During the 20 years that I homeschooled, there are only 6 years that I taught all four of them. Does this surprise anyone else, or is it just me? Now for fifteen years of the total twenty, there were three or four kids at the house; it’s simply that all four were not always “in official school” although we were always learning no matter the age.
Having one child in school has bookended my teaching experience: one year at the beginning and five here at the end. I’ve taught one child for the same amount of time as I taught four. Weird. That was surprising to discover.
I’m not sure what this tells us but it’s part of the 20 year reflection. It also makes me want to add that we did school at the kitchen table — the table we ate our meals at. In case you’re wondering if it IS possible to “do school” without a dedicated school room; it is. It’s a daily hassle to move books so we can eat but it was also convenient to be in the kitchen and cook or stir something and still be near the schooling.
It is good to ponder what education is and what is required. Several things that we think of as “school” are classroom management tools — which is not a bad thing. They are particularly helpful in the classroom. However, they are often they are not needed in the home school environment. Discernment comes as we discover about how children learn and ideal educational environments.
Here’s a quote by William Butler Yeats that I love. It was above my desk for a long time.
“Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire.”
How do we light a fire of curiosity and desire to learn? That’s the question we need to be asking whether we’re schooling 1 child or sixteen children.
Do you agree? What lights the spark?
#mondaysbymidnight
#reflectionson20years
