Homeschooling As a Quiet Protest Against Public School

Some homeschoolers have very strong feelings against the public school system. Sometimes, I am one of them. But most of the time, I just think homeschooling rocks, whereas public school… well… doesn’t.

But am I protesting public school by my choice? Are you? Are we making a statement against something by not using it?

Is homeschooling simply a choice, or is it a refusal to participate in something that we’re “supposed” to do? This seems trite perhaps, but I wonder, is homeschooling any different than choosing Coke over Pepsi? Is drinking Coke a protest against Pepsi?

What if the government gave out free Pepsi? Would drinking Coke then be a protest against the government?

Homeschooling is only a protest against school if we’re expected to do it, if public school is the socially “right” choice, and if it’s the way people are “supposed” to learn. Is that what it is in our country? I thought that we lived in a country where choice, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness reigned? Is this not true?

So, if you think that I’m supposed to roll over and do whatever everyone else does because that’s what I’m “supposed” to do, then yes, I am protesting against public school. But I’m not making a big deal about it, because to me, public school is like Pepsi. And it should be like Pepsi. A choice. Just as I prefer Coke, other people prefer Pepsi. And that’s fine with me.

And that’s why to this guy, I’m protesting. While to me, I’m just making a choice.

Everything In Our Society Relates to Education

“Parent choice” proceeds from the belief that the purpose of education is to provide individual students with an education. In fact, educating the individual is but a means to the true end of education, which is to create a viable social order to which individuals contribute and by which they are sustained. “Family choice” is, therefore, basically selfish and anti-social in that it focuses on the “wants” of a single family rather than the “needs” of society. – Association of California School Administrators

All who have meditated in the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of the youth. – Aristotle

My husband has noted to me on several occasions that I have the ability to connect unrelated things to each other and find where they are parallel.

Perhaps he’s right. One thing he’s absolutely right about is that I see the connection to education in practically everything I read.

This is a sampling of the news today, and how I connect these stories to education:

New Classification of Spinal Deformity Defines Range of Normalcy: The article is mainly about how the science of spinal medicine has developed and resulted in a thorough catalog of the various ways the spine can be messed up. This is how our society works. We define normal by what is abnormal. The more we are able to pinpoint and identify abnormal states, the smaller and smaller the window of normal becomes. This is exactly what has happened in education and psychology (which often crossover, as any parent of a child with ADD or Autism can tell you). We laud, as a society, our ability to find more and more specific ways that we are messed up as individuals, and identify how to cure those problems. As a result, we are less and less tolerant of differences.

What the President Should be Reading: President-elect Obama has been caught many times with book in hand. In fact, the publishing industry is wondering if he’ll become the new Oprah when it comes to book sales. Well, at least in the political book market, since all of Obama’s books are either biographies of political leaders like Roosevelt or Lincoln, or books on national politics like, “The Post-American World.” The reason why this is so interesting to me is that people care what he’s reading. I cannot remember, ever, when our country cared what a president, let alone any other political icon, was reading.

I’m encouraged by this. Our president is reading to learn. He is the ultimate role model in life-long learning. I hope that many children see the attention this is getting, and see how even when a person has reached the pinnacle of success, there is still much to learn. Books are not the enemy, as we learn in school. Self-directed learning is what successful people do. I hope Obama gets caught with many more books in hand.

‘Brave New World’ Just Around the Corner: One of my all time favorite books is the Brave New World. I read it two years ago for the first time. I’m so glad I didn’t read it until I was an adult. I would not have “got” it as a kid. As an adult, involved in the education of my own children, and involved in national politics (on a personal level), I am in a place to truly appreciate what Aldus Huxley had to say. Although I don’t agree that we’re all that close to Brave New World Utopia status, that’s where we seem to WANT to go, as a society. Peace means predictability in our culture. We’re so afraid of change and challenge. Our children are being trained to be risk-less, satisfied with mediocrity, and afraid to do anything on their own. Thank God we have 1% of our population choosing homeschooling, and 2% of our population choosing private school to keep things stirred up a bit.

Pope Cautions Against Blurring Lines of Religious Differences: How can religion have anything to do with education, you ask? I’ll tell you. One of the main problems with public school, and most group schools in general, is the blurring of the line of individuals. Now, I’m somewhat moderate when it comes to individualism. I believe that every person is an individual, with individual needs and abilities. While I also believe that we are all connected, and what we do as an individual affects everyone in our world. School pushes too far to the extreme, which is – blur the lines on what you believe.

