Habit 2 discussion: What goal are we seeking?

While thinking about topics for discussing "Begin with the End in Mind," I was struck by news that a German pianist and his family were seeking political assylum in the US because they were being prosecuted for homeschooling their children. My dad, a faithful reader of Instapundit, told me about it, and it angered me.

Today, while I was looking for information about the family, I found more examples of the madness that exists because of a law started by Adolf Hitler. Following the related articles led to a British case which chafed my hide because I was a homeschooled scholastic chess champ. (You have to scroll a ways down to see the listings.)

So what are we going for? As homeschoolers who face a potentially hostile environment, we may not have the same focal points. Some may want the end of mandatory attendance laws, which have not shown that they are worth the costs. Others are more concerned about getting a constitutional amendment to protect parental rights. Still others want to fight laws which demand a lot from homeschooling families just to prove the kids aren't truant.

What may be required is looking at what stands in the way of each goal, and how to rally support for each one. So what end do you seek?

Costs of not Being Proactive? (Review of "Entre les murs")

Last Sunday, I went with two co-workers to the movies after out shifts ended. One suggested we go see a movie which translates to "The Class" because she thought it was recently recommended to her. What we saw was a what seemed like a documentary of a French high school.

My friends, who attended high school together, were both uncomfortably reminded of their experiences. One commented that it was scary how alike schools are across national and language borders. I was thinking of the first high school that I would have attended, which looked like a prison from the outside - and most of the kids who came out looked like they belonged. Now, only a few of the kids I saw triggered that thought, but I was struck by how few acted like they cared about making something of themselves.

Aside from affirming that I will never be a high school teacher, this film made me think further on what might lead to actively learning. Some key points I found re-enforced:

• Teaching must be modified to the student; one kid - who got expelled - seemed to need a different learning environment.
• Schools are not necessarily the best place for encouraging kids to become responsible.
• Parental involvement and (loving) encouragement makes a huge difference.
• Teachers cannot count on students listening or respecting them unless the parents have taught them to at least pay lip service toward following the rules.
• Teachers have too much to deal with academically already, and they don't need to endure what amounts to temper tantrums (aka, emotional growing pains).
  

Things looked so bad that I was actually surprised that the kids reported learning anything educational at the end of the year. Which demonstrates that you have to do some creative planing and thinking to get them interested in learning. For example, if a kid is completely fascinated by dinosaurs, then you can probably encourage them to learn about how we know what we know about them. (That was me around ages 5-8.)

I hope anyone who watched this film thinks harder about what is happening in their schools, and where the money is already going, before their elected representatives approve any new spending. We have a long way to go, but maybe a seemingly bleak picture can inspire new ideas and determined parents and teachers to break the mold.

Habit 1: Be Proactive - Accepting Responsibilty for Your Circumstances

Education is a hot topic. Whether you put it above or below the current economic situation depends on how you view the world. It also depends on how much you recall about US history - and whether you paid attention in economics class. My experience is that it's either the least taught subject or the least respected. If I had a say in education, microeconomics would be a required course because I found it encouraged an increased awareness of consequences.

Newton's 3rd law should remind us that everything we do has a consequence. I don't mean that a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world affects the climate of another, but a simple fact: when we pick up one end of a stick, the other comes with it. The choices that have been made in education have brought us the system we have today. Here's the million dollar question: who made those choices? Parents? Teachers? Lobbyists? Politicians?

Habit 1 is, for me, acknowledging that I have the power to choose my own responses to whatever comes my way. It takes practice to overcome reactive habits, but where's the fun in letting someone else run my life? Yes, my parents had to take care of me because I started out dependent on them, but they spent my childhood teaching me to become aware of what's around me, to think before acting, and to be responsible. Steven Covey calls it "response-able", which I translate as being able to respond instead of react.

I think for most - if not all - homeschooling parents, the goal is to raise children to not be dependent on the beliefs and systems of people who don't know the children. One size does not fit all, and is enough for some parents. For my dad, it was the belief that school hinders one's ability to get an education (based on his relative experiences with college and high school), and a distrust of publicly-funded schools. Mom just looked at what I was doing compared with the kids in First Grade, and knew that learning at home was the best classroom for me; it was already working.

I doubt that there is any bigger proactive measure than saying things like the following: "I am responsible for making sure my child gets an education, not the teachers or "experts" or the State. I am in charge of ensuring that they will function as responsible members of society." If anyone thinks this is a daunting prospect, all that's required to start is loving to spend time with your children, and reading with them. Passing on a love of reading is a huge step in passing on a love of learning, and that's the beginning - of everything.

The starting point with Habit 1 is the recognition that we have the power to decide. If we think that we have to rely on others' changes before we can change, then we're in trouble. Isn't it more satisfying to act instead of being acted on? That's the basic method of homeschooling. I'll continue with Habit 1 within a week or two.

Update

With the new year, I have an ungoing project of exploring how The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People are applicable to my life. Then it dawned on me that I should explore how they apply to each of the four subjects I'm blogging about. (The other three are yoga, responsible liberty, and writing.)

Applying the 7 Habits fits well with handling concerns about homeschooling and education in general, which I feel is ultra important these days. I will start with Habit 1 as soon as I feel I have a finished post.