Memory can be a funny thing. Sometimes you remember bits and pieces, other times an entire day or week, and there are swaths of time your brain deems unnecessary to remember. What is your earliest memory? Mine is learning to read. I remember sitting next to my mom as she pushed my finger across the pages of a phonics book. I didn’t know at the time, but my mom had already decided to homeschool me. Teaching me to read was just the beginning.

My mom instilled a life-long love of reading. I read just about any book I could get my hands on. I remember enjoying The Boxcar Children, The Magic Treehouse, Nancy Drew, and so many other books. Everything was a learning experience for me, something my parents encouraged as part of homeschooling. I remember finding an Usborne picture book about ancient Egypt. It was fascinating, and certainly helped establish my love of history. However, learning how mummies were made did result in them being the one monster type that scared me when I watched Scooby-Doo.

My mom instilled a life-long love of reading.

I remember learning math from the Math-U-See video series. I had fun playing with the counting blocks when I wasn’t using them for the lessons. I enjoyed counting things. Mommy let me count the coins in the loose change jar. I could spend an entire afternoon counting and summing and placing the coins into different combinations that would make cents into dollars. Math isn’t my strongest subject. I did well enough with whole numbers, and with decimals when I learned about them, but my weak point was multiplication. I had such a difficult time memorizing the times tables that Mommy found a program called Times Tables the Fun Way that included interactive computer games and fun songs. I still find myself defaulting to some of those memory tricks even as an adult.

I remember being disappointed when I learned how many subjects were based in mathematics. Most sciences have at least some math at their core. I had been fascinated by the idea of chemistry as a child and I was severely disappointed when I learned chemistry wasn’t really about mixing different ingredients together to make something new, but that it mostly involved balancing equations on paper. I suppose my child-like fascination with chemistry spurred my interest in cooking, which is much more like my first impression of chemistry, and you can eat what you cook.

My mom didn’t want me, or my siblings, to just stay at home, inside all day. She firmly believed being active was part of learning. We played outside a lot. I remember that I loved to play in the dirt patch in our backyard. It was especially fun when we added water and made it a mud hole. I enjoyed roller skating and riding my bike. My favorite outdoor activity was going to the zoo. The zoo close to where we lived had so many animals, and quite a few interactive exhibits. I remember riding camels and elephants, feeding sting-rays and lorikeets, even petting a snake on occasion. We also went to the aquarium a lot. The seahorse exhibit was amazing. Although, I think the part of the aquarium I enjoyed the most was the outdoor water splash park. The foam moray eels were equal parts creepy and cool.

Some of these classes were practical in nature, others were purely educational, and others were completely optional but gave me life experiences that I can look back on fondly.

Along with so many fieldtrips, Mommy also signed me up for classes outside the house. There were zoological classes at the local nature center, singing class, swimming classes, soccer camp, a history class based on the American Girl books, several Spanish classes, and piano lessons, among many others. Some of these classes were practical in nature, others were purely educational, and others were completely optional but gave me life experiences that I can look back on fondly. Mommy took care to sign me up for plenty of physical activities. Besides swimming and soccer, I took ice skating lessons, tried multiple types of dance, participated in gymnastics for several years, went to homeschool PE classes, and eventually settled on taekwondo as my sport of choice. I wasn’t good at many of these sports and activities, but I usually had fun and I definitely got plenty of exercise.

The words “I remember” are powerful.

I remember becoming a teenager and deciding to take many of my classes outside the house. It started because my mom and I clashed horribly over English. I also wanted to take history classes because that had become my favorite subject. The next year, I wanted to take Spanish. My parents had both taken French. My younger brother was about four years old and I needed to take chemistry. Both of my younger siblings needed more of Mommy’s help with schoolwork than I did. Fortunately, we were quite literally around the corner from CHESS. My first high school year, I took English 9 and a history class. The second year I took more classes including Spanish 1 and Chemistry. I took most of my high school classes at CHESS. I remember taking as many of the history classes as I could. That trend continued when I started college. It probably won’t surprise you when I tell you I have a Bachelor’s degree in history.

