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by Shirley M.R. Minster
When a child is born, he joins a small, loving community consisting of parents and perhaps siblings. Security grows as the dependent infant learns to rely on his parents. When he is cuddled, love grows between the cuddler and him because the distance from one to the other is very short so the bond grows strong. When he is a toddler, the distance gets longer, but the bonding process continues. The tyke knows that Mommy and Daddy are watching over him, providing limits that keep him safe as he explores his ever-increasing world. This security translates to love between parent and child.
An interesting occurrence happens when the child is 5 years old. It’s time for school and the child is handed over to a system of influence that very often lasts 13 years. Beginning in kindergarten, during those formative years for educational training, religious ideas and ideals, societal rules, and philosophical tutelage, the child will be indoctrinated. He leaves home early in the morning and returns home in mid afternoon, a time of over seven hours. What happens in those hours away from home is what he carries into adulthood. If the parent does not agree with the philosophies of the school system, the child does not see this because he is in the system for hours, days, and years. The student’s childlike reasoning is that if he is being sent there, then it must be where his parents want him to be and where they want him to excel.
Wherever parents send their children is where the children will assume it’s best for them to be. Parents who do not take the time to think through the type of educational program they want for their children miss out on an integral decision for their children. Too often there is a disconnect between the home and school. Just sending the children to institutional programs and hoping that they will turn out fine is poor parenting. Good parenting means caring for children, staying on watch for both good opportunities and dangerous situations. Pitfalls, those unforeseen hazards in life, will occur, but don’t overlook the obvious. For instance, where children spend most of their day is going to be the most formative place for them. It is not a pitfall because the parents choose it for the children. It’s a known place.
Parents will never be able to fully protect their children, but they can oversee and accept responsibility for a large part of the environments where they place their children. That is why homeschooling works. The environment is healthier, both physically and emotionally. Each child is allowed to mature at his own rate. He is able to pursue his interests during the day when he is most alert rather than after a long day at school, music lessons, sports events, and then homework. His formative years are spent in the home, but they do not stay there because homeschooling parents involve children in the daily aspects of life. During the day, they go into the community to buy groceries, complete transactions at the bank and mail letters at the post office. Children see that community workers are important people and that without these people doing their jobs, life would be more difficult. An appreciation for postal workers, bank clerks, and cashiers is developed through real life interactions rather than by reading about jobs in a textbook. The children also learn how to communicate with folks of different ages as they observe their parents throughout the day. This type of modeling is important enough to be taught in the schools through role-playing. How much more practical to be using it in real life in the community.
Homeschooling is an important form of education because it encourages both independence and dependence. Children are brought up learning how to work with others as well as how to think on their own. They also come to understand the importance of others. They first of all look to their parents for guidance. Stay there for them, parents, and accept the challenging and yes, tiring, job. It will be worth it for all.
About the author:
Shirley Minster is the founder of Home Education & Family Services, a full-time service organization offering a wide variety of helps and resources for homeschooling families, and Royal Academy, a unique alternative to traditional schools that is based upon the model of parental involvement in the education of their children. Shirley has worked in the field of education and with homeschooling families located throughout the world for nearly 30 years.
She regularly travels to other states and countries offering individualized testing, portfolio reviews, curriculum design, and consultations as well as presenting workshops, seminars, and addresses at educational conferences. Vist:
http://www.homeeducator.com
for more information.
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