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  • WHAT MAKES A HOMESCHOOLER?

    Filed at 9:37 pm under by dcobranchi

    Tenn is organizing a “symposium” on the title subject. She has a good post up already, and I don’t have much to add except to point to Tim’s essay. I think he said it all. (BTW, the comments are worth a read, too.)

    3 Responses to “WHAT MAKES A HOMESCHOOLER?”


    Comment by
    Carlotta
    November 29th, 2005
    at 3:07 am

    The necessity of making the distinction between home educators and those who practice public- school-at-home does seem essential from the point of view of protecting the freedoms of home educators, though of course we shouldn’t forget that in terms of learning, the real difference lies between those who facilitate the interests of the child, (autonomy respecting educators), and those who impose learning upon the child.

    If we are right to think the state wrong for attempting for force parents to behave in certain, preprescribed ways, are we not wrong to insist that our children follow whatever preconceived idea of learning that we have, rather than nurture their curiosity?

    “It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mostly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wreck and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty”.

    So said Albert Einstein. As profound in it’s implications as anything else he ever said.


    Comment by
    Carlotta
    November 29th, 2005
    at 3:07 am

    The necessity of making the distinction between home educators and those who practice public- school-at-home does seem essential from the point of view of protecting the freedoms of home educators, though of course we shouldn’t forget that in terms of learning, the real difference lies between those who facilitate the interests of the child, (autonomy respecting educators), and those who impose learning upon the child.

    If we are right to think the state wrong for attempting for force parents to behave in certain, preprescribed ways, are we not wrong to insist that our children follow whatever preconceived idea of learning that we have, rather than nurture their curiosity?

    “It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mostly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wreck and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty”.

    So said Albert Einstein. As profound in it’s implications as anything else he ever said.


    Comment by
    Henry Cate
    December 1st, 2005
    at 10:20 am

    Thanks for the link to Tenn’s posting, and the essay from earlier this year. You are right the comments were good. I enjoyed Maryalice’s line of: “You can’t take a Happy Meal home and call it home-cooked.”