"I Don't Like Homeschooling..."

February 11, 2014

2:47 AM

You guys are more than 100 days into your homeschooling journey. How is Jay handling the change?

The purpose of my blog is to share my experiences of homeschooling; the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. I don't want to sugarcoat anything, but I definitely want to highlight all the good moments, and give praises to the Lord for every moment. This is the opportunity for me to grow in Jesus Christ and to teach the kids about His character through His word. I have to remain focused on the reason behind of all this. because there are so many things that can distract me during this ongoing task.

Every now and then, I ask Jay how does he feel about learning at home. Lately, the response has been "I don't like homeschooling." *sigh* Of all the backlash I've heard against homeschooling and the snide remarks/comments some have said directly to me, this is by far the most discouraging. I don't care one bit about who says what outside of this residence, but I feel like I am doing something wrong if I receive negative feedback from within these walls. I want Jay to enjoy his experiences here at home. I'll ask him why doesn't he like homeschooling, and his responses range from "I want to go back to Duncan [Elementary]" to "I want to be around my friends." I can totally understand children wanting to be around a bunch of their peers. It's fun, right? I can think back to seven-year-old Anesha, who was a social butterfly at Mattaponi Elementary. All I cared about was playing and yuckin' it up with my buddies. My focus wasn't on schoolwork. Who had time for that? When Mom bought my green denim shorts and matching greenish tie-dye shirt and I got braided extensions, I couldn't wait to show them off! 

Fast forward to high school. Senior year. Producer of the morning show (yep, Flowers HS alum, that was me!), star trumpet player in the marching band, chronic class-skipper; y'know. I was so focus on the social aspect of high school senior life. I applied to one college and felt like I was the stuff because I was accepted into it. I placed absolutely no effort into doing anything, except social and extra curricular activities. I barely passed all of my classes. My parents, my mom in particular, were so frustrated with me. But, I didn't care. I didn't know any better. I didn't see beyond the walls of my high school. That's what I think Jay is experiencing. He wants to be around a bunch of his peers, even though he spends a lot of time with our neighbors' children. This is essentially his only reasoning for wanting to go back. Jay, in his brilliant, albeit, seven-year-old mind doesn't fully understand that, academically, he has learned so much more at home than he has at school. He doesn't remember that his permanent assigned seat was next to the teacher's desk and away from the twenty-five kids that used to tease him, all because he was deemed a distraction to them. Or that he had a hard time completing given tasks, not because he didn't know how to do the work, but because there's so much going on around him, that he couldn't control himself enough to focus. No adult wanted to take the time with him. Jay doesn't know that he was tested for low-spectrum autism (whatever that means), and that, even though it meant absolutely nothing, they staff and teachers would've treated him like some less-than-average special case, when in all actuality he is just as smart and capable (in many cases, more) as any other child.

Jay doesn't know what are the best decisions for himself, just like I didn't when I was younger. And just like my parents when it came to me, I know what's best for my child. I can see changes in him that he may not notice or even realize. After 5 1/2 months of homeschooling, I'd be crazy, and plain old defiant, if I sent Jay back to public school. As much as I loved to give into Jay so he can get what he wants now, I have to do what's unpopular in his eyes. That's what parenting is about, I guess. We have to make unpopular decisions on behalf of our children, because we have been given the ability to look at things from a long-term point of view.

I get questioned often as to how long Stephan and I plan on homeschooling, as if this is just something we're doing just for the time being. Sometimes I just want to respond with "Well, how long do you plan on public schooling your children?" I don't think that would fly too well. But if you, dear reader, must know, we plan on homeschooling our children until they are ready to move on to college, the military, the workforce, or whatever else the Lord has in store for them. But, I can tell you one thing: by the grace of God, we'll have them prepared!

******************************************

This week's Black History Lesson is about Garrett A. Morgan. Jay learned about two of the inventions he was most famous for, and even got to watch a couple videos focusing on those inventions. Tomorrow, we are going to "construct" traffic lights and (with permission) take a look a Daddy's gas mask. Dad will definitely be the one to show him how the mask works since he's the one who uses it. We're definitely having a great time taking in these Black History lessons. :-)

We watched someone's school project that gave some pretty cool factoids about Mr. Morgan.