There are certain expressions that should (or at least could) send chills down your spine. One is: "Hi, we're from the government and we're here to help." Another is (coming from the dentist, upon peering into your transfixed mouth): "Uh-oh."
I would add these words to the list: "School's just around the corner."
Now I don't want to confuse you with the different responses: The person doing cartwheels around the kitchen, upon hearing these words, is likely a mother of high schoolers; the person wringing her hands in the corner is likely the high schooler herself. Now when you have a mother who teaches school (outside the home), they are likely doing cartwheels while wringing their hands.
Then you have the mother who teaches her kids at home doing cartwheels, and clapping her hands at the same time—oh boy, this is getting complicated...
Personally, all my foundational years were spent in public school (and I'd have to say that grade 9 was the best three years of my life). This included the full twelve years of grade school, as well as four years of university. On top of that, there has been another fifteen years as a classroom teacher, all in private schools, in Kamloops, Langley, Bow Island, and Medicine Hat (plus a year-long stint in El Salvador, in a missions school). Thus, I suggest humbly to you that my experience in education has been a fine balance between the public and private forms.
To add further to that balance, my kids, on the other hand, have never spent a day in a classroom, per se-- having received all their formal (and informal education) through the oldest method of education known to man, namely, home education. (By the way, my wife is also a certified teacher, but together we have chosen this educational path for our own kids.) For the record, my sixth "child" is going into grade twelve this year, so we're not exactly novices at this.
And I am very pleased to say that, between holding down jobs effectively, attending post-secondary institutions, both in person and online, and ultimately (so far) becoming positive contributors to our culture, home education has worked very well for my family. Re-stated: They know how to read, write, and do 'rithmetic, and have a good work ethic.
I should add quickly that home education has worked and is working very well for thousands of others in this province, as I write this.
Alberta is a great province for educational options, and may it long continue. I have many wonderful friends who are teachers in both the public and private systems, and I say, "more power to them." Others have made the incredibly brave choice of teaching their kids at home. Space and time forbids the long list of success stories, especially among my Mennonite friends.
I believe in all sincerity that the day school system should be tweaked, and the home school system acknowledged. I say this critically, but I believe I am being constructively critical. The following pattern is a concrete suggestion (for the good of all concerned):
One, drill, drive, and develop the basics of Language Arts and Mathematics in the first six grades. It is safe to say that the writing, grammar, and spelling skills—to say nothing of basic math computation--of many our day school students are appalling. Other subjects are very important, of course, but these are a priority. (If you disagree, fine; but that's the emphasis of the
Canadian Achievement Tests.)
Two, for the next few grades other core subjects and electives could then be added, applied and expanded to areas outside the classroom. When theory has a real world context, it makes more sense, takes on more meaning, and is retained longer.
By the time kids are in their early-to-mid teens, they should be doing useful things, like job shadowing, apprenticeships, part-time trades, or any other vocational options. Kids should be exposed to a variety of career choices, so they don't waste years sitting around in school and post-secondary institutions, paying for and training for something they know little about, then taking on jobs they have little interest in. There is far too much theory and meaningless studies going on, with too little real world application.
Education is more than a textbook or a mouse click. Those are merely tools. We need to train our kids in the basics of communication and mathematical skills, then take those acquired abilities into a real world context. Once they have the foundation established (concrete thinking), they need to think "outside the box" (abstract thinking). At that point, they are ready to choose career tracks that will work well for them, their families, and the world around them.
Just a reminder: School's just around the corner. Why are you doing cartwheels?
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