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Keeping Focus May 2010 |
I often reassure new homeschoolers who are nervous about their ability to teach that teaching boils down to communication. And since they are already communicating
with their children, homeschooling is just adding another avenue to that process.
I explain to them that homeschooling is really training that takes place in the home. And since they have already trained their children how to walk, talk, and no longer need diapers, it is just a matter of adding another level of training. I quickly add that with the abundance of curriculum and resources available, they have access to the necessary tools. What they need to focus on is the communication process. Communication literally means with sharing. Teaching is actually someone sharing what they know with someone who doesn't know it. It's getting alongside that person and showing them how to do it and interacting with them until they can do it on their own. Homeschooling offers a unique avenue for communication. I call that avenue the way of the four I's. Interaction. Intimacy. Investment. Impact. One-on-one INTERACTION is the first benefit of homeschooling. When we are working individually with our children, they are getting our undivided attention. Together we are focusing on the task at hand. That's why testing and grading aren't all that important, especially in the younger years. Because we are so involved with our children in the learning process, we know whether or not they're getting it. Unfortunately, I must stop here to say that one of the most disturbing trends I see in homeschooling is the tendency to look for curriculum or outside programs where the parent can just put the material in front of the student (or on the computer screen), or drop off the student at some location so someone else can interact with the student. To me it's like saying I want to eat an apple but I'm throwing out the meaty part of the fruit. It's throwing away the most integral part of homeschooling – and one of the most rewarding – personal interaction with your child. One-on-one time learning together. Without that extended interaction, the second benefit of homeschooling is lost: INTIMACY. Or to put it another way: In-To-Me-See. In order to get to know someone intimately, we have to spend time with them. Time doing activities that require give-and-take, feedback, reevaluating the best way to present something, questions and answers, discussions, and seeing something from the other person's perspective. This is the best way to help our children recognize and develop their unique, God-given design. In the process of learning about the other person, we learn about ourselves, and we grow, too. This process of growing deeper with one another is what I call the journey of homeschooling. In some cases, it's more important than the academics. Once children have been taught how to read and have developed a love for learning, they can learn anything on their own. But there's no other way to learn people skills, social skills, and each person's design except in conjunction with others – with meeting together. The advantage of doing so in the home setting is that impressionable children can learn these vital skills in a loving environment with unconditional support. This journey shows us that in order to attain a certain level of intimacy, we have to be INVESTING ourselves in our children. That is the third benefit of homeschooling – putting what we know and have learned through life and experience into our children. One of the reasons we felt led to begin homeschooling was that there were certain things we wanted to pass along to our children – values, life principles, godly wisdom – but didn't have time to do because they were gone at school for so long (and that was just preschool and kindergarten!). Looking back now, I realize that the times that were the most precious were those “teachable moments” when I was able to share my own experiences with my children as a living example (good and bad). We were able to talk about the consequences of those moments in my life because of hindsight and the perspective of age and muturity. The questions and comments my children came up with often surprised me, yet made me recognize that they were gaining invaluable knowledge, understanding, and wisdom beyond their years. Which brings us to the fourth benefit: IMPACT. Growth and change do not happen automatically. Picky eaters often fall behind in growth charts. Poor nutrition inhibits puberty. Physical growth and change come because of input, stimulation, and energy exchange. Spiritual, emotional, social, and academic growth and change come the same way. If we want to have great impact in our children's lives, then we need to be traveling the avenue of the four I's. We need to make sure we are interacting with our children for a significant amount of time, investing our time and energy into them, and developing intimacy with them. Interaction + Intimacy + Investment + Impact = Effective Communication. Teaching is communication. 831 words To view more 'Keeping Focus' Articles please 'Log In' and visit the 'Achives' page. |