My life was shaped by my mom’s decision to homeschool me. Looking back, I can honestly say I’m looking forward to homeschooling my own children one day.

History. The study of what has happened before now. History. The story of people. History. A collection of memories. The words “I remember” are powerful. I have used this phase nine times in this article. Each memory I have shared is about my homeschooling experience. Many of them seem to be unrelated, but they were all part of my education. Writing this essay has reminded me how much my life was shaped by my mom’s decision to homeschool me. Looking back, I can honestly say I’m looking forward to homeschooling my own children one day.

What do you remember?

Kiersten Dixon earned her Bachelors of Science in History from Johnson University. 

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I woke up one morning not so long ago and opened my laptop to check my email. Half an hour of aimless browsing later, I found myself watching some pointless news clip. My morning coffee was still in the pot and my Bible unread.

Later that day I impulsively pulled my phone from my pocket, tapped open a couple of apps for no particular reason, and then put it back—until I felt another phantom buzz on my thigh.

I wouldn’t last long if I approached the physical world this way. When I step out my front door, I usually have a good sense of where I’m going and why; after all, walking takes energy. Just going for a drive to clear my head means I have to keep my hands on the steering wheel. Aimlessness has immediate consequences in the physical world, but the internet seems built for it.

Our individual lack of purpose when it comes to technology is symptomatic of a society-wide syndrome. For many decades now, Americans have rarely asked whether a new technology should be developed and deployed. If we can do it, we should, right? Recently, I asked a leading engineer at a major tech company why they had added their AI companion to computers and programs without asking users whether they wanted it. The question confused him: “Well, we just figured people would.”

This exposes the absurdity of applying the tool metaphor to digital devices: “The computer/smartphone/AI is just a tool; what matters is how you use it.” No one picks up a hammer at the beginning of the day and walks around swinging it at any object in sight—but that’s how we use our phones. In the physical world, when you find a loose board, you take the hammer out of the toolbox, pound in some nails, and then put it back.

What if we approached our digital technologies the same way? What would it look like to live a purpose-driven tech life? I certainly can’t claim to model one myself, but I would like to show my kids a better life than my own. For my wife and me, this began by trying to protect our children from the perils of internet pornography and other soul-poisoning online content. But we soon recognized that the traditional approach, “content filtering,” was no good. Instead, we used the “whitelisting” feature that most parental controls have.

We created a list of appropriate websites for each of our kids and enabled only those websites. They could request access to other sites, and we’d approve or reject them. Or if they needed a bit more scope to search and browse, we’d fully enable the browser for a limited time, and then restore the constraints. We took a similar approach with certain devices. They had to bring the iPad to Mom to explain what they wanted to use it for and why. She typed in the passcode, and then ensured it was locked again when they were done.

My wife and I started designing our entire family tech life around this whitelisting principle, and have even tried—with imperfect success—to model it ourselves, limiting our own access to apps and devices. Rather than the default being “anything, anywhere, on demand” with a few “Danger” or “Road Closed” signs posted to block the really bad stuff, we decided that devices are off and websites inaccessible, unless and until we need them for a particular purpose.

From talking to other parents, we’ve discovered that this is pretty radical. But our kids just think of it as normal. And why not? After all, this is a lot closer to how we treat the offline world. When you move to a new community, you don’t tell your kids, “Alright, spread out. Feel free to crash on any couch in the neighborhood or help yourself to the goodies in any fridge—unless the door is locked or the owner objects.”

The walls and doorways of the physical world remind us that we are finite creatures. God designed us for certain ends, and we flourish only within certain limits. The purposes we pursue determine the shape of those limits, and as we grow and mature, the limits should gradually expand to enable us to pursue higher and grander purposes.