I used to think that it was important to keep kids as a blank slate until they get old enough to have their own mind. And I used to get annoyed by how misled I was a child about the “Truth” of our world. But now that I’ve had some experience talking to teens who are amorphous in their beliefs, I’ve come to see that most kids don’t want to come up with their own belief systems. They want to hang on to what they are taught.

Now, I wonder, is this something we’re fostering in our schools? Is it the way our educational system works that keeps kids wanting to follow whatever is told of them, or is it part of the maturation cycle? Do kids who blindly believe what their parents or teachers believe do it by choice, and by personal preference? Or is this a coping mechanism of the developing mind – it’s easier to go with what is being taught to me than to struggle with the big questions.

I don’t have teens, but this intrigues me. Does it really matter if kids are led to believe what they are taught is “true”, if the doubting and self-discovery phase doesn’t really happen until the late teens or early twenties anyway? Or does this phase happen at this age simply because we’ve nurtured that delay of development in our children by holding off real inquiry until they are “adults”? Those with teens, what do you think?

4th Body Found When F-18 Hit San Diego Residential Area: My immediate thought was – what if this hit a school? Perhaps it’s better to keep the kids scattered. Ok, so that’s a little over the top, and quite disrespectful. But hey, anything and everything can be linked to education, and that’s what happened to me when I became a homeschooler – my brain turned into an education radar.

Worldschooling, Not Unschooling

As many of you know, I struggle with the unschooling label. Generally, I don’t consider myself an “unschooler’. Or rather, I wear the label very loosely. I prefer the term “zenschooling,” since it is more in line with how I process the concept of education, and how we practice it as a family.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover another term that resonates with us – “worldschooling.”

Eli Gerzon came up with “worldschooling” as an alternative to unschooling. This is a brief description of what it is, from his website:

Gerzon defines it by saying, “It’s when the whole world is your school, instead school being your whole world.” Eli Gerzon has “unschooled through college” mainly by learning from his international travels but the term does not require you to travel the world, just as unschooling doesn’t forbid making use of school resources. Instead, it’s when one actively experiences and learns from the world around one: the home, family, friends, strangers of all backgrounds, libraries, parks, sports, forests, schools, towns, and of course the world and the world wide web. It also emphasizes that there is always more to learn from this wonderful, complex world regardless of whether one has a high school degree, is a doctor, or is solely self-educated.

What I like about the term “worldschooling” is that, at this time, there is no baggage. It’s inviting, welcoming, and inclusive. It’s not reserved for kids who are school age, it’s not a teaching method, and it’s open-ended. Like unschooling, it’s a way to perceive the world, people, and learning. And it’s a term that won’t scare people. In fact, I think most people who care about “real” education would all agree that this approach is appropriate for our new global community.

The Library Isn’t Just for Books

As you know, homeschoolers love libraries. I have yet to meet a homeschooler that says, “eh, libraries, take them or leave them.” At the library, there is no gatekeeper between the learner and knowledge. At the library, it’s not just about books. There are also movies, magazines, computers, and more. And it’s (almost) all free!

There are at least 27 free things you can get at the library. Does your local library have other free services (or almost free) that you would recommend to others?

Making Summer Vacation Illegal

Summer has a great post about making summer vacation illegal so that parents won’t abuse their kids. (funny)

Spunky has a great post about making school mandatory for all kids starting at age 1, so their parents, basically, won’t abuse them. (sad)

Summer Reading Programs

Summer is here, and it’s time for reading programs! One of my fellow homeschoolers was gracious enough to let me pass along a list that she compiled. Do you have anything you’d like to add to the list?

—Check your city and county libraries. In California, they are sponsored, and have some great rewards (Riverside City is roller skating, March Air Museum, Ruby’s Diner, Applebee’s and Castle Park, etc.)

—Barnes and Noble: Grades 1-6. Read 8 books and get a free book.

—National Amusements: Read a book, get a free movie. Locations are scattered throughout the US.

—Half Price Books: Kids under 10 can earn a $3 shopping card. Can be done multiple times. Locations throughout the US.

—Scholastic: Read 5 books, record it, and Scholastic will donate a book to a child in need.

—Book It!: Read 5 books and get a chance to win a Nintendo DS and other prizes.

—Book Adventure: Read books, take quizzes, gain points, spend points on prizes.

—Autism Asperger Publishing Company: Read books and earn a gift certificate for the AAPC store.

