Springing Into Action Isn't Always Best
2012
This was from Sandra Dodd's Just Add Light And Stir today, about not bringing school home: "Don't rush. This is a hard but crucial piece of advice. Rush to take him out of school but don't rush to replace it with anything. Bring your child home, don't bring school home. You don't even have to bring their terminology and judgments home. You can start from scratch, brush off the labels, and find your son where he is. Forget school. Move to life."
Yes! That! Right there! I did the exact opposite of what is suggested there. I rushed. I sprang into action. I took Austin out of school around Thanksgiving in 2008 when he was in the first grade. He was miserable and cried most mornings before school unless he was too angry to cry, in which case he yelled at me and me at him. When he was at school, I felt lost without my little guy. More than anything, I loved being with him. He's the most fun and engaging kid I know.
While at school he was falling behind where their timeline thought he should be, so the time I did have with him was spent helping him catch up. One day I thought, "This is ridiculous. If I'm going to spend my time doing school work with him I might as well homeschool him!"
So, I took him out of school and brought school home. We I went to IKEA to buy desks and bookshelves. We had an empty bedroom I made into our classroom. I filled it with the most amazing stuff! Books, art supplies, posters and tons of things to do science experiments with, and of course, the very best curriculum I could find. It was an AMAZING room; bright and cheery and inviting.
It was going to be the best classroom ever! Learning was going to be fun!
I took no time to deschool either of us. Once the school room was up and running (about two weeks later), I jumped into being teacher. Every morning after breakfast, we went into the classroom to get our school work done for the day. During this time, there was some work being done but mostly there was crying and power struggles. A love of learning was NOT what was being fostered in our cute little classroom.
When I read those words this morning I breathed a great, big sigh of regret. Had I put some real thought into why I was bringing Austin home from school, I would have had less spring in my step when creating that classroom. I would have thought more about why I was trying to re-create a system that wasn't working for Austin.
I have to echo what was said above: "Don't bring school home.". If you decide homeschooling is the best thing for your family, be calm and mindful about why you are making that decision. Is it because school isn't working for your child? Think about that for a while before you decide to buy a curriculum and have a classroom. You don't need to bring the drudgery of school home. There is another way. Use that springy out-of-school-excitement and energy to be with, play with, and explore with your child.
Don't think in school-ish ways. You're not in school anymore!
This was from Sandra Dodd's Just Add Light And Stir today, about not bringing school home: "Don't rush. This is a hard but crucial piece of advice. Rush to take him out of school but don't rush to replace it with anything. Bring your child home, don't bring school home. You don't even have to bring their terminology and judgments home. You can start from scratch, brush off the labels, and find your son where he is. Forget school. Move to life."
Yes! That! Right there! I did the exact opposite of what is suggested there. I rushed. I sprang into action. I took Austin out of school around Thanksgiving in 2008 when he was in the first grade. He was miserable and cried most mornings before school unless he was too angry to cry, in which case he yelled at me and me at him. When he was at school, I felt lost without my little guy. More than anything, I loved being with him. He's the most fun and engaging kid I know.
While at school he was falling behind where their timeline thought he should be, so the time I did have with him was spent helping him catch up. One day I thought, "This is ridiculous. If I'm going to spend my time doing school work with him I might as well homeschool him!"
So, I took him out of school and brought school home. We I went to IKEA to buy desks and bookshelves. We had an empty bedroom I made into our classroom. I filled it with the most amazing stuff! Books, art supplies, posters and tons of things to do science experiments with, and of course, the very best curriculum I could find. It was an AMAZING room; bright and cheery and inviting.
It was going to be the best classroom ever! Learning was going to be fun!
I took no time to deschool either of us. Once the school room was up and running (about two weeks later), I jumped into being teacher. Every morning after breakfast, we went into the classroom to get our school work done for the day. During this time, there was some work being done but mostly there was crying and power struggles. A love of learning was NOT what was being fostered in our cute little classroom.
When I read those words this morning I breathed a great, big sigh of regret. Had I put some real thought into why I was bringing Austin home from school, I would have had less spring in my step when creating that classroom. I would have thought more about why I was trying to re-create a system that wasn't working for Austin.
I have to echo what was said above: "Don't bring school home.". If you decide homeschooling is the best thing for your family, be calm and mindful about why you are making that decision. Is it because school isn't working for your child? Think about that for a while before you decide to buy a curriculum and have a classroom. You don't need to bring the drudgery of school home. There is another way. Use that springy out-of-school-excitement and energy to be with, play with, and explore with your child.
Don't think in school-ish ways. You're not in school anymore!
Comments
Post a Comment