I might be in trouble for sharing about this raw passion but I
am starting to become attracted to the idea of unschooling, a subset of
homeschooling, which is basically the concept of following the child's
interests that eventually lead to science, literature, music, history and all
the things that interested people before anyone thought of them as subjects
(Stevens, 1994).
At this point, the idea still sounds a little bit odd for me - but that's because like many other normal human beings I got schooled under a regular education system in my country, plus I spent four years studying how to teach English and Literature to high school students at one of the best universities in the Philippines that specializes in teacher education. During my senior year, it had just been recognized by law as "the Country's National Center for Teacher Education". I was and still am very proud of that. I enjoyed learning about teaching - strategies, philosophies, the whole shebang and was just a decimal point to graduating cum laude. I love teaching with my whole being, however, there is something about the "general idea of schooling" that turned me off. In fact, I remember feeling utterly depressed during my practicum days because I started to develop doubts about the profession I thought I wanted. My experience handling 80 kids in the classroom for a few weeks made me start really questioning classroom disciplinary practices, routines, the need for standardized tests and the seemingly absurd idea of shoving content into the kids' throat. It felt like school was a constant struggle for everyone involved. Despite of this, I applied for a job as a high school teacher at a private school right after I graduated. That was some experience I would never forget. I made some friends there and learned many things but my internal struggles were simmering underneath my performance on the job. Somebody asked if I wanted to eventually teach at a public school (which is usually considered a better route for most teachers in terms of pay) and I said NO. The idea alone was depressing for me. Somebody asked if I could see myself becoming a principal someday and I said NO. I just could not stand the system. I quit my job and worked as a writer the following year. It was not so much about policies and the politics involved as it was about "schooling" in general and the idea of making square pegs fit in a hole, about the imposition of subject matter to kids who will most likely forget half, if not 70 percent of it. I felt like we were wasting a lot of time. But before I proceed, I just want to make it clear that the university where I graduated is a really great school and my professors were excellent. My paradigm shift has more to do with the concept of "schooling" in general as opposed to a specific institution. I also know that even though I feel this way, I also know that as imperfect as it is, the education system has still worked for some people and has produced successful individuals. In addition, I would like to make it clear that I still believe in higher education, that some people should spend many years studying a specific field like medicine and law. I am talking about educating children, toying with a few "what ifs": What if we follow George Barnard Shaw's advice and let kids pursue knowledge rather than let knowledge pursue them? What if we allow children to focus on who they really are and spend more precious time on what they are inclined to and what they are good at? What would our world look like if everyone spent their childhood this way?
Fast forward about 10 years later and we decided to be a
homeschooling family. We have many reasons why we have chosen this path and one
of them is the decision to take sole responsibility of what and how our kids
will be learning. We want to shape their minds according to what we think they
should learn - not what the government thinks they should learn. However, I
have had serious doubts about our choice. Even though, more and more families
are starting to homeschool, we are still the minority. As soon as school
started for all the other kids last September, that was when it hit me: Instead
of feeling left behind, I have to embrace this journey and seek out our tribe
and make friends with like-minded homeschooling families. I have to relearn
strategies, think outside of the box and apply what I learned in college, and
customize it to my son's needs, personality and interests. I have to make
learning fun and interesting for him.I have to teach as if the world is our
classroom and learning is a natural part of life.
Life has no guarantee and I might have another paradigm shift in
a year or two. But at this point, I couldn't agree more with what John Gatto
said during his acceptance speech for the New York City Teacher of the Year
Award in 1990: "Schools were designed by Horace Mann ... and others to be
instruments of the scientific management of a mass population." We want to
give our children more than that. Teaching as many as 20 kids at a time
seemingly sounds more efficient, while concentrating one's time, skills and
effort into just a child or two seems a bit excessive. But are my children
worth all of that? I am going to say yes to that.
