I don't get it.
When you leave something because you are unhappy with it, you are looking for something that makes sense, something that works for you, something that makes you happy-whatever the reason you left, you are clearly looking for a change. You find that change, you like this new way....then you start to make subtle changes that is going to make the new thing like the thing you just left.
I don't get it.
If you liked the old that well, then stay there.
You leave your home country because the new government system has turned it to a mud hole (to say it nicely)... You go to a new country and expect to get handouts, expect a free ride. Guess what? Nothing is free. Not even freedom.
You leave a church because you don't like the direction the church going-whichever direction, if not all, that may be... Then you find a new church and either complain because it's not like the old one, or try to change everything to make it like the old one.
My current personal favorite....
You leave the public school system...
Look, we get it. The public school system is broken. It's flailing and failing. It's going so far into left field you've lost the ball.
But do everyone who values homeschooling a favor. We homeschool for the flexibility it gives us for our kids and we don't want to make it look like a public school. Actual schooling takes 3-4 hours TOPS.. And that depends on the level and how focused the kids are.
You know you know how a child learns? How much they TALK about it. Take a kid to the zoo and they find a favorite animal then talk about it for months on end.
You don't need somebody else's translation of what happened. Find an autobiography. Gutenberg press has many of them-for free, Kindle versions, Nook versions, PDF versions you can print.
Yes, I understand there are state requirements for tests because they are worried more about homeschoolers falling through the cracks than public schooled kids. But you don't need tests to know they learned.
I passed most of my tests in public school (except chemistry.... seriously.. why did I even need chemistry? So I knew how to set the school lab on fire?....).. You know what I remember? Spanish... well, watching The Fast and Furious movies in Spanish Class... American History and Science Fiction Literature Class.. Because those were the only teachers who cared about their students to make sure they understood the lessons. 3 classes-out of 4 years. 3 classes. Do I remember all the intricate details about how to speak the Spanish language? Nope... But I do remember the inappropriate words in the Fast and Furious Movies (here's a life tip-be careful of the music work crews you hire are listening to... especially if you are living in a parsonage).
You don't need endless worksheets to drill it into your child. Most textbooks have the repetition worked in.
YOU DON'T NEED A TEST TO KNOW YOUR CHILD LEARNED!
Simple can be-and is-quite effective.
It's even better than complicated.
I don't need endless hours of worksheets for busy work.
I certainly don't need "oh I was a public school teacher so my way is best".
But it's so easy to get an email-"Homeschool Summit!!! Are you doing enough?!?!" and think-oh I'm not doing enough, I need to join-after all it's FREE-and learn what I'm not doing so I can put more on my plate and be more overwhelmed with all the extras that aren't needed.
It's so easy to justify.. Well, the public school system has entire days of movie days, entire days of checking in and checking out books... Field Trips.. Shoot, in Kindergarten to fifth grade they take a walk around town, spend half the day and call it a school day.. It's so easy to set the bar so low to equate yourself to public school......
Teaching cursive, phonics and memorizing the math facts will already put you fields ahead of many in the public school system. Throw in the Bible, apologetics and REAL history.
Tell me, WHAT was the Civil War about? WHY did we actually fight for freedom in the Revolutionary War? WHY did the founders come so willingly to a country they probably thought they would die in very quickly? Why were we once known as the Promised Land to so many immigrants?
Kids used to learn to read with McGuffey's. Have you ever looked at the first few pages of McGuffey's primer? It's got the upper case letters and the lower case letters. That's it. The end. That was reading and copy work all in one.
Kids used to learn maths by copying fact tables until they could say them without looking. That's it. Once they knew fact tables, all four functions up to 20, they sometimes moved on, more often than not they were done... Because that's ALL THEY NEEDED TO KNOW for most of the jobs.
Anyone who needed more went on to university.
Kids read the Bible once they could read. History, math, science, character training all in one text.
You want more complicated math-convert a recipe, then make it.
If your child can read and understand Shakespeare, they can read and understand the Bible.
Do you want to know my theory on why nobody reads blogs anymore? Everyone wants Vlogs? Because from my generation down, reading comprehension has gone out the window.
I can't tell you how many times I was told IN HIGH SCHOOL "oh you can't understand that, then you get put in the SPED class for English."
I was told once to pick a book to read to write a report on. Preferably a classic-but she wasn't picky as long as it wasn't romance. I picked a book by Nathaniel Hawthorne off our shelves.. Now I'd already read and understood this book at least twice. I took it in to be approved and quickly laughed at and told I was too stupid to understand the Old English in it. Do you know what happens when you tell a child or a teenager they are stupid? They start to believe it. You know what happens when they hear it enough? They DO believe it. Do you know the ONE THING I remember from my AP English courses in high school? That I was told repeatedly I was too stupid.
The biggest takeaway I had from public school? I was too stupid. The teachers didn't care because my family didn't have money. The teachers didn't care because I wasn't a cheerleader or an athlete. I didn't have the best voice-because there was kids who were being trained in opera so of course they had to get the solos, no one else need not try because no one else was good enough.
PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN
At all costs, know what is going into their heads. No human loves your children as you, their parent. No matter how much they care, you are the parent.
Now, off my soap box...
I was always worried about teaching English, because I know (or think....) I am not strong in English.
English, they will learn by reading language-rich books. Don't know a word? GREAT! Here's a dictionary.
I am now more scared that they are not learning true history.
Because now, even the best homeschool curriculums have changed history...
and that-should terrify anyone who knows the real reason why wars were fought.
~Tabitha
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