A lady came in the shop today who is part of a group of parents who home school their kids.
On the whole, I don't approve of home schooling, because I think, for many, home schooling is an excuse for no schooling whatsoever.
Don't get me wrong...I am quite aware of the advantages--your kids are home and safe. They can learn at their own pace, and the schooling does not have to stop at 3:00 PM. In the hands of a qualified teacher/parent, the one-on-one teaching is much better for the kids.
From my atheist point of view, many Christian fundamentalists use home schooling to promote their own, Biblical spin on the facts of science. To me, this is a travesty, and these kids are not at all ready to interact with the rest of the world. Often, they have far less contact with other kids or other adults, which leads to a very insular existence. I realize that is why a lot of home schooling parents undertake such a grueling project, but it does not seem to me to be a good idea.
However, the lady who came in today is part of a group, and the group is getting together for the kids to produce a play--"Pride and Prejudice." I'm sure that working on the play and interacting with the other kids has to be a good thing.
Still, why are they renting costumes?
If I were organizing this project, I'd be having the kids research the period on the net, paying particular attention to portraits and caricatures from the early 1800s. I'd have them find out what the characters ate, what they wore, how they lived. There are foods and drinks mentioned in Jane Austen's wonderfully witty book. There are also cookbooks at the library with recipes and explanations for them.
I would have the kids make their own costumes, encouraging imagination and making-do. I would teach them to sew. I would have them make their bonnets, and explain that there were very few ways for a woman to make a living back then, and millinery was one of them.
The lady and her daughter got a good bit of information from Ramona about what was worn when and with what and by whom, BUT....
Why are they renting costumes when there are so many lessons to be learned by making their own?
I have to firmly agree with all of your views on homeschooling. In a vast majority of cases I've seen, the children end up with no concept that Life Isn't Fair, and that yes, the rules apply to them too.
ReplyDeleteFor costuming though, my guess? They probably never even -thought- about making costumes. So many people now have never sewn a stitch, and besides, they can afford to rent. But I'm with you. Major education opportunities are being missed, not to mention just the fun of sewing with Mom. Happy stuff. :)
Hi, Lisa!
ReplyDeleteYep. That's probably true.
Still, how can you take on the responsibility for your child's education without being willing to learn skills in order to teach them?
I would love to have had the opportunity to be home schooled....skip experiencing how mean an nasty kids can be. I hated being at school.
ReplyDeleteI learned to sew from my mother after they tried to teach me at school. She had to teach herself, though.
You definitely need a separate room if you are going to sew. What a mess!
I would home-school Ethan in a second if I could. Just because the "no child left behind" act has a way of holding many children back. We would CERTAINLY make our own costumes. (With help from Gramma of course.)
ReplyDelete"No child left behind" really means "No child gets ahead!"
ReplyDeleteI think we need to reform the system rather than throw it out, though.
Hi Ronni! I haven't commented in a while but I'm still reading and enjoying your blog. I have to say something here, though. I have 2 children. The oldest (27 next week) is a first grade teacher. A WONDERFUL first grade teacher. She was traditionally schooled all the way through. Her brother is 14 and I homeschooled him 3rd through 7th grade. He is back in school for 8th (and has made the honor roll every time -- so we did something right!) and it has been an ok thing. See, the thing is, in "school" he is only getting the bare bones. Everything exciting and fun about learning has been cut or is in the process of being cut. It is very distressing to everyone - students, teacher, and parents alike. Our plans are to go back to homeschooling for high school. And saying that probably shocks ME more than anyone else. But I truly believe he got a far better education with me than with the school system. I am SO not religious. And I think, as with so many things, the religious zealots give homeschooling a very bad name.
ReplyDeleteI saw a book in Sam's last weekend I wish I had picked up. I can't get it out of my mind, so when I go back I'm getting it! It was called "Lord, Save Us From Your Followers", or something like that. I live in the 'Bible Belt' so they are worse here than most places.
I absolutely agree with you about the quality of public education. I did my best to augment it with lectures, lessons, field trips, and involvement in theater, music and other activities designed to broaden the education of my kids.
ReplyDeleteI spent part of Spring Break on a field trip to Houston with my grandson.
I respect home schoolers who take the job seriously and do it right. Lord knows, I would not have the patience for the job.
As long as you make sure that your kids can fit in with society's norms as to behaviour, and can gain entrance to college, I really don't have a problem.
It's when a home schooled child comes up to me and tells me, "Halloween is the devil's birthday party," that I lose faith.
That, and when the kid spends his days hiding under his desk when he is returned to mainstream schooling.
Kudos to you for doing a wonderful job!
I would home school Johanna in a heartbeat if we could afford it. I have to return to work next year to pay for my stepkids' college. I'm not whining -- those are just the facts of my life.
ReplyDelete20+ years ago, I received a great education from public schools, but I'm distressed by what I'm seeing these days in my stepkids' public education. The standardized tests make me crazy. The teachers are hand-tied and can't be creative or fun or do things in their own style. A teacher's passion can be completely squelched by having to teach to the test. Also, public schools are continuing to make arts and physical education a lower and lower and lower priority. In some schools, they're gone altogether. Those subjects are not on the test, so why teach them? Soooo frustrating.
That being said, I'd only homeschool Johanna through elementary. Then I'd look for a good charter school or private school (again, if we could afford it, which we can't). I'm not qualified to teach math & science at a high school, and maybe even middle school (for a very bright kid, which I'm hoping Johanna will be) level.
Sorry to go on! Just wanted to give a perspective of someone who has been thinking about this a lot WRT her own kiddo.
Jooley, I think most of us have thought about it. Jim Grisham said that, if he had school-age kids nowadays, he would put them in private schools in a heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteEven I thought about it, but, when I tried to teach Chandra to read, I think I set her back about six months. I do not have a talent for teaching.
I think that parents need to treat public education as "bare bones," and augment it any chance they get. I played KUT in the car, to give my kids exposure to a wide variety of music, and to NPR news and features. We were regulars at the library. We went to music gatherings and they practically lived at the theater.