Noah’s latest homeschool decision
Apr 22, 2008 Homeschooling
He wants to do K12 again next year. I know! He’s crazy. He likes all the busy work and random inane quizzes. He is so not me. But that’s the paradox of unschooling Noah — if I believe he knows his own way then I’m gonna let him do it his own way even though I chose unschooling in part to get him out of that kind of stuff. But he likes it now that he and Brett have figured out how to work it.
He does it in chunks and some of it he skips entirely. So he and Brett did all the math at the beginning of the year. Noah decided to finish spelling (because he loves spelling) by guzzling it down all before the holidays. Now he’s rushing through the reading. And they’re doing science in a chunk. Stuff he’s skipping? Well, he read the history books but decided not to answer the questions. And the art and music he skipped because they were lame. Also he’s into the stuff he’s getting tested on because my son, dear Noah, loves to be evaluated.
(Think of the horror of his kindergarten through fourth grade years when he was utterly without evaluation! Merely learning that which interested him at his own pace! Poor child!)
The other day we all went on a walk to the ice cream parlour and Madison had to run back with Brett in an emergency potty situation so Noah and I were standing around by the old graveyard talking about dead bodies and somehow that led to school. Oh yes, I remember why. Because the graveyard is across from the middle school. I asked him if he ever thinks about going and he said yes. I told him that I thought he might like it because he likes a lot of the things about virtual school that are in regular school. And I said I noticed that he was a lot more peer oriented than he was when he was little so maybe he would really like making new friends. He thought on it and brought it up again a few days ago. He still doesn’t want to do school but he wants to do K12 again so he can get his fair share of worksheets and grades. But no school. He thinks it’d be too much if he had to do it all day so he’d rather skip it. Which is fine. More than fine, really.
I did tell him that if he wanted to try school that he could. We’d ask him to commit a reasonable amount of time to trying it (I have no idea what might be reasonable) but we wouldn’t make him stay if he was miserable. Basically it’s a risk-free proposition. Next year would be his last chance to try out the elementary school across the way from us so if he is going to try I think it’d be a good time to do it. We’ll see how he feels as we get through summer.
This is what so many folks outside of unschooling don’t get about the whole thing. It’s not about sticking your kid in some program — even a non-program program. It’s about doing whatever you think your kid needs to thrive. I don’t like institutional schooling; Noah does. It pained me terrifically (I cannot tell you how much) to commit to K12. I hate it. I hate having some stranger’s nose in my kid’s educational business. But it’s not about me. In Noah’s case, unschooling seems to be schooling right now. Who knows. That might change somewhere down the line. He might want more school and head to a building. He might want less and quit virtual school. I don’t know. But he continues to thrive emotionally and academically and socially so we must be doing something right. The kid is kinda awesome. Mouthy, sure, but awesome.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:37 pm
In the K-6 years our students rarely get any kind of grading or score based feed back. They take the standardized tests, but only know the results if a parent chooses to tell them. In 7th and 8th grade we add letter grades to all our other evaluations to get them ready for leaving us and high school. It’s weird how excited some of the kids (including mine) get. Like Noah, some really thrive on the standard measures and evaluations.
Though a couple of years ago Mallory did this project that she loved and poured her heart and soul into, she was very proud of it. She got a B, along with a ton of positive comments, but was heartbroken. A “B” wasn’t good enough. She wanted nothing to do with the project at that point. I hate it when inspite of every one’s best efforts it still becomes all about the grade.
April 22nd, 2008 at 4:58 pm
i never ever would have thought about homeschooling before reading yours (and some other) blogs, but i really do now. we still have 2 more years to go (and wendell already goes to an old school preschool 3 mornings a week), but the 8/9-3 institutionalization has begun to freak me out a bit. maybe its just that i don’t look forward to that much of a cramp on my schedule. that said, i’m not sure i’m up for the alternative..
April 22nd, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Well, you might be unschooling him, but I’m not. I say he can’t go to school even if he wants to. He’s too good of an influence on the other homeschoolers. So there.
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Just goes to show that we have to take our kids as they are. It’s kind of nice when they defy your expectations, ’cause then you know that you didn’t just mold the clay, that it had form of it’s own.
“He’s too good of an influence on the other homeschoolers. So there.”
Fortunately, Dawn & Noah don’t live in my neck fo the woods, or I’d demand that he come and attend my school, so that he could be a good influence in school
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Aren’t you doing a crappy job of homeschooling him then, if Noah doesn’t think your exact same thoughts? That’s been our goal for Elliott all along–now he likes tarring the roof, mental math, and recitation, lots of recitation.
Congrats to you for letting Noah find his own way. He’s the best and finest of super men!
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:15 am
I was looking for something witty from the K-12 drop out, but I got nuthin’. You are doing it right! (Hiding my head) I sort of miss online school for the structure, although it was too much at the time, we rule followers couldn’t rightfully do it in a half ass manner(picking and choosing). Because that was not “honest”. Doesn’t make lot of sense coming from this unschooler, I know. I have been thinking about next year alot! Glad Noah is happy and choosing an educationally rich path. Kind of like my son who is so schooled in course # telephone 989 and My Space 786. He doesn’t take after his Mother who barely made it out of Math 102. Good Boy!
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:43 am
Honestly, I am sort of thinking all that structure might be nice again, since my oldest does the BARE minimum to get by (might as well post my phone # Kristin for your son’s telephone course!) I just go back and forth about how important info that gets shoved down their throats really is ( even if they are enjoying it). See, it may be more important than I think and that is why I have the occassional (more frequent the older they get) panic attack about whether we are doing the right thing. Middle one wants to go to school, which is killing me - I tell her I won’t send her unless she is at grade level across the board - she is sad. God, I must be having a panicky day!
Lisa V, I love reading about Mallory - have some distant memories of her !
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:26 am
[...] know my kids will be different than I am; like Noah’s current love affair with standardized testing. I’m already girding myself for the teen years when he’ll assert his differences more [...]
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Amen. And thank-you. I struggle with this everyday.