This Presidential Election Reinforces How Glad I Am to Homeschool

In an election season where we  have seen numerous examples of corruption, narcissism, poor ethics, and megalomania, it reinforces for me that I am so glad I have taken control of my children’s education back from the government.  I trust that my husband and I know what is better for our children’s education than people with power, money, and agendas at stake.

Dr. Ken Robinson states in Creative Schools: “One of my deepest concerns is that while education systems around the world are being reformed, many of these reforms are being driven by political and commercial interests that misunderstand how real people learn and how great schools actually work. As a result, they are damaging the prospects of countless young people.” Dr. Robinson also  delivered the most watched  talk in history of TED called “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”

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I am excited and grateful to be part of the contemporary homeschooling movement. We are a grassroots  movement of families creating innovative, entrepreneurial, and customized educational programs for our children. In addition to solid academics, our kids are learning in such a wide variety of environments that just can’t be replicated with brick-and-mortar schools. The joy and creativity bursting from them is powerful and gives me such hope for the contributions they will make in the future for our world! Innovators and creators are in great demand in this 21st-century economy!

“If parents understood that they are responsible for their children’s education in the same way that they are responsible for their feeding, housing, and clothing, we would see far more attention given to the content and structure of educational programs.”–Ron Paul in The School Revolution

Thoughts about Schools on Trial

“On most mornings, millions of young people depart from their homes and travel by cars and yellow buses to drab-looking, claustrophobic buildings. Here, they will be warehoused for the next 6-7 hours. Every forty minutes, they are shepherded from room to room at the sound of a bell. They sit in desks in rows with 20-30 people of similar age, social class, and often race. They are drilled in facts and inculcated with specific attitudes and behaviors. If they get out of their seat, talk out of turn, or misbehave, they risk being drugged to induce passivity. Their day is preplanned for them. To succeed, orders and rules must be followed.”

This is a perfect day of learning to me!

“At the end of the day, they return home bone tired. There, they are forced to complete a few more hours of…homework. They follow the almost exact same routine for five days a week, 180 days a year, for thirteen years, until they are set free or begin another game called college.”

This is a passage from the new book by Nikhil Goyal, a crusader championing experiential and democratic education, called School on Trial: How Freedom and Creativity Can Fix Our Educational Malpractice. I sure am thankful for our freedom in homeschool to learn in such a wide variety of environments and ways! He goes on to discuss everything from mindlessly copying down notes from a lecture with little or no engagement, recall-based exams of which he has forgotten it all and totally scripted labs. Near and dear to my heart, he talks about how his joy of reading was robbed by the school system.

Homeschoolers: Originals and Non-Conformists

As a homeschooler, you are an original and non-conformist ready to move the world! Instead of your kids attending conventional schools like 96% of the K-12 population in the USA, you have demonstrated the mettle to provide your children a different experience and opportunity. 

 

We immersed ourselves in the  genius of  the Walt Disney Company last year at a weekly class inside Disneyland.

 

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”–George Bernard Shaw

I love to read a wide array of books, synthesize the information, and apply the lessons to education and homeschooling. I will share many of these synapses with you on my blog with hopes you will have take-aways for your homeschool. Today, I will discuss the #1 New York Times bestseller, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant. 

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Foreword by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg

 

According to the book: “Conformity means following the crowd down conventional paths and maintaining the status quo. Originality is taking the road less traveled, championing a set of novel ideas that go against the grain but ultimately make things better.”

“Originals are people who take the initiative to make their visions a reality….When we become curious about the dissatisfying defaults in our world, we begin to recognize that most of them have social origins. Rules and systems were created by people.”

As homeschoolers, we have not followed the conventional path but have taken the road less traveled and created a better education and lifestyle for our children than the status quo. By demonstrating this vision and initiative, we have modeled for our children not to conform and to think critically.

I hope my kids will move the world  with their passion and ideas. As we have embraced a lifestyle with plenty of time for learning out in the world in a variety of ways as well as a home rich in literature and discussion, they are learning to be original and not follow the crowd or a set of codified rules in a classroom.

Hands-on learning at the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution!

Weekly sailing and kayaking with friends!

 

Condoleezza Rice Writes About Her Homeschool Memories

We are reading an autobiography that the extraordinary Condoleezza Rice, former United States Secretary of State, wrote for kids. Here is an excerpt in which she talks about her homeschool experience:

“Mother was very systematic about my school day. We’d get up and see Daddy off to work and then start ‘school’. She ordered the first-and second-grade texts in math, science and reading and took me through them in a very rigorous fashion. I’d take tests every week to chart our progress. This flexible schedule also allowed time to practice piano, and as a result, I advanced significantly during this period.”

“This flexible schedule also allowed time to practice piano, and as a result, I advanced significantly during this period.”–Condoleeza Rice

“Occasionally, if I did well in my schoolwork, we would knock off a little early and go shopping in downtown Birmingham. One such trip yielded my first Barbie doll, dressed in the iconic black and white zebra-striped bathing suit. But for the most part, my mother was all business and very demanding.”

“But for the most part, my mother was all business and very demanding.”–Condoleeza Rice

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Note: She wrote, “After launching me academically, my mother returned to work.” She was educated at home for a year or two. I like how she talks about the extra time she gained with homeschooling allowed her to advance quickly.

For ideas on adding more structure to your schedule, you may be interested in:

Academic Scheduling for More Experiential Learning Part One

Academic Scheduling for More Experiential Learning Part Two

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From The School Revolution by Ron Paul

“If parents understood that they are responsible for their children’s education in the same way they are responsible for their feeding, housing, and clothing, we would see far more attention given to the consent and structure of educational programs.”–Ron Paul

“Parents would seek out the best programs they could afford. They would sacrifice for the sake of their children’s education in the same way that they sacrifice their feeding housing and clothing.”–From The School Revolution by Ron Paul

Note: Ron Paul is a big advocate of homeschooling and talks a lot about it in this book, The School Revolution. I highly encourage you to read it. The book is very inspiring, and I have read it several times.

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You can sign up to follow The Contemporary Homeschooler via email by clicking on the Follow button. Also, join our community on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/TheContemporaryHomeschooler/

Note: If you decide to make a purchase through my blog link, Amazon will pay me a commission for it.  This doesn’t cost you anything additional. These commissions help to keep the rest of my content free. So, thank you!