One of the many poems I have written includes the phrase "panacea turpentine." Unfortunately, I can't find the context for this meaningless, yet totally awesome, word pairing.
I think I justified it because a panacea is a cure-all and turpentine is a paint thinner, so it almost, almost makes sense. And it sounds cool enough to let it slide.
Why am I telling you this?
To this day, I can't think of the word "panacea" without immediately thinking of the word "turpentine," and I thought of the word "panacea" today... hence the title of this post. And this post is a confession:
I tend to think of Sonlight as a panacea.
...turpentine.
I find myself often feeling like Sonlight is the best option for homeschooling. I believe that Sonlight is fantastic. I work here and see how how much effort is put into the materials; I see how much is done to take care of the end users. I believe in Sonlight's approach to education. I think it is the best. And I'm not the only one.
So it's often hard for me to hear about how much people love other programs and don't find Sonlight helpful. I mean, Sonlight should be right for everyone! Literature-rich homeschooling, "Real" books, a guarantee to knock your socks off, and tons of helpful resources to make it work for you.
But in all my excitement--and I am very excitable--I forget a very important fact: Sonlight is not for everyone; we as a company even go out of our way to make that very clear.
And I was reminded of that this morning when I got a message about a blogger who had recently posted:
Reasons I'm Not Buying Sonlight.
I've been following Luke and his story for some time now. He's an expectant adoptive dad and a real nut for Sonlight Curriculum. ...I mean, here he doesn't even have children yet and he has plans that THIS is going to be the educational method they'd use....
Oh my! What had I said?
Please check out Mrs. C's post. It turns out I hadn't turned her off to Sonlight forever as I had initially feared. But for her and her family, Sonlight isn't the best option (at least for now <smile>).
So, is Sonlight the best? I believe it is. But if it is not right for your family, go with what is.
I wish Sonlight was a panacea, but I don't want it to be a turpentine to your family's educational journey.
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father
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