I have coined a new word — ed-u-cide: the killing of children’s minds through governmental indoctrination. Feel free to use it as needed. “I rescued my child from educide by beginning to homeschool him.”
What is the problem with homeschooling?
March 29, 2004 by Leave a Comment
(This article was written by Jenny.)
Today I was in a class that was discussing President Bush’s “no child left behind” act which requires that children pass a test at 4th grade in order for the school to retain their funding and also Governor Vilsack’s proposed bill that requires every child to pass a test at 3rd grade in order to go on to 4th grade. The professor asked the class what changes need to be made to our education system in order for children to be able to learn what they need to know by grades 3 and 4 to pass these tests. She mentioned how children enter kindergarten with varied levels of skills, some know the alphabet, some can read a little, some can write full sentences already, and some are the children of immigrants and barely know any English at all.
Many students in my class offered suggestions for changes that included segregating boys and girls; offering special classes for those who are at, below, or above average learning levels; teaching all children all the languages of those in the class; etc. Being the bold supporter of homeschooling that I am, I raised my hand with the suggestion of homeschooling because:
1) children get individual attention suited to their exact needs
2) children can learn at their own pace
3) homeschoolers are not bound by standardized tests.
My professor immediately jumped on this one and asked the class “what is the problem with homeschooling?” Now, personally, I was unaware that there is a problem with homeschooling. I was homeschooled for seven years and had the public school education of elementary school to compare homeschooling to, and yet I found homeschooling to be incredibly superior. The students in the class all had an answer to why homeschooling was a problem. Of course I heard “socialization,” but to my surprise my professor thought the biggest problem was the lack of certification by homeschooled teachers. Now I do not know about you, but I would rather know that my child can read and is being taught by an uncertified teacher (myself), than have the “comfort” that although my child cannot read, her teacher is certified. I guess my professor has other ideas.
Lunch Will Be Served When the Math Lesson Is Finished
March 27, 2004 by Leave a Comment
My daughter was recently describing this process to a middle-school-aged friend who was curious as to how a mom could possibly hold any meaningful authority over her student. When my daughter explained how we had used the incentive of “get done early, get lunch early; take extra time, wait for lunch until after the lesson is done,” the friend stated rather emphatically that that process simply would not work with her — she would just get her own food. “No, you don’t get it,” my daughter replied. “You’re not allowed any food until the lesson gets done.” The surprised friend humbly stated, “Wow. That would work.”
My point is simple: Mom as a teacher has a power unavailable to our government school counterparts: discipline. We can restrict privileges or inflict discipline as needed to enforce our authority. That was removed long ago from the government school system, and we have all witnessed the sad results. Since we are the parents of our own students, we know exactly what “punishment” will give the most effective results, and there are occasionally times when punishment is the only recourse for us to inspire a student. Lest you think me to be an incredible tyrant and unfit mother, let me also say that, much more often than threatening to delay lunch, I told my voracious reader that she was not allowed to read any longer this night, and the light must go out now. Moms, you are free to use the discipline that will produce the best results.
Every Day Is a Learning Day, and Life Is Our Classroom
March 22, 2004 by 1 Comment
Every day is a learning day, and life is our classroom. Do not let yourself get stressed out thinking that your students have to be working from a book to be doing school. Learning is also found outdoors, in everyday life, and many other places. You can count all that as schoolwork. There will be days when your students may want to do double workbook pages to make up for the time they’ve “lost” in doing outside activities, but do not think they have not learned from those activities. Even if we were kept away from our books, we were still learning very important lessons.
Life seldom follows a “routine.” In my opinion, homeschooled kids have a distinct advantage over their government-schooled peers by seeing first-hand that life is not the same day after day. My students and I once canceled our plans for an “Engineering Day” field trip to engineer a dam of bricks to divert the backyard’s melting snow away from its chosen path into our basement. It was definitely not “routine” and a very important lesson — both in saving the contents of the basement from a flood and in how to persuade water to take an alternate path. Any skill valuable in life is a subject worthy of your time to teach: laundry, cooking, comparison-shopping, auto mechanics, home repair, car-buying, button-sewing & mending, etc.
If This Is HOMEschooling, Why Are We Always in the CAR?
March 20, 2004 by Leave a Comment
Field trips and group activities are great, but do not overdo. You do not have to go on every field trip or do every activity. Only the ones specifically beneficial to your students will specifically benefit your students. Trust me — it is a horrible feeling to realize you have lost a valuable day to a useless activity. We are working towards Guilt-Free homeschooling here, so put your students’ needs first and say “No” when necessary. The feelings of the Mom who organized the trip/activity are not more important than your own children.
Also, do not feel that your students are not learning anything if they are not sitting at a table holding a pencil. Do not feel guilty about leaving the books behind in favor of other methods.
