John T. Gatto: “Schools Hurt Children”

“David learns to read at age four; Rachel, at age nine: In normal development, when both are 13, you can’t tell which one learned first—the five-year spread means nothing at all. But in school I label Rachel “learning disabled” and slow David down a bit, too. For a paycheck, I adjust David to depend on me to tell him when to go and stop. He won’t outgrow that dependency. I identify Rachel as discount merchandise, “special education” fodder. She’ll be locked in her place forever…

Government schooling is the most radical adventure in history. It kills the family by monopolizing the best times of childhood and by teaching disrespect for home and parents.”

From John Taylor Gatto’s, “I Quit, I Think”, Wall Street Journal (Gatto is a former New York “Teacher of the Year” who quit his job after he decided “he was no longer willing to hurt children”.

The One Indispensable Constituent of a Good Education

This article is too good not to share.  It encapsulates the answer to the big question, “What’s wrong with society?” for those who realize that there is something terribly wrong.

“God’s theory on education is quite different than the theories that men have come up with in the modern world….

What then would constitute a good science class, for example? Picture the instructor describing the order, the beauty, the complexity, the expanse, and the glory of the universe, the human body, and the animal kingdom. Then, he lifts his arms and says in a whisper to the class, Silence for a moment! All of you, stand in awe of him! Stand in awe of him! Let us worship the mighty Creator of heaven and earth. Anything short of this is not good science….

“What happens to a nation that doesn’t teach the fear of God as the beginning of wisdom for five generations? What happens to a nation that will not build its house upon Jesus and his words? When the rains come and floods rise, that house will come down, and great will be the fall of it (Matt. 7:27)! That nation will find 37% of children born without fathers, up from 6% in 1960, and half of marriages ending in divorce. That nation will become the greatest debtor nation on earth and inherit the weakest families in the entire western world. Sound familiar?”

Read the rest of “…A Good Education”. And then tell me what you think.

What is the Purpose of a College Education

“How many of us, wherever we might be in the educational process, now know God aright? How many of us sufficiently love Him, imitate Him, are like Him? When we understand this purpose of education, we in turn understand that graduation happens when we die, our death certificate is our diploma. When we understand this purpose, this end, suddenly our means change as well.”  R.C. Sproul, Jr.

Read the rest…

Friday’s Fun (and big!) Homeschooling Tip: Homeschool for Free?

Homeschooling is like anything else–a great opportunity for people to make money.  And I’m all about the opportunity to make money!

But every now and then I talk to moms who are financially strapped but still feel the pressure to invest in lots of curriculum.  Or, I hear from moms who say they would like to come home and homeschool, but if their income was cut, they wouldn’t be able to afford school materials, assuming that’s the only way to do it.

The good news is you can truly homeschool without spending any money, at least for a long time.  It will require a bit more work, but not as much as you might think.  AND, because we are just accustomed to the neat, colorful packages of curriculum, it’s hard for us to think of not having it.

The truth is, really, (and we know it), that learning doesn’t require anything fancy or pre-packaged and can be quite fun and creative!

Obviously, there’s no way to write an exhaustive list of resources for every grade level and subject.  So I thought I’d offer some ideas to get you thinking and some resources for your use, even if just to supplement what you already have.

The goal. First, make sure you remember the goal of homeschooling:  to educate, not to get finished with a text book.  Getting through a grade level of curriculum is only important if they learn the material. Finishing isn’t the goal.

What to teach. The beauty of homeschooling!  If you really want to stay right on track with their schooled counterparts, you can look on line or in text books to see what other children are learning and when.  However, keep in mind that your children will not be handicapped if they learn about the Civil War in the second grace but don’t know what barometric pressure is until the 8th.  One time table, established by the state schools, is just one time table–not necessarily the “right” one.  If they are learning, they are being educated in the right direction.

Books. Start a running book list and use your library and ask friends if you can borrow/barter with them. Books are your foundation.  Ambleside is a great place to start compiling your list.  Also, there are many, many free on-line books now, so check The Online Books Page and sites like that for free versions.

