Daily Archives: September 4, 2006

General Homeschooling

Well, I AM Opinionated…

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…but no, I think I’ll pass on the opportunity to rap with Dr. Phil. Now, if Jon Stewart wants to talk homeschooling, I am so there.

Via Spunky:

Do you think home schooling children is the best way for them to be
educated?  Do you believe the home environment allows children to learn
at a pace that they’re most comfortable with? Do you think it’s
important for children to decide what subjects they’re interested in so
they can concentrate on what most stimulates their mind?  Or do you
home school your child to protect them from being teased, taunted, or
bullied.  If you want to tell to Dr. Phil why you have a strong opinion
on home schooling, please tell us your story!!!

I love the disingenousness of this blurb from the Dr. Phil website. Do you believe the home environment allows children to learn
at a pace that they’re most comfortable with? Well, yeah. But at least it seems like the folks behind it have made a stab at doing their research…sounds like they’ve picked up on unschooling as a possibility, and they’re aware that people are choosing home education for a variety of reasons, and that there can be many different "strong opinions" about why homeschooling is a great choice.

But the headline on that web page is "Believe ONLY in Home Schooling?"—which is a loaded question and makes me suspicious…I hope the show doesn’t end up being a showcase of strident, extremist personalities who leave viewers with a bad impression. So go ahead, you nice, sane, personable Lilting House readers: go out there and show the world how charming we are!

Uncategorized

Welcome Aboard—No, Wait, Make That “Welcome Off the Train”

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Rick Riordan, author of the popular Percy Jackson novels, has decided to homeschool his eleven-year-old son.

"I was sure he’d be ready to run for the hills by now, but nope. He tells me every day that he loves home-schooling.

"Some
of the things he’s done so far: He has learned the basics of geography
and designed his own continent, complete with maps, a narrative
reflecting the five themes of geography, and a bar graph showing
immigration patterns. He has begun writing a short fantasy novel (His
idea, amazingly, not mine – I would never wish my choice of professions
on anyone unless they were truly determined and a little crazy!). He
spent a morning studying minerals with his grandfather, a retired
physician who has been itching to share his love of science. He takes
walks every morning with his mother. He reads about twice as much as he
used to, and sometimes even reads more than he’s required to. Gasp! I
am teaching him guitar and he’s learned seven chords. He’s taken a
pottery class at a local art studio. In English, we’re doing a unit on
Norse mythology. He’s watching his own stock portfolio and learning to
invest. And of course, he still has his friends over to play in the
afternoons."

I just got so happy reading this. Yes, yes, this is why we do it! The meaningful connections: with science, music, literature, history, art, finance, geography, and most important, people. Time to take long walks with mom, time to compare notes about the maddening joys of writing with dad, time to explore grandpa’s favorite subject with grandpa himself.

Rick expresses some of the concerns many new-to-home-education parents have, but it sounds like the whole family has embraced this new adventure with gusto, and I wish them great joy.