Deficits in the homeschool.

Lacking time this morning, I just want to pull an exchange out of the comments from the Moving the furniture post, and try to continue the discussion here more visibly.  It reminded me of a conversation I had on FB with another one of my commenters/friends.

Tabitha:

I am homeschooling an 8th, 6th, 4th, 1st, and preschooler. Next year I'll add in the now 3yo as a preschooler. I'll still have a barely 1yo at that time, too.
I consider this a one room schoolhouse, for sure.

We're trying to make decisions for next year for high school for my oldest. The thought that keeps running through my head is that "There is a reason one room schoolhouses ended in 8th grade." I want to be able to make it work, and many families do. I'm just not sure I'm capable of adding high school into this mix.

Any of your amazing readers have any thoughts?

I wrote:

Well, my plan for high school has been to try to get my kids as independent as possible before they get there! I figured that we would be spending a pretty big chunk of eighth grade working together -- the eighth-grader and I and my husband that is -- to decide what needs to be in the curriculum, which textbooks and other materials to use, and how we're going to put together his portfolio or whatever it takes for applying to whatever postsecondary institution he winds up being headed for.

 
I haven't ruled out enrolling any of the kids in a traditional or nontraditional high school, if that is what it takes, to be honest. We are fortunate to live in an area where there are many schooling options, even à la carte coursework at a small independent Catholic academy centered around our parish.

But we are also enjoying the benefits of co-schooling with other families, which has really opened up a depth of learning that I didn't think was possible to organize on my own, because we (the parents) have been able to specialize in areas of personal interest to us. But we're still maintaining the cozy familiarity of being among people who care about our kids and really know them.

 
I guess what I'm getting at, with all that, is that the high school student ought to be taking on a lot of the responsibility for his own learning. He's got to. He needs to have the kind of self-discipline that most people don't have to show until they are a freshman in college, when Mama isn't around to make him do his homework anymore.

I may be around, but I'm busy with younger kids, you know?

Tabitha again:

 ...My oldest 2 are already very independent.

I thought my high school plan was going to work. 8th grade has shown me all the deficits, though, and I don't know if I can overcome them. She needs some one on one time and it's hard to make that consistently happen.

I'm starting to see school through 8th grade as more general and high school as more specialized. I don't feel like I can do both justice. I've long envied your co-schooling set up. You are very blessed!

Me again:

"I'm starting to see school through 8th grade as more general and high school as more specialized."

My theory: yes and no. You have to be somewhat specialized by that time, because there simply isn't time in the day to do everything, and so your student is going to choose to study some things and not others (or be constrained to do so in order to meet requirements she may meet later).

But you can still be aiming for a strong liberal arts education, which is by definition well rounded and broad, with deeper "dips" here and there into areas of special interest to give a sort of taste of specialization. There is time for specialization in college or on the job.

The proper place of high school is to develop the child's mind into the adult one, and to fine-tune the skills of self-teaching, the "lost tools of learning" that Dorothy Sayers wrote about in her famous essay. The subjects are just the material on which the mind cuts its teeth.

Every school (home or institutional) has inherent deficits, and you could look at the ones in your own home school as teaching tools for learning how to learn -- because identifying and remedying deficits in the resources available to you is a basic tool for self-teaching. I would say, bring the 8th graders into the discussion of what seems to be missing from their environment, and work together on the challenge of restoring it.

 

There are a couple of different threads here worth picking up.  I wouldn't mind writing a co-schooling post discussing how it is that I (with my engineering degree) have so far "specialized" in teaching Latin and History to children, while my partner in co-schooling (with her English degree) has, maybe more predictably, "specialized" in literature and grammar, but also primary-school art appreciation, music theory, and handcrafts.  It all reminds me of the post that Amy Welborn wrote yesterday, "Gifts and Talents:  Overrated?"  To define my mission as "that for which I have been prepared" would be... rather limiting.   

But what do you think, readers, about the idea of embracing the "gaps" in the available educational resources as an opportunity to learn how to learn?  Bringing the young person into the design of his own homeschool, understanding that no school can specialize in everything, every school of every kind has inherent limitations, and the home school is no different?  

(Let's just take landscape as a starting point.  My homeschool is in the middle of the city, within easy reach of a huge library system, museums, theaters, historical sites, and parks... but I have a tiny postage stamp of a backyard, a neighborhood where people don't really send their kids outside to play, and not as much time as I would like to leave the city.  A rural child would get a lot more opportunities for gardening and in situ nature study, but maybe not so much museum and zoo time, or practice riding the city bus or walking to the library, or even my 11-year-old's beloved opportunity to study alone in a neighborhood coffee shop.)

