I just got back from Mari and Joe's house. It is 9am. I spent the night there.
You see, Art decided to go to Canada and visit friends at the college, and stay there for night. I didn't go along because I don't know anyone there anymore. So I was all by myself for pretty much all of yesterday. As evening approached, I realized that I was bored out of my mind, and that I was going to go crazy if I didn't have some human contact.
Also, I didn't want to sleep alone last night, since I heard a loud *KLUNK* in my carport the night before. Yes it was windy, yes we have raccoons, but nothing in the carport was missing or out of place. So I'm paranoid. Apparently that there's a crack-house or a meth-house in the area. Comforting.
So I called Mari and asked her to come rescue me, I packed a few things, and spend the evening cleaning her house. No seriously. I had absolutely no motivation to do my own dishes, so I went to her house and washed their dishes instead. And swept the floor. And vacuumed.
In my defense (and also hers) Mari had an essay to write, and I totally support her doing her homework. And Phil (their roommate) made dinner for me. And there was ice cream cake. So yeah, I was more than rewarded for cleaning, which I really don't mind doing anyway, and plus I wasn't bored or alone.
Also? I got to help Mari with her essay. I think there might be something wrong with me, because you are all probably thinking, "You call that a fun evening?" And I'm saying, YES. I liked it. I got to play house, and then I got play school. I made all sorts of comments and corrections, telling her where to improve her grammar, or if something didn't make any sense. She told me to lay it on thick, so I did. And she was grateful.
She asked me if I ever thought about being a teacher. I only think about it all the time. Do you know that I have been told since I was, like, five years old that I would make a great teacher? And now that I'm all grown up, I realize that all those adults are right. I enjoy it, and I'm good at it. Which is why we are most definitely homeschooling our kids. I'm looking forward to that.
But first I actually have to HAVE the kids. Which I don't want to do for quite a while.
11 comments:
Interesting blog Jenene, maybe you and Art could both go to school in the fall?? How many years of school to become a teacher?...or maybe you could just teach your own kids once they have arrived. Glad you could spend the night at Mari's. Love you.
Please don't homeschool your kids. They end up smart (maybe) and most often completely socially inept.
It is also the height of arrogance to think that you are able to teach your kids on a whole range of subjects better than qualified individuals who spend years of their life learning their fields before even thinking of teaching. It is one thing to read it out of a syllabus, and try to pass it on to your kids. Quite another to get them to understand something on a base level. Take physics, for instance, or a second or third language. The amount of knowledge you could get your kids to assimilate in cases like that would be mediocre at best.
Also - if your child has developmental issues (slow learner, dyslexic, or simply learns differently than other kids), are you qualified to assess and rectify this? There are processes and systems in place in almost every public school to help children in those situations, with experts who do only that. I could tell you so many stories of kids who get left behind because their parents simply don't know why their little Johnny isn't learning the same as the other kids. "But we home school" they protest. "Our system is just so much better than what is out there in the world."
Right.
In addition, (and this is from long experience), I have never known a home-schooled child who did not later in life go off the deep end in some respect. To clarify: You as a parent, with the best of intentions, cocoon your child(ren) within a very small, conservative world. They get limited interaction with kids their own age. They are not exposed to situations, to hurts; basically, to real life, and thus they do not have a clue how to deal with things later on. It's always been you who made those decisions and taught them in whatever capacity you knew how (which truthfully can only be limited at best). An added detriment to this is that, in the process, you cease to become their parent, and take on a full-time role as a teacher.
You graduate them to the real world after 18 years of your direct influence. They have never known what it means to have other adults in school as role models. They have never been able to converse with anyone. They are typically quite awkward with members of the opposite sex.
Suddenly they are on their own, in a world they do not understand. Oh, they're smart. Very smart. But they are awkward. They are, more often than not, unable to cope with things normally. They are oh so very innocent. It takes years of their lives to graduate socially to a place that the rest of their peers in the real world reached in their teens.
They get confronted with a world that suddenly, you cannot filter through your own rose-colored glasses. There are temptations, situations, people, which all pull at them. They go off to some form of post-secondary educational facility (at least the ones who recognize their home-schooled accreditation). Sure, they're smart. But suddenly, they realize that hey-there's a lot of stuff out there that I wasn't allowed to do when I was growing up, so now I'm going to do it ALL. More often than not, there is a huge break from the old, seemingly stable, innocent child you brought into adulthood, and the child-adult you shove off into the world unprepared. Things that you repressed out of their lives by cocooning them suddenly need to be dealt with, and they are unprepared, because you were too proud to consider that someone out there actually does know better.
