Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool, also blogs about motherhood at Steady Mom
I am a big fan of Seth Godin. He inspires me–and much of the world–to think bigger, to embrace change, and to consider new ideas. For these reasons, I eagerly downloaded and read his recently released manifesto on education, Stop Stealing Dreams.
In blog-sized chapters, Godin outlines his ideas about how schools can and should be reformed so they allow kids to thrive while learning and to graduate prepared for a new and connected world. On all this, I couldn’t agree more.
I have doubts, though, about Godin’s thoughts on homeschooling. It’s not that he portrays it negatively. On the one hand, he acknowledges this educational path:
“Thousands of caring and committed parents are taking their kids out of the industrial system of schooling and daring to educate them themselves.”
But on the other hand he states:
“There are several problems, though–reasons for us to be concerned about masses of parents doing this solo.”
Concerned
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Godin is right–the world should be concerned about crazy homeschooling families like mine and yours.
After all, social movements have always been started by groups of people who made solid institutions feel “concerned.” I imagine quite a few were concerned when abolitionists would no longer keep silent about the evils of slavery or when women rose up and demanded the right to vote.
These movements went on to change and influence the world, and as homeschoolers continue to model a successful path through our modern-day educational minefield, so will we.
Time Commitment
“The cost (in time) of one parent per student is huge–and halving it for two kids is not nearly enough. Most families can’t afford this, and few people have the patience to pull it off.”
~ Stop Stealing Dreams, Chapter 121
Without a doubt, homeschooling involves a major time, effort, and cost commitment from families, making it out of reach for the majority. But it is within reach for many, and the important things in life always involve a sacrifice of time, cost, and commitment.
I’ve heard a similar argument before–when my husband and I completed two international adoptions to add Trishna and Elijah to our family. Opponents of adoption say that the cost is prohibitive and therefore it doesn’t work on a mass scale. Some suggest that those who adopt should instead donate the money to charity, to make a difference for greater numbers of children.
There is some truth to this argument. Adoption is a broken system–a miracle for the one, not a solution for the masses. I don’t know why my two adopted children received this miracle, but they did. And our entire family is blessed because of it.
Industrialized schooling is a broken system as well. And if it’s in my power to give my kids a superb education, it’s also my obligation, my responsibility to do so.
Just because we can’t solve the beast of schooling and all its problems overnight, it doesn’t mean that we can’t give our own kids the education we know they need and deserve. Mother Teresa said it well: “If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will.”
The one lives in our homes, and through our choice to homeschool we act to nurture their dreams. Not because it’s easy, not because we have the patience to pull it off, but because our children are worth it.
So we rise to the challenge.
Mistakes
“Without experience, new teachers are going to make the same mistakes, mistakes that are easily avoided the tenth time around…which most home educators will never get to.”
~ Chapter 121, Stop Stealing Dreams
Our mistakes provide our kids with the best education of all. The idea of avoiding mistakes comes from the notion that even when reformed, education remains a top-down, expert activity. That it is a teacher’s job to educate the student. But a true teacher’s job is to inspire the student to educate themselves, to “transfer emotion,” as Godin calls it.
And at that quality, homeschoolers come out on top. Who else can transfer emotion better than those who care more than anyone possibly could for their students? We do it all day long–when we bake apple pies in the kitchen with plenty of “help” or when we laugh together over the latest chapter of a read-aloud.
Perhaps the most inspiring thing we do is make mistakes–and apologize afterwards. Mistakes are to be embraced, not avoided. Not feared.
Fear
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“If the goal of the process is to create a level of fearlessness, to create a free-range environment filled with exploration and all the failure that entails, most parents just don’t have the guts to pull this off.”
~ Chapter 121, Stop Stealing Dreams
On this point, I firmly agree. Far too many parents are setting up schools at home exactly like the floundering institutional giant we’ve pulled our kids out of. If we follow their failing formula, we’ll get their failing results–kids who hate learning, who do the bare minimum, who follow well but are afraid to lead.
We have to be willing to pioneer and forge a new trail. I know that we can.
Homeschoolers have passion, courage, and conviction. We can fight through our fears and come out on the other side; we can fail forward and provide our kids with a world-class, leadership education.
Someday or Today
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“The common school is going to take a generation to fix, and we mustn’t let up the pressures until it is fixed. But in the meantime, go.”
~ Stop Stealing Dreams, Chapter 131
Godin advises parents and children to keep attending school, to keep pushing boundaries, but not to abandon the institution. For some, that might be the right choice. But I refuse to allow an institution to steal my kids’ dreams while simply waiting and hoping for a better system to someday evolve.
My children don’t need a great education someday, they need one now.
Homeschoolers are part of a revolution, one unique for our time.
*********
If you enjoyed this post, check out Jamie’s new book, Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy.
May our role in it impact the educational world–making it into one in which all individuals emerge from childhood with their dreams still intact. In the words of Margaret Mead,
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Thank you, Seth, for all this good food for thought.
This post originally published on March 5, 2012.
Thank you for this post. Not only are my husband and I wrestling with the homeschool decision right now, but we are in the midst of the adoption process which as you know is expensive and difficult, especially on a one-income family. But we feel it is right for us, even though sometimes I wonder if the money should be used for good in other ways. Thank you for reaffirming both how I am feeling about home school and how I feel about adoption. I love your blog, it is one of my 3 I read in the morning to get me started off right!
I’m about halfway through Stop Stealing Dreams and my thoughts are running along similar lines. We’re homeschoolers, so I’m bristling at his criticisms, but I appreciate his perspective.
Jamie, have you read Brill’s Class Warfare? He says very little about homeschooling directly, but his perspective on why schools succeed or fail is fascinating. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Brill does say the #1 factor for a child’s successful education is a great teacher that’s invested in their students’ success. That sounds like a good description of a homeschooling parent to me 🙂
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I haven’t read that, but I’ll keep an eye out for it–thanks for the recommendation!
Sounds like an interesting book. I think homeschooling can improve public schools. If enough students are leaving, the school system will try to improve so that they can keep those students. My husband is a teacher and always hears about the numbers of students they are losing to homeschooling. If they want to keep them, they will need to do something different.
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Not to mention that Homeschooled parents are still paying property taxes, but aren’t using the resources, so actually the schools then have more money per child.
Thanks so much for this post. I recently watched Waiting for Superman and felt quite uncompelled to consider public schooling, even reformed. I feel that I’m the best teacher for my child right now (maybe not always, but right now) and how can I do less than the best for my child? I do see the One (ok, there are 2!). And, it’s my duty and joy to do the best by that One.
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Thanks so much for this article. We have adopted two special needs kids from our local foster care system and are in our 13th year of homeschooling. If I had a dollar for every time someone has suggested that we could better spend our money in another way. This article spoke to my heart. We must give our children the best that we can while striving to help others.
Blessings,
Dawn
Hi! This is my first time commenting but am a long time reader. You are the first blog I check in the morning. I really appreciate your comments about homeschooling. This article helped solidify why my husband and I do what we do. I am also working through the book Leadership Education and appreciate how you weave it into your articles. It is not a well known philosophy in my neck of the woods but it really spoke to me. Thanks for the great comments and I plan to check out this manifesto.
So glad to hear that, Kristi. Thanks for taking time to comment!
You’ve inspired me to read the e-book now! My husband is a teacher, so I have a lot of respect for the challenges they face today. I want every child to have access to a great education. I agree that by trying new things, homeschooling families can spark new ideas for the sake of the whole system. (Wasn’t there a book by Guterson that argued that, too?) And parents need to be encouraged and empowered that they do have options, “costly” or not!
I have the utmost respect for hardworking teachers as well–not an easy job! And yes, most of the time we still have a choice about things, even if we choose to not make a change.
Halfway through, and I’m amazed the author doesn’t see why homeschooling, while not a fit for every familyis such a great, natural fit with almost all of his vision. It takes so much courage to buck the status quo and homeschool… We do have so many resources at our fingertips… Even the cost argument – many of us are also already bucking consumerism and the 9-5 job mentality. We are the innovators!
I loved this insightful comment, Brenna!
This is such an important, insightful post! Thank you for sharing!
-Kerry @ City Kids Homeschooling
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thank you, jamie! such an inspiring article to read. i will pass it on!
