Home vs School

Through the years I’ve found myself wishing life would just ‘hold still’ so I could do this thing called school. But, more often than not, life is our classroom. Home and school intertwine in such a way that we can’t unwind them. Living is learning, and in learning – we live.

As the traditional school year comes to a close, we often feel ‘out of step’. Even educational experts confess this 9 month system is the best known way to educate en masse, but falls short for the individual. Then, why is it we find ourselves at home – striving to conform to the world’s best efforts in education – and feeling like we’ve fallen *behind*?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not the unschooling type. I thrive with structure and love the smell of new school books. But, we all know education encompasses so much more. To prove my point, here’s a partial list of life skills caught by the average homeschooled child – rather than taught in a classroom. {BTW most of these are actual college courses in a classroom – somewhere}

• Child Development 101 – Understanding developmental milestones in infants and babies, safety measures to protect young lives, cultivating emotional wellness in children.
• Principles of Work Ethic – A job ‘well done’. This is what our adults ‘kids’ get in feed-back from employers. They may not have read all the classics or can do Trigonometry – but their job performance is rewarded time and again.
• Waste Management – Nowadays it’s all the rage in education. Once again – home schooler are ahead of the curve. Read Ode to Trash Day for more info.
• Organizational Skills – From packing for a trip to separating silverware – the child at home has ample opportunity to learn organization. And if he doesn’t *get it* at first – there will be tomorrow and the next day to perfect these skills.
• Reading Comprehension – Ranking off the charts for kids who get to read books they love.
• Advanced Event Planning – Find me a home educated son or daughter who can’t help get ready for a gathering and doesn’t know the process by rote. People get paid to do this in the ‘real world’.
• Strength Finder Basics – Students have opportunities to exercise their strengths – and are analyzed (by mom) in order to shore-up their weaknesses – rather than conform to the classroom – or compete with the crowd.
• Love for Learning – Rather than satisfying requirements for a class and regurgitating information – becoming a life-long learner. Check out Sarah Clarkson’s blog - Thoroughly Alive for a classic example.

Teacher Tip of the Day: My favorite ‘teacher book’ of all time is Dr. Seuss’ - Horray for Diffendoofer Day! No joke, ask the kids – it brings me to tears when we get to the end. The story’s about a school that’s rocking along just fine – fully enjoying education – until they’re required to be TESTED. If they fail this TEST they’ll be integrated into the ‘system’ of schools. {prophetic, Seuss} They worry themselves silly – literally – over the challenge. In the end – as every wholehearted homeschooling mom knows {deep down} the students are well beyond their years in every way and pass with flying colors! A must read for the bewildered homeschooling mom who’s just trying to keep up with … the system.

Feel better now? I do.

Subscribe to Above & Beyond by e-mail or in a reader.

Related posts:

Tagged as: home, learning, living