Why do homeschoolers resist assessing our children?

Well, firstly, let’s look at a school classroom. It consist of 20-30+ children and ONE teacher.

So there is no way a teacher will know where she stands with each child, right? Therefore, the school system uses assessment’s and rightfully so. We respect and appreciate that.

Now, let’s look at homeschooling!

Not SCHOOLING @ home…… HOMESCHOOLING!

AUTHENTIC HOMESCHOOLING 101!

My daughter learned to read, write and count in all directions, shapes and sizes. So if I wanted to, as the school system or anyone who do not yet understand homeschooling would call it “assess my child”, instead of letting her write an exam, I will call her inside in an authentic manner, sit down with her and have a conversation with her as a fellow human being. I would ask her when last she made some of her beaded bracelets. I would ask her to bring them along, as to find out how many centimeters she measures for the adult bracelets compare to the children’s bracelets. I would ask her what she pays per bead and how much profit she makes from a bracelet after she deducted the costs she had to incur through the purchase of the products. With English or language, I always ask her to read me a story. No, not read so that I can test you, kind of story. Read as in: “please read mommy a story because I love your stories so much”! Then, afterwards, we will explore what it is that we learned from the story. Who the main characters are; what value they brought into the story; etc. Then we will end up writing a review on the story we read.

I would also ask her to write letters to her friends and write an “essay”. In our case, a short story about an exciting event we attended. I would then read it in delight and assist her where needed so that she can understand the correct way of doing things. When we do “history”, we don’t have a subject of history and sit down Mondays and Wednesdays to now do “History”. No, instead, we choose what history we wish to learn about. Let’s say this week we want to learn about the Khoi San and when the first Settlers arrived. We would go and find a book about it at the library or online, and I would read to her. In this way, she gets to hear the correct way of pronouncing sounds and projection of words. This is usually a very special bonding time between us, and we get to learn about the past and then get to ask each other questions afterwards to see if we can remember the story. We often make a game where we can win a chocolate – whoever gets the most answers correct. We make things interesting. We built and nurture a love for learning. We follow a system which we know works for learning because it is fun and intimate and nurtures family bonding time.

This is why you will find many homeschooling children who loves to read and write stories. Because they are not always TESTED by authority’s to see if they are capable of READING, writing etc. No, we read because it is fun to learn about a specific story, subject or event.

This takes me on a trip down memory lane as a school going child and how much I despised reading.

Just between us: I never finished reading my Gr 12 English prescribed book because I dislike reading so much. I thought there was something wrong with me at the time, but today I know it was because:

1. I did not like the story, yet was forced to read it.

2. I had to read it because some teacher wanted to test my ability as a human being, only to fail me anyway just because I disliked the story.

In the 4IR, we certainly did go a bit pear shaped with the authentic way of relating and therefore we are sitting with a lot of children who do not or have not developed a love for learning, not to mention the high school dropout figures then and now!

I am a high school dropout and proud of it. I only completed Gr 9 by scraping though on a thin thread, then did my Gr 12  later through distant (correspondent) learning.

I speak from experience and what I know for a fact, is that my daughter and I both have two very different approaches to learning. She loves it, yet I despised it as a child.

Isn’t it time we start doing things differently, so that we can create positive results for our children?

My daughter is 9 now and loves reading, writing and doing math. These are important skills that will serve her in the future. I am delighted that I supported her educational journey at home since she was born, and that she adores learning. I hope and pray that all children will have this opportunity now and in the future, to develop a love for learning in such an authentic manner, all the while they get to spend it with their most precious people in their lives, their parents and their family. While still get to be children who plays in the mud and chasing frogs around the garden.

Homeschooling joy!

Charlene