Homeschooling

Monday, September 04, 2006

Homeschooling Current mood: cheerful I've been reading up on homeschooling, and it's getting me excited about the prospect all over again. You see, once upon a time I was an education major in college, and the more I learned about learning the more I was bewildered by our public school system. How can we know so much about how children learn best, and yet be applying so little of that knowledge in our public schools? I started looking for alternatives- how could we teach better, how could we meet the needs of children, and not squelch their innate love of learning? In one of my education classes I got the opportunity to do extensive research on any area of education, and I decided to delve into John Holt and his ideas. John Holt was a pioneer of "unschooling", a term he coined to better describe homeschooling's true reach and strengths. He was a very strong and vocal supporter of homeschooling at a time when it was not well regarded by the general population here in the States. His ideas and research resonated with me in a way that none of my other research or reading on education had done. Here was a way to meet the needs of children, to stoke the flames of their curiosity and nurture their need to learn! It's by far the best method of education I can imagine. Right then and there I was certain that I would try to homeschool my children, whenever I was blessed with that opportunity in my future. So, here I am! It's the future, and I have two beautiful boys, and one of them is now preschool age. Time to dip my toe in the waters, and see how best to go about accomplishing this long-held goal I've nurtured. But I've been looking at my life now, and worrying about my time- I am already stretched; how can I possibly devote the time I should devote to something as important as my child's education? I've been feeling weighed down, like I am swimming upstream in an overcoat and boots. How can I ever make any headway? How can I ever pile on more responsibilities than I already carry? Reading some of these books has been very reassuring. In reality, I am already doing much of what I need to do. It comes naturally- as a matter of fact, homeschooling is natural. Most parents do it as a matter of course whenever they are with their children. As the children get older it takes more effort to incorporate their advanced studies, but with practice that homeschooling comes easily. I am remembering why I was so enthralled by the idea to begin with. As usual, a trip to the library is the first step to my confident tackling of a new project!