Today’s question over at Camp Creek “how do we start the revolution”.
I think the most important piece to creating real change in education is having a clear idea of the world we want our children to be part of creating. We can talk for hours about the negative effects of schooling and it’s origins but what I have seen so often is that this just leads to people only trying to turn the current system on its head. From there we have to look wider at what we would like society to look like on a larger scale, and how it can be changed and still function (someone still needs to collect the trash). This leads to the other important piece of this; it can not be done in a vacuum. If you want to make serious changes in our education system, and therefore our society, then you need a large group of parents and children from different backgrounds and socio-economic strata working together otherwise the change will be isolated.
So what do a bunch of people with little in common sitting in one room talk about? The one thing they do have in common, their children and their hopes for them. The important thing here is that the conversation not be started by enthusiastic educators but by the parents. Like religious leaders, alternative educators can become charismatic leaders to their particular vision of education but that can create a situation where some parents end up taking a step back from the process and allowing the educators to take over. It is the educator, no matter how well meaning who have always told the parents what is best for their children, to create a true revolution we need to take back this role of deciding what is best for our children.
The logical place to start would be by homeschooling your own child using the philosophy and methods that you want (this is the choice in our family). While this option does give the families full control over the educational philosophy not all parents want, or can, educate their children at home (and the world). Therefore these “working groups” of parents who want to create a different education for their children are imperative. By creating a vision of what they want for the world and their children they can also figure out how and why they want their children to learn.
It is these groups of parents who can really start a revolution with real potential for change. But of course this is only the beginning of the revolution the very first step.
Some books on Alternative Education (I know sort of contradictory to what I’ve written but still inspiring)
What Are Schools For by Ron Miller
Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks
An Essay about bell hooks and her approach to education.
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire (and this summary of theory)
The Geography of Childhood by Stephen Trimble and Gary Nabhan
9 Comments
November 4, 2009 at 3:13 pm
i answered you back in the open thread comments! haha
November 4, 2009 at 3:15 pm
p.s. i love freire!
another great resource is ivan illich’s “deschooling society” — you can read the book online here:
http://www.preservenet.com/theory/Illich/Deschooling/intro.html
November 7, 2009 at 11:20 am
I adamantly, but respectfully, disagree with your ideas that “parents should take back the role of educating their children” and that homeschooling is the way to start some sort of educational revolution.
There are many angles from which I disagree with this, but it seems to me that we miss the point when we view education as “what’s important for MY child.”
As a community member, I see the children in the community as not just the son or daughter in one family, but the future of the community. Just because someone doesn’t have children doesn’t mean they aren’t invested in the future for children, and it would be undemocratic to think so. When you take teachers and community members out of the conversation and debate, an exclusive group is formed, and the democratic act of education ends. It’s the same situation as when teachers exclude parents.
If we really want to reform our educational system (especially for the very young), then it must be done in a shared democracy, when people come together to talk about values and beliefs about childhood, then we will be able to move forward together.
Now, if your 3 year-old is doing worksheets all day in school and the school refuses to consider educational research that you mention that renders it inappropriate, that’s one thing, but most schools make an honest attempt to share the act of education with families. As educators, we’re taught that the family is an important part of a child, and that little can be done in school unless we recognize that. To paint teachers as ‘hoarders of education’ seems one-sided, to say the least.
To suggest that homeschooling is an appropriate way for people to come together to start a conversation is laughable. It would be comparable to a state seceding from the union because it didn’t agree with a handful of the laws. The rest of the Union won’t change because of it, and that state would be withdrawing from the argument, completely inhibiting change.
Schools are already places where people of different cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, races, and religions congregate. I’m not sure what the demographics of homeschooled children are, but it seems fair to say they are mostly white and middle class.
