Easing into Ramadan
I can't believe it'll be Ramadan next week. When we went to the Science Centre today, I realized that it has been a year since we went there with a fellow homeschooler who had just returned from Japan during Ramadan. I wanted to find a proper telescope but realized that the cheapest one cost $150. That was twice the amount I was willing to part with after surveying those available online. I didn't want to buy a cheaper alternative as I did so before and we barely saw anything. Although being the amateur that I am, I am considering the possibility of how highly illuminated we are here and the probable fact that I don't know how to navigate myself around the telescope. Then there is also the issue of missing parts that has become part and parcel of my life now.
I have been intellectually and physically challenged on the preparation part for homeschooling although I'd like to think that we have been pairing unschooling with classical education. The children have been working on their on their texts and workbooks and we have been in and out of different topics of interests. A few years back, this would have put me in a state of disequilibrium as I struggled to keep to the teachings and methods of particular schools of thought.
In between, I have managed to squeeze in some reading, one of which is a refresher on homeschooling: 'The Homeschooling Option' by Lisa Rivero. I have not read far but was particularly amused by the two great myths of homeschooling, the socialization and genius myths. We are all too familiar with the socialization myth and the guilt society puts on our shoulder for depriving our children of peers of the same age contained in the same building for most of the day.
The writer highlighted the fact that in the need to prove how effective homeschooling is a lot of media attention had been given to home educated students who were advanced beyond their years that resulted in the misconception that home schooled children must either be geniuses or behind their peers who go to school. Being average was simply not good enough. I confess I used to feel the pressure that my children are on top of their work, that they can answer their grandparents' questions, quizzes from friends ( and I have many teacher friends) and that they can carry themselves well or even better among people. I still do sometimes.
My second son changed my perspective, he followed his own rules and expressed himself in his own individual ways while I was trying hard to figure out how all the methods didn't give the results they were supposed to when I realised that I was imposing fixed standards and timelines to measure his performance. I loosened up and alhamdulillah, he's thriving now. I'm no new age mummy, maybe a bit, but who needs labels?
I have been intellectually and physically challenged on the preparation part for homeschooling although I'd like to think that we have been pairing unschooling with classical education. The children have been working on their on their texts and workbooks and we have been in and out of different topics of interests. A few years back, this would have put me in a state of disequilibrium as I struggled to keep to the teachings and methods of particular schools of thought.
In between, I have managed to squeeze in some reading, one of which is a refresher on homeschooling: 'The Homeschooling Option' by Lisa Rivero. I have not read far but was particularly amused by the two great myths of homeschooling, the socialization and genius myths. We are all too familiar with the socialization myth and the guilt society puts on our shoulder for depriving our children of peers of the same age contained in the same building for most of the day.
The writer highlighted the fact that in the need to prove how effective homeschooling is a lot of media attention had been given to home educated students who were advanced beyond their years that resulted in the misconception that home schooled children must either be geniuses or behind their peers who go to school. Being average was simply not good enough. I confess I used to feel the pressure that my children are on top of their work, that they can answer their grandparents' questions, quizzes from friends ( and I have many teacher friends) and that they can carry themselves well or even better among people. I still do sometimes.
My second son changed my perspective, he followed his own rules and expressed himself in his own individual ways while I was trying hard to figure out how all the methods didn't give the results they were supposed to when I realised that I was imposing fixed standards and timelines to measure his performance. I loosened up and alhamdulillah, he's thriving now. I'm no new age mummy, maybe a bit, but who needs labels?
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