In the United States, formal schooling typically begins around the age of 5 when most of society marches their little peanuts off to kindergarten and compulsory schooling begins. The legal requirement for schooling in most states continues until the ages of 16-18 (varies by state). ((We’ll need to discuss the radical transformation American kindergarten has undergone in the last 50-75 years where five year olds went from playing with blocks to needing tutors because they’re “behind” in another article because that evolution has not served our children well.)) As a result of the standard schooling system in our country, most kids learn from curriculum during the years of compulsory school attendance.
When many parents consider homeschooling, their first thought is curriculum. As a function of my job, I am in *a lot* of homeschool-related Facebook groups and some variation of this post appears in my feed at least half a dozen times a day. “We have decided to homeschool our 8 year old in the fall. What is your favorite curriculum?” ((Side note: I am considering my own variation of a “swear jar” on my desk and every time this question gets asked, I’ll put a dollar in. It will be full in no time!)) This question always make me squirrelly because one of the benefits of homeschooling is the ability to customize your child’s education for their particular learning needs. Fifty people replying to that question and just shouting names of curriculum at you doesn’t really tell you much of anything, does it? You don’t know how those people’s children learn best, what their long-term goals are, why they like it, and so on. Conversely, that person doesn’t know anything about your child and whether the recommendation would be a good fit for your kiddo.
I’d love to propose some alternative thoughts on curriculum to that scenario….
Alternative thought #1: Curriculum isn’t as essential as you think it is!
Have you learned *anything* since the day your formal education ended? Have you learned a new skill? Researched a topic of interest or current event? What curriculum did you use? If you sought out this information independently, likely none. We explore rabbit holes and cobble together information to grow as individuals all the time in the real world, and we rarely use a formal program to do so.
On the flipside, think about all of the things your children learned to do before the age of compulsory schooling and the onset of curriculum. What curriculum did you use to potty train them? How about learning to feed or dress themselves? What program did you buy for them to learn to sing the alphabet song? Again, this was all likely learned through organic interaction and modeling.
How is it that we can learn so much before we enter school and again when our formal schooling is complete, but between the ages of 5 and 18, everything must come from a structured book or program?
Having a road map that curriculum provides can be very helpful, but it technically isn’t even essential. As a homeschool parent, you’re free to create your own map, find unique sources, and explore organically.
Can the right homeschool curriculum make your homeschool journey amazing? Yes! Absolutely! Can buying a curriculum that isn’t the right fit for your family and learning style make homeschooling a nightmarish slugfest? Yes! Absolutely! So don’t rush into it. Take the time to get to know your kids’ learning style and develop your long-term vision. The curriculum you hastily buy at the start of your journey will almost never be a long-term fit. So pause and breathe. Don’t buy anything right away. Especially not anything super expensive that you’ll then feel beholden to use and complete!
Alternative thought #2: Asynchronous learning is oh so real!
Do you have strengths and weaknesses? I sure do! I can write this article or speak in front of a group of people with no angst, but if you start a sentence with “If you have a trough that measures 12” x 48” x 16”….” my brain is going to seize. Our kids are no different. If you assess a dozen 3rd graders, I can almost guarantee they’ll be working at, below, and above grade level on a variety of different things. We don’t have one-size-fits-all kids. So a box of curriculum labeled 3rd grade is rarely going to be a good fit for your child.
Alternative thought #3: We don’t function in the world the way we teach our kids.
Envision a typical school day. From 9-9:30 we work on writing then from 9:30-10 we work on math, then from 10-10:30 we learn science, and so on throughout the day. In your day-to-day life, do you often call upon very singular individual skills like that? Or is it more likely that you’ll be pulling from various disciplines when problem solving or decision making?
If you’ll recall, in last month’s article I shared some of the history of our education system and its connections with the Industrial Revolution and John D. Rockefeller. Our education system was not built on a foundation that sought to promote global thinking. It was built as a pipeline for factory workers who would stay in their lane. We’ve band-aided the system over the years to try and implement new strategies and change that, but the core of the system hasn’t changed.
If, in the real world, we rarely use the information we’ve learned in individual subject silos, why are we still teaching kids information in a way where it rarely interconnects? Isn’t the goal of education to prepare them for the real world?
Next month we’ll explore how to create an integrated learning environment using the concepts of unit studies and project based learning as an alternative to subject silos. Stay tuned….