I was in Reggio Emilia a few weeks ago, and perhaps one of the most important observations I made was about the people that gave us the tour of the city on the first day – all affiliated with Reggio Children: one was a college student, one was a parent of a child who passed through the schools 20 years ago, one was a police officer, one was a parent of a current student and one was a teacher. Perhaps their approach is so powerful because it’s an act of inclusion and shared democracy, rather than delegation of education.
-Lauren
http://bigvoices.wordpress.com
November 7, 2009 at 2:03 pm
I am looking forward to find a group of parents interested in this! Maybe when we move…
November 9, 2009 at 2:09 pm
i respectfully disagree with lauren on a few points. :^)
parents *should* take back the role of educating their children — they actually already have this role, but many forget that they are ultimately responsible. they are in charge of how their children’s education is handled and how it develops; they make the choices.
even homeschooling parents do not educate their own children entirely themselves — first mastering a subject, then teaching it. they hire tutors, they sign their children up for classes, they join co-ops, they form cooperative learning groups, and lastly — in my house, we don’t *teach* our children, we create a situation that allows them to teach themselves (which includes getting help from experts, mentors, etc., when needed).
parents don’t need to take back this role, really — they just need to remember they already own it.
can an education revolution start from homeschooling? why not? maybe the sharply increasing numbers of families homeschooling will force education to finally make some big changes.
the fact of the matter is that teachers and hs’ing parents square off against each other even though they are both on the same side — working passionately toward offering the best-possible education for children. why shouldn’t they learn from each other? a *large* number of hs’ing friends were or are educators. those of us who have one foot in each world can see clearly how similar the two groups are.
Lauren says, “If we really want to reform our educational system (especially for the very young), then it must be done in a shared democracy, when people come together to talk about values and beliefs about childhood, then we will be able to move forward together.”
Why can’t a shared democracy include homeschooling parents? Homeschooling parents care just as much about public schooling and where it’s going — often they care more. Many families go back and forth between homeschooling and public or private schooling during their child’s educational life. This is not a black-and-white issue.
Lauren says, “To suggest that homeschooling is an appropriate way for people to come together to start a conversation is laughable.”
I don’t think the word “laughable” is one that should be used when trying to bring people together to share values and beliefs about childhood; I think we’ll get a lot further if we meet in a place of shared respect.
Homeschooling parents, as I said before, are as a group people who are intensely involved in their children’s education and vocal about how current education does not meet their needs. They are *already having* this conversation; the question is whether educators are open enough to include them in, say, a shared democracy. ;^)
I won’t even get into the old saw about how homeschooling your children is traitorous to public education; it would take too long. Needless to say, people doing what’s best for their children educationally does NOT mean that they do not care about public education, do not continue to contribute to public education (with their taxes sure, but also *teaching* themselves, volunteering, etc. etc.) and … as I said, it would take too long.
Lauren: “Schools are already places where people of different cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, races, and religions congregate.”
This is absolutely not true in every community. In my community, schools are homogenous. There is much more diversity in the homeschooling community.
I want to be part of a community of passionate, intelligent, respectful, generous people who work together to find good solutions for themselves, their children, and their communities. That would be a revolution worth showing up for.
November 10, 2009 at 1:24 am
Lori-
The comment I made about a shared democracy was in response to the post’s idea that the group should only include parents. The original post is what framed the conversation as traditional educators v. parents, and so that is what I was responding to. I don’t think that most homeschooling parents are volunteering, as you said, in schools, or teaching in the system and teaching at home at the same time. I have never come accross this as a teacher, and neither have any of my collegues, who have worked in a wide variety of schools and places. The hs’ers that are also commited to the community’s education of course they should be included in the conversation. What the original post implied was that this revolution would occur between PARENTS only, in particular homeschooling parents and without teachers and community members who do not have children.
Perhaps if the population of homeschoolers grows, they might force education to finally make some big changes, but I would again bring up the question of for which students. Homeschoolers are a relatively homogenous group of families – they usually are 2-parented families, white, middle class (maybe not “rich”, but rich enough to afford for one parent
to not work), and educated themselves. I have to wonder, again, what kind of revolution would occur in a group that poorly represents the actual demographics of the country.
