Traitor to the Cause
August 13th, 2008 by ToniIn case you’ve been wondering what I’m doing with all my extra bloggy break time, which you probably haven’t, but just in case - I’ve been buying curriculum. Yep, you heard it here first. Toni’s children will now be scarred for life because she crumbled under the weight of tradition and purchased honest-to-goodness-complete-with-lesson-plans-and-actual-schedules curriculum. It’s not really as bad as all that but given how avidly I’ve supported unschooling it feels as though someone should sew a big “T” on my shirt and call me Benedict just for mentioning the “C” word.
After much debate, we finally settled on this company. I liked the idea that most of the material is simply gleaned from good books (very Charlotte Mason of them) and I like the fact that they offered a Newcomer package with materials and instructions pre-assembled since we are after all “newcomers”.
It came with these books and supplies,
this ginormous instructor’s guide
and a pamphlet containing the words “Don’t be alarmed.” Riiight.
After everything was unpacked, Will took Sister out on an errand.
“Do you need anything,” he asked?
“Yes,” I replied. “Bring chocolate. Lots of chocolate.”
The thing is I’ve always considered myself a perfectly competent teacher - even a good one. But as we pulled out book after book of “expert advice” I began to doubt my abilities and by the time all was said and done I even considered that perhaps my approach had been completely wrong.
But chocolate cures many ailments and once I got past the overwhelmed part it occurred to me that having curriculum doesn’t mean we must give up our unschooling ways. School day or no, we will still go out and splash in puddles after an unexpected shower, take trips without a plan just to see where we end up and spend whole days in our pajamas sharing a good book. This curriculum is a tool just like the library or the museum and like any tool it works for us - not the other way around.
Even a curriculum can be a good tool–just don’t try to overdo it, see how everyone responds–Issac LOVES hooked on Phonics and workbooks.
I’ve wondered about you. I’ve missed you!
Don’t worry. You’re no traitor. You’re devoted to teaching your children.
A wise friend once told me, “A good parent is nothing if not flexible. Keep your options open and be willing to change as necessary.” Sounds to me like that’s exactly what you’re doing. It’ll work out, wise friend.
I stumbled upon your blog before you took your little break so I haven’t really met you yet. I had to post today and say thank you very, very much for posting this. I’m a new homeschool mom trying to figure out what to do. I love lots of unschool and relaxed school ideas but have had some hesitation about following through with that, partly because our schedule (I work nearly full-time and bring DS, 10, to work with us as we both work for my parents). I feel like we don’t have enough time and freedom to devote to pursuing all the opportunities that we’d like to, which is a necessary element in unschooling I think. So your post led me to the Sonlight site where I took a look at the program and decided not to buy anything. However, looking at the curriculum gave me book suggestions and a place to start to see what grabs our attention. Anyway, thanks for leading me to the site sparked the passion I had when we decided to homeschool. I don’t feel so lost now!
NOT a traitor - your last sentence says it all. It works for YOU, not the other way around. I still consider us unschoolers though my 5yDD loves workbooks. She just likes going through them and doing the little exercises. She went through the entire kindergarten workbook in one week just because she was having fun. (plus, how sad is it that today would be her first day of K and she went through the whole curriculum in on week several months ago? LOL So today she’s on the Wii. lol). Let it work for your family, however that works best.
LOL. I’ve been a die-hard unschooling mom for six years. Today we had our first ever full morning of formal lessons. Of course, we’re doing it Hogwarts-style, so it’s not exactly your typical math and grammar stuff. We learned about the history and folklore of garden peas for Herbology (then planted some), made Invisibility Crystals for Potions, and transfigured split peas into Lunch. The kids loved it! They can’t wait for the next class! But, man, does it take some planning! I don’t know homeschoolers do this every day WITHOUT a pre-made curriculum. Though I AM having a ton of fun.
[…] three weeks after we allowed ye ol’ curriculum to invade our philosophy I no longer feel like a traitor. We have in these 21 days (or so) made it all the way through Week 1 and only Week 1 of the […]
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