I read a great response today to the question: What do I do when my kids know more than me?
I agree with Lee's thoughts. And I love the way that homeschooling encourages everyone to learn more. Love it!
But there's another part of the homeschool mentality that comes out of this: Life long learning, not just for kids but also for us adults. Homeschooling can rekindle a wonder about the world and a desire to understand it more. So there's much more than just a "I'll look that up and get back to you" attitude. We can be excited about learning, and so dive into a subject, not just find the answer and get out.
My dad blogged about Sonlight's Life Long Learners forum today as well. I haven't really spent any time there, but it looks like they get into some pretty tough subjects.
And we shouldn't shy away from them.
Granted, we need to pick our battles and choose what we will expend our efforts pursuing--and sometimes there are more important things to tend to than ethical debates, apologetics, or the latest scientific philosophy; naturally, we can't do everything.
But I love being a part of a community that is dedicated to seeking the truth and getting smarter.
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father
P.S. If you want to read what others have been thinking about/experiencing, be sure to check out the Other Posts of Note.
Jennifer, I'm getting antsy to start reading all those Sonlight books again to my kids <smile>.
"...the love of learning is a gift and that a healthy and joyful homeschool culture is one of the best ways to encourage that love." Well said, Ken!
Tammy, keep those converts coming <grin>.
Karen, that's incredible. And hilarious! I love it! <smile>
Tammy, thanks for the encouragement. I'm glad my posts are thought provoking <smile>.
Jenn, I can't wait to discover (rediscover?) things with my kids too <smile>.
May we all have such an impact on our children, Heather. Good stuff.
~Luke
I love learning. That's one of our goals in homeschooling our own kids: to create people who love to learn and continue learning for the rest of their lives.
This is exactly why I love Sonlight and Homeschooling! Your curriculum lets me be involved, I get to read, discover and think right along with my boys!
Catching up on your blog tonight, I see that I shouldn't come here at the end of the day at the end of the week 'cuz you make me *THINK*! LOL!
Keep it up! :-)
Blessings,
Tammy ~@~
Hah! I have been thinking about blogging on this very topic, but just haven't gotten around to it.
I saw a really cool show on the History Channel the other night, about the largest maritime disaster in history, of which I'd never heard. I thought my 9yo would be greatly interested. So, the next day, with mystery in my voice, I asked him, "So... do you know about the greatest disaster at sea in history?" Instead of him being intrigued, he said, "Kublai Khan. 4,000 ships. Typhoon. 1281." I about choked. I asked him where he learned it, and he produced a DK World History book that someone had given to him a while back, and the story was just a little blurb.
That's the beauty of homeschooling...learning right along with the kids...especially with Sonlight!
I'm happy to report that we have several Sonlight "converts" within our homeschool support group now!
We LOVE our Sonlight!
Tammy
The life-long learning meme is a huge one in our household. I heard Charles Murray, the author of the The Bell Curve on a radio talk show once. He mentioned that he believes that valuing and actually working on life-long learning might be one of the best indicators of whether or not groups of people will score higher on intelligence tests. He did not say whether he thought life-long learning over generations increased intelligence or intelligence caused people to want to learn during the later years in life. It made me think about it some and I kind of decided, for myself, that the love of learning is a gift and that a healthy and joyful homeschool culture is one of the best ways to encourage that love. That is one of the main reason we homeschool. Most, if not all, of the other settings available to us truly spent more time killing or numbing the joy of learning rather than engendering it.
Learning...it's not just for kids! Right on, Luke. For a long time I equated learning with school, which wasn't all that fun, and didn't enjoy it at all. I'm so thankful for Sonlight which opened my eyes to a whole new way of learning - one which both my kids and I love. I'm hooked! So much to learn...so little time, but taking it one (or two or three!) delightful book at a time.