Helping his own son exercise his creative imagination, translated…
A short while ago, during supper, my fifth grade son asked my wife and I naively, “Mom, dad, when you’re older, would you want to have grandchildren?”, I’d looked over at my wife, smiled, and told him, “We’ll leave it up to you to decide after you get married, we won’t force you to………”, but, after my son heard, there was, that light shining out of his eyes, he’d pressed on, “Then, can I make a robot for a girlfriend and marry her in the future?”, I’d almost fainted upon hearing, and his mom started, laughing hysterically, and she’d, forgotten about, eating her supper.
We’d not taken our son’s words seriously, believed, that this was, merely, something out of his imaginations after he returned home from science camp. But a few days later, my son started bugging me, showed me the robot diagrams he’d drawn, and explained where the joints were, how the robot can walk, how he’d needed to design the machines, so the head can turn completely around, and asked me to teach him how to write programs for computers too.
illustration from the papers…
Although I have backgrounds in designs, but, I’d never taught a child, let alone, how to make a robot. But, seeing how excitedly he’d chimed on, and that glow from his eyes, along with the designs he’d already, sketched out, I’m sure, that this was, more than just a phase for him, it’s best, I should, encourage his passions! Giving the child a starting point to cultivate his areas of interest, and help him grow in the process, isn’t this, the best form of education that parents can give to their young? And so, I’d searched for data online, and, found free software programs that are easy to use for children, and asked a few classmates from my college days, and, bought him the related tools and equipment, and spent about a week’s time, to prepare, this first “lesson plan” for him.
I took advantage of the weekends, and assembled a simple car, and started giving my son a lesson in front of a computer. At first, he’d still excitedly, inquired about things, but in the end, he’d had that, questioning look on his face, turns out, what I was showing him, was totally unlike what he saw in summer camp! It’s a wonder, my materials had more words than drawings, and, it was, much harder, for a child, to absorb what I was trying to teach him, but, as he saw the car I’d made from the materials started moving, his eyes lit up again, I’d told him, that it was, the English and symbols that’s made the car moved. And after he had something tangible, he’d bucked down, and listened to me explain better, and this was, a very hard to come by, father son moment we had, shared.
someone, building a robot, photo from online…
And now, he can already, used his own methods, his own creativity, to alter how the car he’d built moves, and seeing how his designs, making the immediate movements on the car, he’d felt, that strong sense of achievement. And maybe, one day, my son will become, Frankenstein, and make his own robotic dreams come true! But, my wife and I had agreed—we won’t support his ideals of having a robot for a wife, if necessary, we would, take him to get match made!
And this, was from the wildest imagination of a child, and, because the father works and studies in the related areas, he’d helped his son build something, and, the son felt achieved, and, this quality time shared between the father and son will become something valuable to the son in the future I’m sure.
Life, the Obstacle Course 