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This week we were joyfully surprised by a train visit from our London family - three of them because the older two grandsons are involved in PhD work and Uni. Our thirteen year old was therefore widely open as his grandfather pursued conversation. I reveled in this and I think he didn't mind too much (though he is very polite and thoughtful).
Much talk revolved around his life at school. He showed me his smart phone with the school app which keeps in hourly contact with him. To my mind, absurd expectations from teachers are constantly demanded. One section of the app 'Teams' involves direct links with teachers whose relationship not only involves setting mounds of work and marking results but sharing conversation if required. What was daunting was the mountain of material facing him this half term. On the train he had been immersed in preparation for a physics test immediately on his return and several other subjects demand heavy attention. However his food technology course has provided tasty outcomes for his family with his latest task making pizza and formulating his own pizza recipe.
He was passionate about how AI was changing so much and, in his opinion for the worse. 'One day I reckon all teaching will be done by AI with one human monitoring results behind the scene'.
Late afternoon he volunteered to get the Chinese meal with me from the take-away. I had given him a little money (I call it a holiday Beano fund) and I chatted about whether he had spent any in Cambridge in the afternoon. I hoped he had treated himself to something. He then solemnly told me about his approach to spending: 'When I'm in the shops', he said,' I do see things that I really like. Really like. And then I think do I really want them enough to buy them. No. It's important to realize that if you are careful and save, compound interest can add up. It may seem small but over time it can add up.'
I congratulated him. ' I have a very wise grandson' I replied. It's so good to talk to the next, next generation!
