Home Education
It's actually quite difficult to recall the process that eventually led us here. I think it began years ago, when Minx was little. We considered home education then, but I felt too young, too unprepared. I felt I didn't know enough. And with a young baby to look after as well, I felt I might not have the time to dedicate myself fully to the task of home education. Knowing what we know now, we wouldn't have hesitated. Home education isn't about knowing enough, it's about admitting how much you don't know and being willing to learn with your child. I had different ideas back then about what education is.
It occurred to me that we've never been the sort of parents that defer complete responsibility for education to the school. Education doesn't begin and end at the school gate. We taught our kids to read, or rather, having listened to us reading loads of books to them at bedtime, they taught themselves to read. We taught our kids to write, or rather, having learned to read and recognise the shapes that make up words, and having watched us writing, they taught themselves to write. Our input was vital, but children don't really need adults to interfere in what is essentially a natural process. In fact, the more we interfere - the more we try to teach them what we think they ought to know, the more anxious they will become if they find themselves struggling to learn it. It's far better for children to learn at their own pace, whether it be accelerated or slower than the norm. By choosing which subjects to study themselves, children will be more motivated to learn. It's pretty simple really.
When the kids were at school, they complained that they weren't learning very much and I felt frustrated by my lack of involvement. Even though I had all the time in the world for my kids, I was of no use to them because they spent 35 hours a week separated from me. I'm surprised it took me so long to rekindle those early ideas about home educating. But I'm very happy to have got there in the end.
It occurred to me that we've never been the sort of parents that defer complete responsibility for education to the school. Education doesn't begin and end at the school gate. We taught our kids to read, or rather, having listened to us reading loads of books to them at bedtime, they taught themselves to read. We taught our kids to write, or rather, having learned to read and recognise the shapes that make up words, and having watched us writing, they taught themselves to write. Our input was vital, but children don't really need adults to interfere in what is essentially a natural process. In fact, the more we interfere - the more we try to teach them what we think they ought to know, the more anxious they will become if they find themselves struggling to learn it. It's far better for children to learn at their own pace, whether it be accelerated or slower than the norm. By choosing which subjects to study themselves, children will be more motivated to learn. It's pretty simple really.
When the kids were at school, they complained that they weren't learning very much and I felt frustrated by my lack of involvement. Even though I had all the time in the world for my kids, I was of no use to them because they spent 35 hours a week separated from me. I'm surprised it took me so long to rekindle those early ideas about home educating. But I'm very happy to have got there in the end.
"If you want to be a different fish, you gotta jump out of the school."— Captain Beefheart
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