I am simply painting a picture. This is not a textbook scenario, but rather a distinct and real possibility, and one you should very carefully consider, as it will affect your child's life in ways you cannot forsee.
I was home schooled. Part of the above is me, and part is an average mix of the people I have come across who have been in the same situation.
I will never, ever, home school my children.
I choose to remain anonymous, in this case, so that my identity will not color your perception of the above.
I thoroughly agree with anonymous in that I have yet to meet a fully socially functional home schooled adult...they are always lacking in some areas that are considered second nature to children/teens regularly exposed to social situations...really think hard about this. are you willing to put your child's life on the line like that? like the picture that anonymous painted for you?
Thank you, Anonymous 1 and Anonymous 2 for your opinions.
I was going to leave a lengthy comment, responding to all your concerns, but it's not really worth it.
Because I don't even HAVE kids yet. So please, everyone, calm down.
I like doing other people's homework too. :)
and I think you would be a good teacher. :) like your mom said, see if you can start making your way to a degree.
"I made all sorts of comments and corrections, telling here where to improve her grammar"...I thought that was funny because you made a mistake in there while talking about correcting her grammar.
About the homeschooling thing...I say pray about it and God will tell you whether or not it's the right thing for your kids. I really don't think that God wants every single kid to go to public school...He has different plans for different people. Do what God tells you, not necessarily what anonymous #1 and #2 say to do.
hahah dear anonymous #1 and #2... first off, i love it how people tell me how to raise my kids before they're even conceived.
next, their father (me) is anything but socially-inept. He is:
- out-going
- great sense of humor
- mr. popular (not a self-given nickname)
- involved in sports teams throughout every season of high school
- involved and leading church groups
- often in front of groups (viewed as part-comedian)
- half-Filipino (read: the most hospitable and friendly ethnic community this Earth has seen yet!)
- articulate with precision of words... especially when he is passionate or need to rip somebody a "new one".
Needless to say, they'll be very social and it will be their call.
Not only that, the school system is watered-down and on the wrong agenda - teaching them WHAT to think rather than HOW to think. If you don't think that my children wont be intelligent, then you insult their teachers (if that's the case, I ask you to not be involved in their up-bringing). Jenene has had straight A's basically her entire life. I was advanced in math and science - often asked to join special programs... but they suck and are for those socially-inept nerds who dedicate their High School lives to killer whales or something stupid like that.
In fact, my children will definitely be more socially-inept - not because of where they're taught, but how they're raised. I strongly believe in community... and for MY children, I want a fun and safe community for their minds, bodies and spirits. If you like the idea of a community where your children are raised by people who AREN'T their parents, involved with hormone-driven juveniles, and in a public school where teachers teach by curriculum rather than passion... then go ahead. My kids will have more friends, more brains, and be more useful in and to this world.
Anonymous # 3
Anonymous #3 continued:
Also there's this thing called Running Start for High School students here. They can go to community college classes for free (not "free", citizens pay for it). Not only will they be more social here by your standards, they'll also be getting college credits and good grades if they want to transfer to a university or trade school. Then, they'll be social AND I save money.
Furthermore, because my children will have a free-thinking brain (rather than this dictated mush of public schooling), they'll have great grades leading to scholarships - saving us more money. More money to go out with their friends... but I sure hope that they'll have some...
Haha, Elleah, you're right! I did make a mistake. That's funny.
Art, you're awesome.
And yes, you guys cannot have socially inept kids...you are far too outgoing!!! Really, school is more like the community of prison than a true community. The kids are told what to do when, and they are isolated by grade. When you homeschool your kids will know the true meaning of community and will have friends of all ages. And I COMPLETELY agree with you about schools teaching kids to just repeat back what they've "learned"---students are not engaged in their own education.
Really, so many people feel this way, the system needs to change.
The people that have posted such negative opinions have a very outdated view of homeschooling. The homeschooling community is much more different and diverse now (liberals and conservatives). I know a kid who was "unschooled" (a friend of Julias) and he went on to an Ivy League school and scored super freaking high on his SATS. And he swims and is not socially retarded.
Okay, sorry for the second long post Jenene :)
Apparently getting punched in the gut and having your lunch money stolen has an accelerating effect on social development. Who woulda thunk it??
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