A while back I promised a “big announcement” here at TRY, hinting that it might just have something to do with Yak the Younger.
Well, summer has started, final grades are in, and it’s now safe to loose the hounds:
We have decided to homeschool Yak the Younger.
“The Grand Experiment” commences as soon as the child returns from his three-week vacation withhis grandparents. The idea: to see whetherThe Random Spouse and I can teach seventh grade at least as well as the local public schools.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Sillyyak, you can’t possibly teach as well as the California public school system! You’re a heterosexual, married Christian with a child living in a functional two-parent home. Give up now!” I accept that I’m starting behind the 8-ball, butwe’ll beworking hardto make sure our son doesn’t miss out on any of the quality education he was formerly receiving in the public schools. Every morning I will drag my son from his bed, flush his head in the toilet and steal his money before leaving for the office. The Random Spouse will push him in the hallway andhide his books. Together, we will whisper nasty things about him. When he tries to appeal to the non-whispering parent, on grounds that we are behaving inappropriately, we will punish him for provoking our bad behavior.
We’ll also behave completely unreasonably in the classroom setting,forcing him to learn totally useless things like “spelling” and “grammar.” Tests will have “right” answers and “wrong” answers, and the failure to memorize and apply information properly will actually result in poor grades. “Citizenship” and “art” no longer factor into the grading process formathematics and science, placing him at a distinct and doubtless unfair disadvantage.
See? We’ve thought of everything.
Of course, he’ll also have opportunities to interact with his peers through positive extracurricular activities like rock climbing, scouting and church. He will learn not one but two foreign languages – as well as English. He will have time to read and learn in a quiet environment in the company of others who also value information and education. Jesus Christ and the Bible will be welcome in his classroom, wherelearningneed not – and cannot – be separated fromhisChristian worldview.
Homeschooling has benefits and drawbacks, but for our family and in this place, it presents an opportunity to salvage what the public schools have attempted to destroy: education as a fact-based, rigorous academic exercise,itsgoal the transfer of knowledge from teacher to student in a manner which equips the student to better understand the world, to prepare for life as an adult, and to make reasoned decisions about hislife. A student should be taught to read critically, to think logically and to make decisions on the basis of informed judgment. A student should know how to think for himself, and should understand how others have thought before him. A student should have enough factual knowledge to evaluate new situations,combined withenough humility to know how much he does not yet understand. And a student should love to learn and shouldseek knowledge for its own sake and for the ability to better serve the LORD, his family and his community.
Over the past several years, I have watched the public schools fail to help teach these lessons. Worse, I have seen hard evidencethat the public schools cannot and will not accept responsibility for many of the fundamental educational responsibilities with which I entrusted them. They have failed my son.
Fortunately, The Random Spouse and I will not. Ultimately,the LORD entrusted us with the care and education of this child, and we have chosen to accept that responsibility as applied to all facets of his education. Parents are always teachers – but it appears we’ve reached the point where we must put our money where our egos are. To know what is right and not to do it is sin. With regard to our son’s education, we have chosen to sin no more.
Trackposted to third world county, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Great choice!
Comment by Peejz — June 27, 2007 @ 1:39 pm
You have no idea how this thrills me to the tips of my little clawed paws. I look forward to reading about the experiment. Don’t forget to throw food at Yak the Younger during lunch and while you’re at it, Scritch him behind the ears for me.
Abiding in the Vine!
Comment by sagerats — June 27, 2007 @ 4:02 pm
Good on y’all.
I always want to put my oar in and talk about curriculum, but in this case, well, I think y’all almost certainly have that settled.
One thing: music curriculum? Does your church have a good “graded choirs” program or opportunity to play in instrumental ensembles? (I don’t recall any info about YtY’s musical experiences–instrumental, vocal or choral.) This age is a good one to begin building real understanding of music–from the inside (of YtY) out. Can do a LOAD of good in left brain/right brain balancing/integration, especially during the rapid fire days of adolescence.
Comment by David — June 27, 2007 @ 4:39 pm
Congrats! We started homeschooling my daughter after she failed the 8th grade. This was after going through public, parochial, and private school. Homeschooling, she has absolutely thrived. Her grades are high, and so are her CAT scores every year.
Comment by Laura — June 27, 2007 @ 4:44 pm
Many thanks for all the encouragement and advice. I’m always appreciative when those with more experience offer pointers – I find it frees me up to find new and interesting mistakes to make on my own…
Far as curriculum goes, yes – I’m fortunate enough to have a number of clients who homeschool and they’ve been very helpful. Between their advice and a week’s worth of online research, I think we have the academics pretty well locked. Music is an interesting point, though, David. YtY spent several years in choral music and really enjoyed it. The school he attended this year didn’t have a choir program, but I think the church may and I’ll look into it. He also has an electric keyboard that he enjoys playing – we’d considered structured lessons now that he’s 12 – and that’s the one area we still need to get on the ball. He definitely enjoys and appreciates music – helping him appreciate it in a more structured way is a very good idea. Fortunately, The Random Spouse is trained as an artist, so we have access to a good “in-house” teacher for the visual arts portion of the curriculum.
Definitely the right decision though – the child is looking down the business end of a pretty hairy curriculum: World History, Chinese, Spanish (starting once his grasp on the basics of Chinese is solid enough to prevent confusion), English composition (spelling, grammar and various forms of composition), English literature, Algebra 1, Biology (lab and theory), Theology (as taught by our good friend The Random Maniyak), Art, and Geography – and he’s as excited as he coud possibly be. Not sure most kids would be “psyched” about using the SAT word list as their spelling book, but YtY can’t wait. Truthfully, neither can the rest of us.
Thanks again for all the support and advice – and please keep it coming.
Comment by Random Yak — June 28, 2007 @ 9:01 am