At first, I thought you were weird. Why on Earth would you not take advantage of free, public education rich with diversity and highly trained professionals? I assumed that the only possible reason to homeschool was religious fanaticism. I thought that you were cheating your children of an opportunity to be with kids of their same age. And, unschoolers? Yeah, right. I scoffed at your lazy approach to something so important. It sounded like an excuse to take no responsibility. Waldorf sounded fanciful and too airy and hippie- dippie to me, certainly not grounded in concrete evidence of what children NEED. I felt personally offended that you would not entrust you children to dedicated, loving teachers like myself. When you finally did "give up" and send your kid to school, they seemed very unprepared to complete tasks that we as a school had been dutifully training our kids to do since day one. Like, put their name on their paper or not over analyze the answers to the test. JUST PICK ONE! They were friendly to the teacher, and looked me in the eye when I spoke to them (again, weird!). And, certainly, the one or two homeschoolers that I met and remembered growing up where inherently an example of ALL homeschoolers.
And, then I realized the error of my ways. In my first year around homeschoolers, I asked everyone I could how and why do you homeschool. The answers I got were not only extremely personal and valid, but also extremely diverse. Everyone I met did it for a different reason and did it in a different way with a slightly different approach. I learned enough to want to homeschool my own children. As a teacher by heart, I longed to experience learning in its rawest, purest form with my own children. I wanted to see that longing to learn, that spirit of inquiry in their eyes everyday. I wanted to watch them learn to read or discover the Phoenicians, and then discuss it over dinner. In short, I homeschooled, too for a myriad of reasons and loved it for as many. I learned during homeschooling that each kid was different, just like in public school. I learned that Waldorf and unschooling were just different approaches that some families learned worked for THEM best. I learned that homeschool parents make decisions for what their kids need individually and thoughtfully. They meet their kids where they are and take them where they need to be. Each homeschool kid, by definition gets an IEP. Homeschool parents constantly reflect upon and analyze, question and search for how their child learns best. They, as families, ask questions about the why and how of education that in public school teachers are not permitted to ask. (I can only imagine the response if I questioned WHY in the world would we teach the entire world of geography, history, culture, and current events in one year over and over again.) As many of you can guess, I saw how artificial grouping kids by age is. I learned how easy it is to emphasize the important part of the lesson and not get hung up on putting your name on the paper. I learned that it is "smarter" to ask questions about standardized test than it is to just fill in the bubble quietly. I was shocked when Jackie from the Farm school told me that they trusted me as a parent to make the best choice for my family. Woah! Talk about revolutionary!
As a public school teacher, I had lost sight of what learning is and should be. I had one or two ideas of "good" students, and the rest were just a hassle, including that homeschool kid just now entering the system. I have changed my mind drastically. You all have helped me see the error of my ways. I get it. I love you. I know what you are doing and why now, and I am appalled that I ever questioned you or your children. Homeschooling is the epitome of freedom and learning and love for your children. One-on-one learning day to day is the cornerstone of a strong foundation.
My question is this, do other public school teachers feel the same about homeschoolers? Do they have their own perceptions or stereotypes? Do they fear you, feel offended by you? Maybe. Did that happen with my recent encounter with O's teacher? Did she make some sort of assumption about me based on what she knew? Maybe so.
And, then I realized the error of my ways. In my first year around homeschoolers, I asked everyone I could how and why do you homeschool. The answers I got were not only extremely personal and valid, but also extremely diverse. Everyone I met did it for a different reason and did it in a different way with a slightly different approach. I learned enough to want to homeschool my own children. As a teacher by heart, I longed to experience learning in its rawest, purest form with my own children. I wanted to see that longing to learn, that spirit of inquiry in their eyes everyday. I wanted to watch them learn to read or discover the Phoenicians, and then discuss it over dinner. In short, I homeschooled, too for a myriad of reasons and loved it for as many. I learned during homeschooling that each kid was different, just like in public school. I learned that Waldorf and unschooling were just different approaches that some families learned worked for THEM best. I learned that homeschool parents make decisions for what their kids need individually and thoughtfully. They meet their kids where they are and take them where they need to be. Each homeschool kid, by definition gets an IEP. Homeschool parents constantly reflect upon and analyze, question and search for how their child learns best. They, as families, ask questions about the why and how of education that in public school teachers are not permitted to ask. (I can only imagine the response if I questioned WHY in the world would we teach the entire world of geography, history, culture, and current events in one year over and over again.) As many of you can guess, I saw how artificial grouping kids by age is. I learned how easy it is to emphasize the important part of the lesson and not get hung up on putting your name on the paper. I learned that it is "smarter" to ask questions about standardized test than it is to just fill in the bubble quietly. I was shocked when Jackie from the Farm school told me that they trusted me as a parent to make the best choice for my family. Woah! Talk about revolutionary!
As a public school teacher, I had lost sight of what learning is and should be. I had one or two ideas of "good" students, and the rest were just a hassle, including that homeschool kid just now entering the system. I have changed my mind drastically. You all have helped me see the error of my ways. I get it. I love you. I know what you are doing and why now, and I am appalled that I ever questioned you or your children. Homeschooling is the epitome of freedom and learning and love for your children. One-on-one learning day to day is the cornerstone of a strong foundation.
My question is this, do other public school teachers feel the same about homeschoolers? Do they have their own perceptions or stereotypes? Do they fear you, feel offended by you? Maybe. Did that happen with my recent encounter with O's teacher? Did she make some sort of assumption about me based on what she knew? Maybe so.
No comments:
Post a Comment