Thoughts about Education

Even the wind didn't deter Laura from her reading outside today.  Here she is reading about David Brainerd.

Laura began her essay today about Integrity and Philippians 4:8.  She struggled with it at first.  It dawned on me that she is not doing enough writing with the program we are currently using.  I think I am going to assign more writing.

I've also ordered a handwriting workbook.  Laura's handwriting is very good when she puts her mind to doing well.  However, she needs more practice so that it comes more naturally to her.  She wants to print everything.  Now, I realize that there is a debate in this day and age on whether cursive is even necessary.  Most kids are doing computer work from a very young age.  Some parents don't even place a large emphasis on spelling because computers have spellcheck.  However, I'm old-fashioned.  Beautiful cursive handwriting is a skill that should not be lost. My grandmother had gorgeous handwriting.  It always looked so elegant.  In the past, beautiful handwriting was a sign of an educated, cultured person. And, I'm sorry, but spelling is still an essential skill.  It goes with reading and writing.  Using a computer's spellcheck feature is nice, but a person should still be able to spell well.  It doesn't matter how a person learns to spell, whether through lists or copywork or dictation.  A combo method of all three can be very effective.  Learning to spell correctly is important. I personally think that it helps with brain growth and thinking skills.

I've been reading about the quality of education students received in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  It's sad that students today receive what basically amounted to an eighth grade education then.  Oh, there are the disputes about how boys often didn't go to school because of working in the fields or in factories.  Women didn't go to school because they had to stay home and help with the younger children.  Racial minorities such as blacks or Native Americans didn't go to school because they often weren't allowed... or they went to segregated schools where there wasn't enough supplies to go around.  Yet, despite all this, the quality of education was superior.  Literacy was at a higher percentage.

I think the biggest thing that has impressed me so far in my research is that children wanted to learn.  There was a feeling that an education was a freedom that many of them had been denied in other countries.  Life was hard, but an education could lead to something worth working for.  Mostly, learning to read was important because every man needed to be able to read the Bible for himself, to develop his own personal relationship with Christ.

Books like the McGuffey readers were used by nearly every student for years and years.  Laura asked me what the McGuffey readers were when she was watching an episode of Little House on the Prairie where the students were talking about the books.  Lots of books weren't in many homes, but many homes had a Bible and a McGuffey reader.  I think I am going to have Laura begin reading the McGuffey readers. I'll start her in the second reader.  It is for third through fifth grade reading levels.  If this is too easy for Laura, then she'll breeze though.  What I think will happen, however, is that Laura will have to adjust to the writing style and the vocabulary of the times.  Adding this to our current reading may be a lot, but I'll adjust as I go.

A large part of me wonders if part of the reason that education has gone down so drastically is because we've taken the Bible out of education.  Yes, the morals are needed.  The Savior is needed.  However, the Bible is an amazing work of literature.  Children don't study the Bible anymore in the public sector because they might want to be a Christian.  That scares people.  So, an amazing book that covers every area of life is not in the education of children.

I am learning many thing myself.  This is my homeschool, and I can design it as would best fit our needs.  I want my children to have a good education so that they may glorify God with their lives.   I'm beginning to wonder what that education should truly look like.  Laura is young for her age... especially when compared to other girls her age.  This is a good thing because she isn't in a big hurry to grow up.  She is an artistic, curious child.  She learns well with the repetition of ACE.  She retains the information and enjoys many of the lessons.  They are written to the child with independent learning in mind.  While some of them challenge her, some of them bore her to death.  So, while I swore I wouldn't switch, I am going to supplement and play with a subject or two.  With each subject costing me around $48 per year (or more if we add resources or do more than a year's worth), and the fact that nearly all of it is consumable, I'm looking at a hefty price tag for three children.

What am I going to do?  Simplify.  Pray.  If God wants me to stick with ACE long term than He'll provide.  However, if that is true, why do I feel drawn to a more old-fashioned education?  ACE is wonderful in many areas, and in some areas I have found it lacking.  Of course, an eclectic mix is not out of the question either.  I can't imagine doing something else for Math.  Even the Literature and Creative Writing, while expensive with the purchase of the books, is great.  The English builds skill upon skill.

We'll see where God takes us from here.  We'll take things one step at a time on our journey.