My husband and I were once asked by a homeschooling skeptic if we care about outcomes. That is, this person wondered, do we care if our children attend top colleges, get the best jobs, make the most money, and so on. I think this is a reasonable question from someone trying to gain a clearer understanding of our homeschooling--or rather unschooling--approach to education. Our short answer was no, that those outcomes are not the things we care about. But, yes, we do care about outcomes.
We, like most parents, hope that our children live happily, simply, freely. We hope that they discover their passions and are provided the opportunity to achieve their goals. We hope that they treasure family, community, and the natural world and devote much time to each.
Homeschooling doesn't promise these outcomes, any more than traditional schooling promises the outcomes presented by the skeptic. Our hope for homeschooling our children is that it offers them the time and space to recognize and fully realize their unique gifts as both children and adults. If they want to attend top colleges, get top jobs, and earn top salaries, then good for them. And if they don't want that, then good for them.
We see our role as facilitators, helping our children uncover their interests and talents, providing resources to learn and explore, and allowing them the time, space, and love to grow up to be happy, thoughtful, engaged citizens. Those outcomes we care deeply about.
Beautifully said, Kerry! I couldn't agree more! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shel!
DeleteI've wondered about this since I first discovered your blog, and this post revived the question for me. Do you personally feel completely free from societal attitudes/expectations about education? Two things jumped out at me when I first discovered your blog -- the "M.Ed." after your name and the higher education information in the first line of your profile. Do you feel you would be less credible as a homeschooling advocate if you didn't have a Masters in Education? Or if your degree came from Roxbury Community? Not that Roxbury Community has a Masters program, but you know what I'm trying to get at. I have to admit, having grown up in a traditional Asian family (think "Tiger Mom"), I struggle with these issues all the time.
ReplyDeleteJane,
DeleteThanks so much for your interesting and thoughtful comment. Regarding your first questions about societal expectations, I honestly do feel completely doubt-free about homeschooling. Partly it's because I see how it fits with the rhythm of our family, and partly it's because we are active in a large and committed homeschooling network here in the city.
Regarding your second observation, I wonder what you, as a reader, think? Would you be less interested in visiting if I didn't have an M.Ed? I include that information because I think my graduate work in education policy provides an interesting perspective from which to discuss homeschooling as another education option for families. I very strongly feel, however, that parents do not need college degrees or education-specific training to homeschool their children. We are all our children's first teachers, and I find that unschooling for us is a natural extension of the living and learning we have always done.
I would enjoy continuing this discussion with you, Jane! Thanks again for commenting.
-Kerry
*WARNING: LONG!*
DeleteSorry, I didn't word my last comment well at all! I wasn't questioning whether you had any doubts about homeschooling -- it's clear from your blog that you are confident in and committed to your decision. My question was actually linked to my observation about your academic credentials. I.e. Were you influenced by the societal bias that says "College-educated? Good. Advanced degree? Better. From a top-tier school? Best!" when writing your profile and listing your credentials? From your post, I guessed (correctly) that you were not coming from that angle at all, but wanted to ask anyway. The question, I'll admit, is largely a reflection of my own internal debate about higher education. Personally, I no longer buy into the aforementioned societal bias, but I did at one point because that's what my parents taught me. And I know that plenty of other people still buy into it. My cousin wanted her daughter's first word to be "Harvard" and her son's first word to be "Columbia." I'm not sure about the third child, but I'm guessing she was assigned "Yale." I kid you not. My other cousin, who lives in Seoul, was fretting that his daughter would fall behind because he and his wife dragged their feet and didn't hire a private tutor until the child was 6 months old. Yes, you read that right. Most babies born to affluent, well-educated families in Seoul slip right out of the birth canal and into the arms of a private tutor.
This is something I think about quite a bit. If my daughter doesn't attend a top-tier college, or doesn't attend college at all, I'll be fine with that. Her dad will be fine with that. But how will others perceive her?
Just to be clear, as a reader, it makes no difference to me whether you have a Masters or not. I read the blog because it's interesting, not because you have the proper credentials. If I were trying to persuade my cousins to read the blog, however, I would totally play up the "But she went to Hah-vahd!" angle. =)
Jane,
DeleteThanks for your clarifying comment. It is very insightful. I did not grow up in an environment, like you describe, that placed top priority on life outcomes around the best colleges, best jobs, etc., but I can see how very challenging it would be to embrace homeschooling and more natural, child-led parenting if cultural and family pressures were working against you, constantly requiring you to defend your beliefs and positions. That's tough. I am so impressed that you have been able to recognize these cultural influences in your own life and take on the job of parenting authentically, from the heart, trusting your daughter to show you the way.
-Kerry
I very much agree with Kerry. That being said, to the extent that traditional good outcomes may be desirable, homeschooling is so efficient and self-paced, that you can often get those outcomes as well as those Kerry mentioned. My kids spend about an hour a day on a traditional online curriculum. Honestly, I am just too chicken to only do pure unschooling. The rest of the time we do unschooling. My kids are way ahead of their peers. You can see a related post at http://homeschoolinginbuffalo.blogspot.com/2012/01/defensive-testing.html
ReplyDeleteMy son finished kindergarten before he turned five, and my daughter was more than halfway through kindergarten by her fourth birthday. All this with less stress and vastly more freedom.
Liz, thank you so much for bringing up the important point that not all homeschoolers are unschoolers, with many choosing traditional curriculum and others using an eclectic approach, perhaps using curriculum for certain learning areas and not others. I appreciate your clarification and link.
Delete-Kerry
Wonderful Post!
ReplyDelete