Educating Today

Do your children act bored and they spend a lot of their school time pouting?

Where do they do their schoolwork — at a messy kitchen table or do you have a contrived schoolroom with desks in the basement?

Do you gorge them on workbooks and textbooks that will choke off almost all freedom to think?

Do you get upset if they ever interrupt the tedium with a creative question?

Are you suspicious or irritated if they want to pursue an idea of their own?

When they share their creative ideas with you, do you suspect that they are pulling a trick on you to get away from their books?

Do you feel like you have to keep your children in academic, behavioral and social straitjackets?

Do you feel like you sacrifice your time to home school your children?

Do you stay up at night into the wee hours of the morning to make sure everything is organized correctly so you can educate your children the next day?

Do you insist that they master all the text book facts so that they will be able to sail through the SAT tests?

Is every day a battle to get your kids out of bed and do they grudgingly start their schoolwork?

By being extremely structured in your homeschool, you may be blocking the creative thoughts and activities that your children have buried down inside of them.

By continuing to follow this pattern, you are developing followers, not leaders; you have almost totally blocked entrepreneurship and they certainly don’t have any time to serve their community.

Every once in awhile, we need to re-evaluate why we homeschool and decide if we’re still on track or do we need to make some changes.

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”  –Mark Twain

Your kindhearted, sensitive attention to your children and the methods and materials you choose for homeschooling, make a significant difference in your home schooling results.

Be cautious of methods used in home education which echo the same bad routines which have proven to be ineffective in the stereotypical classroom, such as the academic stress to read early, using too many workbooks and textbooks, using programs that require a lot of close work with videos and computers — especially during the first ten to twelve years, the lack of adult encouragement and an imbalance between work and service.

Homeschool Burnout

When any of the above methods are used in excess, you and your children will experience “homeschool burnout.” When that happens, and it probably will, step back and take a look at your methods and your attitude.

Remember, there is far more burnout among your children’s “regular school” friends than there is in home schools. Burn out shows up in the school dropout rate, but it is also apparent in the “I don’t want to go to school” attitude of most children. What happened to their joy of learning?

The record is quite clear that the child who is given adult attention and support, and is given the freedom to explore, will be the one who will significantly excel. Pay attention to the word “freedom.” Children value it too.

One of the many advantages of homeschooling is that our children  can have the time and the encouragement to freely develop their own personal interests without feeling the pressure to conform to a tight schedule and someone else’s expectations.

Author Helen E. Buckley wrote a story that explains the importance of letting your child become their own person. When I read this poem, it made me teary-eyed because I could feel the little boy’s fire being snuffed out.

“The Little Boy”

Once a little boy went to school. He was quite a little boy and it was quite a big school. But when the little boy found that he could go to his room by walking right in from the door outside, he was happy and the school did not seem quite so big anymore.

One morning when the little boy had been in school awhile, the teacher said, “Today we are going to make a picture.”

“Good,” thought the little boy. He liked to make all kinds: lions and tigers, chickens and cows, trains and boats; and he took out his box of crayons and began to draw.

But the teacher said, “Wait! It’s not time to begin.” And she waited until everyone looked ready. “Now,” said the teacher, “we are going to make flowers.”

“Good,” thought the little boy. He liked to make beautiful ones with his pink and orange and blue crayons.

But the teacher said, “Wait and I will show you how.” And it was red with a green stem. “There,” said the teacher, “now you may begin.” The little boy looked at his teacher’s flower; then he looked at his own flower. He liked his flower better than the teacher’s, but he did not say this. He just turned his paper over, and made a flower like the teacher’s. It was red with a green stem.

On another day, when the little boy had opened when the little boy had opened the door from the outside all by himself, the teacher said, “Today, we’re going to make something with clay.”

“Good,” thought the little boy. He liked clay. He could make all kinds of things with clay: snakes and snowmen, elephants and mice, cars and trucks, and he began to pull and pinch his ball of clay.

But the teacher said, “Wait! And I will show you how.” And she waited until everyone looked ready. “Now,” said the teacher, “we are going to make a dish.”

“Good,” thought the little boy. He liked to make dishes. And he began to make some that were all shapes and sizes.

But the teacher said, “Wait! And I will show you how.” And she showed everyone how to make one deep dish. “There,” said the teacher, “now, you may begin.” The little boy looked at the teacher’s dish; then he looked at his own. He liked his better than the teacher’s, but he did not say this. He just rolled his clay into a big ball again, and made a dish like the teacher’s. It was a deep dish.

