog entries aged kindly for me. There were not many controversial topics, travelling and volunteering are fun experiences to share from 2010 (15!! years ago). I am new to a parenting blog. Let’s write about what will happen in 10 years. Hopefully, I will be 10 years older. I am not sure what type of world will be after 10 years, better or worse, but it is the only world we will have. Labour are in power. Politics are more divided than ever. So let’s summarise what I am doing and revisit in 10 years’ time.

After one year, I only kept the BE A Scholar Tuition project for my young children. I might be asking for a lot of qualities; have their own artistic style in a portfolio, music around grade 8 with two instruments at 13, inspired by the Sciences, read and write proficiently, multi-lingual, have numerous passions, excel at Mathematics, enjoy sports and be confident in themselves. The focus is how to gather the motivation to reach them.

In 10 years’ time

BE a Scholar Tuition

Update 1 year on – I developed the concept further one year on. The value is more clearer and key performance indicators are well defined. The King’s scholarship’s academic level defined the goal of a competitive private education outcome at 13 years old. Assuming a private education at £24k a year for 5 years from 8 years old. I will provide an alternative path to reach that level for selected subjects. £120k does not guarantee a child’s success at scholarship level for all 8 subjects. The hypothesis is that with parental support, child’s motivation and a fraction of the subject, we can achieve a highly competitive level.

I hope to create an environment where people can succeed in whatever they want to do. I believe that will lead to a better and kinder world. So I continued with my education blog, BE a Scholar Tuition. Each child’s aspiration is the focal point and the focus is to make studying enjoyable to reach their goals. So in 10 years’ time, I hope lots more people grow up and able to achieve their aspirations. I have created a group to do that.

https://www.meetup.com/edinburgh-tuition-and-study-group/?eventOrigin=your_groups

McRobotface Club

This year has had some ups and downs for the Robotics Club. One-off sessions were more popular. I think the expectation is that Robotics should be part of the National Curriculum offered by schools, which I agree with to an extent. However, I think technology would have moved on by the time the National Curriculum is updated, and that local schools would have the resources to implement it properly and unlikely to happen with this government. I wanted to guide kids to explore emergent behaviours, which I think uses the full potential of the educational robots. My aspiration level is to reach the Harvard Postdoc, inspired by my PhD supervisor. I am going to put this on hold. However, BE a Scholar Tuition may revisit this project.

I created the McRobotface Robotics club to introduce robotics to the local families. The most successful ones are the family sessions, where parents enjoyed playing the educational robots with their 5 to 7-year-olds. The parents work with their children and the children can show remarkable concentration time from 30 to 1 hour. That is what parents remarked. So hopefully, these kids will be inspired into robotics and create robots that benefit the society.

Meetup groups

Update – These are closed down because they are costly to run. Meetup organising requires a budget and finance. I gave it a go. I played more chess with my 8 yrs old. I travelled with my 3 yrs old, which is really fun.

I am also trying to be more sociable both for my 2 year-old and my 7 year-old through Meetup groups. Check out this Meetup event from “Dads with 3 year olds or younger”. I am determined to keep her with me during these formative years. So I can provide the social aspect and not constrained to the same nursery or school.

“Dads with 3 year olds or younger”:– Link to Group

I also created a Family board game group for the older kid. Link to group

I also play my part at Little Plaza, which is our aim to create a Little corner for our children to grow up, with arts, music, STEM, and many possibilities. http://www.littleplaza.co.uk So I do wonder what I will write in 10 years time.

Entry 102 – I made a new Artificial Intelligent friend.

I have started using AI to learn more information.

Mindfulness is the latest buzzword in education. So let’s ask AI to write about it.

Below is what my new AI friend wrote. Interesting.

Introducing Mindfulness to a Child

Introduction

Mindfulness is a practice that can help children develop skills that will benefit them in many areas of life. It can help them cultivate self-awareness, become more focused, and better manage their emotions.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present moment and being aware of our thoughts, feelings, and environment. It is a way to help children become more aware of the present moment and learn how to manage their emotions.

Benefits of Mindfulness

Mindfulness can have many benefits for children. It can help them become more aware of their thoughts and feelings, be better able to focus, and better manage their emotions. It can also help them become more resilient, have better impulse control, and be more creative.

Introducing Mindfulness to a Child

When introducing mindfulness to a child, it’s important to start small and make it fun. Try activities that involve focused breathing, such as blowing bubbles, playing with a pinwheel, or drawing on the ground with a stick. It’s also important to explain why mindfulness is important and how it can help them in their day-to-day life.

Conclusion

Introducing mindfulness to a child can be a great way to help them develop skills that will benefit them in many areas of life. It can help them become more aware, learn how to manage their emotions, and be better able to focus. By starting small and making it fun, children can learn to appreciate the practice and find it helpful.

Entry 97 My Thoughts on Travelling

In my last few entries on this topic, I want to explore other aspects of travelling, such as my general opinion of travelling and my motivations. Why did I travel?

My motivation was to explore and be curious. Travelling is a humbling experience as I have met people who travelled to far more places than I have / will or impressive people who would indirectly inspire you. The world is big, with lots to see and lots to do.

My approach to travelling can be a bit random, or “stochastic” now I can officially declare myself smart with a PhD. However, Travelling with a tent and relying on public transport in Sicily is so random. My patience in waiting for buses and trains is about 8 hours. I would feel slightly frustrated after 8 hours. Travelling is a tickbox exercise, just to experience it good, bad, and indifferent. Once is enough for some activities, as there are risks involved. I listed the notable ones.

Travelled to live in a foreign country (90 days+) Italy, Nepal and Japan, Learn about local cultures.
Provided accommodation to Couchsurfers from all over the world
Couchsurfed at other hosts (Austria, and Italy)
Took a hitchhike (Avola to Catania, Italy)
Gave a hitchhike to others (Iceland, Austria)
Walked on live volcanoes. (Iceland, Italy, Japan)
International festivals (Oktoberfest, Film festival at Jersey, Edinburgh Fringe)
Sleeper trains (Interrail and China)
Work with NGO – (Nepal, Created science experiments for the local teachers).
Annapurna Circuit trek – 5400m plus.
Night bus in Nepal from Pokhara to Kathmandu with an 8-hour wait – Once is more than enough. Zero is the right number here.
Fly to see Mount Everest – Statistically safe to do it once, and perhaps carbon footprint is not so agreeable these days.
Many UNESCO sites – People say these places are worth going.
Driving in Iceland – visited as many swimming pools as I could.

So why did I travel?

My answer is simple, I wanted to find the best version of myself, which I did not know when I departed for Kathmandu, was to find the best version of myself. I recall at that time, I followed my instinct. So follow your instinct into whichever topic and enjoy every aspect. You will find the best version of yourself because that is part of you.

Final point, the most important part of travelling is to return home safely.