THE LIBRARY?

I have confession to make: I avoid the library like the plague. Despite the fond memories of trips there as a child (especially in summer) to load up on books, as an adult, I am not a big fan. My first issue is with the fact that I always end up with late fines. I take most of the blame for this, but I do have to lay some of it at the feet of fate. Even when I make a good faith attempt at returning books on time, fate intervenes. For example, I had a stack of books at home when I was put on bedrest during my last pregnancy. I explained to my husband that they were due in a few days time. I reminded him that I was barely allowed to walk to the restroom, and driving was out of the question. He agreed immediately that he'd return the books. I actually saw him carry them out to his car...and found out two months later that they were still there. For a fine of $25, I will just buy my books at amazon, thank you very much!

My second issue is small children. I have had a toddler for years now (what happens when you keep having kids), and toddlers are not the best company at the library. I used to take the kids (when I only had two) to the story times at the local branch. They enjoyed it, but Kathleen always expected to check out some books afterwards. It is extremely difficult to browse books when you have a two or three year old whooping and running around. Noise and libraries don't mix, and young children and quiet can't coexist.

I am at a turning point today. Kathleen has suddenly begun devouring entire books in a day or two. She has a new interest in the Titanic, thanks to a Magic Treehouse book she fell in love with. On Saturday, we bought her the companion Magic Treehouse research book on the doomed ship. By Sunday afternoon, she'd finished all ten chapters. As a family, we enjoy owning books. Mom and Dad are well known for reading favorites again and again; we are not one time readers. We have lots of fiction and even more non-fiction on the shelves of our personal Library (who needs a formal living room anyway?). I don't begrudge Kathleen her own collection. On the other hand, if she's going to breeze through books at this speed, maybe it's finally time to revisit the public library. If we wait until the weekend so that Grace doesn't have to come with us, and I leave Kathleen in charge of remembering when to return the books, then maybe we will finally succeed!

IT'S SUMMERTIME (ALMOST)

Well, the public schools are out for summer...kids in the street all day, my nephew spending the night several times a week, etc. The Almaz Academy is not finished for the year, though, which is driving me nuts. I wanted to be finished before my husband's family visited en masse, but that didn't happen. Then, my mom asked the kids and I to accompany her to visit my grandmother in Florida (days after my in-laws left). This week, Kathleen had dance camp, which is her first experience with day camp. A week from Saturday, we're having more company! What's a mother/teacher/principal to do? I've made the command decision to wrap up everything next week in an intense, end-of-the-year blitz. After that, we will have a celebration for Alexander's completion of kindergarten (we had a tea for Kathleen when she finished the big K). Then, I'm free for weeks and weeks; no more planning out lessons for two whole months!

Kathleen and I have had some good discussions since she began dance camp about homeschooling vs traditional schooling. She likes that she is spending the days with friends, but she also understands that traditional school isn't quite like that. She is getting the fun parts (packing lunches, hanging out, dancing) and none of the rest (homework, eight hour days, silent seatwork). Getting up for camp is a killer because we are late to bed, late to rise kind of people. When I told her that schools start three hours before she has to be at camp, her eyes bugged out :) She has said that she'd like to go to a regular high school, which is fine, but I think her idea of high school revolves entirely around the High School Musical movies. If only the reality was as fun and friendly.

When we started homeschooling, one of ours goals was to raise kids with self-confidence who could take any situation in stride. So far, Kathleen seems impervious to peer-pressure. Given a couple more institution-free years, I think we will have reached our objective. Alexander is a completely different kind of kid, so it will be interesting to see how long it takes for him to reach the level of self-assurance we think will help our kids get along in the world.

FUTUREKIND

I saw a photo online the other day that was so offensive that it's taken me this long to even write about it. Given that the Internet is overflowing with dirty, scary, gross, and horrifying pictures every single day, what could I have seen that shocked me? A new, Japanese robot teacher. Apparently, she has already worked well as a receptionist and secretary...sorry all hard-working secretaries of the world. You are easily replaced with an android. I can't even imagine a robot being a better secretary than a person, and now they are promoting Ms. Roboto to teacher?

It's kind of obvious from the fact that I homeschool at all that I believe there are many bad teachers out there in our schools. Would I rather a machine teach children? No Way. There are plenty of women who went into education as a way to earn a supplemental living (let's face it, how many families can depend on a teacher's salary to support them in America?). Teaching appealed to these women because they'd have holidays and summers off with their own children. I am not the only person who entered the education field because his or her skills lie in communicating with and teaching children. We became teachers because we were good at it and wanted to make a difference in children's lives. For the Japanese, or anyone else, to say that we are easily replaced by machines is insulting.

Another bit of educational news floating the Web this week involves all of the states currently considering allowing guns on college campuses. Are we headed towards a future where our children are instructed by robots and carry weapons to class? Doesn't that sound like a Doomsday scenario rather than progress?

