Wish my cats learned as well as my son...

Aug. 20, 2008

Reminiscing my public school years

I am sitting in the midst of piles of piles, hoping that between now and the end of August they will all be sorted into their properly assigned places. My greatest aspiration is that most of it will be assigned to the trash. We shall see.

I spent the majority of my evening last night preparing the dreaded notification. There seems to be an enormous mountain of "stuff" he is supposed to learn this year, but HOW will he be able to retain it all. Seriously, who really remembers how to convert to metric in the moment? In a recipe? Please - I eyeball it, I don't know about you. Still, it's exciting to plan the year, purchase materials, prepare for co-op - *sigh* I 've always loved the beginning of a school year, even when I was in school!

My aunt was a public school teacher. Unfortunately, I never had her as a teacher because she didn't teach in my district. However, she always let me help her "do" her bulletin boards. I still remember the smell of the paper and cutting out stenciled letters and apples with bookworms crawling out of them. It was a new year - a blank slate, if you will.

Every year, I knew I would make good grades. I also knew I would only have 3 or 4 friends - the same ones every year. I was ostracized because I loved to learn - we all were. I was particularly ostracized because my skin wasn't dark enough for the other kids in my school. I was nicknamed "Whitey", "White Cloud", and, of course, "Teacher's Pet". In the 70's, a black girl being called "white cloud" was not a good thing. Eventually, my reputation as a goody-goody "white" girl was too much for my fragile ego to handle. I succumbed to the evils of peer pressure. I changed my walk, my talk, my reading material, my television viewing, and my friends. Many times. In 2 years, as a freshman in a college prep school, I had no idea who I was. I became a kind of social chameleon, morphing into whatever suited the social climate in which I found myself. I had many friends, but I can hardly recall their names, now. I had many "boyfriends". I wish I hadn't. I experimented with many drugs - it is only by God's great grace that I am alive to tell the tale. I attempted suicide once and contemplated it all through college and half my adult life.

Such was the result of my traditional, institutionalized education with it's emphasis on socialization.

Nice, eh?

Of course, it is possible for a child to go through their tender years in public school and grow into a strong, spiritually alive, vibrant citizen. It's possible. Most of you have probably done it. Many children are doing it now - I daresay they have the support of many people pointing them in the right direction. BUT, it is much easier for a child to be influenced by evil than to be the sole influence for good in such an environment.

I wish homeschooling had been as easy to do back in the 1970's as it is now. I would have been a perfect candidate.

However, it's a blessing to know that God puts us in such a place and such a time as this, whatever this is. I would not be the homeschooling mom I am today if I had not experienced the trauma - and the inspiration, I must add - of the education I received in the past.

God is good, isn't he?

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Aug. 15, 2008

This is my wonderful son!

Owen is 12, loves to draw, and is wishing the summer would last a little bit longer! This is a picture of him "rock climbing" at the Creation Museum in Kentucky. Anyone who has never been there should take the time to go - it is wonderful! The people at Answers in Genesis have done a fantastic job with that place. It is impossible to leave there without worshiping God with your whole heart.

We usually start our official school year the day after Labor Day, although we do continue an informal sort of education all year round. We're pretty eclectic - I use whatever suits him and his special needs. He has Asperger's Syndrome and has some sensory issues, so we do whatever works for him!

Time for bed, though. I am speaking at an Autism Expo tomorrow afternoon, and I need to get my brain in gear!

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Joys, struggles, ups & downs of homeschooling my son who has Asperger's Syndrome