Forced Academics

Samuel, 1st grade homeschool, 2008

Yep...that is exactly what had been happening at Escuelita Aparicio. So we decided to stop. Yes, we stopped schooling.

WHAT?!!  What about Texas requirements for schooling? What does he do all day? How will he learn math,science, grammar? What about college? What if he never gets a good paying job?

Wow! I'm sure that by forcing him to "do school" or "go to school" he will meet all Texas Standards, will learn everything, will definitely go to college and get a good paying job. Let's be real.

Oh...I know you are thinking that I have gone crazy, but our relationship with Samuel is so much more important than what "other people" might say.  Deschooling. Unschooling. Homeschooling. All of them terms that are misunderstood and labeled by the media to mean a certain "phenomenon". But really.  It means that now we will respect the gifts that God has given our son and guide him to develop those. No more forced academics.

We are  Deschooling Gently.

In just a few words this means that we no longer follow a boxed curriculum. We no longer plan the year in advance. His learning never really involved tests and grades but "narration" was a biggie. No more. Busy work has been eliminated (cursive, crafts, isolated poetry study, workbooks, repetitive science projects).

So what do we do now? Well, geography and world history are the central part of Samuel's learning.  He likes to do it all day long with games (iPod Touch), journaling, reading literature and magazines, trips he plans, etc.  You can find him sleeping at 10 am, but working on his own at 10 pm.  The next day you will find several pages of handwritten plans for future trips and notes on his iPod of where we are going next (and how to get there, what to see, where to eat and where to sleep).

This is what the experts say.  Find what you love to do and do it. It took me a loooong time to figure that out for myself.

Ok. I will be honest.  This is not easy for me to do. I am a school loving person. I own Dorla's Piano Studio. A school.  So I am going crazy with deschooling. But Samuel is happy. And I do feel a hint of freedom...

I will keep you posted!