Grade Levels

Last year at this time we were exploring the possibility of homeschooling. I remember asking one mom who has homeschooled all of her children what grade her daughter was in. She hemmed and hawed and the pause went on so long I started getting nervous. How could I possibly trust an education where the mother doesn't even know what grade her kid is in?

A year later, I understand. Now when people ask what grade my kids are in I hesitate, think about it, and then often give the standard reply. Sometimes, though, people are actually interested in knowing what grade levels my kids are working at, so I can go subject by subject. The thing is, not all materials my kids use are by "grade level." For example, both the kids are working on a book called "Jamestown" for reading. It is the intermediate level. So what is intermediate? It is probably 7th-8th grade. My 4th grade son and 6th grade daughter are using a 7/8th grade book. In history we're studying ancient civilizations. I'm not sure what "grade level" ancient civilizations are taught, but I suspect it's not elementary school.

I doubt you're interested in what grade levels my kids are at in all their subjects, but the thing is, if they go back to a 'school,' they are going to be way ahead of their classmates in a lot of subjects. I'm sure there are gaps in their education that aren't being filled through homeschooling, but then there are gaps in education even in the classroom. So in homeschooling I end up with kids who simply are at the level they are at, and unless someone asks, I generally don't think about it too much except to find appropriate materials for them. A year ago, I was ready to write off homeschooling because of the response I got from one parent on this question. Now I'm right there too.

Not Too Adept at the Monkey Bars Response

I have wondered about the effectiveness of education as I've seen my kids become bored and apathetic in school in subjects that they are very good at. It concerns me greatly, and I wonder how many "smart" kids out there have given up on the game of school because it is just too easy. I came across an article entitled "Not Too Adept at the Monkey Bars" (Bernard Fryshman) in Education Week this morning and it really spoke to why I think more and more people are homeschooling their kids.

Not Too Adept at the Monkey Bars

Like this article says, "We cannot, of course, create a different schooling pattern for each child."  Exactly.  Homeschooling does provide this option.  Of course, it is a time-intensive option that is only available for those parents willing to take the risk and who have some level of teaching competence.  It ends up taking the resource demands off the system and puts it in the hands of individual families.

Part of what I like about homeschooling is its naturalness.  It is comfortable and not an artificial construct that puts students in a pressure cooker of social expectations and competition.  It has the flexibility to change methods and tactics NOW, in an instant.  If something isn't working, we adjust it so it does.

This article doesn't give solutions.  Large numbers of teachers and administrators agree that something needs to change in education, but there is no agreement of what that change should look like and how to get from here to there.  There are no easy answers, but it was nice to have my thoughts articulated succinctly in this article.

And Next Year's Plan for Homeschooling???

For some reason I often wonder if I will homeschool the kids next year. Personally I am ambivalent about it. I could, but I don't have to. Ultimately I want what is best for the kids, but that is not always clear-cut ahead of time.

When I asked Denver a month or so ago to rate how much he liked homeschooling on a scale of 1-10 (10 being "heaven" is how I phrased it), he promptly replied, "8!" I also asked him a week ago, "If you had to choose right now between Bill (the teacher he would have at McNeil next year) or homeschooling, which would you choose?" He pondered that one awhile and finally responded, "Well, I don't have to decide now so I won't!" It did spur a lively discussion of the merits of Bill versus homeschooling. He'd been greatly anticipating having Bill as a teacher and that was one of his big disappointments of switching to homeschooling. His sister thoroughly enjoyed being in Bill's classroom for 2 years, and yet as we discussed it, it came out that the biggest issue with being in the classroom is that they have to go at a slow pace--the pace of the majority. Both my kids were bored in school, which disturbed me greatly since they both are highly intelligent and curious kids. Boredom in school can lead to all sorts of problems, and the focus gets shifted from education to social, behavioral or other issues.

This came out all too clearly when I asked Aurora how she liked homeschooling. She said she liked it 60% of the time, and 40% of the time not. Upon further discussion, it came out that the only thing she does not like about homeschooling is not being with her friends. So friends had already supplanted education in fifth grade as the reason for being there. Hm. It's not that she doesn't spend time with her friends now; nearly every weekend is a whirlwind of sleepovers and playdates with friends from school, and weekdays are filled with social activities too. Yet there is an allure to sitting in school all day, throwing looks at your best friend, giggling, playing on the playground and more.

I believe homeschooling fits my kids' educational needs better than a classroom right now, but I also recognize that pull to be "in school". I don't know when the moment will come that I will "know" that the kids should be homeschooled again next year, or let them go back to the brain-numbing hyper-socialness of school. There may not end up being a "moment." And from what I've read about other homeschooling families, this is typical. So I won't sweat it, but I am curious what we'll end up doing!