Some external limits we might remove altogether, but hopefully only because we have internalized them—that is, we’ve formed clear enough purposes that we instinctively know what tools to use and when.

I certainly can’t claim to have reached that level of maturity in my tech life yet. But in the meantime, I’m grateful for the opportunity to show my children that limits are actually what make freedom possible.

—Brad Littlejohn is director of programs and education at American Compass; he lives in Northern Virginia with his wife Rachel and four children

Brad Littlejohn

Brad (Ph.D., University of Edinburgh) is director of programs and education at American Compass. He founded and served for 10 years as president of The Davenant Institute. He has published and lectured extensively in the fields of Reformation history, Christian ethics, and political theology. You can find more of his writing at Substack. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, Rachel, and four children.

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We are excited to share some good news with you! In order to promote HEAV’s mission and vision, we are implementing a new commitment to giving. For every student that registers at CHESS, two dollars will be contributed to HEAV, in order to support their ongoing work for Virginia homeschool families. We hope that you will join us in supporting HEAV!

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The post PSAT/NMSQT – National Merit Scholar Qualifying Test first appeared on CHESS Homeschool Classes.

Help with time management is critical. Come alongside your child and create a schedule. Help them organize all of the different class assignments and responsibilities in a system they can manage. Here’s one (front / back) you could try, courtesy of Mrs. Chan. 

It’s tempting to be hands-off when you allow someone else to teach a subject to your student – but stay connected! Ask questions and verify the answers you get. Review your student’s homework before they turn it in and check to see that they are prepared for class. 

Monitor your students while they are working; help them stay focused. 

Your student’s ability to keep up with the class is hindered when they have not read the lesson before the class (when required). Not sure what they should be doing? Check your student’s homework assignments and read the class prospectus. If you have an auditory learner, try having them read the lesson out loud to you. 

CHESS teachers are here to help, but they have limited time with your student in class. Take advantage of how they have offered to help, but remember that you are still homeschooling and your kids need YOU!

Students should be spending time on each subject they are learning daily. Help them study throughout the week. You are part of the learning process.

Communicate the wonder of learning to your kids. “Stand and consider the wonders of God.” Job 37:14b

As you work on launching independent learners, know that some students need more hands on support than others. Work on finding the right balance for your child. Each child is different; what worked for one may not work for the other.

Teachers have other responsibilities and families, too. Respect their time and don’t wait until the last minute to ask questions. Give them appropriate time to respond.

Help your child understand that their effort matters. How they apply themselves now will determine what they will be able to do post high school.  “The plans of the diligent certainly lead to advantage, but everyone who is in a hurry certainly comes to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Colossians 3:23

Your student’s success is connected to your level of involvement. Stay connected and enjoy learning with your kids!

CHESS Website Resources

The CHESS website is filled with great resources and helpful information for homeschool parents.  Be sure to check out the Resources tab on the website. Helpful videos can be found under Homeschooling Best Practices which is also under the Resource tab.  These links will take you right to those videos:

• The-Big-Picture: Creating-an-individualized-plan-for-your-student
• Time-management-part-1-managing-your-homeschool-expectations
• Time-management-part-2-organization-and-scheduling
• Group-learning-tips-for-success

Check out the Blog tab to find lots of helpful articles, encouragement, and homeschooling tips: https://chessclasses.org/blog/

The post Getting the Most Out of Group Learning first appeared on CHESS Homeschool Classes.

Charles Dickens began his classic writing A Tale of Two Cities with this profound passage:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way–in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

These prophetic words were written about the year 1775, a year where governments were being challenged, revolutions mounting, and spiritual minds awakening. Dickens described polar degrees of existence, where one truly had to make a choice between good and evil, wisdom and foolishness, and light and darkness. The period we currently live in is far from the polar world described by Dickens. We have so confused the lines between the morals and bounds of our existence that our culture and government is on the verge of changing forever to become something the Founders would have never tolerated. 