Anyway, my thought is that as you are approaching eighth grade and the start of high school, it is time to have a frank discussion:  What does the young person want to learn?  What external requirements must be met?   What can the homeschool provide?  What are its strengths and weaknesses?  How can the strengths be channeled best, and the weaknesses compensated for?  What resources does the homeschool have which remain untapped?  Where can the parent and the young person work together to bring them to fruition?  

I know it's a bit cliché to recast a deficit as an opportunity -- but in the case of the homeschool it strikes me as really true.  We are preparing these young people for life as a human being in the world.  The world is full of barriers, and human beings are full of deficits.  Learning to come up against them, and either work our way around them or live, constrained, with acceptance and humility, is a good thing.

Comments

[Tabitha]

That link from Amy Wellborn is some food for thought. We're taking spring break next week and I hope to have some time to process more of these types of questions.
I agree with you that college is for *student* specialization and high school is still very general. We love the classical model and fully expect our children to be very well-rounded and continue building foundations in all of the major subjects.
I was commenting with my tablet yesterday and got lazy. Sorry! What I meant was that grades 1-8 are more general for *teachers* and high school needs more specialization from *teachers*.
What I'm finding is that my daughter does a great job at reading the textbook and doing whatever work I assign her--answer questions, essays, memorization. But I don't have the time to read all of her textbooks and make sure she understands certain nuances. I'm always half-step behind her and don't realize what she's missed until the exam. Then I correct it, but then we're already on to the next thing. She isn't getting any lecture from me and guided discussion on the front end--it's always on the backend, just a step behind. It seems like it should be easy to switch that dynamic, but I've been trying all school year and haven't been able to manage it.
I'm sensing that she needs a teacher that is immersed somewhat in each subject to go more in depth like (I perceive) high school should be. I could absolutely do it--I have the background. But I couldn't keep teaching little ones to read and their math facts all at the same time. I don't feel like I can do it all justice. *I* can't be both generalist and specialist.
On the other hand, her sisters don't want her to go away for school next year--they've told me how much they'll miss her. She is neutral on the issue. It will affect her relationships with her homeschool friends, etc.
I feel like she will lack academically or lack in the spiritual/social realm (Catholic school is not an option, it would be public high school).
Maybe I'm not dying to myself the way I ought. If I give up all pleasure reading and most/all of my online downtime I might be able to switch the dynamic and be more specialized for her. It's my weaknesses that need to be compensated for in this equation, I think.
Thanks again for your always welcome insight.

[Cathie]

Okay - I'm throwing this out there because Bearing and I have had similar discussions about this an this is something I eluded to and will be posting about very soon.
Tabitha -
I am doing a great books based high school for my two kids next year, starting with the ancients.
This year, I used Skype to facilitate co-schooling with three families that have similar academic goals for our kids. Next year, I will be dropping all but one individual course (Latin) but we will be replacing that with two 45 minute Socratic Circles via Skype.
What works great with Skype is I can facilitate Socratic Circles with a group of kids without ever having to leave my desk chair. My kids have loved the Skype co-school experience so far. And, we've been doing Socratic Circle type book clubs for many years.
You might want to find others interested providing the same educational experience to their kids and "SHARE" the responsibilities and experiences with them.
It has been a GREAT experience for us and I thank Bearing for all she has posted about her co-schooling experiences because it was the impetus for me doing what we're doing this year.

[bearing]

Tabitha: "If I give up all pleasure reading and most/all of my online downtime I might be able to switch the dynamic and be more specialized for her."

This might be what you are called to, but it sounds pretty bleak!

On the other hand, one can maybe redirect pleasure-reading. I happen to be fond of nonfiction, and have been enjoying reading a lot of history and linguistics. Let's throw some things out here. Suppose you and your daughter read the same books (you during your reading time, she during her school time) and schedule a little time together to discuss and discover them together?

[bearing]

Cathie, you are welcome. You are always an inspiration!

LMK if you want to guest-post or cross-post here about the Skype co-schooling. It is a model I had not really thought of till I saw your enthusiasm for it!

