Unplugging your child from the system.. to plug them back in the system later

I am currently working on a paper about deconstructing and rebuilding our views on education. Parents remove their children from governmental school systems for various reasons. Those of us who take our children out to AVOID the indoctrination of our children into this world system have to ask ourselves what do we view as the ideal end goal. Are we removing our children from an atheistic/Anti-Biblical/egocentric, colonial/European-washed/racist, amoral, and capitalistic education system only with the goal of making them better than their peers, and able to compete when they re-enter the system? Some parents can’t disentangle themselves from the education system enough to see that if the ONLY goal of taking your child out of the education system is to put them back in for college and/or “the work force”, then you really haven’t taken them out.

College is a great invention. But, it has been distorted. Undergraduate school is a huge money making business. Young people go to college, and graduate or don’t graduate with huge amounts of debt. When you start out with debt in your early 20’s, you have to quickly find a way to pay it all back. This means you go to work. You become an employee in the work force, you make enough to pay your bills and maybe to live off of. You have to get loans to buy a car and a house... more debt. You have to keep working... You are locked in the system. 30 year mortgages, 5 year car payments... This is all by design. It keeps us in indentured servitude. But, it BEGAN in college. We started in debt. And, it’s interesting that college loans are unforgivable debts.

If we are ready to free ourselves and our families from the education system, then we should also consider why we may care so much if our children decide not to go to college. I’m not suggesting that the goal should be that our children are bums on the street, or people who aren’t “successful”. What I’m suggesting is that we redefine our measure of success. Is success the ability to get into debt and work for others, or is success the ability to be an entrepreneur and avoid getting into debt? Is the goal to be God-fearing and moral individuals, or people who measure themselves against the standards of this world? We must ask ourselves these questions.

If your goal is solely to give your kids a better education so that they can do well in college, I’m not hating on you. If my children decide to go to college, I want them to have the BEST foundation possible to thrive in an intense atmosphere. Plus, I want them to actually finish if they start!!! My goal for my children is that first and foremost, they grow into individuals who are pleasing to the Most High, and that they are able to be entrepreneurs and independent, well rounded thinkers. That when situations present themselves to my children, they will know how to take the ingredients around them, and make the best of it!! The goal for me is not to re-insert them into a system that is against us, but rather to operate in spite of it!! There is a subtle difference. But the difference is real.

T.E.A. 2018

Stranger Danger - Principals, Teachers, and School Bus Drivers

A common theme that I focus on when talking to parents about brick and mortar schooling (and daycare) is that when we drop our children off at school, or put them on the bus, we are entrusting their care, discipline, and education to strangers. Who are these people? How were they raised? What are their values? Who do they live with? Who are they sleeping with? What are their personal beliefs, biases, prejudices, etc? Do they smoke and drink?

Think about it. You put your child on a school bus with someone who, for all you know, could have a record. Some bus drivers in Pittsburgh listen to all kinds of music on their buses. Some are bus drivers as a second job, and barely get enough sleep the night before. Some are people you wouldn’t “normally” trust your children with - you wouldn’t allow them to babysit your children, however you will send off your kindergartener on their bus. You’ve never ridden around with them before to know how they drive, however your child rides on their bus without a seat belt on!

I read an article last night (read the story here) about a middle school social studies teacher who had a white supremist blog and podcast under a pseudo name. She said that she infused her beliefs into her teachings, and that she was even called on it by parents... She actually admitted to denying the claims and getting away with it! She also expressed her desire for MORE white supremacists getting into the schools!

Can we trust a person who hates people of color and thinks they are inferior to white people to teach our children? Can we trust a woman who hates men to teach our sons? Can we trust someone who doesn’t share our core values and religious beliefs to teach our children on a daily basis? Is a man an appropriate gym teacher for our adolescent daughters?

We must ask ourselves WHY we are so accepting of complete strangers being mentors to our children, when as parents we are perfectly capable of being there for our children! We are their best advocates! We are their best teachers! And yet, we feel like a certificate from college and a background check is all that is required to have an enormous amount of influence on our next generation!

