As I started on this homeschooling and cooperative journey, I didn't even realize that is what I actually doing. I started down the path, not realizing the path I walking. I just started doing.
The world and the information it contains is all around us. It is at our fingertips. It is there with the push of a button. I can print anything, show any videos, read any books and search anywhere around the world for information.
Even further, I can host meetings or participate in meetings and conferences anywhere around the world without leaving my kitchen table. On the other hand, travel has never been easier. Seeing new places and having new experiences can be organized right from the phone in my hands. I can find my way with the maps in the palm of my hand.
It is time our education systems reflect that. I am sure classrooms utilize the internet and technology on a regular basis. Students are given tablets and computers to use for class. Technology is employed, but it is still only used within the confines of a traditional school schedule and mindset.
The traditional school schedule has always baffled me, even I was a student in that traditional school schedule. Schools start classes in very early morning hours, forcing small children and teenagers (who both naturally need more sleep) to get up early and start focusing on school work early in the morning. Schools follow strict government regulations for the number of hours of class time - butts in seats. This is then reflected in firm eight-hour school days, five days per week. Students are required to be in classrooms under these specific attendance requirements. The entire process starts over again the following autumn.
In this 21st Century era, there is no reason to conduct education under these constraints. There is no excuse for continuing to educate our children the same way it has "always been done." Preserving the status quo is an excuse for languorous teacher's unions and sluggish governments that fail to keep up.
If you are a parent who wants to keep your children the traditional school system, it is your responsibility and obligation to get them to school and follow those attendance rules. On the other hand, if you are a parent who finds yourself asking the same questions I did, you have the tools and the power at your disposal to expand your children's education beyond your wildest dreams.
It requires stepping up. It is an enormous and humbling responsibility to design your child's education. You have to constantly educate yourself, as well as your child. It requires stepping out. You are going against the grain of traditional education, and that is rather large grain to push back against.
Huron Academic Endeavors is here to guide and support! Contact us today to register you child in our innovative and elective classes. We are operating on the same 21st Century schedule as your family!
Comments