“It’s a jungle out there. Disorder and confusion everywhere. No one seems to care.” Well, WE do! That’s why we started this new column… Advice Paradise!
ADVICE:
Personalized
Answers
Regarding
All
Different
Inquiries
Simply
Explained
We’re not psychologists, counselors, therapists, or experts – we’re just fellow homeschoolers who are willing to offer a little friendly advice. Sometimes it helps to have a second opinion, and we’re here for you. The Advice Paradise team will answer questions on homeschooling, relationships, religion, and life in general. No question is too trivial. Just ask about anything you want to know! We promise to keep it simple and get straight to the point.
Check out the following questions and see if any of them apply to you, or maybe you’ve been in the same situation and have some helpful advice to give someone else. Post a comment if you think you have a better answer!
- Why do I keep hanging out with certain people in spite of being hurt, humiliated, and embarrassed by them time and again?
In politics it is said, “Bad press is better than no press.” Perhaps you feel that some attention is better than none. May I make a suggestion? Avoid those certain people for a while. Find other people who would appreciate your attention. Befriend a socially awkward person. Look for opportunities to make yourself useful. If you really want people to like you, get them to do you a favor. This will make them feel important, and they will seek you out, because you gave them a chance to feel good about themselves. Best wishes.
- When you know that someone is wrong, should you try to convince him that he is wrong?
It depends on how serious the error is. First you must decide, is it really necessary or important to tell him that he is wrong? Is it an easily correctable mistake? Will his wrongdoing hurt him or anyone else? Will it make a difference in the long run or in the grand scheme of things; or is it just a small or trifling matter? (Family relationships, school grades, job prospects, health and safety, and eternal salvation are more important than whether you agree with his opinion on movies and music.) A good rule of thumb is to always try and do what is in his best interest. Don’t do it just to make him feel bad or to feel superior about yourself.
- What is the best way to learn science?
Plan and conduct experiments, make observations, quantify results, develop statistics, share your findings, ask for others’ opinions on your work. Below is my favorite example from history:
“In the last four days I have got the spectrum given by Tantalum. Chromium. Manganese. Iron. Nickel. Cobalt. and Copper and part of the Silver spectrum. The chief result is that all the elements give the same kind of spectrum, the result for any metal being quite easy to guess from the results for the others. This shews that the insides of all the atoms are very much alike, and from these results it will be possible to find out something of what the insides are made up of.” —English physicist Henry Moseley in a letter to his mom from the University
Do you have a question? Send it to mail@homeschoolingteen.com and we will share it with the Advice Paradise team to be posted in the next issue of Homeschooling Teen.
Would you like to answer a question or offer some advice? Please leave a comment below with the question number for reference. Thanks for helping!