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Ebenezer
Jul. 31, 2008
"Overachieving" homeschoolers
Please go read this lovely post at Red Sea School. I, too, tire of people who think I'm pushing my children too hard or who think that I'm being elitist. If you've read my previous post(s), I hope you see I'm just filling a need. Even though my son is going into 5th grade, high school is barely registering in our thoughts. We aren't in a race. We aren't comparing. We just do our own thing. We go --at most -- a year at a time in planning, based on current needs and interests. It's only overachieving when compared to the average student. For my kid, it's just achieving.
And if I may digress a moment: the problem with education is not underachieving, or overachieving. It's the fact that we set the same bar for every student, putting requirements such as three years of high school math on kids for whom trade school would be more valuable and exciting and meaningful, causing them to lose their spark, and not at all challenging students who need it and who therefore lose their spark. There's something to be said for ability-based tracking, especially when children are allowed to have input into what track they're assigned to. If they want to try the academic track, let them go for it, but give them the freedom to move to a technical track or an arts track if it doesn't work out. And vice versa. But we're so concerned with comparisons, or rather lack of comparisons -- that everyone should be equal in all abilities (except sports) -- that we're afraid to let kids follow their passions.
Anyway: Please read this. |
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Comments
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Jul. 31, 2008 - Thanks for commenting!
We are enjoying the challenges of homeschooling an unusually bright child -- mainly the challenge of keeping up with her!