—Commerce Bank: Read books and get a $10 deposit in your bank account. Commerce Bank has locations on the east coast.

Is the Internet Making Our Kids Stupid?

It’s no secret that I love the internet. It makes today’s homeschooling so accessible, and it has created a whole different way to think about learning and information.

Yet, there is some question as to how this information is being distributed, and that it might be making us stupid.

The argument is that the nature of the internet gives us lots of information but not very deep information. It creates the facade that we know a lot, when in fact, we only are skimming the surface. “Deep dives” are discouraged by the mere fact that we lose interest in after reading the few paragraphs that will fit in the space of a screen.

The article also makes the point that content on the internet is not questioned as it should be, and is taken as equally valid, no matter what the source.

This argument has been made before about wikipedia and other user-created content. And, this argument has been made about TV.

Compared to other sources of media, is the internet making us stupid?

It seems to me, that the internet isn’t making us anything. It’s pure content, and how we use it is determined by our learning approach – it’s not the content that makes us stupid, it’s how we approach information in general that makes us stupid. We’re being made stupid by practices outside of the internet, and then we are applying it to the internet which has no boundaries.

For pretty much the history of humanity, news has been distributed by “authorities”. Newspapers, magazines, and TV pick and choose which stories to tell, how to tell them, and what “facts” to include and omit. For our entire existence we have believed what we have been told.

Yet, it has always been the case that news is regularly falsified, exaggerated, and spun. There is never enough facts to really understand what’s going on. Even when the news spends hours and hours of coverage on “big” issues, there is still so much that we don’t find out until much later, and then it’s not through normal news channels that we discover the underlying truths, but through where? The internet.

The internet may have a lot of information, and it may have a lot of crap, but it also is the first and only news source that has real, honest to God, in-depth information about pretty much anything you could possibly want to know about. Gone are the days where one has to be a scholar to know where to find details about the real lives of early American settlers, or what was really going on during Katrina. No longer do we have to wonder whether news reports are true; as soon as the news breaks, there is information available on the ‘net clearing things up. It’s all here. All you have to do is look for it.

I’m wondering if it is in fact schools that are creating this “skim the surface” approach to information. Kids don’t know how to do deep dives, or really, they just aren’t all that interested. They are interested in only getting the assignment done, not wasting time looking for something when they’ve already found it, and moving on to something more interesting. Perhaps it’s TV and radio that have taught our culture to have a short attention span, not to be able to wait for anything, and to have no real desire to know the truth – we’re so used to an “authority” telling us what the truth is, that when we get to the internet, we don’t have any tools for understanding the difference between a true authority and someone making up stuff.

I wonder, for kids who are growing up with the internet as their main information tool (i.e. homeschoolers), while at the same time being allowed to doubt, question and seek until they find a more complete answer, are these kids actually becoming smarter than everyone else because of the internet? Smarter than the teachers who are manning our schools, smarter than the parents who bought the DSL to hook them up, and smarter than the people who write articles about how the internet is making us dumb?

If the problem with the internet is that the authorities aren’t able to have a louder voice that everyone else, and that we don’t know how to weed through information, then what is the solution? How do we get information that is not filtered through the control of news generators without the internet? How can we be sure that the information gate keepers who have that special key are any better than we are at deciding which facts are “true” and which are “false”?

No, the internet is not making us dumb anymore than McDonald’s is making us fat. If we can’t use the internet in a smart way, and we can’t become smart when infinite information is available, then we certainly can’t be made smart by only being allowed to access certain kinds of information. If the internet is making us dumber, instead of smarter, then there is no hope for us as a race. Free information is the only way that we really can become smart. The only way that we really learn how to decipher what “good” information is, is to have to weed through all the crap to get there. Then we know the difference. If all we get is information handed to us on a platter and told what is good, and what is bad, we’ll never really learn on our own how to distinguish between the two, and when we are faced with something like the internet, we believe it all.

Can an Uneducated Teen Be Successful?

A young adult at Yahoo! Answers, who was homeschooled, is having trouble finding her way. She asked this question:

I was homeschooled from 7th grade on. 7ths and 8th grade my mom did with my brother and I. Highschool we did on our own, it was from Harcourt Learning Direct (used to be ICS, and Thompson Education Direct). I didn’t really understand anything because I hate reading so I just skipped to the tests at the end, almost flunked on Math but I cheated from my brothers books so I would pass. But I’m not really smart. Infact, even 6th grade which was public school I didn’t do good.

