Alternative Education
By: Terrie Runolfson
There were over 60,000 children in the state of California homeschooled in the year 2000 and an estimated 850,000-2,000,000 just in the Untied States and that number is growing rapidly. Charter Schools, Private Schools and even your local school districts are creating ‘Homeschooling’ opportunity for families. Why is it growing so fast? Frustrated teachers, frustrated students, frustrated parents, failing test score may be some of the reasons.
Whatever the reason, it is important that your children are happy and learning. Unfortunately many children in other school systems are not happy and many are not learning. It takes a very brave and dedicated parent to step in and take the reins.
I understand that homeschool may not be for everyone. I am not here to pass judgement on anyone.. Please know that my passion comes from the fact that homeschooling is perfect for us.
(My original thought of Homeschooling 10 years ago.)
I want to talk a little bit about why homeschooling is becoming so popular.
I tribute it to two reasons:
The first is that many children are having great success learning at home.
The second reason is that many children are failing in school.
Success at home, failure at school…
What goes wrong and can we fix it?
Lets explore this for just a minute
What if your child doesn’t fit in the mold that the school thinks he should fit?
What if he isn’t liked by the teacher?
What if he is board by what’s going on in school?
What if he learns different than the other children?
What if he would rather be some place else?
What if he doesn’t feel comfortable in this environment?
What if he’s quiet or shy or non-trusting?
What if he is hyper active and can’t sit still?
What if he is dyslexic?
(Group discussion on other problems)
These children would have by now, been labeled. What would some of the labels be that might get put on these children?
(Group discussion on labels)
I am going to label that child also; We are going to call them; Einstien, Issac Newton, Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, Leonardo Divinche, Michael Angelo…all of them were considered misfits within their society.
Some modern day misfits, Michael Jordon, Mother Teresa, Robert Wyland, Lee Iacoka , Michael J. Fox, Stephan Spielberg, Robin Williams, J. K. Rowling and William J. Bennet.
All of these people became great and very influential among their societies and yet were considered social misfits.
My husband feels that the difference between a Genius and C average student is -the C average student hasn’t found his interest or what he is great at. His passions.
These great men of misfits were driven and focused at early ages. But because they were so focus on their passions; they were misinterpreted as being distracting, difficult and uncooperative in the classroom.
Share Thomas Edison
Parents, you have the power to make or brake these children. Make them all that they have the possibility of being, or squish their dream and damping their spirit.
You can help them set up their world so that they look forward to getting up in the morning. Help them be excited about learning. You can bring them to an understanding that learning is fun and necessary to get them where they want to go in life. Sometimes in an institutional school setting you are not going where you want to go. You are going where the Board of Education wants you to go. This will set you back years. The average male that went through the system and held several jobs in his youth; trying to find what he will do for the rest of his live will find himself at the age of 25 finally in that secure position. The average home schooled male is in that same position by the age of 20.
Once a child is labeled, that label will follow him through the rest of his schooling years. He will be in special education or go to resource classes, he will have to attend summer school and worst of all everyone will know he is different. The misery and pain staking process never ends for this child. If this child is round he will never fit in a box.
Good news!
All Children are very bright. They naturally want to learn. This begins the moment they are born. They want to talk and walk and play ball, run and jump. They want to be read to, learn colors and write letters. They will want to read and do math and science and learn about space and dinosaurs and cars. They will want to do all this with or without school, a teacher or even parents. And when the child is old enough to learn these things…. He Will!
One problem at school that children face everyday is that they are suppose to learning what is on the list at this age, in this way at this time, with these people, in this class and they better like it. If you don’t fit the mold you are different!
You have children at home, you can tell by what they play at the age of five, ten or sixteen and know what his interests are or what that child is meant to do in this life. Let’s say you have a child who likes cars. He can tell you all you need to know about what kind of engine, horse power, tires, muffles that are on what kind of car. Take the child who loves agriculture. He can tell you what farm equipment is best for which crop, what grain to plant when to harvest, how to protect crop, give an animal shots, calf a cow. You name it, he will know or he will stay up late at night and burn the midnight oil to learn it. Ever notice on Saturday nights you can’t get the child in from working on that car or working in the barn, or on that computer program or on that light bulb. Kids are excited about learning!
(Joe’s Story)
Our public school systems are not to only source of education. In fact some schools may not even be a source of education. I went to Public School clear though high school and never learned about anything I liked. In fact I can not remember anything I learned in high school. I took all the required classes, I can’t name parts of a sentence, I can’t do algebra, I don’t have to Bill of Rights memorized or the chemistry tables memorized, I can’t tell you what happened in history in 1804, or who was the president in 1936. I don’t know. And I’ll bet most of you don’t know either. Does it matter? Will this information help me earn a living, or will it help me become closer to God, Will it help me strengthen my family, become a better mother or become a better neighbor, or wife. NO!
I think you are beginning to see and understand why we homeschool. Let me now share some good reasons to homeschool. Our family has been greatly blessed because of this kind of an opportunity.
Keeps family intact
One-on-one learning
Opportunity to develop individualized curriculum
Promotes self esteem
Change negative labels to positive ones
Parent become role model-not the peers
No segregation because the child my be different
Child can learn in a home environment not an institutional one
Ability to be spontaneous, change focus as the need arises
Use the community or even the world as a classroom rather than a textbook
Study your own religious beliefs
No peer dependence
No classroom isolation
To improve social skills
School clothes shopping is cheaper
Play in the mud, go barefoot
Take long lunches and eat homemade food
Go on as many field trips as your budget and time allows
Prioritize time better spending less time of units
Safer
Children can learn at a much faster pace
Parents I certainly didn’t feel qualified to teach my children, I already admitted I couldn’t remember anything I learned in school. My daughter Kristin is here with me today to tell you from a child’s perspective what homeschool has done for her even thou her mother never was trained to be a professional educator…