No, I'm not talking politics, budgets or health care. I'm talking about maybe why our school systems are failing our children, along with some homeschoolers. Yep, I'm going to offend a few of my own here...probably.
There is a website I browse often for my homeschool needs and woes. A place I visit to help answer my own questions and sometimes make myself feel a bit better about our own homeschool situations. A place where questions are asked, pondered and replied to by other homeschoolers. A haven, so to speak, for those of us who feel the need to not feel alone.
Tonight I found a few minutes to browse the site. Then I found a question from a mom who had found herself and her child in a difficult situation. The problem was new. They had been using a certain curriculum for a while with no problems, until one lesson on one little, tiny piece of the English language puzzle. That one lesson, that has sent her child into tears, is making her want to change her curriculum for English. I pondered her question. Then I read the responses. Most of the responses said yes, change the curriculum because you are having problems.
The mom had stated they had been enjoying it up until this one lesson in Chapter 6 of an eleven chapter book. I pondered the question more. My mind was not on this one mom or this one particular question, but instead on a philosophy lost. I think back, further back than you or I could recall. Back to when our forefathers began to create this great nation of ours. Sure some sided with England, but our forefathers believed in us and what we could become. They knew the difficulties and hardships we would endure but there was more for us than being England's lap dog. They didn't stop when it got hard; they fought harder.
Now, in our time and place in history, what have we become as a nation? I fear that most of us don't want any type of difficulties in our life. Our cellphone battery dies and we are horrified. A restaurant doesn't have Wi-Fi and we go somewhere else. A child has difficulty in a subject and everything about the way the subject is taught should be changed. Let me ask this: How many adults reading this believe your life has no difficulties? Is without any challenge? I hope none. Life is rich and complicated. Full of ups and downs and intricacies that we cannot always foresee. These are the challenges we should be preparing our children for, whether they are in pubic school, private school or homeschool. To give up on our children and their abilities and intelligence so easily is shameful. Just one lesson. One tiny, little piece of the whole puzzle.
Yes, my girls have both been in tears over schoolwork they did not understand. Yes, I helped them through it. No, I did not change my curriculum. Why? Because I don't want them to think quiting is good. Yes, they both had to work hard to understand some things, but in the long run they are better students because of it. More importantly, they are better people because they have more confidence in themselves. I cannot hand them that, they have to give it to themselves.
1 comment:
You know... I was just considering this same sort of topic earlier today. A friend was talking about their 21 year old son who has no direction in life. He's still living at home with no clue what to do with his life. I think it is a little bit of life being handed to them on a platter so to speak. Somewhere along the line, I think we are failing our children (in general, there's no way we are all failing our children.) I hope we're on the right track.
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