Dad School - professor Sua Sponte

[SUA SPONTE]

So I have 4 teenage boys who's school has been suspended for pretty much the remainder of the academic year.

As many of you may know I have over several decades acquired a very valuable set of skills and experience.

About a week ago I had a revelation that I was quite fortunate to be home and off rotation at the moment; so I decided to take advantage of this opportunity to impart many of those skills to my bored at home boys.

Thus "Dad School" was born. Each day I take 3-6 hours to teach a new skill or topic. Including practical exercises and checks on learning. Each evening they receive a short reading assignment that we discuss the following day.

Thus far everyone loves it!

[Tracker]

I think there's another book brewing here...bring it

[SUA SPONTE]

This is a case of life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Thus far the curriculum has been.
Hemorrhage Control
Discussion on violence
AR-15 care use and operation
Knots and lashings
Lock picking level 1
Handgun concealment
Knife sharpening and maintenance

[Jon Payne]

Way to lead bro!


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[paknheat]

Awesome! Your curriculum is very similar to what I’ve been teaching my grandsons.




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[macho mouse]

You got my vote for Father of the Year

[Badger]

I’m gonna punch my kids in their throats. Nerve racking sonsabitches....

[IBX2000]

If you teach kids to pick locks you will never be able to hide the Christmas presents again. Just sayin.....

[SUA SPONTE]

I’m gonna punch my kids in their throats. Nerve racking sonsabitches....

Bypassing restraint and resistance to interrogation is on the schedule :yup:

[steve_k]

Reminds me of when I read Lone Survivor when it came out. Luttrell had a neighbor that ran some sort of boot camp operation during the summer for neighborhood kids and apparently many of them ended up as Rangers, Green Berets, Seals, or something along those lines.

Good work.

[chad newton]

Hah, I’m going to do the same thing....

[P.D.]

My sons and grandsons got instruction on basic survival (bushcraft) skills including fire starting, improvised shelters, snares and traps. edible plants, land navigation and map reading, and to not believe what Bear Grylls tells you.

[Papa]

What's on the reading list?

[SUA SPONTE]

What's on the reading list?

So far it has been :
Violence is Golden - Jack Donovan
If - Rupert Kipling
All the Kings Horses - Kurt Vonnegut
Book of 5 Rings (ground) - Musashi

[Francisp]

Reminds me of when I read Lone Survivor when it came out. Luttrell had a neighbor that ran some sort of boot camp operation during the summer for neighborhood kids and apparently many of them ended up as Rangers, Green Berets, Seals, or something along those lines.

Good work.

Billy Shelton who had been a Green Beret in Vietnam. He had gotten the suppoet of a local high school to use their gym to train high school students aspiring to serve in elite US Military units.

[Johnny C!]

With my wife & I both semi? retired, having our 15 year old
son at home has been fun, so far! He & I have been spending
more time on Call of Duty WWII for sure, but yesterday, we
cut saplings & built a 6 foot tall mock up of an observation
tower we're thinking about building on the lower end of our
property. It will be a refresher for his lashing skills for the
Pioneering merit badge, right? He's just 3 badges away from
his required 21, so we're going to concentrate on those in
addition to his school work. Our county is one of the few in
our AO that has had a virtual day program for a few years
now. On snow days, they can log in on their school issued
chrome books and receive assignments from their teachers
in order to not extend the school year way in to the summer
season because of adverse weather. With the Covid19 closings,
the class assignments are more like actual class work, than the
busy work they would normally get on snow days. So at least
his academics won't suffer too much!

We're also researching higher end air rifles, so we can really
begin to on marksmanship quietly in our driveway. Lots of
projects in the works!

So is this what home schooling is like? In short, we're doing Ok.

[Greg Nichols]

This is the way

[SUA SPONTE]

This is the way

Weapons are part of my religion

[jesselp]

My 11 year old and my 13 year old sons helped me build a new outdoor dining table this weekend. There's no woodshop in their school anymore, so I figured we'd step it up at home while they're here. I'm FAR from a master carpenter, but I think it came out well. We'll be staining it once it looks like we have a few days of good weather to look forward to.

59463

[Gunstore Commando]

So how have the phys-ed classes been going?

That's actually a more or less serious question.

[SUA SPONTE]

Kettle bells, Infidel resistance bands, pull up bar, and sprints. I'd say it's going pretty well :finger:

[steve_k]

With the knots and lashings, maybe include how to tie a tie. Can ship extra ties if needed.

[LawDog]

Have they already read 1984 and Brave New World? Those seem quite pertinent these days. I also always suggest Atlas Shrugged, but its size seems to scare off most people.

Musashi is a big chunk of material. I assume (hope) you are reducing the focus to select portions. You could do the same with Von Clausewitz and Van Creveld. Reading this stuff can be pretty dry, and a teenager probably doesn't yet possess the analytical ability to really digest much of it. What they'll really learn from is hearing you talk about it, critique it, and even point out those areas where you disagree. Something that kids should learn earlier is that it is okay to disagree with the experts. Just because someone wrote the book does not make them omniscient.

It sounds like you've got a good time ahead of you.

[Mike OTDP]

You could do the same with Von Clausewitz and Van Creveld. Reading this stuff can be pretty dry, and a teenager probably doesn't yet possess the analytical ability to really digest much of it.
WRT Clausewitz, get the Howard/Paret translation. All others are obsolete. Read Books 1, 2, and possibly 8. Also read the commentaries on those portions. The rest is of interest only if you aspire to be a Napoleonic staff officer.

I would add Sir Julian Corbett's "Some Principles of Maritime Strategy". It's on Gutenberg, so it costs nothing. Mahan is also available, but I regard Corbett as more useful. I'd suggest Thucyides' "History of the Peloponnesian War", but that needs to be gone through with a fine-tooth comb...about 90% of it is dross. If you decide to tackle it, the first third contains all the useful stuff.

If you are willing to pay the money, it's hard to beat David Chandler's "Campaigns of Napoleon". It's 50 years old, but still the definitive history of the Napoleonic Wars.

Also, read Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". Do not bother with "The Hobbit", it's at a far more childish level. But LOTR is a masterpiece of English literature, a work of prose written with the skills of a poet. Kipling is always good. Get Shakespeare's plays, let the kids read the parts.

Read the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. Carefully. Question for the student - research all the reasons for independence given.

Also work math and foreign languages. Especially math, a knowledge of higher mathematics always comes in handy. And plane geometry may not be practical in itself, but it's a superb training ground for deductive logic.

And I concur 100% with Lawdog on the importance of teaching the kids not to accept "expert" authority blindly. Check the data yourself.

[Mike OTDP]

I think there's another book brewing here...bring it
Nope. Make the boys write it. Just for practice.

[Togar]

Read the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. Carefully. Question for the student - research all the reasons for independence given.


Might I add The Federalist Papers for additional insights into the reasoning given to portions of the Constitution...

[Gunstore Commando]

I'd suggest Thucyides' "History of the Peloponnesian War",

Oh, excellent thought! Worth it just for the description of how Athenian society broke down during the plague.

[fidalgoman]

Bypassing restraint and resistance to interrogation is on the schedule :yup:I was sharing your post with my wife and as we were laughing she said "can we come too"? Love you brother. God Bless and guard you and your family.