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Well-Integrated Homeschool, The (Audiobook) |
| Publisher:
The Old Schoolhouse |
Author:
Gena Suarez
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| Illustrator:
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| Editor:
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| Reviewed
By: Kate O'Mara |
In this CD, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine editor, Gena Suarez, talks to you about how to have a well-integrated homeschool.
In a logical fashion, she provides historical information about the public compulsory school system and how unrelated it is to the lives and apparent desires of our nation’s founding fathers, who were notably homeschooled and/or self-educated.
Educational systems trends of the late 20th century included whole language learning and new math. These were implemented much to the dismay of parents who wanted their children educated while they were at school. Still they did serve some purpose, although they were not necessarily in the best interest of the students.
During the course of the talk, Suarez gives some shocking examples of things children of today are doing in the classroom.
Math word problems include descriptions of lawbreaking activities because the teachers feel it is a way to reach the kids.
Other teachers strive for class consensus rather than the correct answer. For example: If everyone agrees that 2 + 2 = 5 then that is the correct answer because everyone agrees. The fact that 2 + 2 = 4 doesn’t matter, since this answer was not the consensus of the group.
Children, Suarez asserts, are born wanting to learn, and it is the system that eliminates that desire. If a homeschool parent provides an environment where children can learn, they will learn by watching, listening, and doing. Interests of the children and the parent will “light a fire” of learning that will become part of life, not just part of schooling.
Gena Suarez offers many examples of what she calls a well-integrated homeschool. Children learn content in context. This is a very important concept to integrate into home education. It is the difference between studying for an exam and then forgetting the information because it has no real meaning, and learning something that will be remembered for a lifetime. Information that applies to a situation or adds depth to a subject is placed in long term memory for access throughout life.
One example: Young children were placed, and asked to act like, the different parts of a cell. One child was the nucleus, other children joined hands to make a circle and be the membrane, etc. Some of the participating children were able to recall the structure of a cell correctly and quickly many years later. The experience, and the information about cell structure, was something they carried with them. What a fabulous science lesson.
Gena Suarez is in the unique position, as editor of The Old Schoolhouse magazine, to have access to a variety of homeschooling styles. She brings this wealth of information to the CD, providing examples of creative ways to teach children as well as follow-up resource information.
The entire CD is formatted as a lecture; however, the different sub-sections of the speech are titled to make selective listening easy. |
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| Available
From: The Old Schoolhouse |
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Address: |
| Phone:
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| Website:
www.theoldschoolhousestore.com |
| Email:
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| Cost:
$12.00 |
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Notes: |
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Kate O'Mara
Kate O'Mara writes about history and other fascinating tidbits from a place she lovingly calls "the dungeon." When Kate Blogs
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| Copyright
© 2007 Eclectic Homeschool Association |
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Beginning Homeschooling - EHO Lite