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This is great Jamie. I read about halfway through last week and thought, “This is what homeschoolers already know!”
I’m extremely grateful for his thoughts (I am a huge fan) because when he tackles the topic he brings the conversation to a new audience. But I have a hard time swallowing the sacrificial lamb bit for my own children. It’s our kids caught right in the middle of a huge shift and as long as we’re able, I’d rather keep their childhood out of the sticky mess and home — happy and free to learn.
I’d like to think they can help contribute to the solutions, not from a wounded place, but rather from an inspired perspective of what is possible.
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Yes, exactly, Hillary!
I was reading through, planning on posting pretty much what you just did Hillary, so instead I will just agree. : )
Well said, Hillary!!
My reaction was definitely to bristle at his thoughts. I want to say, too, though that for some of us, part of the reason we choose to learn at home, especially for the younger years, is that we simply do not believe children do best pulled out of home at such a young age to be raised by an institution. I’d have less issue if laws were changed to have kids begin school at about 9 years old.
We talk often about “voting with our dollars” in other areas of life so why not education? When we make a different choice, we are sending a strong (hopefully not arrogant or antagonizing) message that we believe there is a better way.
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Great thoughts and exactly how I would have responded. We’re not waiting for a failing system to fail our kids, that’s why for our family it is best to take matters into our own hands. I don’t see major education reform anytime soon, certainly not anything that will benefit kids, i.e. taking away summer vacation or adding hours to the school day will make matters worse, much worse I’m convinced. We will have kids literally raised by the system who don’t even know their parents.
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I’ve downloaded Godin’s manifesto, and have been looking forward to reading it. I’m glad for the heads-up; now I’m forewarned that some parts may be slightly infuriating to me! Your responses are thoughtful and spot-on, Jamie. Thank you. (Hope you’ve forwarded a link to Godin!)
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Love the way you pulled out some of his “concerns”. I totally agree that the system is broken and we should do what we can to help fix it. But like you said, in the meantime: “My children don’t need a great education someday, they need one now.”
We can’t sacrifice the best we can give our children so that we can help fix the system for the future.
Great thoughts!
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Thanks for this thoughtful interaction with Godin’s ideas. It’s refreshing to read intelligent and respectful dialogue about these issues.
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A great post. Thanks for the thoughtful feedback. And to be really clear, I think that talented, passionate, focused homeschooling is amazing. But I also think we can agree that the cost of this solution (taking one parent out of the paid workforce for much of every day) is extremely difficult to scale. I also hope we can agree that there’s a difference between an amazingly talented homeschooling parent and one who’s just plain lousy at it, and that kids deserve the best society can give them, regardless of whether their parents have the money and the passion and the talent and the practice to deliver it at home.
One thing in the comments jumped out at me, “I’m glad for the heads-up; now I’m forewarned that some parts may be slightly infuriating to me!”
Oh no! I hope that I infuriate here and there, but I’m worried that people need to be warned in advance…
Thanks so much for taking time to comment, Seth! I’m not sure “talent” is needed to be successful in homeschooling as much as “commitment.”
And making others think is always good, even when infuriating, yes?!
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“But I also think we can agree that the cost of this solution (taking one parent out of the paid workforce for much of every day) is extremely difficult to scale.”
I have to respectfully disagree with this and say that I think there is a small but committed and growing movement afoot among many families to simplify, scale-back and look more critically at priorities. While there is an opportunity cost to homeschooling, an increasing number of families are finding that they can make it work through careful budgeting and simpler living.
I’m really enjoying this discussion!
-Kerry
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I have to agree with Kerry. We made the decision to be a family with a full time stay at home parent almost 15 years ago. We have sacrificed to do that (rent movies rather than theater tickets, eating out no more than once every couple of weeks, used cars, shopping at Goodwill for name brands rather than the mall etc) and once we adjusted, it really doesn’t hurt anymore. My children know the value of money as they have learned to work for that toy they really want or to hang out at the movies with their friends. I think that making the decision to have a stay at home parent was just as beneficial, if not more so, than the decision to homeschool our youngest child after seeing how the school system failed to engage or encourage our other children. The decision to homeschool and/or have a full time stay at home parent is one that requires careful consideration and then a high level of commitment once decided upon but the rewards for the family are tremendous!
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EXACTLY!
I totally agree, Kerry. It is interesting what many consider to be an average standard of living in America. We do not take many vacations (our first in 5 years happens this spring), nor do we have cable (the list goes on), but we also do not consider these things to be sacrifices. If I worked outside of the home, we could afford these luxuries, but we are instead choosing homeschooling as our luxury.
This was a very moving post all around with interesting follow-up discussion.
I again have to strongly agree with Kerry! The section you quoted was the part of Seth’s reply that made me bristle. I am MOST valuable to our society in molding my children to be confident, intelligent, caring individuals, and I feel I do that best when “pulled from the workforce.” I think we can all agree there is a clear correlation between the breakdown of our society and the time that every woman decided it was in everyone’s best interest for her to go to work. Our kids need their mothers. Mothers make a lot of decisions for this society. My children are still young and I haven’t had to make the decision regarding public/homeschooling, but I know that RIGHT NOW, I am where I belong. Wise individuals can choose their priorities – mine and my husband’s have been to have me at home with our children. I have no intention of going back to the workforce any time soon – because I am working on the most important projects of my life – at home. This is not a great cost, it is a HUGE privilege and we will continue to make wise financial decisions to live within our means and provide all the best for our family! If that means homeschooling in a few years, then so be it. I feel Seth’s statement is quite myopic.
Couldn’t agree more, Lacie!
I’m going to second (again) what Kerry said. Living on one income is not as difficult as it may sound. But, it does take a shift in priorities.
Even if we hadn’t chosen to homeschool, I would still have left my full-time teaching job to be home for my children.
But, there are plenty of two-income families who homeschool. Again, it’s a shift in priorities and takes “thinking outside the box.”
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I suppose there are some people who think everyone should homeschool. I am not one of them. I do homeschool my children. I see its advantages and disadvantages, and every situation is different.
I do differ on the concept of taking someone out of the workforce. I wasn’t certain if you meant that it’s not good for the economy or the family. We have chosen to live on one income. That can mean choosing activities that cost less – we canoe instead of boat. We backpack and cross-country ski instead of downhill skiing. We like to encourage our children to live lives easily sustained and enjoyed. We garden, use things for a long time, fix things that are broken, eat simple foods. Not everyone can manage even this on certain incomes, but just about everyone with my husband’s job thinks they need more money and work second jobs. We do not. We are grateful and contented instead of trying to move upwardly into a bigger house, a newer car, focused on possessions. As for the economy, we believe it’s much better for the economy to have one person who devotes mostly full time to providing healthy meals, living sustained lives, making appointments, cleaning, … without the added stress of trying to do it while working full time. Having someone home when someone is sick without stress of using sick time/missing work is huge.
I wanted to say many of these same things, Brooke. Excellent comments.
Oh Brooke! I couldn’t agree more! Well said.
It is sad to me to see how little faith you, Mr. Godin, seem to have in parents. (Although fantastic that you were willing to respond to this post!)
It’s also sad that our society puts so much more value on someone in “the paid workforce” than on raising fantastic citizens.
Thank you, Jamie, for your post. It is heartening to see so many responses and to see that so many wonderful people are willing to trade “normal” for a chance at something better.
This is just what I was thinking Pamela! Why is my being ‘in the workforce’ so much better? When I was growing up the majority of mothers were at home and not because they homeschooled. Raising a family and keeping a home are full time gigs AND we do school on top!
I think we deserve more credit and I certainly don’t need my role defined by someone else!
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I have to comment here that families make it work. I am a nurse and my husband is a media specialist in a high school. I work 1-2 shifts per week. I have a sister nearby that is staying home with her young daughter and who keeps my kids while I work (and helps them with their home school work). Because she has been able to see how easy homeschool can be, she is going to be homeschooling her 1st grade daughter next year. we are supporting each other, because the money that I pay her to keep my kids enables her to stay home with her children and yet keep food on the table.
You are selling people short if you think that we won’t make room in our budgets for the things that are important to us—and what can be more important that our kids!!!
