Earlier in the week, another homeschooling Mom posted a link to a blog about education needing to be “turned on its head.” The writer suggested some unschooling/child-directed learning techniques, most starting with phrases like “We need to…” or “We can…” or “We should…”
Now, that sounds all very well and good. Unfortunately, the “We” to whom the blogger referred was the Parent. And I gotta tell you; I don’t think alotta parents really like their kids enough to make that type of commitment.
These past few weeks, I’ve been suffering through local news coverage of kids going back to school. Local reporters loom outside of the schools as parents’ vehicles roll up, then they ask the occupants how it feels on the first day of school.
Granted, you’d expect the kids to be moaning. And in all fairness, a few girls did said they were excited to be heading back, but didn’t say why. Given the way those teens were dressed, that anticipation appeared social, not academic.
But most of the parents were absolutely giddy about shipping off their kids for 8-10 hours/day. Then the newscasters would laugh and play up that whole “I’m soooo glad they’re going back,” angle. Moms did not mince words, making it very clear that these young relatives had long over-stayed their welcome.
So how can “We” turn education on its head when most parents don’t even wanna spend Summer Vacation with their kids? I thought a vacation is suppose to be fun. Shit –if you threw anything academic into the mix, parents would probably petition to lengthen the school year.
Don’t adults consider how children are affected when hearing their parents shamelessly admit that their own kids are driving them crazy and they cannot wait for them to go back to school? And then laugh about it.