“One thing I do know: most of us who’ve had a taste of loving families, even a little taste, want our kids to be part of one. One other thing I know is that eventually you have to come to be part of a place—part of its hills and streets and waters and people—or you will live a very sorry life as an exile forever. Discovering meaning for yourself, and discovering satisfying purpose for yourself, is a big part of what education is. How this can be done by locking children away from the world is beyond me.” (John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing Us Down
Gatto’s scorn for “locking children away from the world” in institutional school is interesting in light of critics who worry that homeschoolers will never be able to function in the “real world.” What’s “real” about being locked in a cell, uh, classroom with 15-25 agemates 8 hours a day, 5 days a week? Do you know a single adult whose “real” life is like that?
One of my favorite ways for my children to learn how to function in the real world is to have them actually function in the real world. We lived in a three-stoplight town for our first five years of homeschooling, about two blocks away from downtown. We could walk around the Square and visit the library, post office, bank, electric company, and cable company. I used to have my oldest son, about ages 7-9 at the time, go in all those places to pay bills, buy stamps, return books, etc. while I waited in the car or on the sidewalk with his little brothers. What confidence that instilled in him!
What do you love most about not locking your children away from the real world?
Mary Jo
i love the fact that my kids really love meeting new people especially when it’s at places that we frequent on a weeekly basis…they love the lady at the dry cleaners(i wonder if lolly’s have anything to do with that)…and several of the people who work at starbucks.(jeez now everybody knows where to find me :)) they are pretty open to talking to any adult and my oldest (who is 7) is enjoying paying for purchases and such “by herself” (read mom is about 5 feet away) they are also fairly good judges of character and enjoy others with out being “dumb” about it. i guess i just love the fact that my kids are smart, outgoing kids….and i think that going to school would have killed it for them.
Well-said, well-said!! *clapping*
I love that my children are involved in the WORLD, in learning about REAL LIFE and first and foremost in serving the Lord and caring for other people. Cloistering kids, herding them into those little cells is baffling to me–how on EARTH do they learn day-to-day lifeskills? Not to mention how do they have the time and energy to build and maintain lasting family bonds and pursue things that interest them.
Bravo again!!
~~Happy BlogMoments~~