Lessons in Logarithms
Exploration and Delight
Lately I’ve been dreaming about logarithms.
I go to sleep thinking other thoughts and wake up on the verge of solving a difficult problem involving logs and their bases.
Did you know that logarithms help you solve for unknown exponents? I wish somebody had told me this in high school. I don’t know what I thought they were for back then, but it certainly wasn’t that.
No one else in my house is interested in this fascinating tool, not even the children who are supposed to be learning about them. I am alone in my enthusiasm.
This is not the first time I’ve been giddy with delight while the rest groan and roll their eyes, nor will it be the last. But I’ve been at this homeschooling thing long enough to know that just because I’m the only one who’s excited doesn’t mean that people don’t notice.
They may not let on, but they see my excitement and they internalize the message:
There is delight to be found in learning. Joy abounds in new ideas.
They may never care much about logarithms in particular, but they know that Mom thinks they’re cool and that math has the potential to be exciting from time to time.
I may be the only one who travels to the mysterious and treacherous Land of Advanced Algebra voluntarily, and I’m certainly the only one enjoying the trip at the moment, but I have no doubt that by bringing them along with me on my explorations they will learn to explore new territory for themselves and be captivated by other equally enchanting ideas.
And after all, isn’t that the point? They don’t have to love the same things I love, or pursue the things that bring me joy, but to know that there are things worth pursuing and things worth loving is a profound lesson in itself.
They will find their own delights and dream their own dreams, and I will sit back and marvel as they guide me through lands I could never have even dreamed.