[Tabitha]

Cathie, I went to your blog from Erin's original post and I noticed the stuff about skype-schooling. I love the concept and will have to think/pray about whether that will work for us (and if there is another family that would want to join in). The idea of sharing the responsibility and experience is so appealing to me. I'm drowning in trying to do it myself this year. I'd love to teach science classes and even math. How did you find/choose the other families to work with?

I probably sounded all melodramatic--it's how I'm feeling. This year of homeschooling has been a rough one for me as I thought I had all of this nailed down (I spent all last summer researching all of my options, praying about it, and making a decision) and once I got started in 8th grade it's just not worked out well--which may itself be the answer to the prayers.

I have read all of her literature books this year--the issue has been adding in the discussion time. I haven't read all of her science text and history text, though. I prefer my escape into The Hunger Games, or a health blog, or whatever book is for book club that month.

I'm either going to have to outsource some/all of her education or get over my preferences in a big way.

[bearing]

Tabitha, another option is to go deeper -- fewer books, deeper in.

My 6th-grader (taught by H., with another 6th-grader and an 8th-grader) are doing *two* books this year in literature.

One is the Iliad, though, and the other is Beowulf.

Meanwhile, at home with me, religion is *one* book this year: The Acts of the Apostles.

But we're taking them all really slowly, and looking very closely at what we are doing.

[Cathie]

Tabitha, I second Bearing on the deep not vast...Andrew Campbell's Latin Centered Curriculum has a chapter titled Multum non multa - Much, not many.
His approach to literature is similar.
Regarding Skyping, I found the families via a large homeschool support group. Through that support group, I've met many moms who, upon talking, wanted the same type of class or experience for their child that we wanted for ours. By the way, I tried the co-schooling the year before and it failed because we parents were not aligned on what we wanted for our kids. I wanted social academic experiences, she wanted social experiences. This year, we have a schedule. I actually picked up kids and a class half way into the year because of a mom discussion about what curriculum we were using for Latin. The moms involved in the conversation were excited about the book I found and training I had received over the summer and asked if I'd take their boys. I laugh because I am learning it with them. It has been very good for all of us.
So, I will tell you it has been very, very good for my kids. Today we were reading a play in Latin and to have fun with it, we had the girls reading the boys' roles and the boys' reading the girls. We were all in stitches and learned a ton in the process. All of this via Skype. These kids are now best friends.
By the way, I call what you are going through the "8th Grade Panic." I've seen several other mom's go through the same thing. I have at least three friends with the same stress. The good news is stress can be a powerful motivator and with prayer (which you are doing) can lead you to places you have not imagined.
I never envisioned my school year going this way. A lot of this is prayers answered and a huge amount of guidance by the Holy Spirit. There are serious pros and cons to co-schooling, which I will be addressing in an upcoming blog post.

[bearing]

Cathie, you and your husband ought to start martketing yourselves as homeschool tech consultants. Seriously!

[Delores]

I'll just offer my experience for whatever it is worth:

my oldest will be a senior for the coming academic year. I did it all with her, and I see the gaps in her education. I don't feel like I failed, but I definitely feel like I could have done better. When I think about these things, I try to picture her homeschooling her own children and to be honest, I am not sure how well she will do. She is thinking of cosmetology school, and I think that would be great for her. She does not enjoy school work and I don't think it is worth going to college to be miserable for 4 years when she does not really need one for a career. At least at this point. The main advantage for her going to college would be to improve her education to better prepare her to home school her own children.

My next oldest is going to be in 9th grade. He is more likely to go to college and I realize, after my experience with my oldest, that I am just not prepared to get him ready for that. Furthermore, our relationship is not the best. I think our interactions are not necessarily abnormal for teen boy/mom interactions, but it is frustrating. We live in the country and our public high school is simply not an option (poor academics, and from what I understand, prevalent drugs). Our closest Catholic high school is an hour away, and in all honesty I think the culture there is not that great. So I researched prepackaged curricula options and more distant education options. We are going with Seton. I will have to add courses because I think they are more basic in what they offer, but more importantly they will do the grading. Finally, it is within our cost range.

I don't feel like as a parent I need to make sure they know everything but more importantly can learn what they need to learn. I have definitely made them do a lot of independent work and my oldest is awesome about it.

I think, after all these years of homeschooling, I have sort of shifted my focus. At first I wanted to be the perfect home school mom with kids who were very educated and perfectly behaved and self motivated. Now I am shifting to wanting kids who can think and reason and learn, and who are respectful. My two main maxims: love God, love your neighbor -- be obedient (love God), and be respectful (love your neighbor).