Homeschooling lecture by Susan Wise Bauer

Last night and this afternoon I listened to a lecture by Susan Wise Bauer (of The History of the World fame). She was speaking on "Homeschooling the Real (Distractable, Impatient, Argumentative, Unenthusiastic, Non-Book-Loving, Inattentive, Poky, Vague) Child".

Don't you just want to hear that? :)

I have a tendency to imagine that homeschooling is just going perfectly in every home but my own. Especially in the homes of people like Susan Wise Bauer! It is kind of nice to have that little fantasy smooshed. In fact I do not have the only argumentative unenthusiastic non-book-loving child in the homeschooling world!

Her main suggestion was this (paraphrased, of course):

Look beyond the symptoms (argumentative, restless, etc.) to the character trait (which could actually be good!) that is manifesting in these symptoms. Then tailor your education to the character trait, instead of just pushing against the problem.

Then she gives lots and lots of specific strategies, including one which she calls “nibbled to death by ducks”. You'll have to listen or you'll forever wonder what that means. :)

And toward the end, the reminder (paraphrased):

Don’t forget that you are free. You don’t have to do school for 12 years, or for a certain number of months, or in a certain order. As long as you’re moving toward a definable goal, you can do anything you want.

(Coming from the woman who wrote The Well Trained Mind, that was especially freeing to hear!)

All that to say that I highly, highly recommend this lecture for anyone currently homeschooling. It is a well-spent $3.25.