It all started innocently enough. A few whispers here and there. A super long thread from almost two years ago on The Well-Trained Mind forums where I was introduced to the Circe Institute and their ideas about education. Other blog posts where people were discussing teaching from a state of rest and focusing on truth, beauty, and goodness in their school. All of these ideas sounded great, a little pie in the sky, but I felt pretty solid about the direction our homeschool was taking.
Then in February of this year, I panicked about everything I had planned. It simply wasn’t going to work for my kids, especially Chipette. I was afraid that nothing would work. Would I ever get my kids where I wanted them to be? They seemed so far behind where they should be in certain subjects and so ahead in others. It became a cycle of guilt, worry, fear, and immobility. Finally I decided to go back to what had worked for us in the past with Chipette, Heart of Dakota. While she loved it, I suddenly found myself becoming a slave driver, forcing my kids to move along to the next task as quickly as possible so we could get through all of her work. No time to pause. No time to discuss. Get on to the next thing!!! Where I once felt confidence, I now felt fear. My homeschool was going down a path I didn’t want and I had NO clue how to get it back on track.
At this exact moment a new thread popped up on The Well-Trained Mind forums {yes, it’s my one stop daily homeschool encouragement and conference rolled into one!} about the Circe Institute. I paid closer attention this time as homeschool parents talked back and forth about how exactly to find this state of rest to teach from. What did in look like in your home? I desperately longed to teach from a rested, quieted mind instead of where I currently was which was all about a brisk jog around the track instead of a leisurely stroll through the woods. I didn’t want our homeschool to be this way. When I left teaching and chose to homeschool, I envisioned days that were less rush and more discuss. Basically, I wanted it all, confidence my kids were learning and enjoying it, days of leisure and joy, and all saturated in the truth, beauty, and goodness found in God’s word and inspiring people and literature. But first I had to rid myself of the idea of school that had been engrained in my mind from the first moments I stepped into elementary school at the age of 4.
The Greek word scholé, from which our English word school is derived, actually means leisure. Does anyone actually equate our current education system with leisure? I don’t, and I definitely didn’t equate our homeschool with leisure either, but I wanted to. I wanted all of it desperately for me and for my children. Read these words I typed from the Circe thread that I mentioned above as I realized exactly what having a school of leisure meant to me:
It has more to do with MY mindset and attitude as a homeschooler than any specific curriculum or routine. I change from being a teacher who has knowledge to impart or a facilitator of a curriculum that has knowledge to impart into a fellow human being, a fellow learner alongside my child. One who models making connections between literature and life, between beauty and math, between truth and history until my child begins to make those connections for themselves. Instead of teacher or curriculum implementer, I become a mentor for my child in discerning the things that are true, good, and beautiful in our world. My role is one of example in the Great Discussion so instead of being stressed about checking boxes or guilty that my child doesn't know about XYZ, I can teach from rest because I know that what is done in our homeschool is done seeking truth, beauty, and wonder in all things much more than finishing a set curriculum or completing our schedule for the day. It's a great conversation between myself and my children using different disciplines to fuel that conversation, but covering the disciplines is NOT the point of our homeschool. Connecting all that is good and beautiful in the world to all that is good and beautiful in us is the point.
So from that day on I began to seek this for our homeschool. It has caused me to fight against my very own nature of being a list maker, a planner, and a type A perfectionist. It has also allowed me to incorporate the strengths of those things to make scholé work for us. I decided to put my faith in the words of Jesus, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” He promised a life of abundance, and I wanted our homeschool to be an extension of that. I knew what I wanted, but how did I get there? How do I totally transform our homeschool from the ground up into a home-scholé? That’s the topic of the next post in this series, when I have a panic attack and think I’ve lost my mind.
Determined to establish the abundant life in the tree house,
looking forward to the series!
ReplyDeleteYou inspired one of the future posts in this series during a conversation we had while the kids were playing at the park this spring. Thanks for that one! ;)
DeleteLooks like it is going to be a great series! I am excited to see you blogging again. I was explaining the Great Conversation to my hairdresser tonight (doesn't everyone?) and how I am preparing my kids to take their part in it instead of to be workers. We are moving along at our pace, focusing on the true, good and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteCan I just say I love that you talk to your hair dresser about the Great Conversation? That made me LOL a bit.
DeleteI love the philosophy here. I've been trying to be more relaxed about learning too. I realized a while ago that he learns, a lot, when I don't stress about it. Then I think of the end of year assessment required in my state and I panic. Yikes. So I'm looking forward to this series.
ReplyDeleteRelaxed about learning doesn't come naturally to me, but we've been living and schooling this way for three months now. It's been pretty phenomenal! No year end assessments here to worry about though, so I totally get the panic!
DeleteAs one of those Type-A moms, I'm really looking forward to this series. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy! I knew there was a reason we worked well together. ;)
DeleteMy sister sent this to me and I just realized it was written in 2014. Lol Are y'all still rolling on along this way? ☺
ReplyDeleteAs always, love your insights! Excited to read more!
ReplyDeleteI know you wrote this ages ago but I wanted you to know that you are still inspiring people with your insights. I have read some of your other posts but tonight I decided to start the series from the start and read all the way through to the end. :)
ReplyDelete