Am I doomed to be stupid with no job? How did the rest of you do that were home schooled?

Here was my answer to her, which she chose as the best answer.

In all honesty, this isn’t a homeschooling question. There are many just-graduated teens from public or private school who are wondering the same thing.

Also, there are enough stupid people with jobs out there, that it’s clear that intelligence is not an essential component to having a job.

A large number of very successful people in this world came from less-than perfect childhoods, and many were not good students (or were not traditionally educated).

So, what makes people successful?

1) They do not define who they are by their problems. Successful people define themselves by who they believe themselves to be. That’s why someone who doesn’t seem like she’s “all that” can do very well, while someone who is obviously talented can bomb. It’s all about how we perceive ourselves. You’ll have a hard time being successful if you continue to see yourself as stupid or uneducated. In other words, you have to believe in yourself before anyone else will.

2) Successful people have goals. What are your goals? Even if you have a Harvard degree, if you have no goals, it will be hard to find success.

3) Successful people keep on going. No matter what. You don’t have a degree, or knowledge, or ability? Keep going anyway. Don’t let that stop you. Keep learning, getting stronger, understanding yourself and your world.

4) Success does not get handed to you on a silver platter. Success doesn’t come from the outside, it comes from the inside. If that is true, then it doesn’t matter where you went to school. You’re out of school now, if you want to be successful and satisfied in your life, that’s your responsibility that you have to take seriously. Waiting for someone or something to give it to you will be a lifelong wait.

5) Lastly, successful people don’t whine. Seriously. Successful people don’t complain, blame people or things, or otherwise put negative energy out into the universe. If you want to be successful, you have to act successful. Whining about how you’re not smart or didn’t have a good enough education will only convince people that’s true and keep you in a constant state of wondering when you’ll be successful.

Very, very few people who are successful as adults will tell you that their young years were full of nothing but win after win. Successful people generally have gone through many struggles, and it’s how they pick their behinds up, brush themselves off, and start over, again and again, that makes them successful.

Given that, so long as you are alive, you always have the opportunity to have a successful adult life. It’s up to you.

Other similar posts:

Perfect Homeschooling, Regretting Decisions, and Curriculum Choice
Top 10 Tips for Deschooling

Less Homework Means More Learning

In today’s world of homework, classes, and sports, when do our kids get a chance to just be? Perhaps even more importantly, when do they have a chance to pursue their own interests without adult intervention or control?

Vernon Barford junior high school, in Edmonton, Canada, changed its policies in 2006, and decided to give its students less homework. As a result, tests scores improved. So did morale.

The concept of our schools assigning too much homework is not new. In 1999, Time Magazine’s cover declared, “Too Much Homework!”, subtitled with, “How it’s hurting our kids, and what parents should do about it.” A surprisingly outspoken piece, The Homework Ate My Family, calls parents to arms in the homework war, encouraging them to allow their children to have a stress-free childhood.

A sprinkling of schools and parents might have learned from those who have been warning us against the alluring draw of homework, but there is still a pervasive cultural bias towards filling our children’s time with it. According to the Vancouver Sun article, a parent complained about the new Barford Vernon homework policy, that his son “still had an hour in the evening with nothing to do.” When did having an hour of “nothing to do” become a bad thing?

The Vancouver Sun also profiles Carl Honore’s new book Under Pressure—Rescuing Childhood From the Culture of Hyper-Parenting, where he discusses the role of homework and other time filling activities as commentary on our achievement-oriented and hyper-scrutinizing parenting culture of today.

If you are interested in a deeper discussion of homework specifically, another book by Alfie Kohn, called The Homework Myth, discusses the disadvantage to homework and why it is has become so important to us in today’s educational atmosphere.

In a world where more=more, it’s refreshing to see attempts at moderation. It’ll be interesting to see if this becomes a trend.

Chelsea Link, 18, Homeschooled, Accepted to Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, U of Chicago, and Northwestern

Chelsea Link says this about her extraordinary, yet relaxed, life: “I think I’ve had a pretty normal high school experience . . . just without the high school.”

Another interesting quote by Christopher Watson, admissions dean at Northwestern, “We haven’t changed the way we review applications, but the way home-schoolers are submitting applications has changed,” he said. “They’ve become very good at taking out the question marks.”

Perhaps it’s a combination of the two? Northwestern may not have changed it’s admissions process, but other universities have.

Congratulations Chelsea! Reading science magazines and playing music is a fine way to go through childhood.