school

So here I am, on the eve of what I've been looking forward to for the last decade. Through all the diaper changes, nursing babies through the night, pick-ups and drop-offs at pre-school and kindergarten. This is the place I thought I'd find the time to find myself again. Where I could be a little self-centered. When I had all of my children in school, all day long. Five days a week. But things have taken an unexpected turn.

I think that God has a knack for placing certain people and even certain books in our lives at critical times. It's been a long time since this has happened to me. The last time was when I read The Birth Book, after having the worst experience in my life during the delivery of my first son. It caused me to rethink everything I thought about nature and hospitals and why we assume certain people know more than we know instead of trusting our own instincts.

After reading that, I went on to deliver my second son in two hours with no drugs, to delivering my third son, au naturale as well. Ten pounds, six ounces, no drugs. It wasn't easy but I'd never felt so empowered in my life.

And now I find myself here. After ordering a copy of Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gotto, I knew before I even finished the introduction that this book was about to change everything. Everything he said resonated with everything I already knew intuitively, as a student myself and from what I've witnessed in the public schools with my boys over the past five years. Before I finished the first chapter I knew that I could no longer subject my children to the soul sucking of public school, or even private school. It is all wrong.

This revelation came as a surprise to me. I'll admit to being someone who has judged home schoolers before. I saw their parents as paranoid and over protective and wondered, "Do they really think their kids are that much better? Why isn't our school good enough?" My opinion was that children should be innoculated, not sheltered from the world.

But after reading further, everything I've ever felt was wrong with our schools was perfectly verbalized by the author, a New York school teacher who won several impressive awards for his teaching. The boredom, the indifference, the mass production, and none of it leading to any grand results. Yet people still wanting to throw more money at it.

It basically boils down to families. Our families are falling apart. And according to the author it's no surprise considering the "education" we are given. School is a false community that does not fulful our spiritual and emotional needs like a family can, yet promotes itself that way. Homework is something that cuts into our already limited family time but contributes little to learning. I've always felt resentment about it, especially when my kindergartners were assigned homework, but this book affirms my perception. Homework is just another way for schools to tighten the reigns and keep us in check.

I can't begin to describe the ways that the author explains the problems with our current "education" (i.e. schooling) system so you should read it for yourself. All I know is that with every page I read I was awakened and validated in my feelings toward what I grew up with and what my sons have been through.

I've been an involved parent and through my volunteering I've seen some disturbing things. From the depressing, drab experience that is 'lunch time' in the cafeteria, to the fact that the art teacher would have a melt down if the kids didn't create pictures that were basically the same, to the problem of trouble making students taking up much of the teacher's time and attention.

I have a decision to make.

As someone who has purposely brought three human beings into the world, I owe them the best. As far as time goes, I have the unique opportunity to give it to them. I am smart enough to figure out the best way to facilitate it. As far as I'm concerned, Ben Franklin and Abe Lincoln were self educated and they turned out just fine. The system that we have now is based on nothing more that power struggles for money and influence and I choose to opt out of that.

As I've had a few days to digest this information, more and more things come to mind that I know to be true. If I were to home school, I could instill values in the boys that are important to our family. We could actually have a "Christmas break" instead of a "winter break." We could open our day with the pledge of allegiance and a prayer (gasp). I could talk to them about the theories of evolution and creation (double gasp). We could actually discuss and explore ideas together, as a family.

They could find themselves at the same time I find myself.

Our country is at a turning point. Our government, churches and schools are for the most part corrupt and in need of a complete renewal. So I'm going to choose to be a part of that. I'm going to take a deep breath and trust in God.

Here goes...