If taking a parent out of the paid work force is a problem, then the problem is not homeschooling, but the fact that one income is often not enough (depending on what career you are in). The problem that we need to focus on fixing is the fact that it takes two incomes to have the purchasing power that one income had in the past.
While we’re at creating a revolution in education – could we revolutionize the “paid workforce” as well? Maybe if we paid parents to teach and raise their own we could find value and beauty back at the forefront of our careers and economy again!
This is so well written. I absolutely loved this post. Thank you for writing it!
I have not heard of it but will check it out now. I am always interested in having a real conversation about education.
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Thank you!! Such an awesome post!!
Excellent! I loved it! Did you ever read Dumbing us Down? I bought it at an sustained agriculture fair( have no idea why it was there). Written by, John Taylor Gatto . I can’t help but think of the Lorax. Unless. It only takes one.!!! Thanks so much for this post!
What a great post. I also appreciate the fact that Mr. Godin commented in a very open and warm way to promote conversation. Too many times I read an author being very defensive, and I appreciate his (Mr. Godin’s) ability to converse. That makes me more likely to read his stuff.
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I believe this is the best post you have ever written about homeschooling.
You rocked it, girl! Amen. And I have to laugh since each of his statements basically asks us to sacrifice our kids at the altar of a failing institution so that it can survive and get better — a generation from now? I should let my children’s generation drown for the greater good of public education? I don’t think so.
Thanks, Jamie, you said it well. Preach it!
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Thanks for this post.
It sounds like Seth Godin’s concerns about homeschooling are similar to the collectivist line of thinking (the needs/liberty of the group trump the needs/liberty of the individual), which I don’t agree with.
I agree with your comment above “Mother Teresa said it well: “If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will.” ” And Heidi Baker, (Iris Ministries) “stop for the one.”
Homeschooling isn’t for just one type of family or one type of belief systems. There are wonderful benefits for many different people. This is David Albert’s site: http://www.skylarksings.com/ He edited one (or more?) of John Taylor Gatto’s books.
Thank you for posting this. I have been going through a rut of doubt. This and other things said by Seth lit that fire in me to carry on with more energy in my homeschooling efforts. This is hard, but it is my vote. and if I give into my fears and doubts, I also give up my liberty to vote for change. Thank you for putting so much energy into inspiring the homeschool community. God bless you.
This is a wonderful post, and I agree with you 100%. As for making mistakes, I believe that when a parent truly listens to their child and works WITH THEM, mistakes will be overcome more easily, and like you said, learned from. Teachers don’t have the luxury of working with just a few students. I believe that whatever they do, they will fail someone in the class. Because out of 20-30 students, surely one or more will not learn well with whatever technique is used. Homeschooling is a blessing because we have the time to really observe and find out what works and what doesn’t.
I also believe that homeschooling isn’t for everyone, but having different options in education is very important. And I think that perhaps it’ll be the children raised in these alternative forms of education that will someday be able to make the changes needed to make our public education better.
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Love your blog!
My biggest problem right now is that I DON’T pull home the school setting that I deliberately avoid by homeschooling, but I am required to test my children each year, using questions and standards that I don’t teach to, and therefore my kids tested VERY poorly last week. I was discouraged. I was de-railed. I questioned everything I’m doing (“failing” at?), and questioned if the “experts” could better help my child who has dyslexia and dysgraphia.
I wish, wish, wish I could just “ignore” the test results, but it’s hard.
Nevertheless, I will continue trying and yes, sometimes “failing,” as we seek to find the BEST way to teach my child. I KNOW I’m doing it better than an institution would, because I still have his heart. And through all these struggles, my 11 year old son still LOVES to learn. That can’t be tested. That can’t be proven. But I know the truth, and I need to remember. Thanks for this post today. My heart needed it.
I can relate to your comment, Jen! My 11 year old son (who has Aspergers), loves to learn, and can tell you all about Saturn’s moons and all sorts of facts about the solar system that I know nothing about, and loves math and chess, and has a brilliant memory, but he could hardly get through the Language Arts state test. I was SO discouraged and it made me question everything. But in my gut I know that he’s learning so much, and in an environment that is happy and doesn’t produce anxiety for him. This post put wind in my sails. Keep up the good work, Jen! Your son is blessed to have you there for him.
Just thought I would add that I do see his point in that if EVERYONE started homeschooling then of course we’d start seeing more problems with it. The bigger any population gets, the more problems it will have because people are all different and bring different opinions, personalities, attitudes etc. to it. I definitely know people who I don’t think would be very good homeschooling parents.
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I’ve seen problems with homeschooling which were similar to the problems in public schools. Children struggle with basic reading, writing, and arithmetic when there’s learning disabilities and if children come from unstable homes and/or poverty. The only difference is with homeschooling, they may be hidden while it’s out in the open in public schools. There is no one easy solution. The key is choices to try what works best for each child. My hope is that the homeschooling community and the public school community can work together to help all children rather than arguing which is better.
Making the decision to simplify and homeschool is fantastic if 1) your child’s temperament supports it, and 2) your family has enough money to support it. As a single parent, homeschooling is just not at all financially viable for me.
Unfortunately, good parenting doesn’t put any food on the table. We gotta eat, and I’m the one who has to supply the means. In my community, we don’t all have (reliable) partners, and even fewer have the financial luxury of homeschooling, even as frugal as we are.
“But I also think we can agree that the cost of this solution (taking one parent out of the paid workforce for much of every day) is extremely difficult to scale.”
I think Seth is probably wise to the reality of low-income and one-parent households. I’m not helpless, but I’m not home free, either. There is no other parent — and one-parent families are far from uncommon, these days.
Plus, as my child gets older, I find that his rampant extroversion is colliding head-on with my extreme introversion. I’m not a good teacher, simply because I hate to talk! But the kid needs to be around people all the time — he hates to be alone, and to do things alone. He gets kind of crazy, like a single Siamese cat alone in a house.
Mad props to those who can do it, but homeschooling is not possible for me or my child. I need the time to work, and he needs to make friends. He’s going into kindergarten in a year. I’m not crazy about public school, either, but perhaps I can offset the damage done by institutional learning by more attention at home.
There are always different angles to any ‘story’ and I like how clearly you presented your experience. My son, homeschooled from K-gd 9 is also very happy at school this year (he was happy at home too but kind of driving me crazy with his constant need for chatter/my need to tell him to focus); he thrives on the social environment and all the sports, etc.
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See, this is an excellent attitude. It’s all about the individual kid. Homeschooling is good for some kids – it’s terrible for others. Public school is good for some kids, terrible for others, and private school is good for some and terrible for others. In my own family, my brother and I went to the same Christian school – I graduated his 9th grade year and when my family moved that summer, he went to public high school. For me, the Christian school was a great experience and strengthened me. For him, it nearly destroyed him.
As a teacher, the family I admire most at our school is a family that sends each kid to a different school – they’re committed to placing each individual kid where he can best flourish. That’s better than carrying some banner about homeschooling as a virtue in itself, or public schooling always being evil. It’s truly about the kid, not the ideology (or worse: the parent).
I couldn’t agree with you more. The child before ideology is my goal as well after being in both settings and seeing the pros and cons of both.
Good input. You’re right that homeschooling isn’t a viable option for some families. Even though it is an option for our family, I’m still not sure that I’m up for it.
I am glad to hear from someone with a differing point of view. Helps to keep me from isolating myself and my thoughts 🙂
Great, great post! I especially love the part about embracing mistakes- wisdom to apply to all of life. Thanks for this- as we wrestle through our homeschool decision this is very timely!
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Thank you for your insightful, well-thought-out response to Seth Godin’s commentary about homeschooling as it relates to his ideas on education reform. I absolutely agree with you. My personal decision to homeschool has less to do with reforming “the system” and more to do with taking personal responsibility for the way my children are educated. However I am always encouraged when I see that a critical evaluation of today’s educational systems ends up strengthening many of the key reasons why homeschooling is such a compelling alternative, in my opinion. Rather than making a case for participating in the system to improve it, I find that these points remind me why I choose not to place my children in a failing system if I don’t have to.
