The other day I drove Spencer's truck to Wal-Mart. While at a stop light this man in the next vehicle was trying to get my attention. I looked in the back of the truck to see if there was anything wrong, and the man said, "Roll your window down!" So, I did. He said, in the most polite voice (southern accent of course), "Ma'am, your right brake light is out." I thought, "Wow, all that trouble to tell me about my brake light." As I was rolling up the window, I heard him say on his cell phone, "I was just telling this lady next to me that her brake light was out." As he drove off, I noticed his SUV was really nice. Since we are in the market for a new vehicle, I decided to see what kind it was. It was a Lexus.....Not quite in our price range. Hearing him talk on the cell phone got me wondering what it would be like to carry on a real conversation with a person like that man. He was soooooo properly polite. Do people like him have real conversations?? Do they have any emotion?? Are they always politely distant??
A few days later, I took all the kids shopping--for food. While at a bulk food store we walked past this very well dressed man who was looking at boxes of chewing gum. I got what I needed and went to check out. For some reason the cash registers were down, and we had to wait in line for a while. As we were waiting, the well- dressed man had finally decided on what kind of gum he needed and got in line behind us and struck up a conversation.
Man: Wow, someone's been busy. There were seven children in my family. People always called us the Waltons. How old are they?
Me (pointing to each kid): 5, almost 4, 2, and 18 months; but I keep the two year old for a friend.
.........................Lot of small talk.........................
Man (looking at Zach): You're five? It's about time for you to go to school soon isn't it?
Zach: Well, I home school right now.
Me: We want to eventually put them in school, but right now we keep them at home and homeschool them.
Man: It's good to put kids in school. There's so much children need to know these days.
Me: I was a school teacher, so I'm comfortable teaching them at home.
Man: My wife and I are highly educated too, but children just need to know so much these days. It may be okay to homeschool for the first few years, but there's so much out there that children need to know.
.........................Silence for a few minutes.................
Me: So, what do you do?
Man: I'm the superintendent of schools.
Me: So, you stay really busy too. (Uh, gulp!)
At that time, the cash registers opened back up, and the lines started moving.
The man and I both left the store around the same time, and guess what vehicle he got in????
Yep. That same Lexus I was talking about earlier.
So, I got to have my real conversation with the super-polite, proper person; and found that he COULD carry on a normal conversation. On top of that, he had five brothers and one sister to boot.
That conversation got me to thinking though. Yes, there is a lot for children to learn these days. Yes, home schooling is difficult. No, it's not for everyone. However, for all that children need to know, can't it be more easily provided through home schooling? Kids get more one on one attention. They have a schedule that can be worked around so that a large variety of activities can be participated in. Kids can go at their own pace, so they thoroughly understand every aspect of their work. I think it's a win-win situation if the homeschool provider can keep up with all the extra responsibilities that go with homeschooling.
I know some people are just not equipped to home school. I've talked to a few on the phone when I worked in A Beka School Services. I feel sorry for their children because they are not getting a good education even though they have good resources. However, there are a whole lot of people who are able to give their children a great education through home schooling, and are still able to provide their children with friendships, competition, music, and sports and whatever else it is that children "need to know these days" at the same time.
3 comments:
Wow, I bet you were shocked to see him get in that Lexus, huh? We still haven't decided about homeskewl yet... I guess we have a few more years :)
Out pastor teaches at a homeskewl co-operative two days a week... thats always an option for us too.
I was most shocked when he said he was the school superintendent of our county. I was taken back though when I realized that he was the same man I had spoken with earlier in the week. What are the chances?
We do not have many good Christian schools around here. The best two are at a little distance away. The one that we would like to send them to just started two years ago and is using A Beka DVDs. Like Spencer said, I can do that too.
Robert and I decided long before we had kids that homeschool is the best option for them. We DO have a really good (high standards and Biblical teaching/values) Christian school in New Bern, so if I simply CANNOT (not "don't want to") handle homeschooling, they can go there, but our first pick is homeschool. And the interesting thing is that the pastor of the church that runs the school told me himself that he believes that HOMEschool is the most biblical and best option. That was really neat to hear from him! As for "all the things" kids "need" to learn, who do I want them to learn from? Other kids, teachers, or me? Life will teach plenty of lessons, and I would rather they NOT learn some things when they are not able to handle it or when it would in any way be detrimental to their character and/or development. Make any sense?
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