Jesse Scacciawrote:
One attitude among some homeschoolers that I find endlessly frustrating is that, as you say, you “don’t need to know.. how the other half works.” Don’t you think this sounds a little arrogant? Don’t you think you sound like you’re maybe bragging about possible gaps in knowledge/practice in your pedagogy? Even the best in their fields still go out and try to learn from their competitors or people doing it a different way. Why does it need to be such a ‘we know best, leave us alone’ attitude?
Of course it sounds arrogant.
That doesn’t make it untrue.
Most of us have tried the product you’re offering and found it wanting. Many of us used to force feed that same product ourselves.
Jesse, we’ve found something better.
You’re not the competition, you’re the 8-track tape.
We watch the schools. We take notes.
We mostly learn what to avoid doing:
We learn how to make children hate reading.
We learn how to make children despise math.
We learn how to make children loathe their own innate curiosity.
We learn how to stamp out every last spark of creativity and interest and zest for life.
These are not things we want to replicate.
We’ve given up the idea that the earth is the center of the universe; we’ve given up the idea that’s the earth is flat; and we’ve given up the idea that schools are places where young, vibrant people should spend their youth doing time.
We’ve found something better.
We do know better.
Give up the flat earth and chuck the 8 track. The sun doesn’t revolve around the earth, and a full childhood designed to create vibrant, interesting, interested, curious, innovative adults doesn’t revolve around school.