We are accepting of these social norms because it is the status quo. In fact, homeschoolers get red flagged because we don’t have that extra layer of societal/governmental embedding in our families. 

As I read the news stories, I see the absolute absurdity in the assumption that degrees and background checks are the only prerequisites needed to being a trusted person with our children. We must do better. We must be more selective. It must be a priority to vet those who teach our children, and even those who drive our children around. It’s for their own safety and well being.

T.E.A. 2018

Authority, Permission, and Consent

While I was at the dentist office today, a mom complained about how her son was actually seen by a dentist at school, and came home to tell her that he actually even had a cavity filled. She was horrified!!! How and WHERE could a procedure like this be done at school, and without her permission?  WHO is this doctor - what is his or her credentials? Why did they feel it acceptable to actually go beyond the realm of checking his teeth to FIXING his teeth - when he has a dentist he sees twice a year?! She was upset that no one thought to call her and inform her that such a procedure was being performed on her child. She was angered that she somehow granted authority to the school and dentist to perform this procedure by signing a consent form that she didn’t understand.

We place an enormous amount of trust in the school system. We trust that they know what is best, and that they will teach our children what they need to know. We also trust that they can keep our children safe.

Think about it... we wait for the news to tell us if the school district cancelled school because of cold weather, or snow, or ice. We can look out our windows and make our own determinations on whether we SHOULD or SHOULD NOT send our kids out, or put them on school buses in such weather. When our children are sick, we have to send “excuses” with our children to justify keeping them home, and then the school determines if the absence is excused. We have to have a “good reason” for our children to miss school, or we can end up in truancy court. Do you see how we have given the schools so much authority that we as the parents have to ask for their PERMISSION to do what we think is right with our OWN KIDS!!!???!!!

Who has authority over our children? Why does it seem like we allow the school system to dictate to us how to raise our children, even in our own homes?! They have an enormous amount of authority in our world, if we give it to them!

Homeschooling is a way to change this dynamic. My husband and I have total authority over our children. When we take our children places, like the library or to sports activities, etc... others may have our permission or consent to have limited authority over them, but while we are present.

We have to learn how to break our dependency on strangers dictating what happens in our children’s lives.  And when we TAKE authority over our kids back, and teach them ourselves - it’s not about ASKING for permission to do so!

T.E.A. 2018

Leaving the School Mindset

Most of us have been trained to conform to the school mindset. From the time we were little kids, we were taught to line up in single file lines, respond to bells, raise our hands, etc. We had strict timeframes to learn information within (grading periods, semesters, etc.), we had anxiety when we had to perform well on papers and exams, we cheered when we got all A’s on our report cards. School - it is a construct that gave us security or anxiety - it made us feel good about ourselves, or bad about ourselves. It was a fact of life.

Now that we are forging a different path for our children, it is important for us to leave behind the school mindset. Why do we need to make our children conform? Why do we need to cause our children stress with exams and quizzes... what is the value of grades?

Learning has no boundaries... It's Limitless!

We do not need to create or maintain learning boundaries. We are free to create the learning atmosphere that is appropriate for the needs of our children.

Learning is part of the raising of our children... It’s not to be compartmentalized. It should be integrated into our everyday lives.

T.E.A. 2018

How many hours do you homeschool?

When we started homeschooling our 2nd and 1st graders, we pretty much spent two hours a day doing school work. This really worked well for us, we were able to get through our basic subjects in this time. My children’s attention spans would start to wear thin once we hit the two hour mark. After a break, we would do supplemental activities, read books together, go to gym class, do art projects, or just play.

As my children are getting older, their attention spans are getting longer. We now can spend three hours straight working on school. Some days, we take a break after three hours and return for an extra two. Some days, we go to the library or do an art project. I also assign independent computer work from education.com, khanacademy.org, code kingdoms, or Scratch for them to work on once we are done with “official” schooling. They also have time to read their books - normally at least a chapter a day, or watch an educational show like Popular Mechanics on Amazon Prime.

Making Slime as an After School Activity

I spend time with my two year old working on puzzles and songs. She loves painting, and will paint on any day. I normally spend about 15-20 minutes with her one on one. Again, after about 20 minutes of puzzles or me trying to teach her letters and numbers, she’s ready to do whatever she wants.