One thing that particularly concerns me about his response to your article is the statement that “kids deserve the best society can give them, regardless of whether their parents have the money and the passion and the talent and the practice to deliver it at home.” Several implications of his opinion are alarming to me, but the one that stands out is the idea that “society” provides superior opportunities to our children than parents can — and more important, that it’s society’s job to make that judgement call. This is another step down the slippery slope of invalidating parental rights. Thankfully, we still have the freedom to homeschool in America (within a range of state-by-state requirements), however it’s easy to see how this kind of thinking has led to stripping parents of the right to homeschool in any form in other countries. It’s my prayer that our freedom to choose home education over the “best society can offer” remains intact in our country.
Thanks for sparking this discussion and for so eloquently sharing your position. Your articles always inspire me.
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I appreciate this post so much. I was home educated K-12 and my husband 5th-12. I have an education degree and am passionate about how children learn, etc. However, I do have to say that I live in a community where homeschooling is so in vogue that I sometimes cringe when I hear about a new homeschooling family. The commitment to a good education is not as important as just doing what everyone else is doing. THAT is so irritating, especially for those of us that are committed to a quality education…
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Bring it on baby (smile). The revolution and the world changing children we are raising and home educating.
And a comment from Seth himself. wow.
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It seems like for thousands of years of human existence “homeschool” was the norm and it was scaled throughout society. You learned a real, productive skill from your family and set to work at it as soon as you could contribute. One of the downfalls of higher education today is that we’ve drilled into a generation of minds that , “you can do anything”. And they can, but the diversity of options has left kids with tremendous opportunity cost and they don’t know what they want to do with their lives. What if we told kids, “you can do anything, if you have a passion for something particular, but if you don’t, doing whatever your parents do is a good idea.”
To me, homeschooling is about educating my children, but it’s also much more than that. It’s about my relationship with each child, about their relationships with each other, and about the integrity and strength of our collective family unit.
Relationships are different from businesses in some pretty fundamental ways. They are altruistic, and they definitely don’t scale in the same way some business models do. That’s OK with me. I feel that my contribution to society will pay off in the long term as my children grow up, work hard and have children of their own.
Michelle-you expressed exact reason I’ll likely return homeschooling next year. Aside from education, the family unit aspect is a benefit that we have missed dearly this year.
Inspiring,well worth the read
I know some wonderful people who take their children’s education very seriously as home school parents, but I also know parents who give home school a very bad name. As a child advocate for abused and neglected children I see parents who say they “home school” when all they do is take their children out of school to sit and do nothing so they can fly under the radar.
It gets scary when there’s extreme neglect, abuse, etc. Oftentimes, I hear that parental rights are supreme and there is no concept of looking out for the neighbor who may be suffering because it intrudes on family privacy and freedoms.
Jaime, thank you for this. We homeschool our 3 children and I was fortunate enough to find your blog over a year ago and it continues to inspire me. I have read Steady Days and Mindset for Moms and want to thank you for spreading the message you are obviously meant to spread as your mission here on earth. You are using the talents God gave you and don’t have any idea, probably, the number of lives you are changing through your words. This post, especially, not only benefits homeschooling parents, but trickles down to their children, then, when we as parents return to homeschooling with fortified passion and purpose. I agree with everything you wrote here and I love your honesty!
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These words encourage me to no end, Jen. Thank you for such kindness!
Jamie ~ Simple Homeschool’s latest post: I refuse to steal my kids’ dreams (On homeschooling as a social movement)
Hi Jamie. I am a long time reader, but have never commented before. Well done on such a respectful, insightful post. I really enjoyed ‘Stop Stealing Dreams’, but it is difficult to see how the arguments advanced couldn’t lead to a consideration of homeschooling as an alternative. Congratulations on advancing our cause in such an inspirational way.
“If the goal of the process is to create a level of fearlessness, to create a free-range environment filled with exploration and all the failure that entails, most parents just don’t have the guts to pull this off.”
~ Chapter 121, Stop Stealing Dreams
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I just downloaded the book so I don’t know if this statement is aimed at homeschoolers but I am inferring from your comment that it is. And although you agree, I couldn’t disagree more. I am home educating three boys ages 6, 8 & 9. Not only do we spend a ton of time camping and outdoors (talk about free-range!) but I am making them responsible for their own education in ever-increasing steps. If they don’t get their basics done in the morning, we don’t go to the park in the afternoon. I don’t constantly check (like homework or projects that school children do) that it is getting done. At least for my 8 & 9 yos. My 6yo is a different story. He’s not there yet. Most of my friends allow their kids to own their work and fail. And then help them realize the problem, figure out how to find a way to solve it and then release them to find an answer. All the while being there if they need assistance. It’s not a guided, “let’s all come to the same conclusion”-type of assistance that you get in a brick-and-mortar school.
And frankly, the entire endeavor of home educating is one of the most fearless things that you can emulate to your children. Talk about bucking the system and thinking you can do this! What we model to our children is far more important than anything else. Model how you love to learn and read and how you find answers to questions you don’t know. Model inquisitiveness. Model manners and respect and love for country. Model citizenship. These things don’t require testing and yet make a far greater impression and molding of character than anything made by Houghton Mifflin.
We just had a panel at our hs support meeting where we had engineers and musicians and college advisors. One of the men had a degree in chemical engineering and was a patent attorney. His brother graduated college at 18, has about six advanced degrees including one in chemical engineering from MIT and another brother about the same. These boys were allowed to figure out how to gain information as children and young adults. Not being spoon-fed about where to get everything but using the world as their resource and finding creative ways to go about learning. If you want a degree in chemical engineering (love science!) but hate to write, you better find a way to learn how to write papers to pass on your love for science. Learn what you need to learn when you need to learn it. You may kill a child’s love for math or make them feel stupid if they “need” to learn long division with remainders (who does that as an adult) in third grade. Or decimals. Or Roman numerals. Can there be another appropriate time to learn these things in context with it being necessary to something else? Maybe you love history in seventh grade and study the Romans and learn about their numbering system.
Fearlessness is an environment where you are willing to try anything and risk everything to forge your own path. There is almost no better definition for home education.
Warm regards, Kim in Phoenix
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” ― Albert Einstein
What do you do if two children have finished the basics in the morning and one has not?
Personally, the two who do are the older. If the younger one has not, I don’t sweat it if we have plans and need to be somewhere. If we’re home, then that child has plenty of time to do what they need to do. But at six, I never stress with his education. If he’s alive, he’s learning and I don’t stress any formal education with him. However, this particular 6yo taught himself to read and does third grade math. Not because I taught him, but because he’s just around so much learning. He spells at a 1-2nd grade level and writes really well. Not from formal lessons but literally through osmosis. ; )
If one of the older boys has not finished in the morning, then there is always time to do it later or not at all. Life is first, lessons are second. Today we didn’t get to spelling but spent 3.5 hours at the park with 10 other families where they got to show kindness, sharing, and met a new friend. Tonight is two hours of tae kwon do lessons as the older two are about to graduate to 2nd degree black belt. Minecraft for 30 minutes. Lessons done for the day!
I clicked on a link to this article from a friend’s page, so I will be the first to admit that I am not part of the crowd this is aimed at, but I think it’s wonderful that so many of you so passionately homeschool. I support homeschooling and think it can be a great thing. However, I find it frustrating that so many commenters seem to believe if we just “simplify,” we can find the means to homeschool. We already live a very simple life, and if I left my job in order to homeschool, we would not be able to put groceries on the table. But even if we had the means, we might not choose to homeschool, because public school has been great in many ways for our children. We love our children just as much as homeschool parents do, and implying (as some, not all, commenters have) that we are not making the best decision for our children is unfair, at best. I am grateful for those who work to create a better school system, in the public sphere AND at home.
“I am grateful for those who work to create a better school system, in the public sphere AND at home.”
Well-said, Susan! I’m far from thinking that homeschooling is the only way, just that it is one valid way–there are many others, too.
Jamie ~ Simple Homeschool’s latest post: I refuse to steal my kids’ dreams (On homeschooling as a social movement)
Havent yet read this particular work by Godlin, hoping to download it as soon as my Internet connection is installed today. From the blog post and comments, the presupposition made with respect to affordability of a stay at home parent jumped out at me as well. We’ve often pondered just what would happen to the economy if a large percentage of families chose to make the sacrifice involved in having a parent at home – it seems there is so much money that simply circulates from employer to employee to service occupations and taxes to support the 2 wage earner model. How much of that truly stays in a family’s possession. Is that collective good of the economy being stimulated by the revolving door of those dollars more important than the specific individual good of educating ones children in a more effective manner?
