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

Why I’m Thankful for My Messy Homeschool House

This messy homeschool house is what I came home to this afternoon.  Just off an all-day field trip yesterday and a full day at co-op today, my house will not win any Good Housekeeping awards. Honestly, this is more the norm for my house than an anomaly.

To be frank, a neat house is not my strength or priority. We love to spend our time out experiencing the world and exploring with friends! I cherish the time I read aloud to my kids. I’d much rather be doing those things than fussing over a meticulous house.

This is my trade-off for a neat house. Here are priceless memories from yesterday at an apple farm in the mountains where we learned about life in the late 1800’s as well as pressed apples and made cider with some of our dearest friends.

Fostering Innovation

“We need new and unusual experiences to think differently. For not only artists but innovators of all stripes, new experiences provide the crucial tissue of real-world material that can be spun into original work. Openness to experience–the drive for cognitive exploration of one’s inner and outer worlds–is the single strongest and most consistent personality trait that predicts creative achievement.”–From Wired to Create by Kaufman and Gregiore

Note: As homeschoolers,  we are in an excellent position to expose our kids to new and unusual experiences. We have the flexibility, time and a smorgasbord of experiences from which to choose.