Socialization: Homeschooling vs. Schools (outside link)

It was Theodore Roosevelt who said, "To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."

Many homeschoolers share this sentiment when it comes to public schools, believing that the moral relativism, violence, peer pressure, drugs and promiscuity found inside their gates provide an inadequate setting to properly socialize their children.

Yet 92 percent of superintendents believe that home learners are emotionally unstable, deprived of proper social development and too judgmental of the world around them, according to a California study by researcher Dr. Brian Ray .

(click the link below to finish this fascinating article.)

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/144135.aspx

The Reluctant Reader

Sometimes I wonder if Eowyn is genuinely reading the books that I assign, or if she just skims over the words without taking in their meanings. Of all my children, Eowyn is the one who doesn't like to read. This is my fault. She was not ready to read in the first grade which brought a considerable amount of consternation from all my relatives who were already certain I was ruining the little hobbits by educating them at home. Her lack of readiness to read only brought more stress to an already stressful situation wherein I felt I had to prove myself to others, especially since our first year of homeschooling was her first grade year. I panicked; I pushed. It was not always pretty. At times I even thought she was refusing to read out of rebellion. That was when it got ugly. I actually yelled at her for not reading. Screeched is probably the better word. My eyes are welling with tears as I write this.

Sometimes when your children are small, you don't realize just how small they are. You expect too much from them too soon. They want to please you, but at times find it impossible. That was the case with Eowyn. When this happens, when the expectations are unattainable, your child loses hope. She knows she can't please you by doing the thing you have demanded, so she becomes a little withdrawn from you. I wish I had known then what I know now. I wish I had realized just how small she was. I see it now. I see it in little Pippin who is in first grade this year. I look at him and stand astounded that I could have ever yelled at Eowyn when she was his age. I didn't realize how small she was.

I have apologized profusely over the years, but the damage is done. She is now a reluctant reader. She shies away from school readings and wouldn't read aloud for all the tea in China. There is always hope though. She has forgiven me for being a crazy, looney mom when we first started homeschooling. She didn't for several years, but seeing me patiently working with Pippin who is also not a quick reader has softened her heart. She sees that I'm sincere in my apologies by my actions with her little brother. Just today she came to me laughing and said she had read too much of the book I had given her today. It is "White Fang" by Jack London. She likes it. She got caught up in reading it and before she knew it she had read more pages than were assigned for the day. Hearing that she is enjoying a book is music to my ears. However, having her laugh with me about is is divine.

Don't forget just how small they are. Little hearts can break quickly and mend slowly.

Term 2

Term two is in full swing. We have finally finished week 18 of this school year which means we are halfway done. We should, according to the schedule, be about eight weeks further than we are, but no matter. The weather is fair, the garden is in, and we are happily enjoying our days. We can always work through the summer when the weather in the Shire is too hot and humid to stir from the hobbit hole. Honestly, we've been moving more and more toward a year round schooling schedule since moving to one of the southern states from the midwest a few years ago. In the midwest even autumn and spring had dreary, inclement weather that kept us indoors, but here in the south autumn and spring are glorious!

Gone are the days when I fretted over finishing every jot and tittle of our books no later than the end of May. The early years of home schooling are always the hardest; when you are filled with hopes, expectations (your's, and those of other people), fears and uncertainties. I liken it to the awkward teen years. Youth was grand, but I wouldn't be a teen again for all the world. Give me wisdom over youth any day! Home schooling is now a way of life, not something that we do between the hours of 8 and 3, Monday through Friday, September through May.

Or, there are the new home schooling moms who have diligently read all the "how to home school" books, and come into it thinking they are experts before they've even taught a day. I'm guilty of being bewildered and fearful of ruining our little hobbits our first year. Then, reading everything I could get my hands on over the following summer, and starting the second year feeling like I was the Heloise of home education. I soon realized that children aren't as easy to turn as the pages of a book. Actually, I'm using the adverb soon somewhat loosely here. I spent quite a bit of time banging my head against the wall wondering why the little hobbits weren't responding to my fabulous plans/method/schedule like I had expected. After all, the books said...

Anyway, God is good. He has loved me, and held my hand through it all. It would have been easier if I hadn't kept trying to tug in a different direction though.