Another thought that keeps coming to mind is perhaps idealistic given zealous administrators and teachers unions, but any true educational reform certainly will need a multitude of stakeholder voices involved and the courage to be able to admit what works, what is broken and not be wedded to ideology at the expense of our students and children. Perhaps cooperative models, already used by many homeschoolers, have a place in mainstream education as well. Any true reform, though, is going to need to be rooted in a third way alternative, a la Stephen Covey – not a your way or my way, but something that accounts for more sets of needs than is being done now.
Well said, Pauline. And thank you for explaining Goodin’s “scalable” comment. I have been scratching my head wondering what he meant by that.
The argument that there are some bad homeschool parents means nothing to me. There are also bad districts, bad schools and bad teachers, we still keep the schools open.
My husband and I made the decision when I got pregnant with our first son that our number one priority would always be raising our own children. We don’t take lavish annual vacations, and drive brand new cars (our cars are paid for now). He has a very good job and works long hours so that I can be a stay at home mom and it is worth every penny!!!
By the time our oldest two were in 2nd and 4th grade they HATED reading.
: ( One child was struggling with an overwhelmed teacher that did nothing more than hand out packet after packet of busy work with very little or no instruction. My other son was bored out of his mind, not being challenged at all. I was literally spending 3 to 4 hours after school with them teaching them, and realized that I WAS homeschooling them, and they were enjoying it. They were learning and thriving! I had thought of homeschooling for a long time, but had been overwhelmed by it. I tried homeschooling them through the summer after 2nd and 4th grade and they loved it! They both all of the sudden loved to read and couldn’t put books down. They were reading history and science books for pleasure! They have a completely different outlook on learning now : )
I spend ABOUT the same amount of money on homeschooling curriculum, supplies and educational stuff annually that I would spend (and used to) on gas driving my 4 children to their 3 different public schools. (I was driving 32 miles per day just to take and pick them up from school. I drive an Excursion that gets 12 mpg. Our average cost of gas the past few years has been about $3.50 per gallon. That is almost $10.50 per day, $52.50 per week, $1575 for 180 days or 30 weeks). Not to mention all the school supplies for each of them, lunch stuff, snacks we were asked to bring for 30 kids for the classroom a week at a time, field trips, book orders, constant birthday parties for kids they barely knew…
This is our 4th year homeschooling and I will admit it was HARD to find our balance, what worked best for ALL of us!!! I had a hard time not recreating public school at home at first (I have a teaching background). We were all miserable! We’ve tried different schedules, curriculum and tons of different things, we’ve finally found our groove and what works best for us. I buy good quality curriculum for my children, both new and used! I am able to reuse a lot of our books for my younger children. In our home we learn everyday, not just Monday through Friday between 8am and 3pm. We learn music and art. We learn sewing, cooking, auto shop and repair, engine building, woodworking… We learn on the weekends, in the evenings and each and everyday of the year. I am positive they are getting a well rounded education that is not JUST concentrated on a test score. They are learning fundamentals and life skills. I am proud of them and I am proud of the commitment I made to take this on, because it isn’t easy! I can guarantee you no one cares for my children and their future like my husband and I do!
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“I refuse to steal my kids’ dreams!” We unschool for that very reason and are able to because my husband makes a livable wage and we choose to live simply on 40K a year. But he works with others and there are others in our neighborhood who do not make half that and work hard. There are just not enough livable wages to go around, jobs, nor are there enough teachers for all the kids. I would love to see the best of both worlds collaborate. Public education that allows more self direction, maybe modeled after a library, where anyone can go at any age and connect with others and experienced mentors to increase their knowledge in their chosen fields of interest. I was homeschooled, but it was a fishbowl experience, and I went straight from that to being a mom. I wish I could have been able to pursue my dreams alongside my childrens’, my life feels so isolated. I wanted to be a naturalist, writer, activist and so many different things, but now I feel stuck, stealing every bit of time I can to read about what’s going on in the world and why. No one offered me any help to get further schooling, it was discouraged because the idea was that if you learned how to learn, you could learn anything. What is missing is the COMMUNITY to learn in and with. It seemed like my experience with homeschooling was that we were always in self defense mode from an evil, outside community. But outside there are just people, with dreams, who want to be understood, communicated with, to share life and love of learning with. That’s my 2 cents. 🙂
I am wrestling with this decision right now. My only child is finishing his last year at the small Christian school that he has attended for the past four years. He wants me to homeschool him. I taught public school for 13 years. I am afraid of recreating the “school day” at home. I am afraid he will be lonely since he is an only child. I am afraid that we will butt heads and destroy our relationship. I do feel I owe it to him to try.
Having taught public school, I had a front row seat to some pretty terrible experiments with curriculum. I loved teaching and found that the politics prohibited me from doing my best. I taught gifted kids who loved school, but it was still too “one size fits all” They had to choose which subject they wanted to have for the advanced class. Most parents picked math (my subject) Not all the students were gifted in math, but their parents thought that was where they were supposed to be. And fought tooth and nail if you suggested a different class. I actually had a parent say they would rather have their child do poorly in an advanced math class than excel in an on level class! Talk about not doing what is best for your child. Too many parents (not all) just blithely send their child off to public school and then assume the school will teach them everything they need to know. They don’t pay enough attention.
The emphasis on testing is terrible. And the tests are so arbitrary. We had a principal commit suicide because her school’s standardized test grades didn’t show enough growth.
One comment that Seth made that stood out to me was that it would take a generation to fix the schools. I took this to mean a generation’s time. What about those whose education isn’t fixed? Why should they suffer? In all my years teaching I only met one child who had been home schooled and came to public school that wasn’t prepared. Most parents do a pretty good job overall.
As for having one parent stay home to do this not being scalable, I just don’t understand that. That used to be the norm. I know that there are some who truly have to have both working to make ends meet, but I have met many who have to have two incomes just to keep a certain lifestyle. It is all about priorities.
There are so many wrongs in public schools. There’s also many clashing of ideas and how things should be done. We need everyone to work together. It’s a tall order. It’s incredibly frustrating at times but it can be done. Some schools have already made positive changes.
Well said. Thank you for writing this. As a former public school teacher who is now homeschooling my daughter, I had a tremendous sense of guilt at “abandoning” the schools. But in the end, I decided that my daughter didn’t have time to wait for the system to be fixed, she needed a good education now.
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Growing up I only knew of 2 people who were ever home schooled. Going to school traditionally in a public setting I had no idea of what this meant. Now that I’ve been reading about it, I think it is amazing and great. I’m probably not the type to be able to do it, because I lack focus when it comes to most subjects. I’ve been to four different colleges and have no degree. Somewhere along the line the education system just did not grab a hold of me. I was a A student up until 8th grade. In HS I dropped to being a B student. Do I remember what I learned in HS or college…hardly. There are times I wish I would have been put into a trade school or was taught in a different hands on manner. I most likely will put my children in public school as long as it is a good one but will also really listen to what they truly are passionate about.
I enjoy your blog and learn a lot from it.
I have to add one more thing. I went to a good public HS. The teachers were not awful, they just lacked passion for what they were teaching. Most of them didn’t want to be there or at least you can see right through them. The only really good teachers that seemed full of life, were english, music, or art teachers.
I find it curious that a lot of people act as if moving to one income is as simple as cutting out movies, restaurants and vacations. For some families this may be all it would take to go down to one income. However for some families, they would have to worry about giving up really important things like medical insurance or adequate housing, etc. Sometimes cutting back isn’t enough.
