I know that there are many who are questioning whether or not to make the jump to standards based grading for whatever reason. But the more I think about my own children's education, the more I realize that anything else is crap. My wife and I are probably going to homeschool our boys next year and you know what our main question is? What do we want them to learn?
That's it.
Grades? Nope.
Due dates? Nope.
Packets? Heck no!
Homework? That'd be kinda redundant.
Finish when you finish. Learn when you learn.
Sure, in our classrooms, we have to teach things because we have deadlines imposed upon us and we have to work within them. Kids' learning doesn't give a rip about our deadlines.
So when you decide how you're going to do it next year ask yourself this question:
How would you want your own kids to be taught?
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5 comments:
I don't want my son to be 'taught'. I want him to live in an idea-rich, math-rich, text-rich environment.
I want him to tell me what he wants to learn.
I hope he learns to value mathematical thinking, and the best way to achieve that is to let him tell me what parts excite him. (There's lots more on my list: I want him to question consumerism, value the Earth, trust his gut, question everything, nurture his body, ...)
I'm a single parent working full-time, so he has to go to school, but I'm an unschooler at heart. And the mini-school he'll be at next year is run by a woman who thinks in similar ways. Lucky us!
Have fun with your homeschooling adventures!
Homeschool up until middle school so that the Cox boys see their dad in action and partake in the farm project with their peers?
I'm with you...no homework, no grades, no packets - just learning essentials (presumably set by the state of CA?).
I'd want my (future) kids to socialize a bit, too. That could come from church, friends, etc. rather than the 'school' experience.
Sue
We're pretty blessed in that my wife is a credentialed teacher as well and we've set things up so one of us is always home. We've done a week so far and the kids have dug in. It amazes me how deadlines, busy work, homework, etc really kill a kids' curiousity and they quickly turn into answer chasers.
Matt
The social was really the only thing we felt that a school could offer our kids that we would have to work at. My kids are very social naturally and have no problem making friends with kids or adults. Finding social interaction for them won't be a problem.
I can't wait to hear about what you learn from homeschooling. I did it for a year with my daughter (when middle school's not working out, you gotta do something). It was kind of eye opening. That curriculum that looked so great from a distance, doesn't always looks so good if it's your own child...
I'm not so concerned with the curriculum. I'm more concerned with what we do with it. We are currently using standard texts (until we get our feet underneath us and have the confidence to branch out) and the kids seem to be doing great. Still early, though.
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