LOUISIANA TO SCIENTISTS AND HIGHER LEARNING: GET OUT AND STAY OUT

There have been a string of Louisiana-related insanities that have me wondering if the citizens of my state are awake. First, a giant conference of scientists boycotted the state because of the governor's refusal to put a stop to Creationist language in an education bill. By now, you've all heard Jindal speak...it's hardly a surprise that he doesn't understand basic scientific concepts. But wait! He has a biology degree from Brown! Apparently, he thought he was majoring in fiction.

This week, a senator introduced a bill to our state legislature that bans any human/animal hybridization. He was asked to do so by the archbishop in New Orleans. Louisiana is totally out of the closet on its refusal to abide by separation of church and state. The archbishop and senator seem to have missed the fact that people have been getting pig valves in open heart surgery and that many medications are derived from animals (horse urine anyone?). I insist that if the law passes, all people with animal parts or hormones should be quarantined.

Today, another senator proposed that the state cut funding for the merit-based scholarship program. If he gets it through, then even kids who are awarded the highest level of the scholarship will not be receiving full tuition to LSU and UNO. LSU pointed out that they cost a bit more (like $500 more) because they have higher admission standards. We now want to tell smart, motivated kids that they can't go to the best school the state has to offer after they worked hard through high school to reach that goal?

What if these things are all part of a larger plot to homogenize Louisiana into a certain type of person. Step One: Teach children a non-scientific version of biology so that they cannot compete in universities or the work force anywhere else. Step Two: Don't let scientists work on cures for diseases using sound methodology so that the population of Louisiana doesn't have the same life expectancy as anyone else. Step Three: Don't let the smart kids attend the best school, otherwise they may grow up to overthrow steps one and two.

We have got to move.

INTERESTING ARTICLE FROM ENGLAND

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/08/scrap-homework-say-primary-teachers

WHO'S ON FIRST

So the other evening after work, Dad took the kids outside to ride bikes in the cul-de-sac. There were various other children playing too, including one who I will call "Dennis the Menace". Dennis innocently asked Kathleen where she goes to school. She told him that she does it at home. He looked at her like she hadn't heard him correctly and asked her again where she goes to school. This time, Dad jumped in because he could see that Dennis was confused by Kathleen's answer. He told Dennis that the kids do their school work at home. "But where do they go to school?" Dennis asked again. Dad repeated his answer. Dennis said, "But where do they go for part of the day?" Dad tried to explain it again, but Dennis had given up. Either he thinks we're nuts, or we've just blown his mind.

SURPRISED TO BE HERE ALREADY

When we first discussed homeschooling, I had an imaginary cut-off date in the back of my mind. It was part safety net, part goal, and I'd think about it periodically over the years. Schools are different all over the country (and even within individual states), so my line in the sand was fairly arbitrary. In our county, kids attend "elementary" school for Kindergarten through third grade. Then they move up to "middle" school, which is fourth through sixth. After that comes Junior High School for seventh and eighth, and High School for the rest. Of course, that's just the public schools; the private ones often have different ranges. When Kathleen started Kindergarten at home, I figured that I'd at least homeschool through "elementary" school and then reassess the situation.

It is now April of Kathleen's fourth year of school. Registration is beginning soon for the public school system, and I have no intention of signing her up to attend one of their facilities for the fourth grade. I was startled to realize where we were on my timeline and am very grateful that I didn't publicize the possibility of traditional schooling to family. Certain members would already be nagging me to "stick to my original plan", even if it wasn't so much a plan as a general guideline.

I cannot deny that being completely in charge of the education of two of my children is a lot of work. It also comes with plenty of stress because of the responsibility I've placed on my own head. I would by lying if I said that I didn't believe that we've made the right choice though. The kids are happy, the kids are learning (even if Alexander still enjoys using Stealth Learning from time to time), and the kids are still kids. I taught "middle" school, so I know that fourth grade little girls are into boys, makeup, dances, and acting like mini-teenagers. My husband and I are not naive, and we don't expect our children to act like kids until they get out of college. We just want them to enjoy themselves and follow their own interests and hearts as long as they can without the crushing affect of peer pressure. My kids choose their clothes based on their own tastes, not the tastes of the kids in class. They play imagination-based games, watch cartoons, play outside, etc. Kathleen is making older choices than she did a year ago; she's transitioned slowly from Disney Princess to High School Musical, but she is currently reading her way through all novels written about fairies. She has a new fascination with big budget, slightly scary, adventure movies (The Mummy anyone?). She still loves fancy dresses and baby dolls, and no one in her school would ever tease her about that.

To anyone who would say that the world isn't always nice, I would agree with you. It isn't nice. Why would I ever throw my children out into it earlier than absolutely necessary? Getting a shot hurts, but I don't practice it by jabbing them with needles before we reach the doctor. They will probably get their hearts bruised, if not broken, as teenagers, and being teased by boys and girls who act like they are twenty in the fifth grade isn't going to make the pain any less in the future. My kids will enter that "real" world (as if spending all day in an institution is "real") with self-confidence and the knowledge of what is really important to them.