Our country is close to celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and our fight for freedom from British tyranny. The ideals for which they fought have been redefined and become ambiguous because of the lack of knowledge concerning our country’s real history. Many of the men and women who revolted for freedom have been rejected based on the revision of our history, and many powerful stories of American history’s “hall of faith” are completely unknown. Our citizens have little knowledge of the Christian influence on the founding of America, and do not understand the founding documents which were written based on Biblical principles.

Statistics show that most students today do not have an understanding of civic education, such as how our government works.* In a world where there are those who seek to change the very foundation of government as outlined in our Constitution, and with our older generations passing, it is incumbent upon us to teach the next generation the founding principles of America. The reason I teach is to inform the minds of this generation to help them think for themselves based on the true facts and information they learn from original primary sources.

This year there is a federal election unlike any other in our country’s history. This provides an excellent opportunity for students to learn about the election process and the importance of exercising their civic responsibilities. There has never been a more important time for civic and Constitutional lessons. Dickens might well write of today: It is the best of times….to study American government!

*“Eighth-grade students continued a decade-long score decline on a national U.S. history assessment and posted the first-ever decline in scores on a national civics assessment, according to results released Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics.” “These data are of national concern,” said Peggy Carr, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, the research arm of the Education Department. “A well rounded education includes a grounding in the democratic principles,” she said. “These assessments challenge students to show their knowledge and skills as they prepare to become engaged citizens in a democracy. Too many students are struggling to understand and explain the impact of civic participation and how our government works and the historical significance of events. This is concerning. Quite honestly, I was shocked.”

Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2023-05-03/a-national-concern-student-scores-decline-on-u-s-history-and-civics

The post It is the Best of Times….to Study American Government! first appeared on CHESS Homeschool Classes.

A problem solved, inspired by need, is a harbinger of the value of art.

Over the centuries, digital advancements long ago replaced pigment pounding but some people quietly think that digital art lacks originality, no matter how quick and easy it seems.

 I tried to imagine Leonardo da Vinci speaking a few words into ChatGPT. In seconds, he would receive all existing images since the beginning of time, arranged to his specs. Would that mean his “creation” could be duplicated by anyone on earth, multiple times, forever? Just wondering, you understand.

 So what’s the point of learning traditional art?

After the advent of personal computers, I had to learn new skills. I moved from painting fashion illustration ads for newspapers in India ink washes, to pen and ink curriculum illustrations for publishers, to painting children’s books with acrylic paints requiring pricey drum scans. I still prefer creating offline and then scanning, but I’ve come a long way and I do love my computer!

I’ll never be as adept as a 12 year old with a cell phone when it comes to digital art but even after AI and ChatGPT burst on the scene, traditional art principles continued to undergird my new skills.

Problem solving is essential for success in any career, even if that career eventually disappears! In a Dell Technologies Institute for the Future article, it concluded that “85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t even been created yet.”  

Why learn art if you don’t even know what your future career will be?

In art teacher Abbi Schukei’s May 29, 2019 article, “Digital Vs. Traditional Art: Is One Better Than the Other?” she writes that traditional art includes “forced problem-solving.” She says that unlike the undo button on a digital device, an artist must physically fix their errors. Through this process, artists eventually quit making those same mistakes and ultimately, the corrections performed improved their skills.

There has been some rethinking on the value of an arts education.

Ten years ago, Google’s Project Oxygen shocked everyone by announcing that among the eight most important qualities of Google’s top employees, STEM expertise came in dead last.

Then in 2017, Google’s Project Aristotle changed their previous hiring practices to include humanities majors and artists among others (no longer just STEM people).

It’s interesting that the work world has come to appreciate students trained in the arts because they are problem solvers and creative thinkers. When you think about it, people don’t really change as much as the latest software program or AI innovation, so “soft skills” will probably always be useful no matter how careers change or even disappear.