Hi Amanda – we have lived on one small income for years as small business owners. Now, due to the economy, our business is just about over. We’ve lived for years with the help of family and from savings from one good year. We have no TV, can’t take vacations or go to things like the state fair or many other events. We pay our own health insurance, which, for our family of five is $400/mo through BCBSAZ. My minivan was donated by my mother and she buys all my kids’ clothes and shoes and buys us groceries once per month. We may lose our home in the next few months while my husband looks for a traditional job. I have a college degree so I could get a job. But we made a value choice for us that keeps me with the kids. Regardless of where we live or who we may have to live with. Yes, it’s hard. But I can’t imagine that it’s any harder for me to put them in school and make $10/hr. Plus I get the added benefit of their company and watching them grow into amazing young men. They inspire me and keep me going. It’s not an easy choice at all and I know lots of families who have one car and rent homes. It can be very difficult. But the payoff is so much greater and I will never regret spending so much time with my kids. Can’t say that about working for someone else. We all have our path to walk and try to do our best.
Homeschooling is definitely easier if money isn’t a worry. I’ve seen people get divorced because one believed in homeschooling and the other wanted that person to help out with paying the bills.
It all depends on the family. Homeschooling is ideal when both partners are on the same page, make a liveable income, and parents and children enjoy spending time together.
I just found you blog and I have to say I love love love it.My daughter is 2 but will be homeschooled as I refuse to send her to a broken system so they can compromise her future and warp her wonderfully naturally curious mind against learning. I have yet to tell her father though lol since he already thinks I am way to crazy about her “stuff “, he happens to like chemicals and junk proccessed food and thinks I am insane for insisting he keeps it away from her. This post just reminded me I will have to have this conversation soon even though I know how it will end. ( he may be unsupportive but he usually defers since most of the time I simply have more facts and stamina)
wienalready
I agree with you that we can’t wait for “someday”. It could take years for schools to turn around. The entire system needs to be changed. I’ve spent nearly 20 years teaching in public schools and they just seem to be degrading more and more. That’s why I homeschool. My kids deserve better than that. They shouldn’t have to be afraid of being bullied on a daily basis. Homeschooling is also an opportunity to make a curriculum suit the child instead of making the child fit the curriculum. We can help our children develop their talents instead of requiring them to learn everything that everyone else does. Homeschooling is truly about the uniqueness of each child.
Such a great article, Jamie! Thanks for your thoughtful response and I appreciate the comments, I think they articulate the passion that so many of us have for homeschooling and I hope Mr. Godin sees that. I know that homeschooling isn’t the right choice for every family, but I think having a menu of options so that families can decide what works best for them is one of the best ways to bring real change to our educational system.
I would also point out to Mr. Godin that lots of families who homeschool have 2 parents who work. I’m assuming that, Jamie, you and Tsh consider what you do work? We homeschool and I also teach one day a week at a homeschool academy. Again, I understand that this situation doesn’t work for everyone. But my point is that homeschooling families can’t be put into a box. Neither should most public or private school families be boxed in. Instead, families should decide how best to educate their children based on their beliefs and life situations. For us, that means we choose to homeschool.
Here’s a vote for homeschooling families with two working families! I work full-time and my husband works 20-30 hours a week 4-5 months out of the year. He is a small business owner so it’s flexible which I agree is key. Creativity and flexibility go a looooong way 😉
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Great article, Jamie! Totally agree, home schooling families can’t be put into a box. Paula and HIllary, our family is a dual-working/home schooling family, too. My husband works full-time (pastor) and is finishing up a doctoral degree. I work part-time, but also take continuing education classes. We share in earning the family income, completing house hold responsibilities, and parenting our kids (which includes home schooling). It’s so true that creativity and flexibility are necessary. And I’ll add commitment and learning to discern between ‘wants’ and ‘needs’. Sure, it’s not for everyone. Yet, please realize each home schooling family operates in unique ways and made the decision to home school for various reasons.
Mistakes – hah! Me making a mistake would be realising that my child doesn’t yet have the pre-reading listening skills to tackle phonics, and adjusting my approach accordingly. A teacher in a class of 30 children would, unfortunately, hear my child read only occasionally, and,in all likelihood, be required to battle on regardless using the school approved method at the school approved pace, until my child gets passed onto the next teacher, whether he could read or not.
Kirstie,
If your child had been in my daughter’s elementary school, she would not have learned phonics; just a lot of sight words and guessing.
One of the comments Seth Godin made that disturbed me was that a teacher will make mistakes, but over the course of teaching for a few years will become more perfect unlike a homeschooling parent. So here are the issues with that little gem:
1 – I agree, as an ex teacher you get it wrong many times. Over time you improve but what about the kids you get it wrong with? The mistakes you make are impacting someone, as a teacher you learn and improve but that child has lost that bit of their education and there is no comeback for that.
2 – As a homeschooling parent I make mistakes but, because the student is my only focus not my career, department or school, I can quickly adjust and change things, I can look for alternatives that work for my child. I am not working to ‘policy’, I don’t have to consider the health and safety of other kids, I don’t have to teach to a test or worry about what my colleagues think of my methods. I can do what works for us.
3 – Throughout his argument (and I’ve heard it elsewhere) there is the implication that we should sacrifice our children for the ‘greater good’. So that teachers can practice and get better, so that schools can stay in business. Sorry, that isn’t my job. MY job is to look after MY children, to give them the best start in life, to protect them from things they don’t need to be exposed to and to ignite in them a passion for learning and for life.
As for the fearless thing? Well, I LIVE my principles, every day. That is pretty darn fearless in my book.
Thanks for this article Jaime and for your excellent responses.
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Your comments had great perspective. Homeschooling mamas do not have the division of their interests for the child like women making a career. This is so true. Thanks for sharing.
I enjoyed reading both this post and the manifesto. I understand Mr. Godin’s perspective that dedicated, motivated parents are pulling children from public schools rather than fighting to fix them. Homeschooling parents have the drive to begin the change he suggests, but as others have commented, this is at the expense of our own children. I saw first hand what a troubled school system could do to my son, and I am not going to offer him up as a sacrifice. Mr. Godin also realizes that these changes, when and if they ever begin, will take at least a generation to realize. I believe as homeschoolers, we are rearing the generation that will make these changes right now in our own homes. When our children are grown, we will still be able-bodied educators ready to tackle some new challenges with a fresh perspective that is lacking in many of today’s schools. I am in a season of homeschooling for my children’s sake, but I’m not going to turn myself out to pasture when they are grown.
Yes, but how many homeschooling parents will “tackle some new challenges” when your children are grown? Running away from the problem doesn’t fix it nor does it teach a valuable lesson to your kids. Both of my kids are in public school and let me tell you, I’m offended by the suggestion that their dreams are being stolen. One is in an advance science school, where she is taking college level courses in 7th grade because she wants to and is passionate about becoming a scientist. The other is an artist, who is working on her passions of ballet and performance art. And yes, I had to research where to send them that speaks to them, but they are both in public school. And what do I do with my time? I am active in the local PTAs and helping out in the classrooms because I believe these opportunities need to be available to all kids. And guess what? My kids understand that we need to be involved in our communities to work toward change that we want to bring about. They *want* me to be involved in the schools, even my middle schooler. And they understand that complaining about a problem does nothing to fix it. What saddens me is the energy that homeschoolers take in defending their choices by putting down public schools. Is that really the lesson you want to emulate for your kids? There is so much that is right with public education that gets lost in the controversy between homeschooling and “institutionalized” schooling.
“Running away from the problem doesn’t fix it nor does it teach a valuable lesson to your kids.”
Choosing to address the problem in a different way than you (ie. homeschooling vs. volunteering at school) is not running away from the problem. It IS fixing the problem, which is our kids not getting an education we consider adequate (for whatever reason). Homeschooling is far from “complaining about the problem.” It’s solving it for your children.
In addition, I think you’ll find that most, if not all, homeschooling families are very active in their communities, improving life for others on a regular basis. It’s actually pretty arrogant for you to suggest that just because another family addresses different problems than you, or addresses the same problems in a different way, that their ways are inferior.
I am glad that public school is working for you. But it doesn’t work for everyone. Bright kids get put in a corner to be left to their own busy work. Kids that don’t get a subject get drug along before they are ready and left to fail. I had a math teacher that never stopped to try to teach me in a way that I would understand. I failed that entire year and had to redo that math class. The next year I had an amazing teacher and passed the class, but it didn’t erase the entire year waisted. My brother was put in a special needs class where he was accused of being lazy and rude and they later found out the teacher was physically punishing them. My step son got expelled because the teacher grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him and he slapped her. I know nothing happened to the teacher but my son had to be moved to a different school. I could go on on numerous personal and close experiences I have had with the flawed system. I care way to much about my children’s education to let them be put into that situation.
