"Should I, Shall I, Can I, Will I?" Part Two - Page 2
© Joan Archer
Homeschooled kids do not "go home" on the weekends, and frankly, sometimes the sight of them may make you sick. (Believe me, they will occasionally feel the same about you!) You have to really like being with your kids and be committed to them to want to educate them at home. Some well-intentioned, committed parents are surprised and discouraged when they get into homeschool and find themselves with a case of teacher burnout. Be assured, it happens, but it is curable. Formal school teachers get this, too. Prepare yourself to face negatives when they occur, and try to turn them into positive lessons for all concerned. It is important to not just quit! If your children learn nothing else on a particularly bad day, let it be the lesson of Perserverence in the face of Adversity. I consider this one of the most important lessons life can help us learn. It helps children to become resilient in their being.
On the upside, homeschool parents have that same intimacy as a distinct advantage. Formal school teachers are legally and situationally limited in their contact with their students. They cannot hug them for a job well done. They cannot start a conversation with their children in the morning, and continue it later at bedtime. (When all the really juicy conversation takes place!) They are really unable to transmit their personal values to children, for fear of being misinterpreted and/or castigated for their views. It is in this way both teacher and student miss out on some important things. The average student cannot spend a whole day ruminating on an idea, and then relate their thoughts back to their teacher. Of course, they could, but in the oh-so-busy world of the child, many of the things they were thinking before bedtime dissolve while they are asleep. In some ways, this seems like half of an education, where children are fed information and before they can get that portion digested, they are fed more. For some children, such as my son Isaac, this was too much too soon. He is very bright, but he likes to cogitate on nearly everything presented to him as knowledge. Formal school for him was both too swift and too shallow. Frustration became apathy, and he failed seventh grade as well as part of eighth before we finally removed him from formal school and began homeschool. Now he has all the time in the world to think what he wants to think, and he has once again become interested in the path he walks in this world. Learning to take personal responsibility for himself and his own education is another positive many other homeschool children get to realize!
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Joan Archer's Homeschool topic, please visit the Discussions page.