What have we done to curiosity?

Through this process of homeschooling, I have opened a never-ending discussion in my head regarding the differences between teaching and learning. We often use the terms interchangeably as we discuss our children's schooling. "What are you teaching them?" assumes "What are they learning?" Reality is teaching me (and I am learning) that the two are quite different.

Until a kid wants to learn, I can teach until forever and never connect. We know this. Yet we continue to harbor a school system that teaches its way to The Test each year, losing our kids' interest and curiosity along the way.

Consider the typical discipline issues a science teacher must deal with. Let's say each student has been given a straw, a rubber band, a 1/4 cup of water and a piece of paper. On each desk is a worksheet with clear instructions that will draw the student to an intended conclusion. Instead of following the directions, Charlie snips his straw in half and the battle begins:

"Charlie, why did you snip the straw in half? The directions stated the experiment will  only work with the whole straw."

"Dunno."

 "Charlie? Perhaps you should head to the principal's office."

From a teacher's perspective, I get this. In a classroom of thirty plus students, one must maintain a sense of unity and power. But what if Charlie just wanted to know what would happen if he cut the straw in half? What if he were *gasp* curious?  How did Edison discover the light bulb? He had to try a ton of stuff. He had to first be curious. Have we become so intent on the teaching that we have disallowed our kids the opportunity to learn?

I am not dissing teachers. They have an impossible job. How can we move to correct this travesty in public school? What do you think?

A Clean Mind Leads to Projectiles

Thank you Spring Break! Nothing like a week off to reflect and regroup...oh, and spring clean. My cupboards and shelves are nearly organized, door jams primed and ready to be repainted, and many treasures stacked and ready for next week's multi-family garage sale. There is something about purging the house that helps me purge and clear my mind.

As I mentioned in my last post, I felt we had gotten bogged down by our textbooks. I started hearing, "I hate science," which I know is a total lie because Mythbusters and How It's Made top the list of recorded programs on our DVR. What SJ was communicating, in his 13 year old manner, was that he hated what we were studying and how we were doing it.

It occurred to me that he likes anything that shoots, explodes, or destroys so, duh, brainchild, how about studying the weaponry and warfare of the Medieval times (which we are now entering in History)? With a little encouragement from my husband and his friend, I found a book, The Projectile-Throwing Engines of the Ancients, that offers sketches of many types of catapults and their histories. As we read this together, SJ will cover as many learning objectives, if not more, than if we were reading his history, science, and literature textbooks. I am hoping he can build scale models of a few of these catapults (or weapons) and we will (at least, my husband will) test and discuss the differences of trajectory, force, and all those scientific concepts of which I am glaringly lacking in understanding. In reading the history of the weapons, we will surely find terms to add to the vocab list and, in order to understand the concepts, he will be forced to take the time to comprehend his reading. He has already opened the book to peek.

I am also looking at curriculum for next year and, again, it occurred to me that I've been a little too intent on taking up where he left off in school and getting through the book. Well, it's clear he will be doing Pre-Algebra again next year. With every lesson, we tend to back up another chapter. So...why am I trying to move forward? STAR testing? For the rest of the year, I plan to start back at the front of the book and review until I find where he is stuck. I am also having him do some diagnostic tests on a few of the programs I am reviewing. If you have used these, please let me know: Aleks Pre-Algebra and Teaching Textbook.

Lastly, check out this post from another blogger mom where she outlines the lessons learned from, of all things, a Cheez-It box: Who Needs Textbooks?  Great minds think alike. Homeschool offers so many opportunities to learn about life from life itself.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The first thing I have learned as a homeschooling mom is that I may need to redefine progress. If progress means movin' through stuff at a moderate clip, we have not budged. If, instead, it means understanding whatever stuff one gets through, we may be in business.

While I am pleased at the overall quantity of work we have managed, which to some might seem like not much, I have found that each lesson seems to open a door to five other lessons that need to be mastered before the current one can make sense. I shouldn't be surprised because I suspected SJ missed many foundational lessons in learning, but it can be a tad overwhelming.

For instance, a simple vocabulary list turned into lessons on how to interpret a dictionary's meanings, choosing the best one for the application, deciphering abbreviations, and deconstructing definitions.  Sending him to do some internet research first required an understanding of search engines, how they work, how to get meaningful results, and how to evaluate whether a website is credible. The thing is, these are activities he has been doing for years in class...with nary an understanding as to why.

It's rewarding to unlock the puzzles of learning with my son but it is slow-going. The requirements of the California Standards are ever looming, but as long as I keep my eye on the fact that knowing how to learn eventually reaps real learning, I think we will be o.k. and SJ will make real and measurable progress.

Welcome to Homeschool. Now Take a Test.

We have a whole lot of freedom in our homeschooling but we are not beyond the reach of California standards, it seems. Because we chose to align with a public charter, SJ is subject to all the same STAR testing elements as public school kids. Today he had to take the 7th grade Writing Test.

My views on said tests have changed over the years. I will apologize now for my obnoxiousness over my first child's performance. I really had no idea that anyone could score lower than 98% on any portion of the tests. She made it look that easy. I'm not sure gloat would be the right word, but certainly I will admit to a wee bit of pride in her performance. My thought: Look how smart she is!

When my second child was old enough to submit to STAR wars, I mean testing, I discovered that not everyone scored 98%. Still, though, he did well enough to keep my parental pride afloat. My thought: Two out of three ain't bad. We are doing something right. Again, the apology...

If you don't have three children, I recommend adding to your quiver because really, the third will cure you of all delusions and control you may have thought you had.

Imagine my shock as I opened the end-of-summer envelope that would tell me, once again, how wonderfully smart my child had become only to discover the State had sent the wrong results. Only homeless children could achieve the low scores exhibited. I checked the name. My son. I checked the scores. Clearly, Below Basic. Yikes. What do you do with that?

I'll tell you what you do. You reevaluate the need for standardized tests and question what they really test. I'm not trying to be a sore loser here but really, if you think it through, you realize the tests are testing whether or not the school has achieved its teaching goals (as set by the State). Secondarily, I guess, it measures your child--if your child is a good test-taker. For a struggling learner (notice I did not say a Below Basic student), the tests only serve to frustrate. To a right brain learner who prefers spatial imaging, "big picture" thinking, and emotional connection, those test booklets are akin to writing a thesis in cursive...backwards.

Mind you, I am all for measurements. I am all for valid and reliable test documents as well. But these are not it. I wish I had the answer. In the free market, customers talk with their dollars. Competition breeds innovation and excellence and underperformers, unless subsidized by the government, eventually die. The problem for schools (and teachers) is that there are as many opinions as there are parents and because of the familial prejudice, we should all question the accuracy of parental review.

For now I am content with school choice. Homeschooling aside, I am fortunate to live in a county, state, and country that gives me options to find the best fit for each of my children. And each one has chosen different paths. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to homeschool as I do realize not everyone understands it, believes in it, or even worse, has the opportunity or the means to pursue it. (That's a whole 'nother post, discussing how we have set ourselves up to rely on public schools as both babysitter and teacher. I'm not moralizing here, just sayin' that's how it is.)

So we submit to the public standards tests. The results will be what they will be. It comes at a good time this year in that I can take no culpability in the poor results but I would hope that next year, we will see improvement. I am not holding my breath.