That’s wonderful that you’ve found a system (public education) and an environment (your children’s specific schools) that work for you and your children. I’m not interested in shooting down public school or your choices. There are many paths in life; we never seem to argue about that for adults but it seems so hard for many people to wrap their minds around that fact when we switch the topic to childhood.
My children also understand that we need to be active in our communities. They know I provide health care for people without insurance, for instance. They help collect supplies for relief kits and people in need. There are many ways to raise our children and not one simple “right” way.
My oldest son won the national mandolin championship last year in Winfield Kansas. He was 17 at the time and had been playing seriously for the last 4 years– 4 hours/day serious. He’s actively pursuing his own goals at this age because we homeschool.
Lest you think he’s an academic slacker :), he also score over 1900 on his SATs.
I’m not saying this to dis school; I’m saying this to show that there are other viable, meaningful paths. We’re all doing the best we can with our children. I honor that in you and expect that others will honor that in me.
Well said. Vive le revolution!!
beautifully written and so well put. thank you for the insight!!
This a great article! I especially liked the quote from Mother Theresa. I totally agree with not sending kids into a broken school system.
Sometimes, to motivate someone to find a solution to a problem, you have to make the problem real to them. By pulling our kids out to homeschool, we bring the problem of the schools to the fore-front. It becomes a monetary problem for the public school, and that is, sadly, one of the strong motivators there is.
And the key is that we have the choice. As one mother said in the comments, she chooses to send her kids to public school. Aren’t you glad you have that option? And others can choose something different. And we are thankful to have these options available to us.
I enjoyed Godin’s manifesto, but it left me discombobulated. Yes, he pointed out the problem, but his solutions never rang true to me. But I’ve been unable to put my finger on why his solutions did seem like solutions to me. This is a good step in the direction of figuring that out. Thanks, Jamie!
Rachael’s latest post: What does that song mean? “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
Thank you for what you do and what you write. I am regularly inspired by your blogs. We are the only homeschoolers we know of in our area on a leadership education path, so your posts that relate to leadership education are so helpful to me. Helps me remember why we do it, keeps the fears and worries at bay when they come up from time to time. I love the path we’re on and know it’s the right path for us, mistakes and all!! Thanks.
Yes Yes and Yes! Thank you for this! When I was a prosecutor, many people asked how I could keep it up, since there were so many children being abused. Our victim-witness coordinator gave me a story that I still have near me today. Maybe you have heard it? It is about a beach littered with starfish, and a child picking up one at a time and tossing it back into the ocean. An adult walks up to the child saying, “you can’t possible save all of these starfish. What you are doing can’t make a difference.” The child responds, simply. “It matters to this one.” And he tosses the one starfish in his hand, back into the ocean. And so, too, it matters what we as parents do -every minute, every hour, every day.
Aliena (Vermont Mama)’s latest post: CHOOSE YOUR LIFE
LOVE this little story….a great add-on to Jamie’s inspiring post! I am going to give this story to my pastor-hubby for an illustration! 🙂
We are not a homeschooling family, but I do believe that as parents part of our job is to build on what our kids are learning. It’s also important to realize school doesn’t teach about life and the skills they need to navigate it.
I think the institution could stand to learn much from homeschooling families. There is much you all are doing right and our children woud benefit.
I think that is a worthy goal. People can learn from each other rather than making things black or white.
“The one lives in our homes, and through our choice to homeschool we act to nurture their dreams. Not because it’s easy, not because we have the patience to pull it off, but because our children are worth it.”
Thank. you. I was thinking only yesterday how I am not cut out to be a homeschooling parent- I don’t have a lot of patience, I am not a “kid person”. Thanks for letting me know that’s okay, because I am doing what is best for my children.
Jennifer Campbell’s latest post: Mrs. Jones’ Soapbox {A Giveaway}
Really, Jennifer — anyone *can* have their kids homeschool. There are so many resources out there to help anyone do it (too many resources sometimes!).
But it’s like anything. I *can* clean my own house (very poorly) but I choose not to (and have someone else do it). If you don’t want to, that’s okay — sounds like you are an involved parent who is doing what you think is best for your kids…and that’s what is important.
It’s very frustrating to hear parents who’ve never had a child in public school go on about how the system is broken and the students dreams are being stolen, etc etc. How horrible to make such a blanket statement. Yes there are problems in public education, as there are in any education situation. The education experiences my children are having look nothing like the education I received as a child. I’m 40, with 3 kids in public school grades 8, 6, and 3, with 2 more yet to enter. The school I remember attending is nonexistent, and my children are thriving, challenged, encouraged and exploring amazing opportunities. My husband and I prayed for years for direction and gave it all to the Lord, homeschool, public school, private school, these are your children Lord, Your will be done, and for now we have been directed to public school. I work very hard to support my homeschooling friends and encourage them. I read this blog because I’m always looking for ways to make sure my kids needs are being met, just as you do. Please stop putting us down. If you have zero experience with public school then please, just stop!
I understand your frustration, and I agree that many homeschool parents can easily go down the “Public Schools are the Den of Babylon” path. Believe me. I get it.
However, Jamie’s article is responding to Godin’s manifesto, which provides empirical evidence for the brokenness of the public school system. Jamie’s post title is a response to Godin’s title, which is “Stop Stealing Dreams.” She is not making blanket statements about public school. She is responding to specifics that Godin points out in his book.
Also, the argument that “people who have never put their children in a public school” cannot have an opinion about public schools is not a valid one. Yes, those parents should be respectful of other’s choices, but most homeschooling parents research school choice significantly before deciding what’s best for the family.
In other words, Jamie is not putting parents with children in the public school system down. She is talking about the disadvantages of the public school system as a whole. Yes, there are exceptions. Yes, some public schools are thriving, but most are not. That’s what she’s addressing.
My children have never stepped foot as students in a public school, but I taught in both private and public schools for years before staying home with my children. My husband is currently a public school teacher. We both see the value in public education, but we also know the flaws in the system. Intimately. And we decided to homeschool our children. Saying you can’t have an opinion if your children have never been in public school discredits the value in what Jamie is actually saying. And it makes it sound as though all homeschooler are misguided, which is not true.
Please understand that I get your frustration. I agree that many homeschooling families can come across as self-righteous. I just want to make sure you know that Jamie provides a balanced approach to schooling, even though she is a homeschooling mom.
Kelly’s latest post: 5 Reasons You Should Read Anna Karenina
I don’t think any homeschool mom would claim “patience” as her natural virtue!!! To say that scares the “impatient” moms away from choosing homeschooling.
I think that homeschooling is just like parenting … you still have to take care of squabbles and housekeeping. But I get to add the fun part on top of the normal parenting … I get to “do school!” That part is fun!
I have learned to be more patient with kids being kids. I have learned how to communicate better with my kids. And I think being home teaches my kids more patience than I learned growing up.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful post. I have read several things from Seth Godin and have enjoyed them, but also noticed the views toward home schooling that you addressed. We have faced similar discussions over and over with pastors and other parents. We can only do what we can do. I can’t fix the current educational system, or other families inability to home school. But I can home school, and do it with my whole heart. I can support private education by donating, etc. I can support other home schooling families by co-oping and/or tutoring within my abilities. We are all part of the problem, or the solution. Doing what we can makes us part of the solution and the movement.
Heather Anderson’s latest post: The Family Meal Time
Thank you so much for your inspiring post…always! Today, I was ready to abandon the Leadership Education model (still so new) and just go back to what I know best…now, I am pressing on! Praise the Lord! 🙂 Heather
Heather Doyle’s latest post: Tea at the Junkyard
My reasons for homeschooling go beyond just the educational aspect, in fact, it’s the LEAST of my concerns. There’s so much more that goes on at school that I don’t want my children to learn, at least, not at the ages children are learning them these days!
