10.) Beginning at the Beginning

All journeys must have a beginning. Journeys of the mind should begin with a firm and thorough grasp of the fundamentals.

Tim Thompson and Ivan Viehoff have provided me with a road map; the curriculum for the equivalent of an undergraduate degree in gravity. But before I begin that journey, a humble donkey like myself should ask an obvious and important question. Do I possess the prerequisite knowledge and skills needed to begin that journey?

• Do I have the equivalent of a High School Degree in Gravity?

That's a good question, so I checked the the website for the local High School to see what was being taught these days. I was hoping to find a simple flow chart or list that would indicate what levels of mathematics and science were being taught at each grade level, so that I could assess exactly where I needed to begin my studies. I quickly moved to Fresno Unified School District's Curriculum website, where I downloaded and scanned a wordy .PDF file. There was a lot of language about "units" and "discipline", but not much about what exactly is being taught at what grade level.

I have even less patience than usual when I've had my morning two cups of "cowboy coffee", (I grind the beans and percolate it on the stove - low heat for 10 minutes), so I took a break and watched some astronomy videos on the Astronomy Channel at "HowStuffWorks.com". There I found a link to Discovery Channel's K-12 educational site "Cosmeo.com", but alas they wanted $ 9.95 a month to subscribe. Being a curious donkey, I started a thirty day free trial and logged in anyway. Bingo! I quickly found what I needed. I just entered the the state that I live in, the subject and the grade level and suddenly I was looking at exactly what I needed. Before me was a list of learning objectives with links to videos and other learning materials.

I quickly realized that they incorporate math and science into the curriculum much earlier in school these days. After all, I spent most of the fourth grade listening to Mrs. Freeman read Charlotte's Web. "Start at the beginning.", I thought. I found that as part of the second grade curriculum students are introduced to simple machines, (levers, wheels, screws, etc.). Oh yeah, I remember, leverage and Archimedes and all that. I'll just check this video out, after all it's a good place to start when you're thinking about gravity.

The video began by defining a set of learning objectives, which involved the different classes of levers, wheels and different types of pulleys.

• The Donkey Club

Do you remember what the three classes of levers are? Can you identify them in the world around you? Can you give me examples? Do you know exactly what a fixed pulley does? Can you tell me exactly how much force is required to raise a ten pound object with a fixed pulley? How much would be required to raise it with a movable pulley? Why?

If you know the answers to all of the above questions, I'm proud of you. You know as much about simple machines as a middle school student in California is supposed to. But if you hesitated, or flat-assed didn't know or remember ... welcome to the "Donkey Club".

"WOULD YOU LIKE TO SWING ON A STAR ?"
(Music : Jimmy Van Heusen / Words : Johnny Burke)
Bing Crosby

"Would you like to swing on a star?
Carry moonbeams home in a jar?
And be better off than you are?

Or would you rather be a mule?

A mule is an animal with long funny ears
Kicks up at anything he hears
His back is brawny but his brain is weak
He's just plain stupid with a stubborn streak
And by the way, if you hate to go to school
You may grow up to be a mule

Would you like to swing on a star?
Carry moonbeams home in a jar?
And be better off than you are?

Or would you rather be a pig?

A pig is an animal with dirt on his face
His shoes are a terrible disgrace
He has no manners when he eats his food
He's fat and lazy and extremely rude
But if you don't care a feather or a fig
You may grow up to be a pig

Would you like to swing on a star?
Carry moonbeams home in a jar?
And be better off than you are?

Or would you rather be a fish?

A fish won't do anything, but swim in a brook
He can't write his name or read a book
To fool the people is his only thought
And though he's slippery, he still gets caught
But then if that sort of life is what you wish
You may grow up to be a fish
A new kind of jumped-up slippery fish

And all the monkeys aren't in the zoo
Every day you meet quite a few
So you see it's all up to you
You can be better than you are
You could be swingin' on a star"

It hit me like a brick! First Donkey's going to get a thorough and current grammar school education in math and science. Then I'll move to the middle school and eventually to the high school level. Only then will I be ready to begin working on my undergraduate degree in gravity. My journey must begin at the beginning.

You might think that I would be discouraged this revelation, but I'm completely undaunted. I've decided and I'm in this for the long haul. I'm ready and willing to begin my quest at the beginning.

THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM (THE QUEST)
From the Musical "Man Of La Mancha" (1965)
(Joe Darion / Mitch Leigh)

Recorded by:
Richard Kiley - 1965
Jack Jones - 1966
Johnny Mathis - 1966
Frank Sinatra - 1966
Keith Michell - 1968
Florence Ballard - 1968
Glen Campbell - 1968
Ray Conniff Singers - 1968
Diana Ross & The Supremes & The Temptations - 1968
Roberta Flack - 1970
Simon Gilbert (Dubbing Peter O'Toole) - 1972
Elvis Presley - 1972
Jim Nabors - 1972
José Carreras - 1984
Luther Vandross - 1994
Ton Raines - 1998
David Barrus - 2000
Ronan Tynan - 2002
Linda Eder - 2003

Also recorded by: Robert Goulet; Tom Jones; Steve Lawrence;
John Raitt; Ethan Freeman; Frank Patterson; Gordon MacRae;
Dick Merrick; Lena Martell; Brian Blessed; Daniel Narducci;
John MacNally; Buddy Merrill; Roger Whittaker; Stig Rossen;
Craig Rubano; Wayne Newton; Albertina Walker; Samuel Ramey;
Caroline O'Connor; Glen Yarbrough; Andy Williams; Liberace;
Colm Wilkinson; Roger Williams.

"To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest, to follow that star
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far
To fight for the right, without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell for a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star!"

After all, I'm Donkey Hoteee, Lord of La Mancha.

My next blog entry: "Why Study Gravity?"