Homeschool or not?
This question has been on my mind and search engine daily. Since I began to question the wisdom of sending my children away to be educated, I’ve noticed no matter where I turn we are being told education should happen outside the home.
Something as simple as a children’s book.
Last night my oldest picked a book I have read many times. This time it’s meaning struck me so differently than it did just a few weeks ago.
The book is “This Kissing Hand” by Audrey Penn. It was a New York Times Bestseller and was an Ed Press Winner.
Chester Raccoon stood at the edge of the forest and cried.
“I don’t want to go to school, ” he told his Mother. “I want to stay at home with you. I want to play with my friends. And play with my toys. And read my books. And sing my songs. Please may I stay home with you?”
Here is the sad little illustration by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak that corresponds with the text.
Mrs. Raccoon took Chester by the hand and nuzzled him on the ear
” Sometimes we all have to do things we don’t want to do,” she told him gently “even if they seem strange and scary”.
“Um…no….NO…no we don’t have to!” I thought to myself.
So children are to be ripped from their family and home, everything they have ever known. Their source of security. Put in a strange, large, confusing building, with a bunch of strange children, whose home life and parents we do not know. What imprint they leave on our children will be outside our control. They will spend the majority of the daylight hours with adults we have barely met, if at all, and know nothing about as well. This will be our children’s main source of influence, guidance and education for the next 9 months.
Let me put it to you another way, in the next 9 months your child will have 2,340 waking hours. You will be with them for 990, they will be in school for 1,350.
Are we being conditioned to believe that this is the best thing for our children?
If you think I’m crazy ask yourself this …
- How much research did you do before you sent your kid to school?
- Do you know where the teacher got her/his education?
- What kind of person is he/she?
- What are the teaching methods?
- What is his/her teaching track record?
- Who are the children in the class who will be his/her friends?
- What kind of people are their parents?
I would bet a significant amount of money that most people don’t ask these questions.
Now the obvious question, why didn’t you ask these questions?
Because this is what we are supposed to do.
Anyhoo, just a random thought I had while taking the book out of our repertoire and deciding what illustrations I can keep for decoupage.