POSITIVES OF GOVERNMENT HIGH SCHOOL #1

I am going to attempt to make a list of the positives I have gotten from the past two and a half years of my daughter being in government high school.  My plan at this point is to try and get to 10 posts. I only have three reasons in my head at this point so don't hold me to that.

My number one reason is the biggest positive for me.  Drum roll please... any lingering doubts about going against the status quo and pulling my kids out of school six years ago are gone, completely gone.  I started with many doubts: would they learn, would they hate me, would they hate each other, what if they lost all their friends, how do I do this...  These worries have come and gone over the years.  When they seemed to start coming at once or I started panicking too much I would call another homeschooling mom or read a book on education.  This always helped, but nothing ever got rid of them permanently, there always seemed to be some looming doubt stirring in the back of my mind.  No more they are all gone, gone, gone!
I have seen what all those years of government schooling would have done to them.  Walk into a high school, or just wait outside and watch them exit.  How many seem apathetic to everything around them? Listen to a group of them talk about school do you hear a lot of positive thoughts?  Go into a fast food restaurant where many are working, can they think, count back change, understand how to converse with a customer?  I have realized that many teens seem to have no idea of their own thoughts and opinions, they want someone to tell them.
No, this is not all teens who have been through government education their whole lives (more on that in another post).  It is definitely the majority, and the ones who aren't like this have learned to play the system without it affecting them as much.  No my kids aren't perfect, neither are their parents.  I don't hold them up as examples of kids with no problems, or who are all going to be doctors or lawyers or whatever you would describe as the top rung of success.  But, they all know themselves, what their interests are, how to live in a positive way in this world, and most importantly they know they can learn whatever they want in any way they choose.

THE WAY THAT WORKS IS THE RIGHT WAY

I think a family is an organism all it's own. Each person in a family has a function and purpose to make that family run. So just as each person is different, so will each family be. We all have to find our own paths as people, and together as a family. We all make decisions on what works for our families based on our worldview, how we were brought up, and through trial and error. Every family is therefore different. What works for my family may or may not work for any other family.
I bring these points up because I tend to get aggravated whenever someone says to me, "Oh, I could never do that". In response to something our family does differently than theirs. As homeschoolers I hear it a lot meaning be with their own children all day. I really feel bad when they say this in front of their children (or mine). I have realized it also really bothers me because it sounds very final and negative. You don't know what is around the corner if you haven't ruled out things without trying them you have many more options to consider when things change. And things always change.
We have been a homeschooling family for about 5 years now and I can not begin to explain how wonderful this is for our family. I am so happy I never said oh I can't do that, I did say I have no idea how we are going to do this. There is a big difference there and it can be applied to anything in life. I don't think that the our family does things the "right" way, I think it works for us and when part of it stops working we change that part. We look for as many possibilities as we can find and start trying until we find something that works. That is my wish for other families instead of responding with an I could never how about a "Wow, I never thought to try that"!

CONGRATULATIONS! TODAY IS YOUR DAY. YOU'RE OFF TO GREAT PLACES! YOU'RE OFF AND AWAY!- Dr. Seuss

sick days

Jessica is sick, we took a trip to the doctor today. She has an infection in her throat and has been given an antibiotic. She really does not feel well, she woke up with an extremely sore throat making it hard to swollow, said she had not slept well because she was uncomfortable, at home she has been lying on the couch watching movies.
What I find really funny is she has not lost any of her curiosity and faced with new places to ask questions she jumped at the chance. First was the doctor who asked, when we were done, if Jess had any questions. Yes she replied, what is inside your teeth? The doctor tried to give her the best of her knowledge which lead to a discussion of wether or not baby teeth have nerves. We are supposed to find out and report back.
Then, we went to get her perscription filled and she asked the pharmasist how they make her medicine. She was given a wonderful answer about how it was originally derived form a fungus but now is made in a lab.
I think we will be doing a lot of research on teeth and maybe a little on medicine also. Hopefully her having less energy will give me a chance to find some resources so I am armed when the questions are all directed at me again.

HAIR DYING

I dyed my daughters hair another non-natural color today and was asked why I did that. My immediate answer was, "because that's what color she wanted". The more I thought about it the more I realized that there was a lot more to both the question and the answer.
I'm not sure exactly what the person who asked was really asking. Possibly I was correct with my answer and it was a simple color choice question. Somehow I doubt it. I think possibly it was more along the lines of "Why would a rational, loving, caring mother purposely dye her daughters hair purple?" or maybe "Do you know what's in those products you put on her head?" I could go on assuming different scenarios but I am sure you can all think of a bunch of different ones on your own.
My answer requires no guess work on my part. I did dye it purple because that is the color she wanted it. I dye it for her because it is fairly easy, it gives us time together doing something that makes her happy, and I enjoy that. As to why I would agree to this at all there are a few reasons. First, I have cousins slightly older than my kids, growing up they were allowed to do whatever the wanted with their hair, my very wise aunt and uncle said it was just hair so many more important things to worry or get upset about. This is parenting gold in my book!
Second, I wish I had taken more control over who I wanted to be and what I wanted to look like when I was younger. Lastly, I trust my daughter and I think her thoughts and ideas are important, why would I deny her idea about how she should look. By doing this she isn't hurting herself or anyone else and she is learning all sorts of things.

FAMILY BLOGGING

I could go on and on about what I haven't liked about institutionalized education, but it is draining. So, we are taking this blog in a new direction. Everyone in the family will have a chance to post about our lives. We are excited to go in a new direction and hope you will enjoy. Hopefully, more soon...

TIRED RAMBLINGS

I am tired today. It is 6:00 and Gianna is still not home, she stayed late at school for a club and is taking the activity bus with friends. I really hope she listened when I told her to grab something for a quick snack after school, since she eats lunch at 10:20 in the morning. I worked 7 hours today, that is a long day for me, and I am going back tonight for a computer class. I hope something sticks and I don't fall asleep. Everyone else went fishing until dark, I am hoping they have fun and there is no fighting between Jessica and the boys, it has been one of those weeks where they all seem to get on each others nerves all of a sudden. I blame the change of seasons, and the fact that we are still not completely adjusted to this high school stuff. I think I better go now before I ramble aimlessly too far and get lost.

We are getting ready for homecoming next weekend, I am happy she decided to go with a group of friends, rather than finding a certain someone, so much more relaxed and enjoyable that way (especially for Dad). I will figure out how to post pictures at some point and time. She has dress and shoes now, she just is trying to figure out the hair (and practicing walking in the shoes).
Open house is this week Jordan has decided to come with, he would like to figure out why she seems to like this life so much. I will do my part and bite my tongue and smile and be socially acceptable, for Gianna's sake. I was reading "WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE WELL EDUCATED" by Alfie Kohn out loud to Gianna and Jordan and we were discussing our views on some of the questions he raised in his first essay. It was very enlightening to see them stop and think about what being well educated means and that the definition is different for each person, they got stumped when the conversation turned to public schools and whose definition should get used to decide how to teach. I thought it was great that they both said that it doesn't matter how you are taught what matters is how you learn and applying that.