Teach them map-reading, directions, finding their way across town and back again — important life-skills. On your way to the grocery store, teach them to notice both street signs and landmarks, both compass directions and right/left turns. Ask them to tell you how to get to the store — instructing you before you approach the required intersection — teach them to “see” their way there in their mind and tell you the full route, if possible. (At 5 years old, my daughter gave perfect directions to an out-of-town adult friend who realized too late that he did not know how to return her to our house from a group activity. My daughter had never been to that specific location before either, but she knew our town’s layout well enough to be able to know which direction home was — even after dark!)
[For more information on cooperative classes and group activities, visit Topical Index: Co-op Groups .]
Yada, yada, yada…
March 16, 2004 by Leave a Comment
I was heading for the verses about “teach your children when you rise up and when you lie down…” (Deut. 6:5-9), but found something else interesting on my way there. Deuteronomy 4:9 instructs the Israelites to remind their sons and grandsons of all that God did for them in the wilderness, lest they forget all that God had done or was capable of doing in the future. The word for teaching the children is translated “make them known” in my New American Standard Bible. The Hebrew word used is “yada.” So now when I hear someone say, “Yada, yada, yada…” I will probably think of this Hebrew word and how God wants us to keep reminding ourselves of what He has done and can do and wants to do and will do. Yada, yada, yada, remind, remind, remind, keep talking, keep talking, keep talking about what God can do — until we truly believe it.
But Public School Is Free… Won’t Homeschooling Cost a Lot?
March 14, 2004 by 2 Comments
There are many ways to look at this question; please allow me to explain them in detail before you make any quick decisions.
What is the true “cost” of public schooling? Aside from the obvious arguments of emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, or moral issues, public school is not free. Stop for a moment to reflect on how many extra costs come up: field trips, fund raisers, extra supplies, uniforms (sports, cheerleading, band, gym, etc.). Then there is my un-favorite: I purchase new school clothes (or notebooks, pencils, whatever) only to have my students come home after a few days of the new school year with the report that their clothes (or notebooks, pencils, etc.) are not appropriately in fashion and must be replaced. They absolutely would become the lowest pariahs in the school if they had to continue with the original purchase.
Once you have become committed to homeschooling, constant attention to fashion tends to pass by the wayside. The ability to do math in one’s pajamas becomes a status symbol. Occasionally, you can spend a little more on a special wardrobe item because you know you have not spent a lot already on clothing that is not being worn. Food from home is always more economical than purchased meal plans or special lunch-box items, and there is the added bonus of raiding the fridge of leftovers between classes. All in all, I found homeschooling to be a great benefit to our budget — we seemed to have extra money, even after buying all our books and supplies.
Invest in “recyclable” homeschool materials that can be passed down from one student to another. Workbooks are considered “consumable” — used up by only one student. Some students benefit from the “personal” aspect of workbooks, other students do not have strong feelings and can write gently with pencil (allowing the answers to be erased later for use by the next student) or will not mind writing their answers in a separate notebook (allowing the workbook to be used and reused and reused). Textbooks and (of course) all “real” books can be read and reread by as many students as you can produce.
Once your books have been passed through all your available students, you may be able to resell them to other homeschoolers. Beware: textbooks will eventually get replaced by newer editions, which can leave you stuck with an unsellable volume. When selling or purchasing used curriculum, it is important to keep all related materials together in the same edition. There is nothing more frustrating than finding a “bargain” on a used math text, only to find the answer key is no longer available for that edition (sadly, the voice of experience).
So far I have only addressed financial “costs,” but I realize that in the back of your mind you are already assessing other costs to your children and your family as a whole. Some of you (unfortunately) have already experienced the “social” cost of seeing your child’s attitude change from being a dedicated member of your family to becoming more attached to the government school teacher. To borrow a theme from currently popular advertising, “Box of pencils, $2. Textbook, $56. Getting respect from your child, PRICELESS!”
When our family began homeschooling, I read or heard somewhere that it takes approximately one month to “recover” for each year spent in government school, double that if the student also went to preschool. Recovery involves un-learning public school ways and re-learning a homeschooling mindset. It was a fairly accurate guideline for my children who had preschool-through-fifth grade and preschool-kindergarten in a public setting. (Their preschools were church-sponsored, but still are considered as meeting the government-school-model qualification.)
Another symptom of the social cost is the child who takes up with the “wrong” friends, adapting their values and habits. I probably do not need to go deeply into s*x, drugs, and attitudes to convince you that there is an extremely high cost associated with peer pressure.
[Unfortunately, some spelling had to be edited to eliminate unwanted search engine hits.]
Guilt-Free Homeschooling is the creation of Carolyn Morrison and her daughter, Jennifer Leonhard. After serious disappointments with public school, Carolyn spent the next 11 years homeschooling her two children, from elementary to high school graduation and college admission. Refusing to force new homeschooling families to re-invent the wheel, Carolyn and Jennifer now share their encouragement, support, tips, and tricks, filling their blog with "all the answers we were looking for as a new-to-homeschooling family" and making this website a valuable resource for parents, not just a daily journal. Guilt-Free Homeschooling -- Equipping Parents for Homeschooling Success!
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