Institutionalized Education Can Be Baaaaaa-d for Children (sorry, I couldn't help myself)

A few years ago, my husband and I went through a four-day psychological and abilities assessment (think "The Apprentice" for pastors) for people in ministry who plant churches that evaluated whether we should be doing just that. We were tested and interviewed and challenged on all things ministry and personality. On the final day, we knew we had to sit in an hour-long interview with an assessor who would fire questions at us about things that could be hot buttons for us or potentially damaging to our ministry or churches. I went into this thinking that since my husband was the actual pastor and he was the one that would actually be working for the church that it would mostly be about him and that I could just sit there listening.

I was wrong.

For fifty-five minutes of the interview, the assessor wanted to talk about my reasons and motivations for homeschooling. He quizzed me about whether I was trying to shelter my children, what I thought about the public education system, the "socialization" issue (insert eye-rolling here), and whether I actually knew what I was doing.

Let's just say that by the end of the interview, he was completely convinced that I knew what I was doing.

As we talked through all of those things, one of the points I kept hitting home with him and that is one of the biggest reasons I homeschool is this: I am not a fan of institutionalized education. Especially one in which the institution providing oversight and funding is the government.

Too many teachers, too many administrators, too many government bureaucrats have educational - not to mention social and political agendas - that are way far removed from my own. People often laugh when they hear my children spout off on something that they surely must have overheard from me (just tonight my very wise eight year-old was telling me how stupid it is that the government spends more money than it takes in and how concerned he is for the future of our government. Out of the mouths of babes...) I often joke with people that if I don't brainwash my children, someone else will. And I'm only half joking. If anyone is going to set their worldview, teach them about the sacredness of sex, and educate them with the end goal of preparing them to make a difference in this world for Christ, it's going to be me.

Not to mention that I cannot think of even one government agency that is run efficiently and effectively. Not one. So, why would I want an entity whose effectiveness is poor, whose production is meager at best, and who continues to waste money hand over fist to be in charge of educating my kids? Not a chance.

Wouldn't a private, religious school fix my problem then? While a fabulous alternative for many, not so much for me (gosh, it stinks being so picky) because of the other reason I'm not so hot on institutionalized education: I cringe at the idea of putting 25 children who are uniquely created by God in a classroom for seven hours a day to receive the exact same training and conditioning. It goes against everything their Creator celebrates about them. Just this week, my three very different learners have explored Abraham Lincoln and his role in ending the Civil War, practiced their multiplication tables, wandered through the botanical gardens "blindly" trying to imagine what it was like to be Helen Keller, read endlessly about the history of Nascar, watched videos of killer whales and dolphins giving birth, have been read to about dogs, hiked and looked for letters naturally made in nature, and discussed government spending and budget deficits...and it's only Wednesday! I love that their minds can explore and examine anything they are interested in and that their desire to learn isn't curtailed so that we can stay within the government's guidelines.

I hurt for students who are forced to follow one mold for learning and who are stripped of independent thinking, discouraged from having a more diverse worldview, and encouraged to follow the flock that is blindly leading them through the supposedly hallowed hallways. They are like sheep being led to and fro both academically and socially. They are conditioned to ingest information from textbooks that are questionable at best , oftentimes from teachers with agendas far different than our own, required to regurgitate said information, and then are often penalized if their ideas do not fit in with the mainstream. Been there. Done that. Been ostracized - not to mention penalized - for it. (And only made stronger because of it.)

Finally, I'll leave you with yet another wonderfully written piece by someone other than me that reflects my heart for kids and education:

"The School for the Animals"

An old story tells of the creation of a school for the animals. In this school, everybody took the same four courses: flying, swimming, climbing, and running. Among the students were a duck, a flying squirrel, a fox, and an elephant. These four were highly motivated, and wanted to get good grades, so they all tried very hard.

The duck did fantastically well in swimming and flying, but he lagged behind his classmates in climbing and running, so he focused special attention on those two subjects. However, his feet became so sore from trying to run and his wings were so bedraggled from trying to climb that by the end of the year he not only failed both those subjects, but made C’s in swimming and flying, which had once been his two best subjects.

At the beginning of the school year, the squirrel was first in his class in climbing and running and was second only to the duck at flying. But as the months wore on, he missed so much school from catching pneumonia in his swimming class that he failed everything.

To make matters even worse, because the squirrel constantly squirmed and chattered in class, and had difficulty paying attention, he was diagnosed with a learning disorder. The squirrel eventually was placed in remedial classes and had to be medicated in order to continue with his school work.

The fox was a natural in his running class and scored well in climbing and swimming, but became so frustrated at his inability to get good grades in flying that he began assaulting his classmates. He even tried to eat the duck. His behavior was so disruptive he was expelled from school. He fell in with a rough crowd and eventually wound up in a center for animal delinquents.

The elephant, meanwhile, developed low self-esteem because he couldn’t do well in any of the subjects. When he sank into clinical depression, his therapist persuaded him to try a different school that focused on subjects such as lifting and carrying. The elephant was disappointed, because careers in lifting and carrying were not as prestigious as careers in flying, swimming, climbing, or running. Even though he always felt inferior, he managed to make a decent living and support his family.

The point of this silly story about a school for the animals is that modern education sends every child through a program of study that is targeted toward a “generic” child. It expects every student to be able to follow the same course of study in the same sequence, without considering innate aptitudes or individual differences that are crucial to children’s abilities to learn. Schooling does not take into account differing personality types or temperaments.

Parents who understand learning differences can be more sympathetic with the frustrations their children face in school and more helpful in finding alternative approaches. The two major learning differences among children have to do with learning styles and learning readiness.

© Copyright 2006. Home School Marketplace, 1053 Eldridge Loop, Crossville, TN 38571.

Now go and separate those sheep (and ducks and squirrels and foxes and elephants) from the rest of the flock. By the grace of God and under the influence of the Holy Spirit, you will be a way better shepherd than anyone else ever could.

P.S. I

f you're interested in another homeschooling mama's fine words on this same topic, I think this mom does a great job explaining the hearts of many home-educators when it comes to this issue.