Teaching our Children
“I don’t have the patience to do that. You are a saint that you can homeschool,” said my good friend. WHAT? Anyone who knows me well knows I am the most impatient person alive today. It may be part of my OCD, but I am an instant gratification person. I move quickly, sometimes not so accurately, prefering to do things over rather than take the time to think it through first.
Tom says that I’m tactical not strategic. My mother says: “El que no tiene cabeza tiene que tener buenos pies”. Roughly translated, “If you do not use your head, you have to be prepared to use your feet.” But I digress.
How is it that we have been convinced that we are not capable or do not have the patience to teach our children? Starting from the tender age of 6, they are expected to get up, get on a bus, be in school for 8 hours, keep track of all the different subjects, deal with all the incredible variety of social challenges that may arise, interpret the world and make the right decisions, put it all in context, come back on the bus, tell us about their day, and do homework for what in many cases seems like an eternity.
Then when we try to help them with homework and they don’t get it, or rebel and act up, we are frustrated and lose our patience. The poor little guys have been overstimulated for ten hours, and now they are supposed to do busy work at home? What did they do for 8 hours in a classroom? The expectation that all this work has to be done in the short time they remain awake and on weekends saps any possibility of play and meaningful interaction with mom, dad, siblings and friends. It affects the relationship between parents and kids in a negative way. Parents become frustrated and feel they have no patience, and kids get mad, act up, and are sent to their room.
Many end up resenting it all and do not learn to love learning – which is what education at such a tender age should be all about.
So now that the economy is in the toilet, and our schools continue to move in the direction of quantity vs. quality – and the images and influences thrust upon our young children all day long become increasingly disturbing — I urge parents who care to take back the education of their kids and make them smile again.
I understand not all of us are meant to homeschool – but there are other options. What else would we do? Half of us have already lost our jobs or are worried about losing them. This is a time to get creative.
Over the years, homeschooling has developed a negative connotation and many of today’s politicians are making sure that it stays that way. In my humble opinion, homeschooling is not a barefoot overly religious pregnant woman trying to teach eight kids about creationism.
Simply stated, homeschooling means that the home is directing the kids schooling.
Bottom line, we have been brainwashed to abdicate our children’s education to the state. This social experiment has obviously failed on many levels. It is exhausting us all, and creating many social misfits.
Today homeschooling has millions of inexpensive options that can be easily tailored to each individual family and child within that family. There are also thousands of curriculums on every subject, public-private partnerships, online programs such as K12 and many organizations such as the YMCA and park districts throughout the country have recognized the need for extracurricular activities and created programs to serve home schooled children accordingly.
Teachers and trainers are consistently amazed at how responsive, respectful and polite many of these home schooled children are. Why? Simply because they have not been taught that it is okay to be any other way.
Homeschooling is not weird any more.
So … Pick up your stuff and move to a beautiful, less expensive area where they are not taxing you for a failed public school system and go back to the basics. Tap the resources of your community and begin to enjoy what life with your family can and should be.
Appreciate all you can learn from your children while you are helping them navigate through this crazy world.
February 20th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
How about you homeschooling all of our kids? That solves everyone’s problems.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Why does it have to be one or the other? Are the schools failing our children or are the parents? When did it become the responsibility of schools to also parent the children while also catering to each individual parent’s desires. With everything there are pros and cons. Each solution is right for some and wrong for others. I’ve seen many public school successes and several home school failures. Of course, I’ve also seen the opposite. When you look at all of the areas that a child needs to be taught and developed and then review the many different means to teach each of these areas, each family needs to make an educated decision as to what is best in each area. Too many families don’t make educated decisions and too many parents don’t assume the responsibility to teach in any of the areas. Poor teachers are not limited to the public school system. Churches don’t guarentee morals or rightous behavior. Home schooling doesn’t guarentee a close family, public education doesn’t always fail to educate. A caring, dedicated, emotionally stable parent is the ideal. Every child needs one strong role model and cheerleader. Unfortunately, that person isn’t always in their home. Maybe evolution will solve the problem of the ability to procreate as the only requirement for parenthood.
Do you want OctoMom home schooling?
February 25th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Thanks for making my point. Each family needs to make an educated decision as to what is right for their children.
I never said it should be one or the other. We are still somewhat of a democracy and should have choices.
I am just saying that a lot of highly educated parents that are very capable of homeschooling won’t even consider it because they feel they can’t do it. The system has told us kids need to be “professionally” schooled. If I had a dime for every time I hear: “What about socialization?” That thought has permeated our society and is group think now. As I said, more and more organizations are targeting homeschoolers and consistently comment at how polite, respectful and eager they are to participate and learn.
Many parents who decide to homeschool do it as a last resort. They see potential in their children but something is not quite right. Or their school districts are terrible. Or their kids are being bullied or wrongly influenced. Or they cannot afford Barrington.
Most people do not realize all the help and resources now available and how much better it can be for some kids. The counselors in the BD classes are not offering homeschooling or a combination of homeschooling and public school (which is legal in most states although not advertised at all); few people are willing to read the entire education section of state law to find the two lined code that says you can choose to take specific classes in your district and participate in intramural sports as a homeschooler.
Children with highly involved parents in the second best school district in the state will do well. Great even. They count with mom and dad, as well as infinite resources and options.
For the rest of humanity, there are more viable and very doable options.
The experience continues to be so awesome for us, that I just want to spread the word. We are not tied to someone else’s schedule, we are free to do experiential learning, and can address questions and difficult situations on the spot and tailored to the learning needs of each child. We can live anywhere, not just in high taxed communities with good schools. And we get to beat the crowds because we can do things during the week and do school on weekends when everyone else is competing for the same “fun” activities.
Plus, we get to hang out and explore reality together.
Absolutely it’s not for everyone.
Octomom? Really? That’s your counterpoint argument? She is an arrogant, irresponsible, disrespectful leach that will sponge off the system for as long as she can. Public school was made for her. She is too selfish to ever consider what’s best for her kids. She is definitely not a homeschooling candidate and would never be.
Boy, I miss you!!!!