The Mother Lode

I’ve been in the midst of my annual “Am I doing enough crisis.”   Thankfully, it’s been a long time since the days of monthly or even weekly panic attacks wondering if I was destroying my children’s opportunities for a successful future by educating them at home.

These moments can be precipitated by a simple talk with another mom whose 12 year-old-child has just been accepted into medical school….or something as simple as my kid still taking waaaaaaaay too long to answer: What’s 8×6?  (BTW-How long did that take you?)

Like the course of a viral illness, my progression from panic to resolution in these matters are pretty darn predictable.  It usually starts with a  2:00am wide-eyed assessment of my kids’ academic achievement, followed by 2 days of soul searching and ending with a study of the local public schools’ Scope and Sequence.

For those of you blessedly unfamiliar with what a Scope and Sequence is, it is that magical course created by the Powers That Be, that Johnny must know what prepositions are in 5th grade….not 8th….not 12th….but 5th grade.  Sally must take Algebra in 9th grade….not 11th. Etc, etc…

If you’ve watched “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader” you’ll get an idea of what a typical fifth grade classroom is studying.  (And the irrelevant bits of knowledge that most adults are unable to recall.)

Anywho.  Back to my typical progression and the ultimate resolution.  (At least for another year.)

This year I have  Mrs. Whose-It at a local school to thank for my speedy recovery when she reported what she was doing with her 5th grade English class.

“Students are asked to bring their favorite stuffed animal on Wednesday to demonstrate prepositional phrases.”

As in…Bo-Bo is UNDER THE TABLE or Fluffy is flying THROUGH THE AIR.

Yep.  That about fixed it.

I thought about my all-boy Caleb walking the hallowed halls of academia with a stuffed animal under one arm and an English text under the other.

And I felt sorry for all the little boys, future movers and shakers, warriors and explorers,  that will never be, because over the course of 12 years of institutionalization and stuffed animals…they have been dumbed down and homogenized into a miserable state of existence.

Saddest part—many don’t even realize this until a mid-life crisis at 40-something (or 50-something or 60-something) leaves them wondering who the heck they are.

Now lemme back up here….I’m not throwing rocks at Mrs. Whose-It. Bless her heart, she’s doing the best she can to creatively teach prepositions. ( And I bet the girls, who probably already “got” prepositional phrases, had a blast with the object lesson.)

And children who already have a strong sense of who they are, can and will pass through the system just fine.

But there is no such thing as a One Size Fits All curriculum.  However, there IS a One Size Fits Me curriculum.

And it’s going to vary wildly from child to child.  The biggest downside of this curriculum is the the tendency of mom to compare.

God help me to stay the course and remember that a successful education ultimately means having a child who knows who they are and fully embraces their wonderful, and brief,  gift of life.

And like John Eldridge put in in his wonderful book, Wild at Heart…(rough paraphrase)….don’t ask yourself what does the world need…ask yourself what makes you become fully alive and do that.  The world needs people who have become fully alive.

So yeah….what he said.  (Stuff animals optional.)

Filed under: homeschooling, Individuality, Labels are for Soup Cans | Tagged: dumbing us down, homeschool, homeschooling, public education | 3 Comments »