Those following my blog may think I am home schooling my children. I’m going to steal a line from the Pritchard’s book, “Going Public.” “Yes, I’m home schooling my children, and when they turn five, I’ll start sending them to public school for more information.” Whether you have chosen to teach your children at home or send them to private or public education, I would highly recommend this book. It teaches parents how to be the one primarily responsible for the education of their children. I just went to kindergarten orientation with my oldest. They talked about a math curriculum that is highly manipulative based and low on paper and pencil work. I think there are great things to be learned from manipulative based math programs, but I disagree with it when it is out of balance from the needed paper and pencil work. I think it’s great if I child knows that when faced with the problem 7×7 you could add 7+7+7+7+7+7+7. I think it’s great if they know that if they combined 7×5 and 7×2, they could discover the answer. I love that they could create a grid or a table to come up with the answer. However, I believe they need to know and have memorized that 7×7 is 49. There may be time and opportunity for my input in the system and involvement in some of the decisions for the school, but I’m not going to just get mad because my kids aren’t learning it. I will supplement. I will teach them their math facts if they aren’t getting it in school. I can teach them the truths behind the foundations of our country and the history of our constitution. I will read to them at home and teach as I can. When I don’t feel like I have the skills or knowledge necessary, I will model what it’s like to be a lifelong learner and try and seek it out. Yes, it means more work for me. However, I don’t want to leave someone else solely responsible for my child’s education. Furthermore, I don’t want to drop them off at church once or twice a week and make it the church’s responsibility for the development of my child’s faith. I want to take responsibility for my child’s education no matter what model of formal education I am pursuing at the time. The cartoon above is so reflective of our society. Yes, I do believe there is a time to be your child’s advocate and work to better the system. However, I often feel the best way to be their advocate is to engage in constant teaching of your child and dialogue with them about what they are learning in whatever environments they encounter. Real life scenarios, handled well by parents, can be such amazing teaching opportunities. As for the formal education of our child, we’re taking it year by year and feel like we’re making the right decision for us for now. Others may be convicted another way, which is great. As long as you can take responsibility as being the #1 educator of your child.
Love your thoughts, as usual. And I, too, love that line from the book.
Do you think it could be detrimental to “over prepare” your children for school? That thought will never stop me from working with my children at home, but it’s a question I’ve asked myself.
You know, it’s definitely crossed my mind. I don’t want them to go to school and be bored. I don’t want to set her apart in a bad way from her peers. I don’t know that I have the answer yet. I know that I don’t want to push them in ways that aren’t fun for them (at this age) because they are still just kids, and I want them to enjoy childhood, not rush to grow up and just play. That is why I try and incorporate games with the learning. I have Abby read to me, and when she’s uninterested, I just don’t push it. I’ll read the rest of the book. I have a little workbook she does, but if she’s not into it we don’t do it. It was fun to see her face light up when she grabbed a kid magazine the other day and read an unfamiliar sentence with words like “really” and “super” without hesitation. She was so excited to be able to read it. As long as learning evokes that smile, I would hope I wasn’t doing her harm. It’s a really good question, and I’d love to know your thoughts too.
I agree with what you said. I try to plan fun game-like learning activities but if my 4 year old isn’t interested, I don’t push it at all. I don’t want it to be seen as a chore. I also want our “games” to be something fun that’s our thing together, so we can continue doing them when he’s in school and hopefully he’ll look forward to it.
I worry greatly about boredom in school, though. I can foresee trouble-making through the boredom but as a teacher myself I hope that my colleagues will be able to differentiate his learning….
As a former elementary school teacher, I love these thoughts that you shared today! I always tried my best to give indiviualized attention to my students, but there was only so much time in the day. I wish more parents would take the time to supplement their child’s education as well. I plan to homechool my little one when he is older and even though I will be the primary educator for my child, I will look to my husband and other educational programs to help add to his learning experience!
Thank you so much for commenting. I was a teacher too, so I know exactly how you feel. I appreciate your thoughtful comments. So many of my friends are homeschooling, and I know it can be a great choice. I’m glad you have the support around you to really make it an amazing experience.
I could not agree more with everything you said. My oldest is in kindergarten and my second oldest will be starting school this year. I really wanted to homeschool them but my husband and I didn’t see eye to eye on it (since he used to teach in the public school he has a different perspective I guess). Anyway, I just recently reached the same conclusion… I would send them to public school but still homeschool them. I already have some materials picked out for over the summer. I agree about not expecting the church to be responsible for developing your child’s faith. I try to take advantages of situations that arises daily and turn them in biblical lessons. Thanks for posting!!
I really enjoy your blog.
I really appreciate your thoughtful response. I am so glad you’re ready to take charge of child’s education. By the look of all you’re doing, I can tell your kids are thriving. Great job!
I like this blog. Too often, I hear how terrible and un-Christian the public school system is. How our children are going to struggle in the public school system because of the way it is. This is difficult for me for a few reasons. First of all, if it were not for my Christian friends in high school, I would most likely be a very lost person today. I met them and they turned my sinful life around by introducing me to Jesus. Secondly, I am a school teacher and I know just how hard my colleagues and I work to help our students be successful at all stages of development. As teachers, we have little to no input about choosing curriculum or discipline techniques. Most of it is decided by the administration, the school board, and the government. Very little is teacher directed decision making. I hope that as your children grow in the school system, you play an active part in what learning occurs in the classroom and how it occurs. Finally, my husband was homeschooled and when he finally went to high school, he was severly behind academically because his mom didn’t actually teach him. Too often, students come to school in third or fourth grade who were never taught what they needed to know through a “homeschool” program. I know there are many parents like you who are very active and that is great! But there are also too many who are just too lazy to even send their kids to school.
Thank you for another thought provoking blog!
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I know so many amazing teachers that are working so hard with the students’ best in mind. It’s such a hard job – with the politics as well as the parents involvement or lack there of. There are parents doing amazing jobs out there who are sending their kids to public schools, private schools or homeschooling. I know that people are passionate about their beliefs about where children should be in school. I love the heart, but I believe you’re going to find successful kids (socially, spiritually, and academically) in all three places…willing to walk along side this learning process as the parent is key. Thanks again for all of your thoughts.