This is how many hours we homeschool. I set time as a goal only because of attention spans. I find it to be a waste of time and energy if my children aren’t present mentally for school. When their minds are fresh, they can learn and retain things so much easily than when they are tired and unfocused.

Feel free to write in the comments how many hours do you homeschool, and why!

T.E.A. 2018

Homeschooling to Keep our Children Safe!

One of the most compelling reasons to homeschool is to keep our children safe.

My children and I went to a brick and mortar school to drop off paperwork last year. My children were scared. Why were there metal detectors? I told my children that they help to keep students safe. They are used to make sure kids and visitors don’t bring in weapons. Weapons???

My children were happy to get out from that environment as fast as they could!

It’s very disheartening to hear the constant reports on violence and bullying in schools. Kids are so fragile emotionally, and it’s very sad seeing reports of bullied children even committing suicide. The New York Times reports that on average, there are about five school shootings per month! This statistic is small when compared to the number of schools in the U.S., but it is totally random where these tragedies strike! In addition, sexual harassment/immorality is constantly in the news. There have been two recent reports of teachers essentially grooming and kidnapping their students. Student on student sexual harassment and peer pressure is also a concern.

As the number of families impacted by violence in schools increase, we risk being desensitized by this epidemic. I realized that metal detectors in schools are abnormal because my children thought they were out of place. Sure, to get on a plane you'd expect a search, but to enter a school? Should it be a common scene for a school district police car to be parked in front, and for police dogs to be on stand by?

How do we protect our children? Is a “lock down” environment where doors are locked to prevent predators from coming in, and metal detectors and random back pack checks are done by police officers at the door, a place that fosters our children’s learning? Or does the safety and comfort of their home, gently learning with people who love and support them seem like a better option?

Children flourish when they feel safe. It is our duty to protect our children. I think that more and more people are ready to take this duty out of the hands of school superintendents and paid security guards... If you feel like things have gotten out of control, if you are concerned with the state of security in school, it may be time to withdraw your child and begin the homeschool journey.

T.E.A. 2018

Why I Homeschool Year Round

Summer Learning - Wetlands Ecosystem

We took a traditional "summer break" the first year we homeschooled. Honestly.... it was a break for ME as well! I was tired out. I wanted to have a summer off too. And, it was lovely,... until....

Summer Learning

We started back in August. Ugh!!! What do you mean you don’t remember how to borrow and carry? What do you mean you don’t know what an adverb is? What do you mean you don’t remember the names of continents? Etc...

I didn't like repeating myself! I wanted my children to remember what we had worked so hard to learn! I wanted them to actually KNOW this stuff. Teachers actually get paid to repeat themselves (the same material) year after year. I, on the other hand, wasn't getting paid. LOL! We had to figure out how to keep their minds sharp! My children also didn't like "relearning" the same material..

Spring Learning - Maple Tree Tapping

So, as you can see, I learned a lesson. My children needed to keep their minds sharp. Three whole months of utter fun (a quarter of the year, by the way) was way too much time for them to be away from the books. Even if we had done some review work here and there over the summer, they would not have forgotten so much information.

Fall Learning - The Pumpkin Patch and Apple Picking

We should never stop learning. Small breaks here and there work for our family. We take breaks when we have things going on, sicknesses, feast day celebrations, etc. We normally have long weekends. In the summer months, we only do one to two days of school per week. The goal is to keep their minds stimulated. We also find fun camps for them to do - nature camps, science camps, sports camps, and music camps. These workshops and camps help them explore their interests and the world around them, and utilize the extra time we have for constructive activities rather than pure fun and entertainment.

Winter Learning - Decorating our Classroom

Every season of the year presents a unique opportunity for children to learn. It doesn't have to be relegated to a classroom, and to fall, winter, and spring. It can be adaptive to the change in weather and vegetation, adaptive to the lifestyle that we live! This is why we homeschool year round. We find the beauty in learning each season and embrace it to the fullest!

Never Stop Learning!

T.E.A. 2018