It’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? It at least feels that way. So much seems to hang in the balance of our children’s education. The anxieties and doubts this question raises are enough to make you say no before you give it an honest thought. How do you answer this question? How do you make any decisions about your children’s education?
Matt and I have a vision for our kid’s education. We know what we want them to gain, pursue, study, and the end result of those studies. It sounds too simple, but it’s our guide post as we ask the hard questions.
We want our kids to want to learn. We want our kids to pursue their interests- piano, soccer, horses, astronomy, art- if they love it or show a talent for it, we want to nurture that. We want our kids to know history and apply it to today. We want them to experience other cultures and read a map. We don’t want our kids to hate math. We want our kids to know how to think. We want them to be independent, critical thinkers.
If I had to summarize it, I’d say our goal is for our kids to enjoy learning, to pursue their interests, and to know how to think critically.
Can’t this be achieved in public schools? Yes. To some degree. But not to the degree that we are aiming for. The general attitude towards learning in public schools is unfavorable. Most kids dread going to school. The ones who are excited for class (not for seeing their friends) are “weird.” The pressure on teachers to create “bigger, better, newer” lesson plans that will excite and captivate students is unimaginable. Have you ever tried to get a seventh grader eager to learn about prepositional phrases and adjective clauses? No amount of engaging material will alleviate the moaning and groaning. At some point, it is necessary to learn things that are not “interesting” or “exciting,” but I don’t believe those are worthy of moans and groans. Buckle down, learn the concept and gain a new appreciation for your native tongue. The general attitude of “Can we have a free day?” that is prevalent in public schools is something I want to keep my children away from. I want them to approach their lessons with a “What new thing can I discover today?” attitude, rather than a “Are we done yet? Will this be on the test?” attitude.
I also believe that we can avoid the “learning because I have to” attitude by tailoring the material. I can teach prepositional phrases from any content. My son likes firetrucks right now. Great! We’ll read your favorite book and identify all of the prepositions. When we’re done, you can write a story about firetrucks and use at least one prepositional phrase on each page. By tailoring it to his interests, the boring prepositional lesson just became interesting. Any teacher will tell you that a child’s attitude towards learning is half the battle.
My daughter gets grumpy and frustrated very easily. If the lesson moves too fast, she shuts down. When we had her in public school, she kept these emotions inside, then unleashed a fit of fury when she came home. She often couldn’t tell us about her day because her memory was clouded with the negative emotions. At age 5, she struggled to speak up and ask for help. That has been less of an issue since homeschooling. Obviously I know my child best. I can tell when she is overwhelmed. I can make her laugh, and we’re ready to go again. Or I can slow down, and break the concept up even more for her. By catching the learning difficulties as they happen, it saves us all a lot of time and frustration.
When we made the decision to homeschool for the 2020-2021 school year, I asked my daughters what they wanted to learn. They each gave me their top three interests. I created a Google Doc for these, then added to it. I began to create units centered around their chosen topics. It has been so much fun! The kids are engaged, learning about a topic of interest to them, and I’m enjoying planning the units and teaching my kids. Because my girls are only 18 months apart in age, I decided unit studies would be best for us. I’m able to scaffold and adjust the assignments as needed for each child, but it is significantly less work than if I had followed state standards for each grade. My three year old even jumps in on the fun! I’m enjoying learning at our pace, together.
It’s a challenge for me to let go of the teacher in me that had assessments, benchmarks, and data driven goals and performances to analyze. Sometimes, I miss the clear expectation of having taught x by x date. However, the freedom I have found is rewarding. My girls are learning every day, and I have seen them bring the skills and ideas we have talked about into parts of their day outside of the school room. Sometimes, their imaginary play becomes more realistic. “I’m a green anaconda….I’m going to get you!” “No M! I’m a scarlet macaw in a tree, and green anacondas can’t climb trees because they are too big.” Other times, my daughter helps me in the kitchen and claims that my measuring cups show a fraction. Or she looks at the night sky and wonders about the moon and how bright it is…only to realize on her own that it reflects the sun’s light (My girls are 6 and 7, for context). We’ve come a long way in the few months that we’ve started this journey. I know we have a long way left to go. I need to remind myself of the little victories. When I see them applying academic concepts outside of school, I know we are on the right track to fostering a love of learning, pursuing their interests, and cultivating their critical thinking.
What are your educational goals for your child? How will you pursue those goals? Use my free goal planner to get started! Download it here.