I already admitted that the word laughable was not approporiate in the latest post of our email conversation, and what I meant was that it is ironic to think that hs’ing is a obvious way to do this, given that the conversation is already happening at many
schools.
I, too, want to be a part of a community of passionate, intelligent, and respectful individuals working together for the betterment of children and education. I think the parents are the child’s first teacher, but that traditional educators or those interested, but without children, can be invaluable participants, and should not be excluded.
-Lauren
November 11, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I unfortunately don’t have the time to give this the response it deserves, so I’ll just make a couple of quick points.
“The original post is what framed the conversation as traditional educators v. parents, and so that is what I was responding to.”
Just because a parent is upset and even perhaps prejudiced toward traditional education (and I’m not saying that is the case here), as educators we do not have to respond in kind. I consider it part of my responsibility and mission to let hs’ing parents know about teachers and schools who care deeply about the same things they do.
You represent an entire profession when you speak to people this way, and those of us working for communication and cooperation then have an even harder job cut out for us.
“I don’t think that most homeschooling parents are volunteering, as you said, in schools, or teaching in the system and teaching at home at the same time.”
Are most of them volunteering? Probably not. Are some of them volunteering? Definitely. I have given scores of hours of my time to public schools since I began homeschooling. Sarah who posts regularly at White Oak pulled her daughter out of public school but continued to return to volunteer in her former teacher’s classroom.
I already told you that a large percentage of the families I know who are homeschooling have at least one current or former teacher. One of my friends works as a principal by day and helps homeschool his daughter by night. His wife is a former teacher; she plans to return to teaching when her children go to college. Many, many, many teachers homeschool.
Do you know that some homeschool families send their children to public school part-time? Did you know some families send some of their children to public school and homeschool others?
I would urge you to employ the same critical thinking skills I’m sure you try to help your students develop. Keep an open mind. Gather actual evidence. Be aware of your own prejudices.
“Homeschoolers are a relatively homogenous group of families – they usually are 2-parented families, white, middle class (maybe not “rich”, but rich enough to afford for one parent to not work), and educated themselves.”
There are all kinds of families who homeschool, including single working parents. Homeschooers are *anything* but homogenous. You are stating fallacies like they are truths.
“…[W]hat I meant was that it is ironic to think that hs’ing is a obvious way to do this, given that the conversation is already happening at many
schools.”
The schools are not meeting the needs of families. They are not responding to families who insist on change for their children. This is part of what drives people to homeschool. Whatever conversation is happening at “many” schools, it is certainly taking a very long time. The same exact issues are discussed year after year after decade with no change in sight. Should parents sacrifice their children in the name of public education? Maybe only a parent can understand that. I remember the flap when Pres. and Mrs. Clinton enrolled their daughter in a private school rather than public school, but I didn’t notice anyone making a fuss when the Obamas enrolled their daughters in the same school. Parents do what is best for their children. Doing what is best for your children does not mean you don’t care about everyone else’s children, and it doesn’t mean you stop advocating for change.
November 12, 2009 at 2:38 am
I have definitely become more aware of my own prejudices through this
conversation, and learned more about the hs’ing community. I think these kind of conversations and arguments are necessary in order for understanding to occur.
I understand that you are involved in school, and that perhaps you have a few friends who also are. I would still suggest that this doesn’t reflect the majority of homeschoolers, and that the homeschooling community doesn’t accurately reflect the demographics of the larger community. I know that we’ll always be able to find those who don’t fit that idea. I think it’s important to recognize the limitations and drawbacks of each idea: traditional schools and homeschooling. Only through this will we improve each area, and bring them closer to having these conversations in person (rather than on the internet).
November 12, 2009 at 6:19 am
Some of us are already having those conversations.