Jan. 9, 2006
What Are the Goals for Our Family's Education?
This was originally posted July 7, 2005 at South of the Gnat Line.
What is the Goal?
My experience has been that most of the non-homeschooling community in this country (the U.S.), has a limited understanding of why we homeschool to begin with - there is this HUGE assumption that we are afraid of the world and hope to hide our children for some apocalyptic event or that we are hippies and eat no meat (and there is certainly nothing wrong with that ~ there has been many a day, I've seriously considered seeking that possibility.....! ha! LOL!)............I have great respect for the vegetarian community - especially their self discipline!
It is wonderful to be able to answer this question so that there is a shared understanding (maybe - maybe not) of both why we homeschool as well as what our goals are. Obviously the "why's" and the "goals" for every homeschooling family are as different as each person's DNA. I didn't have to seek any professional help to help my sons sit up, crawl, walk, learn to speak, or to understand that, "the stove will burn you, Honey".......and while I didn't homeschool from the beginning, I now realize that homeschooling is a natural occurrence (i.e. Living Life) and should have existed all along with public or private choices being the oddities for educating our children. [".......you're sending your child where?" (very heavy southern accent on the "wheya")]
For the GOALS: The ultimate goal is that our sons will be able to live full lives, independently, having been empowered with the love and burning desire of learning seasoned with the understanding that our education is LIFELONG and not limited to just twelve years with mandatory college to please and gain approval from the masses with 2 pieces of paper. That simply is NOT realistic and benefits no one.
I will never forget when my oldest son was about 4 or 5 years old and he said to me, "Mommie when I grow up, I want to be.........." It hit me like a ton of bricks and my immediate response was, "I hope when you grow up you will be SAM." I knew then that it would be my personal goal to teach my sons that who they are has little if anything to do with how they support themselves financially. We have our whole lives to pursue our talents and interests and we are not limited to just one "career" (why not spend one decade per career?). I am not JUST a mom or a wife or a daughter...... and nor should we limit our children by such a mindset that the world spoon feeds us. [Disclosure statement (LOL): I am not saying that being a mother and wife are not significant - they are the 2 most significant roles of my entire life............but I have a HUGE desire to learn (elbow to elbow w/my sons), to pursue interests, to explore this earth that God created and to live and I hope to hand over that torch to our sons.]
There are obviously short term and annual goals that lead to the long term goal ("you have to crawl [some] before you can walk..."), and, I have to add, that there are times and circumstances when it IS necessary for even the most independent of homeschoolers to seek outside resources and supplemental help for areas that fall outside their expertise or ability to teach a given topic or skill. Doesn't that mirror life? "Okay, we need some new electrical wiring done..........so we call the "electricians"............." I can read the books - but I'm not so small minded that I will put my home at risk...............and the same applies with our children with certain aspects of their academia. NOTE: there is huge difference between "academia" and one's "education".
I cannot imagine turning the decades back like pages in a book, to observe how it came to be (so, so subtle) that we have been led to surrender our children over to others...................
Harriette K. Jacobs
Copyright 2005/2006
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