As I sat waiting in the doctor's office last week, I read a fascinating article in an issue of Forbes magazine. In short, the article was discussing the problems associated with group learning as opposed to individual instruction. The author related the story of a fairly well educated friend who took a job on an auto plant assembly line. His job was to create a section of the auto body. The first day on the job he was provided step-by-step instructions and then set loose on the line to do the work. By the end of the day he was amazed to discover that a very small percentage of the parts he worked on were done correctly. The "quality control" at the end of the line found a multitude of mistakes. Fast forward to yet another job on a different auto plant assembly line. This time the author's friend received the same step-by-step instruction as he had on his last job. Only this time the instructor didn't allow the friend to move on to the second step until he had mastered the first. And he wasn't allowed out on the assembly line until he had mastered each and every step. His first day out on the line found him working without a mistake.

It didn't surprise me at all that the purpose of the article had nothing to do with homeschooling. Instead, it was discussing technology that could help overcome poor test scores by enabling teachers to do regular "quick checks" on a student's knowledge and mastery of concepts. I'm certain that I don't have all the details exact since I wasn't able to take the magazine home with me ... but the gist of the article struck me as a wonderful word picture. The opportunity to set your own pace, to await a student's mastery of step one before moving on to step two, has always been a powerful argument for homeschooling.

~Judy

I had the privilege to spend some time with a young homeschool mom not long ago. She has one school-age child (8) and two toddlers (2 and 4). As we discussed how her homeschooling was going, she shared what I've come to realize is a common frustration with many homeschoolers. In fact, it is an issue that sometimes keeps folks from homeschooling. It pretty much boils down to ... who's the parent/teacher/boss in your household?

I will be the first to admit that homeschooling is not for everyone. I would never presume to make that decision for another family. However, it distresses me greatly when young moms tell me they could never homeschool because Junior would never listen to me, or Junior would never accept me as his teacher, or My kids aren't disciplined enough to homeschool. May I respectfully submit that I don't believe homeschooling is really the issue here?

The mom I was talking to described how her child breaks into tears whenever asked to do something he/she prefers not to do (like math or spelling!). She also spoke of how much time was consumed each day in "convincing" this child to follow through on instructions given. It immediately brought back a vivid memory of when I first began homeschooling my oldest. My mom was visiting for the day, and witnessed a similar display from her granddaughter. At which point my mom looked at me and said "well that was quite the Academy Award winning performance!"

My point is this ... homeschooling already comes with its own set of challenges ... please don't add a lack of discipline to them! I'm not referring to your approach or method of discipline, but rather of the concept itself. The Latin root of this words means instruction ... with the idea of providing instruction to a disciple. I love this definition ... methods of modeling character and of teaching self-control and acceptable behavior. Whether we homeschool or not, we are called to "disciple" our children. I remember my mother telling me that her one over-riding goal in raising her children was not to set loose adults on society who had no self-control and were unable to have a positive impact on those around them.

So if you are considering homeschooling ... be sure that the issue of discipline in your household is regularly addressed (not conquered ... but addressed). And if you are currently homeschooling ... be sure that in your list of academic priorities, teaching self-control and acceptable behavior are at the top of the list!

Keep on keeping on ...
~Judy