Kids are so wise. I unschooled my middle child until she was eight and she learned more in those years than in the next 5 combined. High school was an accelerated program that was excellent for education, terrible for mental health. She also wrote up a homeschooling plan and spent her junior year doing things she loves (birds, sewing, crochet, art) and taking college classes online. This year she has a job, started community college, keeps in tough with friends and is in such a better place.
My freshman is currently bored out of her mind at school and hates to go, but enjoys the social aspect & extracurriculars. I wish the whole system could get an overhaul but for now I appreciate teachers who work to connect with the kids in the classroom & wish there were a few more of those.
Forgive the dumb question but…what is SEL. If I don’t know, maybe other readers won’t know either. I love this post. I can imagine you almost drove off the road!
Practical in your family or not, Wren’s communication both verbal and written, really make me think. I’ve usually felt that the general structure we currently have for schooling youngsters must be at least good enough, having survived for so many, many years. But this exchange with Wren really makes me question that, and accept that our children may at times know better, and that even at age 6 they can offer very valuable input on their own education. Thanks for sharing. I’d love to see her written outline of her dream program.
Wow, Chris! I just got around to reading this post now. FWIW, we ended up pulling our oldest son out of "school-school" (as I call institutional school) mid-way thru 1st grade and homeschooled for 7.5 yrs. Good luck as you grapple w all of this, both personally & professionally.
I experienced similar internal questions when my unschooled children asked to go to school. Often I got to the root of what they were actually wanting, which was learning something specific or wanting to access some sort of socialization that they thought they could get from school. We managed to find programs that fit in with their desires without sending them to public school, which wouldn't have fit in with all the other things they did in their lives. Grown now, they are incredibly emotionally intelligent and live lives where discovering their true self expression and finding people who they can be authentic around is more important than financial success or societal expectations. In retrospect, I didn't do it perfectly, but I think I did ok.
Kids are so wise. I unschooled my middle child until she was eight and she learned more in those years than in the next 5 combined. High school was an accelerated program that was excellent for education, terrible for mental health. She also wrote up a homeschooling plan and spent her junior year doing things she loves (birds, sewing, crochet, art) and taking college classes online. This year she has a job, started community college, keeps in tough with friends and is in such a better place.
My freshman is currently bored out of her mind at school and hates to go, but enjoys the social aspect & extracurriculars. I wish the whole system could get an overhaul but for now I appreciate teachers who work to connect with the kids in the classroom & wish there were a few more of those.
Forgive the dumb question but…what is SEL. If I don’t know, maybe other readers won’t know either. I love this post. I can imagine you almost drove off the road!
Ah great question! SEL = social-emotional learning
Practical in your family or not, Wren’s communication both verbal and written, really make me think. I’ve usually felt that the general structure we currently have for schooling youngsters must be at least good enough, having survived for so many, many years. But this exchange with Wren really makes me question that, and accept that our children may at times know better, and that even at age 6 they can offer very valuable input on their own education. Thanks for sharing. I’d love to see her written outline of her dream program.
Cliffhanger—was the proposal accepted??
Wow, Chris! I just got around to reading this post now. FWIW, we ended up pulling our oldest son out of "school-school" (as I call institutional school) mid-way thru 1st grade and homeschooled for 7.5 yrs. Good luck as you grapple w all of this, both personally & professionally.
I experienced similar internal questions when my unschooled children asked to go to school. Often I got to the root of what they were actually wanting, which was learning something specific or wanting to access some sort of socialization that they thought they could get from school. We managed to find programs that fit in with their desires without sending them to public school, which wouldn't have fit in with all the other things they did in their lives. Grown now, they are incredibly emotionally intelligent and live lives where discovering their true self expression and finding people who they can be authentic around is more important than financial success or societal expectations. In retrospect, I didn't do it perfectly, but I think I did ok.
I love that you are taking your daughter seriously. I’ll be curious to see how the journey unfolds for your family!