And pretty soon, the little boy learned to wait, and to watch, and to make things just like the teacher. And pretty soon, he didn’t make things on his own anymore.

Then it happened that the little boy and his family moved to another house, in another city, and the little boy had to go to another school. This school was even bigger than the other one. And there was no door from the outside into his room. He had to go up some big steps and walk down a long hall to get to his room.

And the very first day he was there, the teacher said, “Today, we’re going to make a picture.”

“Good,” thought the little boy. And he waited for the teacher to tell what to do. But the teacher didn’t say anything. She just walked around the room.

When she came to the little boy, she asked, “Don’t you want to make a picture?”

“Yes,” said the little boy, “what are we going to make?”

“I don’t know until you make it,” said the teacher.

“How shall I make it?” asked the little boy.

“Why, any way you like,” said the teacher.

“And any color?” asked the little boy.

“Any color,” said the teacher. “If everyone made the same picture, and used the same colors, how would I know who made what, and which was which?”

“I don’t know,” said the little boy. And he began to make a red flower, with a green stem.

–Helen E. Buckley, Author of “Grandfather and I”, “Grandmother and I” and “Where Did Josie Go?”, lives in Bradenton, Florida and Pulaski, New York.

Carolyn Caines, supervisor of Columbia Heights Christian Academy in Longview, Washington, writes about learning from a Biblical perspective. I think she has some wise things to say about true education.

If I learn my ABCs, can read 600 words per minute and can write with perfect penmanship, but have not been shown how to communicate with the Designer of all language, I have not been educated.

If I can deliver an eloquent speech and persuade you with my stunning logic, but have not been instructed in God’s wisdom, I have not been educated.

If I have read Shakespeare and John Locke and can discuss their writings with keen insight, but have not read the greatest of all books-the Bible-and have no knowledge of its personal importance, I have not been educated.

If I have memorized addition facts, multiplication tables and chemical formulas, but have never been disciplined to hide God’s word in my heart, I have not been educated.

If I can explain the law of gravity and Einstein’s theory of relativity, but have never been instructed in the unchangeable laws of the One  who orders our universe, I have not been educated.

If I can classify animals by their family, genus and species, and can write a lengthy scientific paper that wins an award, but have not been introduced to the to the Maker’s purpose for all creation, I have not been educated.

If I can recite the Gettysburg Address and the Preamble to the Constitution, but have not been informed of the hand of God in the history of our country, I am not educated.

If I can play the piano, the violin, six other instruments and can write music than move men to tears, but have not been taught to listen to the Director of the universe and worship Him, I am not educated.

If I can run cross-country races, star in basketball and do 100 push-ups without stopping, but have never been shown how to bend my spirit to do God’s will, I have not been educated.

If I can identify a Picasso, describe the style of a da Vinci and even paint a portrait that earns an A+, but have not learned that all harmony and beauty comes from a relationship with God, I have not been educated.

If I graduate with a perfect 4.0 and am accepted at the best university with a full scholarship, but have not been guided into a career of God’s choosing for me, I have not been educated.

If I become a good citizen, voting at each election and fighting for what is moral and right, but have not been told of the sinfulness of man and his hopelessness without Christ, I have not been educated.

However, if one day I see the world as God sees it, and come to know Him, Whom to know is life eternal, and glorify God by fulfilling His purpose for me, then, I have been educated.

“A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.” – Thomas Carruthers

That should be one of our main objectives. As parents and home educators, our goal should be to work our way out of a job. We’ll always be Mom and Dad, advisers, confidants and hopefully friends, to our grown children, but the time of day to day parenting will come to an end, as it should.

When you’re a parent of a little one, you sometimes wonder if these days will ever end-the unending questions, the arguing, the constant need of attention. As a parent of grown children and a “veteran” homeschooling mom, I can tell you those days do end–and you wonder “How did that happen? Where did the time go? There’s so many things I wish we had done. There’s so much more about life I wanted to teach them.” If you’ve done your job, those days of relying on you do end. That’s what is supposed to happen. Really!!

What a joy to step back and realize you have raised healthy, strong, compassionate and caring adults who are a joy to be around and stand up for what they believe! What else could you ask for?