Learning at Home~ Part 4 Lifelong Learners
August 14, 2008
To expand on yesterday’s post about what makes me qualified to teach my kids we have to understand why a government education is not what is best. PLEASE keep in mind that I am NOT bashing the government’s school teachers, not at all, because I believe they begin teaching because of the love of teaching, but at the same time their hands are tied by what the government system expects from them.
EVERY public school teacher I have ever talked to in person has told me how much they hate the No Child Left Behind and Outcome Based Education policies. These programs teach to the test. It is very important that every student do well on the test so the school district can keep their good grade and keep their government funding. These programs do not allow each student to be their very best, these systems are designed to process a cookie cutter student.
Is teaching to the test really teaching children how to learn?
Do we want to teach our children to simply fill in the blanks on a paper, to accept everything they are taught as truth…as the only right answer? Is our goal as parents to make sure they make good grades and earn scholarships? Or is it to teach them to be lifelong learners and to acknowledge God is everything?!
Please don’t think I am discrediting making good grades, because I’m not, I’m just saying THAT should not be our goal.
When I was in high school I had a teacher that told us often that there was no use in memorizing facts and figures as long as we knew where to find the answers. I use to think he was just a lazy teacher ( which he was because we had very few instructional days and A LOT of goof-off days), but I do think he was right to a degree. It is more important that we know how and where to find the answers.
I want my children to be lifelong learners. I don’t want them to have the attitude of ‘getting done with school’.
How we live this out:
When they ask questions help them find the answers. The other night we had a good discussion while driving home about the fog we were in. Our youngest brought up the subject which evolved into other topics. If you don’t have the answer look it up WITH them. With the use of the internet there is NO EXCUSE for not learning anything.
Use what they are interested in as a springboard for their research/spelling/writing assignments. This is especially important for younger students because you want to develop a love for learning.
Don’t expect perfection. This is a really tough one for us moms. We think our child’s academic success is solely a reflection on us. Yes, we do play a key role, but in the end it depends on the student, their ability (not everyone will be a math wiz or spelling bee champ), their bends/talents, and their self discipline to learn.
- Travel whenever possible. Travel is such a great way to learn, and it doesn’t have to be out of the country or for weeks at a time. Day or weekend trips are good. When we travel we always try to do an educational stop somewhere or at least look up historical places and people that we will be passing by. This is a perfect time for map skills, time management, geography, history, etc…
- Let your children in on everything as soon as possible. As soon as they can read and do basic math let them help with shopping, budgeting, coupon clipping, menu planning and cooking. This is a HUGE area that ALL adults need to know. Let them be by your side for everything! Most of what is learned in the books will be forgotten unless it is used in a practical way.
- Remember you have 15-18 years to teach them (depending when you start). They do not have to master subject verb agreement the first year it is taught.
- Limit TV, video games and ipods. Evaluate how many hours a day are being used for mindless, idle entertainment compared to learning new skills, interacting with humans ;o), and SERVING OTHERS!
- Use other moms and co-ops to teach what you cannot. We have been part of co-op classes several times over the years. Some moms or dads have passions for subjects that can be shared with groups. We have been part of the following co-ops and classes at different times over our 15 years of homeschooling: Science Co-Op, Political Science Co-Op, US Geography Co-Op, African Missions Co-Op, Art Class, Spanish Class, Public Speaking Class, History Class, not to mention the dozens and dozens of field trips with other home schoolers. These are all classes or co-ops that were taught/organized by homeschool families.
KEEP YOURSELF IN CHECK:
- Are you humbling yourself before the Lord for guidance and dependence?
- Are creating a government classroom in your home or are you fostering a love for learning? Let them feel, touch, smell, taste as much as possible. Make learning real!
- Are you looking to your husband for answers and insight?
- How is YOUR attitude? Are you showing diligence and patience? Are you talking to your children the way you talk to your friends?
- Is your relationship with your child more important than their school work for the day? Once you have their heart you can lead them anywhere.
- Are you comparing your child with others? Remember everyone is different…praise the Lord! Build up his strengths, work at his weaknesses. Encouragement, encouragement, encouragement!
- Are you putting character issues before academics? Hitler was a very intelligent man, with no character qualities. I’d rather engage an adult or child who is kind, trustworthy, and willing to serve than a boastful, arrogant adult that can cite the Table of Elements.
- LIMIT TOO MANY OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES! My biggest regret in raising my children is sometimes I have been too busy doing things that really didn’t matter. If I could change anything it would be that I should have spent more time just playing. Playing is very hard for me and I wish I would have just stopped and played.
This would have been a great video clip for yesterday:
Learning at Home
Part 1 Stepping Out of the Box
Part 2 The Confusion of Socialization
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