My students can choose to audit if they’re worried about their GPAs. Removing the specter of a bad grade leads many hesitant students to jump into the deep end of the pool and discover they enjoy art. They can then earn an elective grade if they wish.

Art students often fly far beyond their own or others’ expectations when there are no penalties for creative fails and they are allowed to interpret the assignments using their God-given imaginations. 

There is no greater joy than watching students who might struggle with academics, stress, or even “cell phone coma” wake up and smile.

As a nod to the past in my classes, I handle famous artist biographies as storytelling with a handout for further reference if desired. Artists almost always learn better hands on, so I occasionally work in those stories while they work. This tends to be more memorable than text+test+rubric for the “right brained,” and certainly more fun.

 While I can offer advice and teach the techniques of a professional artist, I am not looking to create clones. In the art world, an individual style is prized above almost everything else. My students interpret my assignments with a freshness and individuality that surprises even them! 

Creative minds build on the past, constantly learn new skills, and tend to handle change well. Since the visual arts are chock full of problems to solve, those skills will help prepare them for any career and anything the future throws at them.

Betsy Dill

The post Is art obsolete in a ChatGPT/AI/STEM world? first appeared on CHESS Homeschool Classes.

I remember sitting in my first college class with my leg jiggling nervously under the desk. My high school education looked a lot different from the rest of my classmates’. As I took out a crisp college-ruled notebook, I wondered if I was prepared for this new academic environment.

Five years later, I can report that homeschooling prepared me for a fulfilling academic career. As I look back on my high school years, I am grateful to CHESS for giving me a robust high school education. There are many ways in which the co-op setting prepared me for college and beyond; below are five. 

1. Customizable Curriculum 

CHESS’s structure struck a balance between structure and flexibility. I was not forced into a standard curriculum. Rather, I was able to take the classes I needed to supplement my independent coursework. When math and science caused me particular difficulty, I learned them at CHESS, and when I discovered my aptitude for other subjects, I was free to study them on my own. The result was a high school education perfectly tailored to my needs. 

2. Flexibility to Pursue Hobbies and Passions

The flexibility homeschooling provided allowed me to pursue various hobbies and passions, some of which produced skills that have since set me apart from other job applicants. Throughout high school, I learned how to shoot and edit videos and produced media for businesses in Northern Virginia, including CHESS. At first, videography was just a hobby, but it has proven relevant in unexpected places. In college, I produced videos for several organizations within the University. Even during an internship at the U.S. Supreme Court, where most of my work consisted of research and writing, I ended up assisting Court staff on a few photo/video shoots. Since then, I have used videography, and other hobbies I nurtured in high school, in almost every internship and extracurricular I have pursued. 

At first, videography was just a hobby, but it has proven relevant in unexpected places.

3. High School Classes, College Schedule

The very schedule of CHESS classes prepared me for college better than a traditional high school would have. Because the first semester lectures were held as little as once or twice per week, those used to having class every day had to adjust to having class less frequently. I was used to having class twice a week and budgeting my time accordingly. 

4. Great Social Environment

I have great respect for those who can lock themselves in a room with nothing but a stack of textbooks and emerge with a mastery of physics or history. At the same time, I found that sometimes I learned more from the social aspects of high school, college, and now, law school, than I did in the classroom. In this way, CHESS supplied an important social dimension of my education. I never experienced bullying or negative peer pressure, but I still had a group of classmates with whom I would hang out in the lunchroom, play card games, and sometimes discuss politics or theology. I still remember debating U.S. international relations with a classmate of mine who now works at a foreign policy think tank in D.C. 

CHESS supplied an important social dimension of my education.

5. Student-Teacher Dynamic

The CHESS learning environment allowed me to build strong relationships with my teachers. The small class sizes allowed my teachers to pinpoint where I was struggling and meet me where I was. When I needed additional help with chemistry, for example, my teacher scheduled time outside of class to ensure I was caught up. My literature teacher’s careful feedback on my papers changed the way I write and prepared me for writing at the college level. My U.S. Government teacher facilitated fascinating discussions about political theory and legal questions. When I got to college, I felt prepared to build relationships with my professors. 