Math. For little ones, math is easy.  It’s all around us every day–just remember, instead of taking what is so natural to us for granted, talk through it as you see opportunities (time, measurements, adding and subtracting). For elementary/middle school math, The Math Worsheet Generator is wonderful. You could even print these off and create your own text book.

Teaching reading. Chalkboards are GREAT for teaching little ones letters and sounds. They seem to be motivated more by a chalkboard than just a piece of paper, though that works great too!  I’ve heard of making peanut butter playdoh letters, and all sorts of other ideas too.  Teaching children to read is so much more simple than I once thought–sounds of letters, then put letters together, then words–that’s it.  Nothing fancy required.

Check out Donna Young’s Printables and Resource for a wealth of help!

I’ve also used the Flapbook idea to teach reading, writing letter blends on one flap then the ending of the word on another and teaching one side at a time.

Text books. While not free, you can find cheap text books for subjects like math at thrift shops.  (Older editions work just fine.  Math isn’t supposed to change )

History. Reading great biographies with a few resource books on hand can supply a rich education of social studies, geography and history. Add essays for older students and if you don’t feel confident enough to grade them, barter with a friend who can.

Science. Use what’s around you for science.  Don’t overlook the simplicity and “secret” of  nature studies and journals.  Find what sparks their interest and then use the Internet for deeper investigation.  Collecting, drawing, classifying is an excellent hands-on tool.  There are many educational opportunities found in just the weather.  (I think it was William Clark, and I’m sure many others,  who kept small journals in his pocket where he habitually recorded details about the weather and conditions around him wherever he went.)

Trivia. We have found that trivia games of all sorts provide a really great spring board for sparking interest and further studies.  We are currently spending a few minutes in the afternoon while I ask trivia questions from a National Geographic game.  We learn facts, but it also opens up doors and then they end up discussing things they learned with Dad around the dinner table. The discussion is the gem.

Skills. We don’t talk enough about the importance of learning life skills. There are obvious ones like learning to run a household (and so many kids miss these, despite how obvious!) and there are all sorts of other opportunities like working alongside your husband or neighbor as he builds a deck where he will learn not just the skill, but the educational application as well (measurements, fractions, equations).  In the big picture of life, I would venture to say that learning practical skills is EVERY BIT important as gaining an intellectual education, but so often ignored.  (I may have to revisit this topic in a post of its own!)  So hand that kid a screwdriver and put him to work!

Before you begin. I would be remiss if I didn’t emphasize that for Christians, we MUST begin with “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”. It’s so easy to get swept along by what others expect of us, and neglect our greatest duty in education.  Our children will be so far ahead by simply teaching from this simple starting place.  And besides that, it’s our command!

These are just a few things–only the beginning.  When you realize that education is about the learning–not the text book, you will begin to see opportunities all around you for educating your children…and yourself, maybe for the first time!

Friday’s Fun Homeschooling Tip: Geography

Mostly I think learning should be a reward in itself.  BUT…sometimes, there are things we wish to motivate our children to learn that may require a bit of inspiration….things like rote memorization.

I had no idea just how inspired mine would be when I said, “OK I have an idea…you older ones teach the younger ones the names of all the states and when everyone down to ____ has them memorized, we’ll all go out for ice cream!”

Secretly, it’s the older ones (8 & 11) that I really wanted to motivate to brush up on these, and any time an older one is “teaching” they learn more–it’s a fact.  So, they have all been busily studying the US map–states and capitals this week without any prompting. The younger ones are picking it up quickly!

I’m thinking of ways to expand this to other areas

How Our Family Homeschools

I have had several requests lately to give a general picture of what it looks like to homeschool in our family where there are several different age levels as well as small children.  An overview of my basic homeschool philosophy is detailed in my ebook “Think Outside the Classroom” if you’re interested in reading more.

As far as how that philosophy translates to real life, I’ll give it my best shot!

First, we are relaxed.  Some days I think it would be easier to be less relaxed, on other days I’m glad we’re more flexible and not haunted by deadlines.

I do not “teach for a test”.  That is, while we’re concerned that our children learn much of the same basic information taught in school, we are not concerned as much with when they learn it or whether they perform well while testing.  This makes a huge difference in how children are educated.

