Gilbreth Jr And The Cheaper Summary

Education Above All Else
Frank b. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey’s Cheaper by the Dozen describes that any family can be lighthearted and productive at the same time, no matter the size. Mr. Gilbreth, a motion efficiency expert, and Mrs. Gilbreth, a psychologist, who together have a family of twelve children, have mischievous adventures in their everyday lives. The Gilbreths remark on the stories their family experiences during their childhood, with most involving their education, schooling and their home life. Mr. Gilbreth values education more than anything because he wants to give his children anything and everything that they will ever need later in their lives. (Thesis???) Mr. Gilbreth thought teaching his children extracurricular
things outside of the classroom was very important. Doing this helped his children develop their brains faster as they were growing upMAYBE INSTEAD OF THIS SAY WHAT HE TAUGHT THEM (morse code, sailing, language, etc.). Mr. Gilbreth’s job requires him to travel across the world, so every once in awhile, he brought home gifts for his children. One day, he brought home two Victrolas with French and German teaching records and said, “The Victrolas will go in the bathrooms--one in the boys’ bathroom and the other in the girls’ bathroom. I’ll bet we’ll be the only family in town with a Victrola in very bath. And when you take a bath, or brushing your teeth, or otherwise occupied, you will play the Victrolas” (Gilbreth 39). The records played French and German lessons everyday when their children were in the bathrooms, and Mr. Gilbreth pretended to not be impressed with their French. He could not understand when the children were speaking, and it was reported that he was found listening to the Victrola all throughout the night. This is a good example of their father’s pride, he wanted to be the only family who has a Victrola in every bathroom, and have every since one of their children speak French and German, even if he is not good at French himself. Mr.
Gilbreth wanted to be in complete control of where his children would be attending school, and he made it his priority that they were placed in the grade level that would challenge them mentally, and that the kids were doing well in class. Mr. Gilbreth made sure to be respectful and polite to his school superiors, so he would get what he wanted when he arrived, but it was not a forced politeness. When enrolling his youngest Gilbreths in elementary school, he made sure their grades were suitable for them. Mr. Gilbreth told the elementary principal, “Do you know the capital of Colombia? Do you know the population of Des moines, according to the 1910 census? I know you do, being the principal. So does Bill here. So does little Jackie, but I had to leave him home. It’s time for his bottle.” (Gilbreth 55-56). He uses their accomplishments and abilities to get them into higher grades. According to Mr. Gilbreth, their grade is not determined by birth age, but by mental age. Mr. Gilbreth is trying to get his kids through school and into a good college as fast as possible, because one day, he will not be able to see all of them graduate. This helps explain why he made frequent visits to school and taught them so many different things at home- because he wanted to see them
succeed. Mr.
Gilbreth had influenced so many around him, not only in his family, but at his job as well. Just think, where would the factories he assisted be if he had not helped them with motion study? He has passed down his wisdom in so many ways to his children. His influence of education was passed down to them through his teaching at home, frequent visits to school, and by just being himself. Over time as Mr. Gilbreth did or said certain things, the children imitated his actions, because they admired him so much. This continued even after he passed away and made the things he did causally even more
important.