Drew has grown to despise Tuesdays. It's the day when we tie up the loose ends of his assigned work that he needs to review with his supervising teacher on Wednesdays. This is the downside to using a public school ISP to homeschool. We have some say in the curricula, but not the ultimate say. They, and therefore we, are bound by state standards. It's how the program is funded. I understand that, in theory. I have trouble selling it. Therefore, Drew has trouble buying it. So, Tuesdays are a plethora of increasing and debilitating tics and general anxiety. Every week it's worse. Every week it starts earlier. It's a bit like educational PMS. Perhaps he needs a Midol. Perhaps I need a Valium.
Today, we were trying to relax a bit and run errands while trying to do bits of his assigned work and listening to NPR (one of his favorite things to do). I needed to get some things from the shops downtown. Drew decided to hang out in the car while I popped into the first place. As I approached the door, there was a sandwhich board out front with a chalkboard on one side. On it was written, "Word of the day - autodiadact: a self taught person." I'm surprised they didn't have Drew's picture alongside it.
You see, we don't argue about him learning. He lives to learn. We argue about him completing assignments. He completes his own "assignments" like building hydrodynamic pumps, learning algebra online or listening to audiobooks for hours on end. He's engaging, expressive and always brings something to the table. He just doesn't see how or why you would complete assignments that someone else has deemed The Thing You Need To Learn Now. It's not how he learns. I'm not sure it's how most people learn.
Again, this Tuesday, I will summarize what he has learned this week and try to assemble the output of this learning in order to show it to his supervising teacher. The problem I have is that his learning doesn't always result in a product. Should it? Think about what you know. Is there proof of your knowledge that you can show to others? If there isn't, do you still have that knowledge or does it cease to exist because you haven't shown someone else what you know? If a tree falls in the forest...
Today, we were trying to relax a bit and run errands while trying to do bits of his assigned work and listening to NPR (one of his favorite things to do). I needed to get some things from the shops downtown. Drew decided to hang out in the car while I popped into the first place. As I approached the door, there was a sandwhich board out front with a chalkboard on one side. On it was written, "Word of the day - autodiadact: a self taught person." I'm surprised they didn't have Drew's picture alongside it.
You see, we don't argue about him learning. He lives to learn. We argue about him completing assignments. He completes his own "assignments" like building hydrodynamic pumps, learning algebra online or listening to audiobooks for hours on end. He's engaging, expressive and always brings something to the table. He just doesn't see how or why you would complete assignments that someone else has deemed The Thing You Need To Learn Now. It's not how he learns. I'm not sure it's how most people learn.
Again, this Tuesday, I will summarize what he has learned this week and try to assemble the output of this learning in order to show it to his supervising teacher. The problem I have is that his learning doesn't always result in a product. Should it? Think about what you know. Is there proof of your knowledge that you can show to others? If there isn't, do you still have that knowledge or does it cease to exist because you haven't shown someone else what you know? If a tree falls in the forest...
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