Tuesday, February 15, 2011 |

Another step towards Hippiedom





Do you ever find that at some points in your life, you find yourself swearing that you will never do or become a certain thing?  And then, how-much-ever-time-passes, and you find yourself considering that very thing?  


Mmm hmmm.  One slice of humble pie, thank you very much.


Well, one of those things for me is homeschooling.   (For the record, I've never thought there is anything wrong with homeschooling, I just was very adamant that it was not a route that I would ever choose.)


My consideration of homeschooling as a viable option for myself and my children (mostly myself) was as preposterous a notion to me, even up until a year ago - heck, 6 months ago - as wearing tapered jeans again.  Oops.   


And now?  What do I even say?  I love the idea.  I'm not sure it's the road we will choose, but I'm liking what I'm seeing.  And it may only be for a time (the homeschooling, not the liking - I think the liking will stick).


As a University of Alberta alumnus, I receive a quarterly publication put out by the Arts Student Alumni Association.  It usually consists of a series of sub-par articles touching on topics that I have very little no interest in.  But this last issue contained an article written by a homeschooling mom.  And the thing that really stuck out to me?  The idea that education should serve the purpose of fuelling the natural desires and interests in our children.  That education should be based upon that, even.  Wow.  My education looked nothing like that.  And neither did the author's, which caused her to drop out of high school at 16 years old.  She still does not have a high school diploma; she does, however, have a PhD.



I'd really recommend checking out the article, even if homeschooling isn't for you.  IT's pretty interesting.  One of the sections that really hit me was the one about reading.  Here's a couple of quotes:


"By the time children are 13... you can't tell the difference between a child who first read at age 4 and one who started to read at age 10.  So what's the big hurry?  More importantly, how many children unnecessarily suffer and are made to feel inadequate if they're not on the proper learning curve?"


"...I have learned over the years just how powerful a child's own will to learn can be, and that lesson has also given me a sobering insight into what little faith we actually have as a society in our children's creative and intellectual capabilities."


Wow.


So that's that.  I'm still not sure if this is what we will choose.  And though my first baby boy turned THREE on the weekend (!), we still have a little bit of time to pray and decide.  But homeschooling does intrigue me quite a bit.  We'll see.


What are some of the things you swore you'd never do, but now here you are?!


(And just as a side note, my friend Robyn is letting her readers vote on her blog topics every month.  My option, "Photos and Stories for Each Year of Your Life" is in second place, and I really want to win.  So head on over and put a vote in!)

9 comments:

arbyn said...

Oooh I was wondering who suggested that! Cool Sarah :)

And very interesting comments about education, it's a thinker that's for sure...

Avey said...

Hmmmm...
I've never, EVER considered home schooling.
I like the idea of kids being in a classroom and meeting tons of other kids. And I also wanted to go back to work when our kids were all in school.
BUT, those quotes also appealed to me.
I guess you never know where you're going to end up, hey?

Anonymous said...

THAT is the reason I want to teach.

I don't like kids not learning what interests them and at a speed that makes them feel bad about themselves. That is not what school should be like. I think that schools need to adapt to what the kids need.

Aimee said...

Those reasons are some of the ones that have lead us toward homeschooling too! Also, I have been voting faithfully for the photo and stories option on Robyn's blog! I think it would be really interesting.

Claire said...

Sarah - this made me smile. This was definitely one of those things I also thought I would never do. But the more I looked into it (and starting it now), the more I love what I see. I also don't know how far we'll go with it, but for now it feels like a great direction for us.

I remember a while back reading study in brown's books that the KIDS were choosing to read for the year, and her daughter's choices AMAZED ME!!! I was so impressed at the breadth and depth of topics she was interested in - and how cool that she had total freedom to pursue those topics.

Claire said...

p.s. Did you know Finland has been known to have one of the most successful school systems and they don't start school until they are 7 and they spend a TON of time playing and running around once they are in school.

Ruthy said...

hi
you won't have a clue who I am, but never mind, Sisters-in-Christ is enough. ( I found you through Gigi's blog; neither does she know me...another story).However, two things grabbed me from this blog posting - that you were not and now are considering homeschooling , and also that you dream about living in the country in community ( my husband and I have been dreaming that one for years..). We came from the UK 7.5 years ago. In the UK you just don't homeschool - it is almost unknown. Here, I thought people were wierd to even consider it. We have 4 blessings, 3 boys (13,8,4,) and our daughter (10)...and yes,you guessed it, we home-school. This is our 5th year and it gets better and better.......not that it is the easy option at all, but we tried school - our eldest had finished gr.3 when we brought him home to school...it is a whole life-style of difference, and teaches (me) patience, and the need to practice Prov 15 v.1 !! Bless you in your mothering of your boys and your discerning if God is calling you to this adventure :-)

Anonymous said...

Hey Sarah,
Well unlike most of the other commenters I worked with kids with special needs before I had my own. Sometimes this took me into the school system and it was then that homeschooling first crossed my mind. Once I had my first son, I really started thinking about it more and more. Now we all find so much joy in it (sometimes it is hard too of course) it is hard to actually imagaine the other - him being gone from 7:30-12:30 every day, and next year a lot more. He is smart, happy and has lots of friends ;) I like the blog simple homeschool and if you want some book recomendations, I could tell you a few of my favourites as well. But no rush, you have lots of time to decide :)

Sarah C said...

Cool - thanks for all of your input here! And I'm blessed to know there are so many of you who homeschool and LOVE IT.

And Ruthy - welcome, glad to have you. And you're right - Sisters in Christ is always enough. :)

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