May 21, 2005

• Like most eager homeschoolers taking the first steps into an
  undiscovered country, conviction is usually greater than confidence. That could
  just as well describe our own state of mind when we took the plunge ourselves
  all those years ago.  It’s not unusual to feel these unequal tugs of anxiety and
  enthusiasm (even now, I may add). And depending on which side of the bed your
  child got up, homeschool is either the best decision you’ve ever made, or the
  most reckless! More so when your children are preschoolers.

  Then there’s the simmering conflict: how much of study and
  play should one incorporate into a child’s routine? One of our boys
  used to
  say, “a child’s work is play,” which is exactly what Maria Montessori
  would
  say, but then, what did she know about  I.T  and the
  internet?  If it’s up to the hundreds of kindergarten proprietors
  in the
  country, the earlier a child begins school, the greater the advantage.
  Hurry,
  hurry, no time to lose. And don’t just stop there – put them on a
  course of
  Computers, Drama,  Creative Thinking Skills, and the latest in
  left-right brain power enhancement!   
  
  On the other hand, homeschooling’s elder statesman,
  Dr Raymond Moore, thinks that such accelerated learning is a sure
  recipe for fatigue and stress in children, even serious harm. Start formal
  education later, he says, preferably around 10 to 12 years. “…the young
  child needs the early years for a normal blossoming period before he is ready
  for any serious approach to the skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. “
  (Better Late Than Early) 

  As an amusing aside, researchers from the Children’s Hospital
  Philadelphia have concluded that intensive toilet training before a child is 27
  months does nothing to properly toilet train him or her. All it does is to
  lengthen the months of toilet training!
  All this and more on potty training here…

  
  His words follow those of famous Piagetian Dr David Elkind,
  Professor of Child Study at Tufts University.
  His book  The Hurried Child  (3^rd edition), is a hard-hitting and
  well-documented indictment against institutionalised early childhood education
  (including industry and media forces) that only projects the parent’s need
  instead of a child’s inclinations. “Young children have limited powers of
  adaptation, which are sometimes exceeded by the pressures of adult scheduling,”
  he warns.

  On the other side of the fence is Richard Fugate, the
  well-known writer and publisher of homeschool curricula. His book, Will Early
  Education Ruin Your Child  is a scathing rebuttal of Moore’s
  ideas (and his theology). “There is no reason that many children, beginning
  phonics at four, five, or even six, shouldn’t complete high school requirements
  by 13 or 14 years of age without undue pressure or strain on parents or child.
  Homeschoolers should be at least one year above their public school
  counterparts…” He is however careful to clarify that he opposes any “super
  baby” type of teaching methods, and is merely challenging the position that
  early formal education is harmful to the child.

  So much for the debate. What’s a simple Mom or Dad to do
  about controversies like this?
  I would say, examine your motives first. Are you exerting
  adult pressure on Junior just to keep up with the Joneses? Are you egging him
  on to unconsciously compensate for what you lack or to validate your own person?

  Second, know your child and decide what’s appropriate to his
  age and what matches his pace. Some basic skills such as reading, writing and
  arithmetic are important, but not every child will grow up an Einstein or a Menuhin.

  
  Finally, seek balance and put God’s desire for your child
  (and for the family) first. As much as we parents love our children, our
  Heavenly Father loves them even more. And as important as it is to start right,
  it is finishing well that matters most of all. 
  

   

  • 1:15 am
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