This week

The focus of homeschooling this week has been largely behavioral... because, let's face it, that's more important to success in life than the accumulation of raw data that you may or may not ever use again. I think the show "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" is good entertainment, but the fact is the only reason fifth graders know the answers to those questions is that they've come up recently. Ask those same kids again in 8th grade, and they won't know the answers to those questions either.

No, the most important things are learning HOW to learn, learning how to manage your time effectively, learning how to get along with different people, and surviving. So, although I won't ignore his education, I will focus on what I think the goal of education should be.

In my mind, education should be useful. You should learn history in order to know who we are, where we came from, what we've been through to get where we are, and the background of the cultures of the world because of how they affect who are are and where we are heading. For instance, if you didn't know anything of the history of the middle east, you would have a very shallow response to what's going on right now. You should learn math in order to learn reasoning and to be able to use math in real life. I could go on and on but I think you get the point.

My goals with Cory are partially educational in the sense that I want to make sure he's learned what he needs to learn not to have fallen behind. I certainly would never want him to be worse off academically because of what we have done. However, I feel that one of the biggest failings of the public school system is that they aren't concerned with teaching kids how to learn. They want them to memorize things that will test well on standardized tests that measure benchmarks. They aren't truly preparing them for much of anything.

Kids should learn HOW to write a report (hence my 3D biographies). Kids should learn how to manage their time, how to research, proper grammar and spelling, logic, deductive reasoning, effective communication skills, patience, persistence, and creative expression. Kids should learn how to learn from different people with different styles and abilities. When you enter the work force, your boss won't always be a good communicator, a good delegator, or a good motivator. You will need to know how to do that stuff yourself. If you want to come across as well educated, you need a good vocabulary (spelled well), a good grasp of grammar, and the ability to express yourself well. People will pay more attention to what you have to say if you can say it well. People will take you more seriously if you present yourself well. You will be given more freedom if you can demonstrate more responsibility.

I keep telling Cory that if he only does the bare minimum required, with the least effort, he can expect the least out of life. If he wants to rush through all his assignments just in order to get to the point where he can have some free time, he must learn the following phrase "Would you like some fries with that?" Because if you only want a simple, entry-level job and the income level that will provide, you can continue to put forth entry level work. You can live that way. You just can't thrive that way. Eventually, you want more out of life...

I'm also teaching him that the more he argues, the less helpful I'll be. This happens in life too. He has the right to be uncooperative and he has the right to deal with the consequences that come with such an attitude. Learning that now in relative safety will save him heartache later... IF he learns it.

Time will tell.

- the DE