––

Homeschooling allowed my parents to tailor my education to my interests and aptitudes, and CHESS helped them do it. It warms my heart to see CHESS continuing to thrive and grow. Because of CHESS, there are many homeschoolers who, sitting in a college classroom for the first time, can say to themselves, “I’m ready for this.”

Homeschooling allowed my parents to tailor my education to my interests and aptitudes, and CHESS helped them do it.

The post Five Ways CHESS Prepared Me for College and Beyond first appeared on CHESS Homeschool Classes.

Señora Bacca was truly my best teacher because she made all her students want to come to class. Even though learning a new language can be difficult and frustrating at times, it never felt like work in her class. She made every single student feel welcomed and valued in her classroom and she somehow found a way to make all the students bond with one another. She made it so that everyone felt comfortable and everyone felt like part of a community. 

When it came to class content, every day was different and she always had something fun, new, and exciting to share with the students. For example, she had us play games like Kahoot vocabulary competitions. At one point she had us create our own stories in Spanish that we could share with the class in groups with our own drawings. She would teach us all about Spanish culture through exploring different Spanish speaking regions in the world. She would teach us Spanish through silly songs or even current Spanish music videos. We practiced conversational Spanish in the classroom and were encouraged to speak as much Spanish as we could throughout the lesson but were never made to feel bad when we couldn’t or needed a break, or genuinely had a question. 

This is just another way that Señora Bacca made her students feel loved and appreciated in her class. She would also always find ways to include our interests in what we were learning so that we were more eager and engaged. For instance, for homework we were often allowed to pick something that interested us and study it or engage with it in Spanish. My interest was singing and playing guitar in high school so she allowed me to learn songs in Spanish as my homework, sing and play those songs, and record them for her as proof of my completion of the assignment. This always made learning more fun and made me spend way more time learning Spanish in my free time than I normally would have simply from my own desire to continue learning. 

As a teacher now myself, I hope to adopt some of the traits that made my Spanish teacher Señora Bacca so great. She has definitely influenced me to make it a goal of mine to make my classroom a fun and inviting environment. Over time I hope to make learning in my classroom just as enjoyable and engaging as she did, whether that’s through prioritizing fun educational games or keeping students’ interests in mind when we do projects. I would also hope to adopt her kind and accepting nature and thereby make every one of my students feel just as loved and valued as she did. Thus, helping them to be open and eager to participate freely without judgement. 

Ultimately, I am very grateful for Señora Bacca and for all the great teachers in my life who helped form me into the person I am today and into the teacher I am today. By their example, I am reminded of what it takes to be a good teacher and what it takes to be a memorable teacher in the mind of a young child or teenager.  Señora Bacca was ultimately the best because of how kindly she treated us, how fun and engaging she made the class material, and how involved she was in engaging us with our interests and combining that in our learning.

The post Reflection Paper: My Best Teacher first appeared on CHESS Homeschool Classes.

John Jenkins and Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Instructions

In high school (2003-2007) I took multiple writing classes with John Jenkins through CHESS. Topics ranged from essays about slavery and the California Gold Rush to news articles. I particularly enjoyed the news articles because at the time I was set on being a photojournalist and working for National Geographic. But of all the assignments, one stood out—a technical writing paper instructing the reader how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

On first hearing of the assignment I assumed it would be an easy task. I had crafted many delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by that time. But upon completing and handing in the assignment I quickly realized my error. It turns out that writing a sequential step-by-step guide instructing someone to complete a task they have no experience with is challenging. If you need proof just watch YouTuber Josh Darnit literally follow the instructions his children wrote for him. It turns out that John Jenkins was not only teaching our class to write. He was teaching empathy and understanding for our audience.

