The meeting about Isaac went pretty well, considering that it involved two couples who would rather have been doing nearly anything (scrubbing a stranger's toilet, for example, or practicing long division) than sitting together in my kitchen for an hour. I'm disappointed in myself, though, because I don't think they understand why we're doing this. I still feel like I'm defending our decision to homeschool; like it's some kind of selfish whim that I had that is in danger of permanently damaging Isaac's psyche and social life. It's not! I'm convinced that it is just the opposite - it's what Isaac, and our whole family, will look back on in 10 years and claim to be the best decision we ever made.
So, here I am on my homeschooling soapbox. First, a list of what we are NOT trying to accomplish through homeschooling:
1. I am not trying to mimic the public school classroom or curriculum. I think that wonderful things do happen at school, and I have a tremendous respect for the teachers and administrators who dedicate their careers to teaching our kids. However, their task is extremely difficult - and becoming more so - and kids like Isaac (quiet, unmotivated, uninterested) fall behind because they need more attention than a teacher of 25 students can possibly give.
2. I am not trying to prepare Isaac to deal with/return to a public school classroom or curriculum, because he's not going back there, and school, in my opinion, has very little resemblance to "real life" after school. I don't want to pretend that Isaac has no say in what he learns or how he learns it (as is the case in regular schools), because he does! That's the whole point - the beauty of homeschooling. We can choose, to a large degree, what we study and how we study it to maximize learning. Of course we're not going to skip entire subjects or important concepts...but if we can teach them differently, or at a different time, or in some way alter our plan so that Isaac is more engaged, we're doing it.
3. I am not trying to increase his standardized test scores. I mean, I am, obviously, but that is not a primary goal. As someone who always aced standardized tests, I can firmly attest to the fact that they are less important than we as parents tend to think they are. Am I a doctor, lawyer, or famous something-or-other? No. I am not. I am what I chose to be, what I worked hard to be...and that's what Isaac's going to end up saying as well, no matter what scores he gets on the ITBS or ACT or whatever.
4. I am not overly concerned about Isaac's "socialization," as most people define it. Isaac does not need to be constantly surrounded with children his own age in order to become a good, well-mannered, pleasant-to-be-around human being. In fact, reading that sentence makes me giggle, because I can't imagine a poorer example of those traits than a group of 10-year-old boys. Does he need friends? Yes. Does he need to know how to relate to other people? Yes. But it is my job, and the job of Isaac's other close family members, not his friends', to mold Isaac into the kind of man we want him to become. Much of what kids get from being with other kids is not desirable...heck, I know that just based on my own childhood experiences. What he needs most is to be around the kind of adults that I want him to emulate, like his stepdad, his grandparents, and...me.
So what are we trying to do? Two very simple things.
1. Develop in Isaac a love of learning...a lifelong habit of seeking out the answers to the questions he has about life, the world, and God.
2. Enhance the relationships Isaac has with his family and with his Father in heaven.
I need a catchphrase to end these posts with...like, "And that is what I think about that." Except it would be clever and cute...
