In the beginning stages of exploring options for our children and schooling, I went to the library recently with the intent to start collecting some resources. I started a book called Love in a time of Homeschooling. An English professor and mother of three, Laura Brodie shares her journey with her eldest daughter in deciding to take a sabbatical from school for one year to homeschool her. Brodie conveys herself an unlikely candidate for homeschooling. But as she saw the crisis of her daughter’s experience in school, and the dilemma of the education system, she tries to take action as she can. This book is the story of her year, what she tried, and her reflections. The take-away is not an answer to what’s the best way; Brodie admits she’s still seeking a remedy for her children, and knows that each one is so unique in their needs. But it is interesting reading the chronicles of her decision, the year at home, and her experiences.
I’m not surprised by some of the insights from her research because I’ve been hearing similar things throughout the past few years about the state of the “public” education.
I don’t mean to start any fiery debates, I’m not cursing teachers or specific schools. But I am also know I am not the first one to point to a crisis in the education system. Even teacher friends are discouraged by it. I in no way declare that there is “one” right way. But Brodie’s observations and the truth about the state of things should stir us to action, as parents, parents-to-be, and citizens of the greater community.
Quotes from the author’s daughter, Julia, are revealing.
“School is all about copying the teacher. I mean, I’ve been saying the pledge of allegiance for six years and I only learned what ‘pledge’ meant one year ago.” – Julia, author’s daughter.
“Being in school,” [author's daughter] remarked, “feels like sitting in a chair and having someone with a power tool drill holes into your head.” Her only escape she explained was to get lost in her thoughts…”There is a space between being consciously present and being asleep, and in most classes I try to get my mind into that halfway zone. It helps to make the time go by faster, and that’s the key, because school is a lot like sitting in an airport.”
Yikes. Can we do better than that in our schools? Scott said he felt the same way about his middle school experience. He read a book a day, he says, while sitting in class. He was a straight A student. The monotony of homework and the wasted hours in the classroom seem to add up to me to be enough of a big fat “F” on the success of schools. It is obvious that school is no longer a place of actual learning or equipping students to think, but of teaching for the test. It is merely a place to soak in a fire hose of information so you can hopefully regurgitate it, get high marks and get ahead.
Brodie references author Judith Warner on the state of today’s mothers:
In her book Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety, Warner describes how today’s mothers have become a generation of control freaks, frantically prepping children to get their piece of a shrinking American pie, rather than taking political action to ensure that there is enough pie for everyone. The result is stressed-out women and kids, all suffering from an existential crisis that Warner calls “the mess.”
Brodie later also shares a revealing history of the model of homework, a major element to the school system’s mode of operation. Citing several authors who have written books arguing against the intense overload of homework that continues to increase, she has derived a pattern of change in the homework attitude according to political and social trends.
Homework has not always been accepted as a valuable part of education. The 1930s and 1940s witnessed a growing movement for the abolition of homework, as doctors and educators emphasized the need for healthy, joyful children who spent plenty of time playing outside. But the anti-homework trend ended in 1957, with the Soviet launch of Sputnik.
Enough said. The space race. Aptitude, Efficiency, Excellence…money, money, money…monEY! Do I really want that to be the main guiding factors of my child’s education? I know it’s capitalism and our country at its best. But I think we can do better than that.
This is going to require more research and posting. I just thought I’d get the conversation started here while it was fresh on my mind.
Wow, Caryn, don’t even get me started on this topic!
How I wish that Terri were able to stay home and teach her children. I’m so thankful that she had the few years she did to get the older ones started. I’m also very thankful of the year I was able to keep Jon home (of course, you’d better ask him how HE felt). I felt that if I did nothing else, I helped solidify our relationship as he entered his teen years. Even if he learned nothing else that year, I think he learned that I really loved him enough to make big sacrifices for him. I just wish I’d been able to do it for Terri and Scott.
I agree that over the last few decades, education has moved more toward the teaching for the state tests- the schools all want their funding. I also know that most educators hate that- they really want to teach. They love to see the little light bulbs go off when a kid “gets it”.
Another thing that is sad to me is that today kids come home and get on their DS’s or computers and DON’T get out to play. They are losing the ability to think, to imagine, to make believe. When I was little, I didn’t have a lot of toys, but I had books that could take me away to foreign lands, to the stars, to the past, to the future… My friend and I made up and performed plays, we wrote a book, we pretended every day and used our imaginations. This is what I wish for my grandchildren. This is what I wish for all children.
We’re thinking through this right now. One thing that bothers me is that, if we homeschool our kids, that’s one less Christian family with involved parents that’s a part of our public schools– one less good influence, both by the child’s presence in class and the family’s presence in the school as a volunteer/homeroom mom/etc. I’m concerned that more and more of us are choosing to homeschool– presumably making the environment in the public schools less and less positive.
(So do I choose the good of the public school and risk harming my child’s love of learning in the process? That doesn’t sound good either. And a private school environment appeals to me even less than the other two options. Dilemma for sure! Gracie should start kindergarten next fall… we need to move toward decisions on this…)
Kim,
I am sympathetic to your decision process. We actually just put together another post you might want to read. It’s pretty strong, but I hope some of the info might be helpful to you in considering your options.
[...] Schooling Dilemma, Part 1, we took a quick look at the question of homeschooling. Now let’s dig in a bit deeper [...]
Caryn, I just saw this from the link to your Christmas update! Can’t wait to read Pt 2! My quick response to the above mentioned dilemma is “Which is the greater priority…your child or someone else’s?” Would love to talk more on this! Will keep you in prayer. And I’m happy to answer any questions you have!
Wow. Thanks so much for sharing this. I know as a public school teacher I struggle with this all the time. I don’t have kids, but I know I would have a hard time making this choice. I feel like I would want to keep my children at home for as long as possible. However, I would also want them to be able to attend any college of choice. I really feel like there is so much pressure to pass the test. Does it really mean something that a third grader knows about the ancient civilization of Mali? I completely agree that we should be helping cultivate a love of learning and a passion for wisdom. We should not continue to stress out our children by expecting too much too soon. I have a real belief that this stress we are placing on our children is causing the rise in learning disabilities and ADHD.
I do not know what the answer is, but thank you for talking about this.
Jen, thanks for the comment! It’s really helpful to hear from a school teacher.