Transition from Journalism to Interactive Media

After graduating from high school, I enrolled at James Madison University as a journalism major. But the year was 2007—a particularly tough time for journalism. The digital revolution was disrupting media job descriptions and roles. After finding journalism at the bottom of one too many career option lists, I switched my major to Interactive Media—a mixture of website design, development, and digital storytelling. The writing skills I gained from John Jenkins continued to serve me well. I received multiple compliments of my writing ability from my professors.

After college I continued to make transitions—from a short stint as a professional western horse trainer to a production designer at a church creating print marketing pieces for church events and gatherings. Seven years ago, I moved to Nashville, TN intent on becoming a professional songwriter. But I finally found a long term fit in software development—building websites and web applications. During that time, I wrote mostly in a business context (e.g. emails to bosses or coworkers, chat messages, etc.). But that changed drastically in my last job.

My Writing Skills Make a Comeback

In 2017 I was working for the Lewis Communications marketing agency. As our team grew, I noticed a lack of technical documentation. In software development—most of which takes place on a computer—technical documentation is an essential tool to onboard new team members and to learn new languages and frameworks. Lack of documentation is a common complaint among software developers. In fact, the 2019 HackerRank Developer Skills Report found that “badly written documentation” is the number one pet peeve for junior software developers.

After repeatedly noticing a lack of documentation, I began putting my writing skills to work. Each time I found myself verbally repeating instructions, I would write them down, send them to the person who had asked for my help, and ask for their feedback. Instead of constantly repeating myself, I began adding documentation to the team knowledge base.

My fellow team members began sharing the documents. Suddenly a valuable skill that was once dormant changed my career trajectory almost overnight. Coworkers began referring to me as “the documentation guy.” In addition, because I didn’t have to repeat instructions to new team members, I began completing tasks more efficiently.

Suddenly a valuable skill that was once dormant changed my career trajectory almost overnight.

Technical Writing is an Industry Wide Challenge

Two years ago, I joined Ramsey Solutions—financial expert Dave Ramsey’s company. The organization was much larger than my previous employer—at the time over one hundred team members in software development. Because of this I assumed that I would be one of many software developers with strong experience in technical writing.

To my surprise, the need for technical documentation was actually much greater than at my previous employer—more team members means more knowledge to capture in writing. Only later did I realize that every organization in the software industry wrestles with this problem—even large tech companies like Google or Spotify. In 2017, the Open Source Survey found that a majority of developers highly value technical documentation but more than half (over 60%) don’t regularly contribute to or write technical documents.

At Ramsey there were multiple individuals writing documentation. But documents were strewn across multiple systems. There was no standardization in writing nor in knowledge management. But there was a desire to improve.

For the next two years I invested countless hours to help make documentation a core value for software developers at Ramsey. I wrote countless documents. I helped start and maintain a project that consolidated all documentation into a central system accessible by all team members. And I helped pioneer an internal question and answer forum where developers use the power of writing to get answers to their technical questions.

In addition, I spent the last two years improving my skill as a technical writer. I read articles and books. I took courses. And I lead a technical writing book study that helped standardize the expectations around what makes a quality technical document at Ramsey.

Writing is the Essential Skill for Knowledge Work

Technical writing now takes up a large portion of my day. And I’m often asked to review documents written by other team members. I would not be where I am today without John Jenkins. Sure, I had quality writing instructors in college. But John gave me a strong writing foundation to build on.

I would not be where I am today without John Jenkins. Sure, I had quality writing instructors in college. But John gave me a strong writing foundation to build on.

Business and technical writing has never been more essential to success at work. We are now in a knowledge economy—where value is not measured by what you physically create but by what you know. If you can clearly communicate what you know in writing, you will continue to succeed.

Ryan Payne is a software developer at Ramsey Solutions and an independent singer-songwriter. Learn more about him at https://www.ryanbrookepayne.com.

The post John Jenkins and Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Instructions first appeared on CHESS Homeschool Classes.