randazzofamily

Dumbing Down Home Schoolers

Found this little critter in our family room this morning.  One child laughed while another screamed.  Maybe that will be our science class and we’ll call it a day.

About five years ago or so (maybe more) I came across the writings of John Taylor Gatto.  The specific book I read is called “Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling.”  Now what I’m going to write about has nothing to do with the dumbing down of public education, even though I believe it does exist, but rather the attempt of dumbing down home schoolers.

“What?”
“That can’t be true!”
“It’s the whole reason we home school!”
“We wouldn’t allow that to happen!”

These are just a few of the things people might be thinking when they see the title “Dumbing Down Home Schoolers.”  However I’m going to relay my own personal experiences to try and explain why it is I believe that this is truly happening within the home schooling communities.

When I first started home schooling it wasn’t because of religious reasons, or political reasons, or protectiveness reasons or anything remotely controversial.  No, not for any of the reasons that so many, and rightly so, choose to home school today.  The kudos for me taking my daughter’s education under my own wing goes to my mother.  She basically gave me an ultimatum that went something like this, “Deborah, you’re going to home school.”  And I naturally responded with, “Yes, mommy.”

Oh alright.  It didn’t go that smoothly but when the books she ordered from that first boxed curriculum we used way back in the year of 1996 first arrived, I had decided to give it a try and take one year at a time.

Most of the books in that boxed curriculum had a reoccurring theme . . . they were old.  Not like your “parents old” but like your “grandparents old.”  And even some “great-grandparents old.”  At the time I didn’t think much of it and just went with the flow.  Heck, I was only twenty-three years old!  Yet what I didn’t know then but understand now is that my three oldest children were being academically challenged with a rigorous curriculum and I was relearning things right along with them.

So does “old” mean better?  Not always but YES, most of the time!  If one were to go back and study the history of education they might be astounded to find out what knowledge was required of 8th grade students at the beginning of the 20th century.  This information has since been pushed off into the high school years which used to be called college or technical vocations.  Then the college level work was pushed off until a student reached 17-18 years old.

“Yes, yes, I know all of that.  What does that have to do with home schooling?”

I no longer use that boxed curriculum my mother purchased for us many moons ago but I still use those old books.  And I still receive their annual catalog.  I enjoy perusing and looking for curriculum inspiration.  However over the years I’ve noticed the curriculum changes.  Those old tried and true books have been replaced with others.

I thought that maybe this had to do with the “style” of their curriculum rather than the “rigor” of their curriculum.  This lead me to research other home school curriculum providers, authors, publishers and any other company offering to home schooling families.  Whether it was religious or secular, many places I turned seemed to have the reoccurring trend of “updating.”

And so I purchased them . . .  and then returned most of them.

The little I did keep didn’t seem to produce the results I expected.  Some may think this has to do with the instruction provided by the teacher and not just the curriculum which I agree, is a possibility and will address in a minute.

The providers advertise their new curriculum as a “gentle approach,” “easy to implement” and “home school friendly.”  Boy, was I a sucker for that last one.  I shall not tell a lie.  Those gimmicky words lured me in.  But why do I need a book that’s “gentle” or “easy?”  I don’t.  And “home school friendly” I assumed meant it was geared toward a home setting rather than a classroom setting which is not always the case.

When I think of “gentle,” I think of how I explain to my children they must be with our newborn babies.  NOT with a curriculum.  I believe mothers who home school want books that will help teach a concept and not hold their hand for a walk in the park.  And rather than advertising as “gentle” and “easy,” I would rather see  ”challenging” and “rigorous.”

As home schooling parents, are we afraid of challenge and rigor?
I hope the answer is emphatically, “NO!”

We are lead to believe by the naysayers of home education that we couldn’t possibly teach higher math and science than the 6th grade.  And you can just forget about any advanced classes.  We are constantly hearing about or reading about articles that address the inability of parents to educate their children.

The solution:  don’t be afraid of challenging and rigorous curriculum.  Dive in head first and come out swinging!  Put away your impatience and your child’s tears.  I too often read on forums about mothers giving up because they pull out this or that book only to see their child crying and pleading to do something else.  Who runs the school, you or your child?

There is another way.

Instruction provided by the teacher:  First, seek out that “old” OR “updated” but challenging and rigorous curriculum.

Second, no matter what happens, as the parent and main educator, stay calm even at the most trying moments.  Even if there is a melt-down, take a five to ten minute break (take a walk, get something to drink, etc.)  and start again.  Try teaching it a different way.

Third, give constant praise at work completed to perfection (e.g. Good job!  That’s great!  Excellent!) and encourage them to do better even if you find just one error with their conclusion.  If they perceive that one or two wrong is okay with you then they won’t try as hard.  Give them a reason and they will impress themselves as well and feel more confident because of it.

“But my child has ADD… ADHD… and XYZ… ”
“But he/she is a visual learner… ”
“But he/she is an audio learner… ”
“But he/she is a kinesthetic learner… “

Yes, and I’m pretty sure I have one of each of those in my group as well.  Possibly two, but who cares!  Stop with the labels.  Each of our children can learn from the same challenging curriculum as the rest.  Some go slower, some go quicker but all can achieve the end goal.

Yes, they can.  Most importantly, yes, YOU can.  Your child is smarter than you know and you are smarter than you think.

And please forgive me if you feel this was not well written or written out of order because I am after all, a product of a public high school education.  :-)

04-26-12   •   Education   •   4 Comments