This is how people learned before the Industrial Revolution and the implementation of the modern public schooling system. We're slowly starting to realize that a one-size-fits-all education is a crummy idea.
If students designed their own schools... from Charles Tsai on Vimeo.
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As mentioned earlier this spring in This Blogger is Moving, we recently relocated from the northeast to the southwest (for tips on how to move your homeschool, check out my March article over at The Homeschool Post, Season of Change and my April post, Like Starting Over).
In earlier times, I rarely shied away from an adventure or change of scenery. As we grow older, however, we become more grounded and when we have children that seems to root us even more to terra firma.
We spent seven years on the east coast. Seven years building a life, much of which revolved around our homeschool community and for me, personally, co-founding Mosaic Freeschool. Those seven years brought change, challenge, growth and lots of good times. It has been difficult to pick up and leave it all behind.
So, how do you re-build everything you associate with a home? This question has come to me in its various forms several times over the last few weeks. I certainly have started over before -- but this time seems different, daunting even. Since we are in "the country" (the wildflowers obliged us by blooming the week we arrived) I've had the pleasure of watching a family of barn swallows (which are surprisingly lovely birds) build a nest from scratch. They somehow got side-tracked (as the barn is several feet away from the house) and opted to place their nest strategically on the underside of the terrace roof.
The nest began as a barely recognizable splatter of grass and mud. It wasn't clear what they were doing at first, flying to the same spot over and over again, perched at a seemingly impossible angle -- with their feet clinging vertically to the side of a brick wall.
Over the course of several days it became obvious that the mud splatters and bits of grass were the framework of a much larger structure -- a nest.
What especially struck me as the hours and days wore on was the persistence of the builder. The bird would bring one tiny piece of straw at a time and weave it into the nest with its beak. Looking at the nest, you can easily guess the number of trips back and forth were probably in the hundreds. But the bird never wavered, driven by the biological imperative, it continued to bring bit after bit of building material into its home -- straw, grass, mud, white feathers of unknown origin.
And so it is with us. The task seems impossible, like it will take forever. How can it be done again? But it can, and it is also our biological imperative -- to re-build, to begin again, to piece back our homes and lives one straw at a time. Before we are aware, before we can even count the days and weeks properly, we have created another experience whose permanency may also be in doubt. I saw this quote recently and it reminded me about the necessity of beginnings and endings:
"Everything that has a beginning, has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well."
Buddha
A few days ago I thought the bird had finished the nest and it might be time to lay some eggs and get on with the business of sitting on them, but I was wrong -- there was a lot more work to be done.
Only she knows when she's done. I guess we'll have to be patient. It's ok, I've got time, I'm making my peace.
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As another year comes to a screeching halt, I am feeling a bit reflective about lessons I have learned in 2012.
Have you ever asked yourself, “What was I thinking when I decided to homeschool my kids?” I’ve had my share of those moments this year. They occur primarily when I forget to take my own advice. A long time ago, I decided that developing self-directed learners was the biggest gift I could ever give my children. When I lose my way, it generally has to do with my own insecurities about how much my children “ought to know” versus what they “already know.”
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Many of us are familiar with the term “laissez-faire economics.” What does “laissez-faire” mean? From the French, it literally means, “let do,” or by implication, let it be. Leave it alone.
In the fall of 2005, I officially began my homeschool career. As I unpacked my first box of curriculum, my peers were packing their children off to their first days of pre-school and Kindergarten.
I couldn’t help wondering if I was denying my son, and even myself, some momentous life mile marker, a rite of passage that every mother dreads, yet looks forward to.
It started out easily enough, if a bit anti-climactic. Of course, there were no breathless accounts of first days at school, no teacher descriptions, no new friend making. I felt dedicated to the idea of homeschooling, but not fully convinced.
So, what does it take to convince you that homeschooling works? Time.
My two children have never been to school. We live in a society where school is the center of all that is. If you are not a part of this society, you are “out on the fringe,” or worse yet, “passing judgment on the rest of us.” Most people are just curious, or incredulous.
They often wonder how I make my children do their work. They ask if I am a teacher by trade.
When I answer “no,” they look dubious. An un-trained teacher turned loose on her own children is a scary thing. After all, how will they learn? Or better yet, how will they be socialized? It’s easy to argue that homeschooled children do well academically, but the social sacrifice is hardly worth it. So I’ve heard.
For three years, I dutifully researched and ordered curriculum which covered all of the subjects taught in most schools, whether public or private. I struggled with my own self-doubt and homeschool demons.
I questioned whether or not I was “doing the right thing.” I noticed my oldest did not have the passion for learning that I hoped he would have. What was I doing wrong, what could I do better?
Laissez-Faire. Let it be. As frightening as it was, I decided to get out of the way. Instead of the carved up daily lessons on math, reading, vocabulary, spelling, social studies, we took a more holistic view of learning. Instead of learning bits of trivia, we concentrated on math, reading, and writing. They used to call it the 3 R’s. Once a third or fourth grader has command of the basics, then the really cool stuff can start to happen. I was skeptical at first, but slowly a passionate learner emerged.
One day last fall, my ten year old at the time, decided he would spend eight hours straight learning how to make different origami, with no intervention or help. He spent an entire summer learning difficult card tricks. The other day, he decided learning the Greek alphabet might be a good thing to do. He went through a solar system phase, which prompted him to check out every book on the subject in three different libraries. He can tell you the names of Jupiter’s moons.
I never suggested to him that he “learn” any of these things. He figured out on his own what he wanted to learn. Children are innately curious. Forcing them to learn at certain times of the year during certain hours desensitizes them to the idea that learning is organic and occurring at all times.
