Education On The Go - Installment #1

Of all the responses elicited upon hearing about our grand adventure, the most common was "What about school?!" I had the same question, and if it wasn't for a conversation early on with my friends, Mari and Bill, I'm not sure we would be here today. After all, it's quite common for me to get hair-brained ideas and then seek excuses on why to not to do something. Fortunately, it was hard to ignore their enthusiasm and unfettered encouragement.

​Once I started researching the notion of homeschooling (or unschooling), I found plenty of fodder for what my gut was already telling me: travel is one of the best forms of education and the globe is a wonderful classroom. 

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​As most of us know, it's quite easy to find support on the world wide internet for any idea, opinion or plan. So early on, I shelved the topic of "how," shifting that task to the bottom of my mental "to do list," and decided I would figure it out as we went along.

​Brady called me to task a few weeks before we left. We all had our forms of rising anxiety, and his manifested itself in a total freak out about his mom not being prepared to teach him, and a friend-fueled concern that he may need to repeat 8th grade. Mustering the appropriate bravado and issuing a few choice anxiety-induced words of my own, I assured him it was going to be fine and then quickly emailed each of the teachers for some advice. I clearly needed a better plan and one that enlisted Glenn's brainpower too.

I should point out that Brady absolutely loved his teachers this year; he hit the jackpot on educators he was able to spend time with on a daily basis. Kylie's teachers were also amazing. We had a high bar ahead of us. Fortunately, all of the kids teachers were overwhelmingly supportive (as had been the administration when I first alerted them to our plan), and each of them had suggestions on how to track their learning to their peers. Kylie, in fact, has been emailing with her teachers to share parts of our adventure, and she is encouraged by their responses and enthusiasm. I think this comforts her own quiet anxiety.

Beyond the teacher websites, there are ample resources online to augment the learning. Khan Academy was frequently mentioned, and it's become a staple to our early learning. I say "our," because I underestimated how much (re-)learning that Glenn and I would be doing. In the absence of constant device focus, the kids are already reading more than they have in months (Kylie's on her 4th book and Brady has declared that he "loves reading" again), and we are discussing topics for essays and journaling.

We are all unraveling our preconceived notions of how education works. For example, when I told the kids to follow along with their teacher sites and ask me if they had questions, they were appalled that I wasn't going to teach them first. I certainly had no intention of standing in front of them and lecturing for 4-5 hours a day, let alone preparing for that, but it was clear that they wanted and needed our involvement. So I've had to brush off my beloved math skills and review stem-changing verbs in Spanish to create worksheets (it's actually kind of fun, though Brady is less than thrilled with my enthusiasm), and we're assigning them topics for essays on things we see as areas where they need to expand their knowledge (for example, Brady is going to be doing an essay on the ills of sugar).

So, to sum up our first week or so of homeschooling, I would say: "it takes a village." Many of the homeschool / unschooling sites eschew the notion of traditional schooling, but I disagree. It may well be that we have a unique situation in Mill Valley, but I appreciate the support and ability to access the MVMS teacher sites, as do my kids. I also have a newfound, deep respect for educators: it's hard. Reading why others have left traditional education to pursue homeschooling, I think we are immensely fortunate to have Kiddo! and the engaged educators that we have in Mill Valley. 

For now, the ability to homeschool our kids is a gift, as it supports our desire to explore the world. I'm also more involved and curious about my kids education than I have ever been....the buck stops with us....and I'm enjoying it immensely.  Thankfully, these young minds are infectious, and we will learn as much from them and as they from us. But I do not foresee a situation, nor do my kids, where this family school continues indefinitely.

Stay tuned for more installments on Hackschooling, the notion of "Schools killing creativity," the role of art in education, and the view of homeschooling from the kid's point of view.  And please feel free to share any suggestions or comments!