Syndication10 Sep 2010 - 01:54:38 pm
toddler gymnastics apparelI am an Independent Educator. What is that? Well to help you understand, the more common term is "Homeschooler. toddler gymnasticsBut the problem is that I don't think the term homeschooler really exemplifies what we do. well..um... no!
It's been nearly a decade that I've been doing what we do and in my experience it has become evident that most folks really do not truly understand. Therefore I decided that a new term was needed in order to better describe what it is our family does (you know, ushttp://itfvn.com/201009-toddler-gymnastics-great-thing-to-begin.phpstrange folks that don't send our kids to school). We tried 'Autodidacts' for a while, but it seemed to just cause more confusion! So, I've adapted the term "Independent Education" and that is what we call ourselves around here....
Alas I still find myself having to use the word homeschool in many conversations but while it is the accepted term, I just don't like it. I think it's unfairly confusing to the common person who has not had a chance to glance inside the world of home-schoolers. This confusion has lead to the dumbfounded stares from our family members when we first announce our intentions to educate at home, and the 'tsk' sounds from neighbors who appear to instantly feel sorry for our poor kids. It also generates this seemingly insatiable need that strangers have to perform 'random' tests on our children to ensure that they are indeed learning something (as if it's their job to assess this) The general lack of understanding also perpetuates the never-ending line of questioning about 'socialization'...how will the children learn to get along with other humans if they are 'homeschooled'? Not to mention, the baffled receptionists at dance class, gymnastics and other kids activities when we write "homeschool" on the line where it says "school" on the registration forms.
See, I've come to the conclusion that it is the term itself that causes the misunderstanding.
It could be the word "home" that is confusing and causes people to automatically picture lonely pale children learning in a make-shift classroom literally inside their "house". The reality is that while some learning does indeed happen inside the house - a great deal of it takes place everywhere and that includes outside the house and among other people! The idea is that the word "Home" means with the family, not inside the house! But most folks just don't seem to see it that way.
I realize that not everyone makes the same choice as I did - to avoid "school". Just as there is a great deal to be learned outside the 'house'....http://itfvn.com/201009-toddler-gymnastics-great-thing-to-begin.phphttp://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978509387There's lots to be learned (A WHOLE LOT) outside of that classroom.
It's all about learning so, Go learn!
by: Laurette Lynn
It's been nearly a decade that I've been doing what we do and in my experience it has become evident that most folks really do not truly understand. Therefore I decided that a new term was needed in order to better describe what it is our family does (you know, ushttp://itfvn.com/201009-toddler-gymnastics-great-thing-to-begin.phpstrange folks that don't send our kids to school). We tried 'Autodidacts' for a while, but it seemed to just cause more confusion! So, I've adapted the term "Independent Education" and that is what we call ourselves around here....
Alas I still find myself having to use the word homeschool in many conversations but while it is the accepted term, I just don't like it. I think it's unfairly confusing to the common person who has not had a chance to glance inside the world of home-schoolers. This confusion has lead to the dumbfounded stares from our family members when we first announce our intentions to educate at home, and the 'tsk' sounds from neighbors who appear to instantly feel sorry for our poor kids. It also generates this seemingly insatiable need that strangers have to perform 'random' tests on our children to ensure that they are indeed learning something (as if it's their job to assess this) The general lack of understanding also perpetuates the never-ending line of questioning about 'socialization'...how will the children learn to get along with other humans if they are 'homeschooled'? Not to mention, the baffled receptionists at dance class, gymnastics and other kids activities when we write "homeschool" on the line where it says "school" on the registration forms.
See, I've come to the conclusion that it is the term itself that causes the misunderstanding.
It could be the word "home" that is confusing and causes people to automatically picture lonely pale children learning in a make-shift classroom literally inside their "house". The reality is that while some learning does indeed happen inside the house - a great deal of it takes place everywhere and that includes outside the house and among other people! The idea is that the word "Home" means with the family, not inside the house! But most folks just don't seem to see it that way.
I realize that not everyone makes the same choice as I did - to avoid "school". Just as there is a great deal to be learned outside the 'house'....http://itfvn.com/201009-toddler-gymnastics-great-thing-to-begin.phphttp://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978509387There's lots to be learned (A WHOLE LOT) outside of that classroom.
It's all about learning so, Go learn!
by: Laurette Lynn
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