Mar 31 2008
It’s Not the Child
I have a new post up at Life Without School titled It’s Not the Child. I wrote this after what seemed like a slew of posts on some of my homeschool lists from parents who seemed very worried that something was wrong because their children were not picking up certain concepts at particular times.
When I first started homeschooling, I was very lucky to find some wonderful homeschool mentors who were able to reassure me that my kids and I were doing fine and that we were all right where we needed to be. That there were no such things as “educational emergencies”. And as my kids have gotten older, I have learned to that they were right.
I find that the longer I homeschool, the more paradigm shifts I have. One of the most reassuring shifts I have had is that if my child is struggling with something, he either is not ready to learn it and needs more time or the information is not being presented in a way that makes sense to him and he needs a different approach. Either way, the problem is not with my child.
One of the things that I truly love about homeschooling is that I am on my children’s side. If something is not working, we can fix it. I don’t have to get them to be where someone else says they should be. I can help them get to where they should be.
Very cool…excellent point- and just the thing for me to pass on to a couple of people I am thinking of :0)
I like the line about “educational emergencies.” That concept only comes from the constant comparisons made by standardizing curriculum. Thanks for the reminder that homeschooling works.
That is a great thing to be reminded of. Thanks. Reminds me of potty training. When they’re ready they’re ready and not one minute sooner.