His comment about teachers being able to fix a problem they have made the 10th time around is rather scary. If, as a homeschooling parent, you make a mistake not only can you own up to it a whole lot easier and faster but fixing it will probably not take 10 times and therefore mess up a generation of children. A teacher in a classroom who makes a mistake and doesn’t realize it or fix it for 10 years has just created issues for 10 years of 20-30 children per year. I used to be a classroom teacher and saw this happen first hand many times. Children in my classes would be amazed when I would admit to not knowing something and asking how we could find out the answer. Very sad situations both and are the reason we homeschool.
What a great article, Jamie, and I loved the resonses from the thoughtful dedicated homeschoolers and parents of public schoolers who weighed in. I have been homeschooling for almost 2 years now but before that my 8 year old son went to an alternative school that my husband and I, with 4 other families, founded and ran.
There are many good things about public schools so I don’t want to bash them because I know plenty of thoughtful, dedicated parents who send their kids them. However, our school was small, child-led, needs and abilities appropriate, experiential and project-based – we could things with our small classes that larger private and public institutions couldn’t. We felt it was the next best thing to homeschooling. However, without the deep pockets needed for facilitators, taxes, administrative costs, etc., our school had to close for financial reasons. And, honestly, homeschooling (or radical unschooling which is what we’re doing) is really allowing our kids to thrive.
What I’d like to see the public schools take on more is allowing each child to develop at their own pace instead of having “state” standards and allow for more outside time and experiential learning. From friends and siblings I hear about the amount of time their kids spend doing homework and their complaints of that robbing them of their childhood. I believe that there are so many things that could be remediated within the school system and feel that, as one other person commented on before, it probably won’t be until enough people take their kids out (or big corporations demand that the schools change the way they educate so that US companies can compete on a global basis) that the systeem changes.
PS I also loved the Mother Teresa quote.
I appreciate your responses on each issue. I do think Godin misunderstands the passion at which most homeschoolers approach revealing opportunities and continue curiosities for their children to learn. The educational system is absolutely broken in my opinion for how IT would steal the dreams of my children. Godin needs to read John Taylor Gatto’s book ‘Tools of Mass Instruction’ to be educated further himself! Thank you Jamie for your range of topics in approach to homeschool, I learn so much!!
YES!! forget the desks/books/study hall and go outside! Play in the dirt, hold a chicken, peruse the trees and sit on log. There’s so much more to education than replicating the institution at our dining room tables! Everyone WANTS to learn–the absolute best thing we can do is step back, encourage, and do everything but hinder them with our ‘ideals’. Sure, we can help motivate by being learners ourselves, our children are mimic-ers and by simply being with successful, intelligent, loving and upright citizens they will become them. Bottom line. There is no teacher in the world that can model this type of learning in a classroom for 1 45minute session a day. Not even for a full 8 hour day, it’s a lifestyle children are eager to learn.
Lacey’s latest post: Due to the Flu Giveaway
This is a little bit of a tangent from the main point of your post, but I am a prospective new homeschooling mom and am interested in your thoughts about how specifically a homeschool should look different than just a classroom transplanted to the home. Just trying to learn all a can before diving in to this new homeschooling world! 🙂
In my experience with my own mistakes, I have found them to become glaringly obvious rather quickly! Then we all get to practice re-evaluating and regrouping to get things back on track.
I found myself nodding YES! again and again as I read. You made terrific points here. Thank you!
Jonnia Smith’s latest post: Weekly Wrap-up
Well said! I just finished reading Seth Godin’s “Stop Stealing Dreams” and I couldn’t agree with your response more. Thanks for posting : )
Kirsten Torrado’s latest post: What is Cyberschool?
I love, love, loved this! Well said.
That is an interesting post!! I have to say that I have seen public school work well for some children. I have seen it not work for others.
Our school in our neighborhood has some excellent teachers. They honestly do the best job they can. I believe. But, they have crowded classrooms. One kindergarten class was almost 40 students with one helper, and the other was 28 students with no helper.
I sought help from the local school district for my son that was having issues, and they were so helpful. But they advised me that homeschooling was going to give my son the best chance right now, with his needs. They gave me support and help to get over the hump, but did not recommend school enrollment.
I truly believe that you should consider every option for schooling your children, and not just choose the easiest way. It might not be the best one. Also, reevaluate yearly.
Check yourself and make sure you are doing what is best for them right now. Is the school they are going to best for them emotional, educationally and socially?
Martha Artyomenko’s latest post: To Honor and Trust by Tracie Peterson and Judith Pella
“My children don’t need a great education someday, they need one now.”
YES – exactly! I have lots of friends and family who are teachers who expressed the same concerns this author has. I do understand the need for a strong public education system, and will support it in the ways I can, but at the same time, I cannot offer my own children’s well being as a sacrifice on the altar of public school strength.
Catherine’s latest post: World’s Okayest Mom
I’m a fan of Seth Godin, too–he has so much wisdom to share about marketing. But I agree with you that our kids need a good education NOW, not in a generation. When I read Godin’s book, The Icarus Deception, I felt like it applied directly to homeschool, even though Godin doesn’t really support homeschooling. In that book, he says we should stop relying on a broken system. Applied to the education system, that directly refutes his own opinion from Stop Stealing Dreams.
Hmm, great stuff, but there is one part where I find phrasing confusing: “Godin advises parents and children to keep attending school, to keep pushing boundaries, but not to abandon the institution. For some, that might be the right choice. But I refuse to allow an institution to steal my kids’ dreams while simply waiting and hoping for a better system to someday evolve.”
I understand that Jamie is answering Godin’s points, as someone mentioned earlier, but the words imply (at least to me) that if ANYONE sends their kids to public school then they are, in fact, allowing “an institution to steal [their] kids’ dreams.”
“The cost (in time) of one parent per student is huge–and halving it for two kids is not nearly enough. Most families can’t afford this, and few people have the patience to pull it off.”
~ Stop Stealing Dreams, Chapter 121
This is puzzling to me, if for no other reason than it simply is not logical. If it is “too much” for one parent per child, then how can the typical school model of 1:20 be expected to succeed? I don’t have enough time or my one child, but a teacher can handle 20? Come on.
I totally agree with this. When we first decided to bring our oldest children home from a private Christian school, my parents were not supportive. They offered up many arguments against the idea of homeschooling, but the most confusing came from my father when he said, “I just feel sorry for your younger two, because now you are going to have to spend time with the older boys, and the little ones won’t get as much attention…..” I could never understand the logic of that. So, I was supposed to send the older boys to a classroom where their teacher (who was virtually a stranger to them) had to divide her attention among 20 students; rather than keep them at home, where I, their mother, only have to divide my attention among 4 children. And not only that, but now my younger two have their older brothers home with them all the time to play with and learn from.
I agree and really you can homeschool a free children in a few hours a day and get just as much done. If you are smart about you also wouldn’t have to put to much cost into it as well.
I agree with your conclusions 100%. Although I am a Seth Godin fan, homeschooling is an area that isn’t his place of expertise. We are with our kids 24/7, I think we have plenty of time to make mistakes and learn from them.
Miracles tend to happen one on one. It’s always dangerous to view people as a mass.
One to one is how we keep this revolution blazing forward. Thank you for your constant encouragement!
I give you props… not only for the awesome blog written, but for having the patience to read Godin’s article. I can’t stand ignorance in and of itself, much less to read it. Thank you for pushing through (reading the article) and speaking the truth! God bless you and your family! 😉
I wonder how you current homeschoolers respond to the implication that homeschoolers are “abandoning” the system, pulling the kids from some of the most supportive families out of the system and leaving it to less able or supportive parents and kids. I understand that you are not going to sacrifice your own kids’ education for the good of the system or future kids. But how do you explain this to others without sounding like you couldn’t give a care about the other kids in your school/district/neighborhood?
The method of payment is also very convenient and easy to use. Here the road is again paved and stays that way for another 3 miles until you reach the entrance of Poe Valley State Park. It would spotlight the businesses and specialized skills of police personnel and allow us to deal with people we know and trust, support each other’s businesses, and eliminate the burden of thumbing through the yellow pages hoping to find ethical, reliable business people. Despite the quality if any laptop there
Agree with the whole article except the part where you say it’s expensive or out of reach for some financially. As a large homeschooling family who has homeschooled mostly with free curriculum and with many free resources…..
The only thing barring anyone from being able to do this would be patience.