I’m glad parents are at schools fighting Critical Race Theory (CRT) and mask mandates. I think everyone should pull their children out of school and homeschool them. School, for the most part, is boring. That’s the main thing I remember about my schooling in the mid-sixties through my graduation from college in 1981. Hours and hours of boredom. Schools were essentially established to make good citizens. If you want to read more about this read Dumbing us Down(opens new window) and Weapons of Mass Instruction(opens new window) by John Taylor Gatto.
Many parents want their children in traditional school. Okay, I get it. Here’s what I don’t understand: many parents who are part of the fight against masking in schools still send their kids to school to wear masks all day knowing that this is not good for them. Why do that? At the very least send them without a mask. If the school forces them to wear a mask, then bring them home.
But….but….
I know. I know. It would be hard. It would be an inconvenience. We see what is happening with our country, so if not now, when? When is the time to stand up? Tomorrow? Next week? It’s really not that difficult to see where we are headed if we don’t push back in some major ways and now.
Case in point, the American News reports “Pennsylvania judge rules in favor of parents, removes five board members over mandatory masks in schools(opens new window).” This is great. I’m glad this happened, please don’t misunderstand, but one parent said:
The school districts are just not responding and not listening, so the only thing we have left to do is to recall the board members. We don’t believe they have the legal authority to (mask the kids). Our kids have been masked in school for a year and a half. It’s not acceptable. They are not their parents and they don’t get to make these decisions for our children.[emphasis mine]
Everything she said is absolutely correct except “the only thing we have left to do is to recall the board members.” No, it’s not. You can pull your kids out of school. Why the hell subject your children to that for a year-and-a-half? What does it teach children to tell them they shouldn’t have to wear a mask, that it is bad for them, that it is not right and then drop them off at school all masked up? “I’ll pick you up at three and then you can take your mask off!” Pull the kids out of school and continue your fight until the schools relent. If they don’t relent, so be it. Educate your children yourself.
But…but…
Yeah, I know. It would be hard, especially if you’re both working or you’re a single parent. I’m sure it was hard for healthcare workers who refused to get the jab to lose their income. It was hard for all those business owners to lose their businesses they may have worked a lifetime to establish. It was hard for the doctors who lost their licenses and reputations because they are truly following the science. It is hard. I’m not denying that.
But they’re your children. You know it’s bad for them. These are your children. So just man up and do it (sorry, that was probably insensitive and sexist). You’ll figure it out. You will. You will figure it out. Your kids will see commitment in the real world. They’ll remember it for a lifetime.
Homeshooling Can be Fun
One of the first mistakes new homeschoolers make is teaching their children in a traditional way. I’m talking about the tradition of the last 100 years. They buy some textbooks, some good worksheets and set their kid down at a table and tell them to get to work. They’ve brought the boring classroom right into their very own kitchen. Parent and child are now in a struggle. There are enough struggles with kids without having to add their education as another one.
There are different ways to homeschool and it really is up to you to figure out what your child responds to. You know them best. Some kids respond to a more traditional approach. Others hate it. Some are self-motivated, others are not.
I’m not here to tell you exactly how you should do it, I can only tell what worked with our son. Essentially…we just read to him. He was slow to learn to read (dyslexic) and very active, so we read to him while he played with toys or bounced on a ball or whatever. I say “we”, but it was my wife who did most of the reading: biology, science, math and grammar, any kind of book that was fun, creative and educational. I handled the literature side of it, reading abridged classics when he was younger to the real thing as he got older.
Eventually, he started reading on his own. Today, he’s 24, loves to read and learn and has thanked us often for homeschooling him.
Some Homeschool Resources
You can go down some long rabbit holes when researching homeschooling and this is by no means a definitive list of resources, but it may be a good starting point. Listed below are mainly websites where you can find more information or good books. There are lots of homeschool groups around and you’ll find homeschooling does not have to be a solitary endeavor. You can get a lot of support out there. These are in no particular order:
- Classical Conversations(opens new window)
“When you homeschool with Classical Conversations, we connect you with a local community of like-minded families who not only learn together, but do life together. We equip homeschool parents with the confidence to raise bright, observant students who have a lifelong love of learning.” - Rainbow Resource Center(opens new window)
“In business since 1989, it is our mission to provide the best educational products to homeschoolers, parents, and educators at the lowest prices we can offer. We currently carry over 50,000 quality educational products in all subject areas, for grades PK-12 and beyond!” - Timberdoodle(opens new window)
“Timberdoodle, a family-owned company, has been finding crazy-smart supplies for homeschooling since 1985. Our goal is to offer unique and innovative homeschooling items that are fun for kids and parents. Our special emphasis is engineering, hands-on, and thinking-skills products that kids love.” - ARTK12(opens new window)
Geography and Art History Disguised as Fun. Home of the Draw the World series very popular of with homeschoolers. - Best Homeschool Resources(opens new window)
“At Best Homeschool Resources, our mission is to help homeschooling families find great educational resources across the core subjects. Explore our selection of over 100 topic pages to find recommendations for the best picture books, historical fiction, short videos, movies, educational websites, curricula, hands-on activities, and more. All homeschoolers are welcome here, and we believe that many of our recommended resources will resonate with families across a wide spectrum of educational philosophies and worldviews.”
This is not even close to a comprehensive list, just a place to start. If you don’t see what you like here, get on a search engine and start your journey. You will never regret it.
As censorship increases also consider using email and text messages to send links.
Leave a Reply