An Education Tale
There once was a family
that sent their children off to school. Mom worried that they run
into bullies. Dad worried that the school wouldn't teach them all
they needed to know. But the state said they were fine and picked
them up in a big yellow bus. Time went by and every day there was
more homework, every week there was another fundraiser and every year
the children grew more and more detached from their family and more
and more just like the other kids at school; bored, restless, and
angry. No learning was happening here.
One day the Mom saw another
Mom at the grocery store with three school age children in tow. “Day
off from school?” she asked. Why no! In fact, they were “at
school”. These children were homeschooled and Mom was teaching the
basics of math, nutrition, and thrift while doing her weekly
shopping. “Homeschool? I never thought of that.” she thought as
she talked with the children and questioned this Mom.
Mom and Dad talked it over.
Both researched that night. Was it legal? Will they be smart? What
about socialization? With questions still swirling they called a
homeschool organization and got all the details. “Pull your
children out now!” they said. “No need to wait. Start your own
private school and take some time off. Find out what you like and how
your children tick, then choose your style to make it stick.” So
the next day they did. Alarms didn't go off. They all stayed in bed
and took the day off. The kids were excited, “No school!” they
exclaimed. They took more time off. Mom continued her chores, the
children played games, Dad went to work. But the children grew bored
and restless. They missed their school friends. Dad worried they
weren't getting any education at all. Mom grew frustrated with the
lack of help around the house.
To change the scenery one
day they went to the park. They stumbled upon a small group of
children playing with their parents nearby. “Day off from school?”
asked the Mom. “No! We homeschool and this is our recess!” Mom
talked to them all afternoon and gathered advice about wht they do to
ease boredom and keep the kids in line. “Go online and buy
curriculum. Your kids need structure and lessons to keep them busy.”
said one Mom. “Take karate and dance!” said another. “Join our
co-op to learn Shakespeare.” said another. And Mom followed ALL
their advice.
Soon their days were so full there was no time for boredom, no time for games, or even family dinner. Brokeand exhausted from all the running, the family finally made time to return to the park for some fun. Mom told the homeschoolers about her troubles and they felt her pain. Several new families were attending now and spread the news of the relief they had found. “Join a public charter school.” they said. “All the fun of homeschooling but free resources and classes.” Mom joined up right away. What could go wrong? In exchange for the money she was told her children must complete a set number of hours at the computer, take annual tests, and meet with a “teacher”once a week. “Ok.” she thought, “That seems fair.”
But weeks later she realized how much had changed. The children were chained to their computers and text books. The famiy was no longer in control of the lessons or their timing. No breaks were allowed. The children must pass the tests. The kids were grumbling, “This is worse than school. All of the work with out the friends and recess!” Mom couldn't watch. Her kids were miserable and Dad was annoyed because nothing had changed.
Back to school they went,
books in hand. Mom was sad. She felt she had failed. “They were
right. It does take a teacher and school to handle the children.”,
she thought. Dad was sad too. He worried if he were doing the right
thing. The fledglings must leave the nest, but so young? “Toughen
them up for the real world” he'd heard. “But school sure doesn't
look like the real world to me.”
The moral of the story is
that homeschooling can be great, but it takes time and patience, a
lot of research, trust, and love. So many of us switch from one
philosophy or system to another without giving one enough time to
show results. Rome wasn't build in a day and education doesn't get
“done” ever!