We crave free time as adults, yet deny our children the time to develop the skills necessary to manage free time, or simply be children…by imagining, by creating, by playing, by wondering. Where will the next generation of innovators come from?
Over the last six years, I have often chafed at the term “homeschooling.” I understand how the term came about, after all, we are “schooling at home.” It is so much more than that. As a matter of fact, I have started to reject the idea of “schooling” altogether. I’m not sure it adequately describes this journey we are on.
Therefore I submit “laissez-faire learning.” Get out of the way. Let it be, leave them alone. Watch what happens.
This article first appeared in educationrevolution.org under the title "Laissez-faire Learning"
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About two years ago, my homeschooling friend and I were kicking around a simple idea; how could we present certain subjects to our children that would make them (the subjects, not the children) more palatable?
We knew that they liked hanging out together (our children share ages and interests), and we knew there might be a couple of academic areas where we could share the work and collaborate on materials and presentation ideas. Once we narrowed it down to two classes (writing and history), we decided to see if anyone else might like to join us. Not really a homeschool co-op, but more along the lines of study groups, facilitated by a parent. And you could choose which study group you wanted to participate in -- come to one, come to both, you decide.
Because we planned to meet just once a week, as many homeschool groups do, the classes would actually be 90 minutes in length, a little bit like college, and it might even be a good idea to give the kids some things to do during the week to prepare for the following week. In fact, our subjects were things you would normally be studying at home on your own, so if we led the class and students completed some additional work on their own, the moms at home could have a little break, too. Unlike a traditional co-op, kids could get dropped off and picked up after class.
Instead of meeting in a home, we checked to see if we could use a couple of rooms at our local library; sure enough we could.
Energized, we started planning our individual lessons for the year, uncertain that anyone would even sign up or show up.
By August of 2011, interest had started to trickle in. By posting on multiple homeschool listserves, we had managed to attract enough attention to get started. By mid-September 2011, we actually had the beginnings of our "school" and were bumping up against our maximum capacity.
Our first year was successful in many ways; we were lucky enough to attract the right students who were enthusiastic about participating and engaged in the learning process. We also noticed they just liked being together.
Now heading into our second year, we have expanded into a new facility, taking over three classrooms. We are holding interviews to narrow down which students to invite into our little community. Committed to class sizes of no more than about ten students, our future growth will depend on adding additional classes. Slow, thoughtful growth will allow us to go from thirteen students in 2011 (ages nine to thirteen) to our maximum capacity of twenty-eight children this fall (ages five to thirteen).
There is a delicate balance between learning in isolation and learning as a group, the trick is to strike the balance, and the path to understanding where that lies is the path we continue to pursue.
Why Mosaic? Our students are a mosaic -- lots of colorful pieces that make up a whole. Why Freeschool? Not meant to take the place of homeschooling, freeschooling gives you the freedom to choose educational experiences while still enjoying all the benefits of a home education.
I watched a live streaming video recently of a speech given by Sir Ken Robinson on becoming the catalyst for the education revolution. It was very encouraging, because he believes we are headed for a complete metamorphosis in education and that it must be a grass roots movement. Just one family, one person -- opting out -- can make a difference.
If you have an idea about how your children might learn best, whether it is entirely alone or with others, don't be afraid to explore every alternative. Sometimes what is readily available might not be what you are looking for. You might need to start something of your own. It can be a lot of work, but watching your family reach "homeschool nirvana" is pretty rewarding, too.
For the first time last year, I feel we reached it -- together.
Mosaic Freeschool is a member of the Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO).
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Hey kids, it's almost time to get back to school!
Not at our house.
P.S. Have the courage to do something different. This year, just say "No."
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Alternative Education. I talk about it a lot. But what does it actually mean?
Alternative Education takes many, many forms. In fact, I have become something of a "Student of the Movement" over the last year. If you are looking for one sentence, and most people are (since that is the extent of their attention span) Alternative Education typically refers to a way of learning that does not follow the modern model (i.e., planting your tush in a seat six hours per diem.) When we talk about "alternative schools" we do not mean public schools where non-conforming or problem children are sent -- those are alternative in name only.
Homeschooling is a more obvious choice withing the AltEd movement, but what if you can't or just genuinely don't want to homeschool? What are your options? Do you have any at all?
Of course, I recommend homeschooling. Some of the resources available to the homeschooling community in the year 2012 are truly remarkable, but let's define some of the other choices, shall we?
The greatest thing about homeschooling is that you can blend many of the above methods into your own eclectic, creative approach. And if you don't think an alternative school is near you, think again. Check out AERO's list of alternative schools worldwide.
No school near you? Well, maybe you should start one. There's help with that, too.
These are the things that keep me up at night. Not in a bad way. In a way that says, "Big things are happening in education. Things that will change the way we live and learn." I'm profoundly proud, I'm totally driven, to continue to be a part of the revolution.
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Five years ago this month I wrapped up my first official year of homeschooling.
My oldest completed first grade in June of 2007. Of course, I maintain that we started homeschooling at birth. We even made an attempt to formally homeschool in pre-school and Kindergarten — I had come by a box or two of a well-known curricula, and we would sit down and plod our way through the workbooks when the spirit moved us. In the fall of 2005, we initiated what would become a major move to the opposite coast, so following a traditional schedule for Kindergarten was not on the calendar.
It takes some time to figure out what works best...continue to read a little bit about our discovery process over at The Homeschool Post.
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We’ve all heard the idiomatic phrase, “History is written by the victors.” In fact, Napoleon once said, “What is history but a fable agreed upon?” We’ve been reading about Napoleon in our world history studies, and believe me, he knew a few things about winning.
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