Homeschooling Thoughts...

I've been sitting here doing some thinking and reminiscing about homeschooling. For those of you who started homeschooling right from the beginning, I think you’re really lucky, because you don’t have to try to throw off or deprogram that public school mindset! Grrrr...

It’s nearly summer, and here I am going through the SAME THING again this spring... which is, my son has that old public school mindset of time: summer=no school. Granted, I plan on cutting back for the summer months because of other activities and travel, but I DO want him to continue to do reading, writing and math whenever possible. That’s not so much to ask for, I don’t think. Outside of reading (which I require 2 hours), the math and writing should only take an hour tops.

So here I am starting to butt heads with my public school mindset son – again. Frustrating!

I'm finding that *I* have lost a lot of the public school mindset (FINALLY!) of trying to echo public school. If all anyone knows is the public school (or private, for that matter, which basically mirrors the public schools), then one has no knowledge of any other way to educate, unless he digs in and does tons of research. It’s REALLY HARD to lose that mindset (for us, anyway!). Does that make sense?

And why, you might ask, would I want to lose that mindset? Public schooling is GREAT! Or is it?

Well, for one thing, education or learning doesn't take place just between certain set hours of a day and certain days of a week. Learning goes on 24/7.

And because I don't see any "education" going on in our schools! After almost three years of continual researching "how to educate", I'm pretty well convinced that there is no real education going on in our public schools. I want to EDUCATE my son, not just have him learn some fleeting basics to get by (or to learn to pass a test). I want him to KNOW EVERYTHING! LOL! Well, of course he can't know EVERYthing, but I want him to have a great foundation for life.

I don't feel textbooks are good; in fact, I believe they're horrible! Especially history textbooks. Why do the kids have textbooks, anyway? Why aren't they reading (or being read to) the ACTUAL documents of history? Or biographies or historical novels (getting a feel for people, places and things of a time period)?

Workbooks -- oh, my! Fill-in-the-blank and that's how you learn? With the exception of grammar, I just can't see learning how to read, write, and grasp concepts of history or science. It's almost like busy-work -- no real substantive learning. The kids MIGHT grasp snippets of info, but absolutely nothing in depth.

And then there's the "politically correct" garbage. "Multiculturalism" for a big one. I can't remember all the others I was shocked at seeing, but a lot of the school day is spent on pc stuff. Oh, yeah -- "stranger danger", drugs, weapons, "lock down", feelings, racism (how NOT to be, therefore teaching it), etc.

Here’s another thought I’m seeing by me losing that mindset:

I feel like the people involved in public school are really pretty uneducated and very narrowly set in their ways when it comes to *real* education – and missing SO MUCH! True, I know several people who currently teach in the public school system (my brother for one) who feel the same as I do -- EXCEPT they are so entrenched in the “system” that they just can’t see beyond it to help themselves in their goals as teachers. (Actually, I’m not so sure that they could do anything about it even if they could see beyond the “system”.) Sad, because they’re great teachers. And because of the way they were taught to BE a teacher, unless they remove themselves from what they were taught, they just can't see WHAT they were taught, therefore continuing the cylce of "schooling" and not "educating". My brother has some great ideas, complains about the system, but just can't completely see outside the system to truly teach like he wants to. Does that make sense? It's hard for me to try to explain.

The other day, I saw more of public school “education” with my son’s friends (one in a supposedly excellent private school). I stood looking in disbelief. It was like my son’s education was “serious” and his friends’ were frivolous busyness – very little substance, you might say.

Does anyone else feel this way? Or is this just a stage I’m going through? I just have such a different perception of education now. And I mean “education”, not “schooling”. I see the two as so different now!

I rarely look to see what the public schools are doing any more (I used to for reference -- is he doing "enough"?), and now go by my “gut instinct” and by Derek’s lead in his interests. I’ve always had an idea of what “education” SHOULD be, and have stuck with it, with GREAT results so far. And I’m finding I’m not alone in my instincts – in fact, I’m being validated all over the place in things I read and hear, both in books, online and in person. Which gives me confidence to dump that public school mindset.

Here's one example of what I'm talking about:

Kids "in school" are told to read 20 minutes or so a day. Do they? Probably not. I know there are some parents that have their kid read a bit now and then, but not on a regular basis. And there MUST be some parents somewhere who DO have their kids read all the time. But I'll bet not from any of the classics! And has anyone looked at all the new books put out for kids? They are so hyped up with politcally correct garbage! My favorite that comes to mind are the Junie B books. Horrible! Well, the one I read had kind of a cute story, but the grammar! Oh, my! Slang for kids to read in second grade! How in the world are kids -- still learning to read, still learning grammar, still learning to write -- going to "get it" if the books they read don't set a good example? And as for vocabulary -- forget it! There were no new words to look up or learn in my opinion. Just basic every-day words.

Derek (my son) complained last year about the kids in his Sunday School class. He said they could barely read. I talked with some of the parents after his class (not about that, just in general about where the kids went to school, grades, etc.), and most of the kids in his class were top students. Wow.

And what does Derek read that makes him better than his peers? Old classics. I don't mean rewritten, edited or abridged, I mean the original books. Let me tell you, the old books are gems! The sentence structure plus the vocabulary are HARD (even for me)! And he's reading them just fine. And his verbal and written communication is impressive, too -- complex sentences for his age and a pretty good vocabulary. I attribute it all to his reading. I doubt that ANY of his friends could read the books he read even two years ago! Yes, they're that hard compared to what his friends can read. But then the reading that his friends are limited to are a few paragraphs out of a textbook -- MAYBE a "chapter" book along the simple lines of Junie B. (where did that new buzz phrase come from, anyway? "Chapter book", good grief! Except for picture books for the non- or very beginning reader, aren't ALL books "chapter" books?). I'm sure there are some new good books out there for kids, but I just haven't found any -- nor have I looked for any lately.

Yet, all of these classic books were required reading decades ago -- maybe 100 years ago. Why aren't kids reading them any more? These old books that everyone used to have to read, tells where mankind has been, where we've come, and can maybe tell us where we're going. Also, MUCH higher morals!! How can a child, once an adult, have an intelligent conversation? Will any of our kids be able to quote or talk about some of the great writers and thinkers throughout history when they grow up? Will they be able to THINK about ideas, or apply great ideas or ways to solve life's problems to their every-day lives? I doubt it.

I have a feeling we're producing a very in-the-moment, immediate gratification, shallow feeling generation of people, who have no idea where humanity has been or why -- and who doesn't care. It's scary.

Derek just turned 12. He's reading Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Conan Doyle this week. And loving it!