Friday, January 21, 2011

Outside the Box not Outside Reality

I do not think that "thinking outside the box" precludes setting up plans or allows a free for all attitude. Let's face it, this world is not a "free for all." Sometimes what my kids ARE learning is that they are to do the assignment BECAUSE I gave it to them. period...end of discussion. When they are in college no one is going to give a sh*t what they FEEL like doing or if they fail the class. Colleges are businesses and if you need to retake Chem 101 3 times...well, they get paid 3 times. Fine with them!




When I think of going outside a box, I do not leave out skills that are mandatory, nor do I allow my kids to tell me they aren't going to do an assignment because they don't feel like it. Honestly, I don't FEEL like hearing their complaints. I work very hard to offer them an exemplary education and I work hard to give them things of interest to work on and persue according to their bents BUT, sometimes we have to do the time in order to get to a place where we can persue our passions. And lets face it...middle school kids are basically lazy and will usually take the path of least resistance. They are moody and argumentative, which is normal at that age. They will test any boundary or border and will test you constantly to see how firm those boundaries are. It is a very tricky walk to not bend or cave in without ruining your relationship with your child. It is delicate to stand your ground, unflinching, without emotion coming into play when you have a 12 year old Moussolini screaming in your face that the world is not fair, you are mean and school work is dumb.

My dd wants to be a writer...That means she needs to spend MORE time on spelling, grammar, literature & history, BUT she still needs to put in time in her math, because intelligent, educated people can master a certain level of mathematics. She needs to study science, because intelligent, educated people can discuss scientific ideas. She can also put what she learns in her science classes to work in her novels.



Now, the number of courses she takes in math will not be the same as my other child who is mechanically, mathematically and scientifically geard...but then again, he is not excused from spelling, grammar, history or literature either...as scientists and engineers need to be able top communicate and discuss history, literature and politics. See what I mean?



My idea of thinking outside the box says, this kid loves this....I would like to help said kid persue this passion...said kid needs to trust that I have his best interest at heart and WANT to see him succeed.

There are only so many hours and days in our homeschool journey, which makes me very aware that I need to train these kids to go on with their lives in a very short period. It is my opinion that outside the box does not throw the baby out with the bathwater. It is not child-led, but child sensitive. It does not paint a picture that the world revolves around their wants and desires, but gets them ready to persue their God given gifts and paiions in the context of society to be a blessing to those around them and bring Glory to their Creator.



My kids have workbooks and textbooks, videos, games, shelves of reading material, art supplies, sports equipment etc. These are tools. Just as curriculum is a tool. It should help guide yuou...not drive your school. It is a nice suggestion on how to accomplish goals...but the goals have to be there...with a vision on how to proceed and where you and your child want to be in the next year, 5 years, 10 years etc. Of course things change, goals change, circumstances change, passions change, so we must prepare our kids for that as well.



Homeschooling gives us an advantage over private and public schools by allowing us quantity as well as quality time with our children. We can take them along side of us and teach them, cheer for them, guide them, pick up the pieces when we fail or fall short and move on showing them that life is full of ups, downs and all arounds, but we can still be there for eachother as a family and as friends.

Academically speaking, there are many ways to reach a goal. There are many roads that lead to an intelligent, educated person. The longer I homeschool, the more confidence I gain to think even more outside the standard fare, BUT I would never leave a childs education solely up to them. Encourage their passions...YES. Plan my lessons and schedules accordingly...YES. Excusing my kids from assignments they decided were not worth thier time, or excusing them from simple do it because I said so because I know you need to know this even though you don't think so...well...nope sorry, can't help ya there.

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