The Paradox of "the Best"

Detraction: the act of discrediting or detracting from someone's reputation (especially by slander)

Brought to you by Jennifer Fulwiler

I've been reading a lot of posts about how people are homeschooling this year. And, I've included several in the Other Posts of Note as they rave about how great Sonlight is <smile>.

But with all this planning and purchasing there comes the question of, "What is the the 'right' method of homeschooling?"

Currently, the accepted wisdom is "whatever is best for you and your family." And, who's going to argue with that? Who would honestly say, "Use something that is not best for you and your family"? No one, especially since one of the many strengths of homeschooling is that you can form it to fit the needs of you and your children.

And yet, when we look at the answer, we discover that it merely begs the original question: Well, then, what is the "right" method that will be best for me and my family?

I'm reading The Paradox of Choice right now, and it's interesting (of course, so are the negative reviews). The basic premise is that we have too many options available to us today and that is actually making us less happy with our final decisions because we worry about what we might be missing.

What's more, in the section I read just last night, things are further complicated by the fact that how we make choices is not altogether wise. For instance, we'd rather hear a 16 second annoying sound that tapers off at the end than just the initial 8 seconds of annoying audio. We choose twice as as much annoyance because we judge things by how they end, rather than what it was like while we experienced it.

Of course, there can be good in this too. I think minimizing the pain and struggle of birth or adoption is probably a good thing as we consider bringing another bundle of joy into our lives <smile>.

What does this have to do with choosing a homeschool curriculum?

Merely this: Feel free to try out something else if something isn't working, but don't let it bog you down.

It feels almost wrong for me--a Sonlight promoter--to suggest that if Sonlight isn't working for you, you can try something else. But it shouldn't because we've got 27 Reasons Not to Buy Sonlight.

Of course, this cuts the other way as well: If you're not thrilled with what you have, check out Sonlight.

And if you don't know where to start, maybe, just maybe, you'd be happier if you just purchased one of Sonlight's amazing Cores and decided that it works for your family. And if it works then it's "good enough" ...no, even better than that: It's perfect for you and your family.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father