Hello, just popping on to share a quick hot takes on home schooling (I was homeschooled! I loved it!).

Talking points:
- curriculum (mostly bad!)
- grades and tests (also mostly bad)
- your home is not a school, don't try to make it one.

I tend to think that a lot of curriculum (homeschool and otherwise) is a waste of money and educationally ineffective. People buy curriculum because they want the best for their kids, they're afraid & it seems like a clear, measurable, obvious option (hence extortion prices!)

Here's the thing: curriculum (especially with topics like history, literature, religion) trains students to approach texts as containers of correct answers so that they can reproduce them on a test. The goal of textbooks is to reduce information to its simplest form.

This is why textsbooks are good for things like science, language, math, etc. You need to just memorise things! It's good! However, when it comes to the humanities, I think textbooks can be both dangerous and ineffective...

With topics like theology, history, and literature, a textbook acts as though it "knows" the answer, and wants you to memorise it reproduce it on a test. This is dangerous because it can tend towards a propagandist approach to history (which is very evident in some curriculums).

But with the humanities, the real goal should be learning intellectual empathy, critical thinking, idea comprehension. Students should be reading a huge corpus of diverse perspectives and stories, and constantly asking themselves "what do I think of this?"

It's always dangerous to put your children's (or your own!) understanding of history, theology, and literature into ONE textbook author's hands.

But the solution is surprisingly simple: read real books! read lots of them! read lots of different kinds! discuss them vigorously!

That was my parent's approach, and I'm very thankful because it saved me a lot of un-learning from some of the strange ideas some friends got from homeschool curriculum and realised were either not true, partially true, or just very blinded by their own perspective.

Okay, point two. This is my own personal pet peeve: grades and multiple choice tests, neither of which I was given growing up. Again, I think the appeal is that people feel a bit at sea, and grades and tests are a "measurable outcome." But, again, I think it's largely unhelpful.

Multiple choice tests are good for things that you need to memorise (languages, sciences, math) and I suppose they may demonstrate you were paying attention reading. But what is more important is teaching students to ENGAGE with learning, to think about it, own it, wrestle w/ it.

Grades, in my opinion, demotivate most students, especially at a young age. Your goal shouldn't be to have a straight A student, it should be to have a student who is maxing out their capacity, enjoying learning, and discovering their strengths.

If you're an excellent student and you get an A with very little effort, you won't be inspired to push yourself. If you're a C student in some subject, and won't ever be *great* at that subject, you won't see your growth as growth unless it's an A. But that's silly!!

Okay, final one (I need to edit my Phd): your home is not a school. I think many people when they start homeschooling put a lot of pressure on themselves to simply import school and it's methods into their home. Exasperation and Exhaustion this way lies!

Schools, with their schedules and desks and time tables aren't somehow magically the best way to learn. In fact! Those particular forms of school have more to do with crowd management than the education. (and come largely from Industrial Revolution, but don't get me started...)

Home has its own educational advantages. It can become a laboratory of learning, an ecosystem crafted to "awaken wonder" as my mom says. Let corners be stacked w/ inviting books! Spend a whole week on science! Get really into classical musicians! Cooperate with natural curiosity.

Lean into the advantages of HOME education. Realise that most of learning doesn't happen at a desk. Trust that it will all take a while. Don't be strict just because you're afraid. Take the pressure off yourself and your kids. Read a ton of books out loud.

I certainly am no expert on home education, but I can say that mine has served me very, very well. I'm nearly done with a Phd at 25. I actually like my parents. And the flame of delight in learning that was ignited as a kid has never gone out.

I did this thread today because I was on my mom's podcast chatting with her about my experience being homeschooled which you can listen to here. (I think my hot take is towards the end). https://sallyclarkson.com/podcast/2020/7/19/tzcc30sqqft2ql8fmvwapurpkudn5o

Also, my mom's book "Awaking Wonder" about her approach to education is coming out this August. I can give it my wholehearted endorsement, and would even if she were not my mom. If you're floundering, GET A COPY!
https://www.amazon.com/Awaking-Wonder-Opening-Childs-Learning/dp/0764235885/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3QY0WFK6YPFVS&dchild=1&keywords=awaking+wonder+sally+clarkson&qid=1594143448&sprefix=Awaking+Wonder%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1

K, I'm off to edit Phd now. Praying for all you parents making hard decisions in these crazy times!