Our “skeleton” schedule—if nothing else gets done–is this:

The three oldest have a math and English curriculum that they work on independently with my help if needed.  We use different curriculum from year to year, but right now everyone is using Rod and Staff.  They also do copy work, usually from the Bible.

The oldest has a pretty large reading assignment of an assortment of books and subjects (Apologetics, Government and right now she’s studying events of the 20th century–specifically, the Holocaust.)  She will write an essay on one of these books every few weeks and I will grade it and go over grammar, spelling and usage errors.  (If I felt inadequate to do this, I would solicit the help of a relative or friend.)

The next two do daily reading assignments from a Science book and History book (right now it’s Apologia Science and A Child’s Story of History).  In addition, they must “leisure read” from another book of their choice, approved by one of us.

I usually read aloud to all the children at some point during the day from a biography or “living book”.  The little ones can play in the floor during this time, but everyone has to be quiet.

For the little ones, it’s pretty spontaneous.  I encourage them to play a lot, and as they show interest in learning the sounds of letters I sit down with them just a few minutes a day and go over that.  If they don’t show interest, I require them to sit with me and practice letter sounds at around age 6.  I’m currently teaching the 5th one to read and I have never used a curriculum or program to do it. Just sounds of letters, then sounds of blends (consonant and vowel), then putting words together and helping with sight words.  It’s worked every time!  I don’t get real antsy about their reading at a certain age because they eventually learn to read well, even if they don’t start early.

For variety, I try to switch things up sometimes.  For example, today I officially gave them “‘math and English off” until Christmas, but my 9 and 11 year old have to play a math game with each other each day and they each have to read a section from “Explore & Learn” to a younger sibling.  Bria is delighted to just have more time for reading, and she also actually enjoys reading from learning books with the younger ones.  We also incorporate educational videos and documentaries.

My husband tries to ask them at dinner to talk about something they learned that day.  This helps them solidify their knowledge and keeps him more involved as well.

Their Dad usually reads from some book at night besides the Bible.  Right now we’re alternating between “Life of Washington” and “They Signed for Us”.

As I emphasize in the ebook, I think a parent cannot underestimate the power of simple conversation in a child’s education.  I believe this is possibly where they learn the most.

My husband and I usually reevaluate everything at the first of the year and make necessary adjustments.  Little things like not forgetting to have the age-appropriate ones learn to type, or discussing whether a certain curriculum is a good match for each child.

We personally feel that “education” is best summed up by “being literate and well-read, developing critical thinking skills (done best through conversation), being numerate and maintaining a thirst for learning”.  Above all this though, as Christians, we desire that our children develop a fear of the Lord which is the beginning of knowledge.

I’ve probably left out lots of questions, so feel free to ask and I’ll try to explain  I do not think our way of schooling is superior, at all, it’s just what works for us in this season.

Addendum: (I thought of something else )

A common fear about homeschooling is “what if I can’t teach them everything?”  Good news is, you don’t have to, nor CAN you.  The “system” makes us think that one needs to be under the constant tutelage of an expert to learn what we need to learn.  I submit that far more important is the skill of “learning how to learn”.  A simple illustration is the age-old proverb about how it’s far better to teach a man how to plant a garden rather than planting a garden for a man.  (Is that a proverb?  I have no idea.)  Anyway, maybe you get my point.

I don’t have to teach my child every subject; in fact, no institution is capable of covering everything.  I didn’t learn any Chemistry in school, but I excelled in that subject in college.  It’s a fallacy for someone to say, “but you need a professional to teach ______. Perhaps, but if and when that time comes, if your child has a foundational understanding of how to learn, it will not be a problem. (By the way, I can’t think of a single instance where I’ve ever needed Chemistry.) To clarify, as a commenter pointed out, I’m not discounting the enormous presence and importance of Chemistry in our everyday life; I’m pointing out that Chemistry isn’t even a required subject in high school, and I don’t feel handicapped for not having had it in high school nor do I feel disqualified to teach my children based on my not being an expert in Chemistry.

We need to rely much heavier on the instincts that God gave us for learning what is needed at the time it is needed, instead of getting worried about fulfilling a checklist of subjects, most of which will likely be forgotten after the test.