Into Another Level - Reading and Historical Understanding

Red Scarf Girl is a historical memoir
by Ji-li Jiang about her experiences
during the Cultural Revolution of China,
with a foreword by David Henry Hwang.

This story, told in the first person by Ji Li Jiang, raises awareness of what can happen in a country when an ideology of a dictator who achieves power uses the government to control the population. Ji Li's story does so in a way similar to what a reading of George Orwell's 1984 does, with the added emphasis of it being an actual memoir. Both titles shed light on the human desire for power and the natural tendency of governments to move toward institutional power and control if they are not kept in check. Both stories can also give us useful insights into the current context in the USA and around the world. Red Scarf Girl does so in an authentic way told from the perspective of someone who has lived through the kind of tyranny we in USA all thought we were (some still think we are) immune to.  

Red Scarf Girl was published in 1997. It foreshadows what we are in many ways seeing transpire today across the US and the world. One very important tactic described and currently being used to control the citizenry is the revision of history. Ji-Li's experience of historical revision reaches deeply into her personal and family life. Her understanding of her family's past is totally revised externally and in her own mind based on the propaganda of the Communist Party during Mao's cultural revolution. Students were given the definitive description of each class of people and every individual within that class. Each was determined to be an enemy or an ally to the regime based on the class status of their ancestors and other family members. No discussion. No nuance. No reality. You are who we say you are. There is no escaping your class background.

If you have any interest in studying this phenomenon or the history of it, you can read a stack of high level academic works (I'll list some below that I have found worthwhile) and of course George Orwell's work, but honestly and especially for your own children and students (depending on their age) there may not be a need to read a highly emotionally charged and/or advanced reading or difficult text when we still have valuable first person accounts like this one from Ji Li Jiang. 

1984 is emotionally hard to read and even more so is Brave New World, in my opinion. Red Scarf Girl is geared towards readers of about a 6th-7th grade reading level. Red Scarf Girl presents the facts of one persons life, which do in fact carry an emotional charge, but not to the extent that the reader (unless highly sensitive) will find the need to turn away from the story. However, please, do be available for discussion and processing as it will certainly raise intensely important questions for students.

Amazingly though, this recount of the author's life in China lays out in many ways the techniques of censorship and manipulation. Most pertinent to the discussion in my view is that we are currently  experiencing the same techniques in the West.

I'd say this is a must read and given the reading level it will be a quick read for most, especially adults. It provides a window into history, worldview ideology, politics and opportunities for learning and  discussions involving each of those subjects. And if you are interested in a deeper dive, have time and the reading aptitude, below is a more extensive list:

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park - A story similar to Red Star Girl from Korea.

Animal Farm by George Orwell 

1984 by George Orwell - Both Orwell titles should be a warning not a blueprint.

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx - We might as well hear it from a sources of communist ideology.

The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - This one is a more personal experience & more intense, a long hard read.

Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity―and Why This Harms Everybody by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay - Important scholarly work from these two accomplished academics.

There Will Be Gaps

Over our years of homeschooling, I commonly heard phrases from others that were often somewhat flattering to me, but quite honestly, mostly unfounded. I heard things like "You must be very patient." or "You must be really smart." There have been many commonly asked questions too, for example; "Are you a teacher?" "What is your education?" "How do you teach multiple ages?" And the most often repeated reaction to my being a homeschooling mom is, - (homeschool moms, I know you've heard this one at least as much as I have) - "I could never homeschool my kids!" That statement is frequently followed by an explanation from them as to why that is an absolutely irrevocably true, beyond any shadow of doubt fact!

My typical response is usually that it really isn't as hard as they imagine. For me, that is the statement of fact that continued to ring true throughout our days of homeschooling. (I may expand on my experience of that in another post.)

If such a conversation continues, (often they don't) and deepens, (less frequently) leading to a real discussion about education, learning and family it evolves into a discussion of who loves and is the best example and teacher to the children in all of our lives, assuming relatively stable families, of course.

Another protest I have also commonly heard is about all of the potential learning gaps that will afflict the poor homeschooled children due to their parents lack of expertise in all the many areas needed for academic success. Again, if the conversation still continues (even rarer at this point), I attempt (trying to remember to do so delicately) to point out that no system of education, public or private, will provide enough exposure and understanding of all of the potential areas and subject matter that will be needed by our children over the next decades and over their own lifetimes.

Giving our children the basics to access the world of academics is vital. Basic math and reading is obviously important so that they will be able to move forward in pursuit of more understanding in any subject area they choose. The basics are necessary so that they will possess the ability to search and discover answers and solutions on their own. A firm grasp of those same basics are important so that they will be able to take the steps they will absolutely need to move forward in their lives with confidence.

However, no matter where they are being educated, no matter who their teachers are, they will have gaps. All of them will have gaps in some area of expertise and without confidence in their own ability to find info, explore the ideas of others and create their own solutions, they will be living not with simple gaps in information but in a chasm of fear and uncertainty. Mostly, they will need to accept that ongoing learning is part of life. Ideally they will possess a love of learning that will not only sustain them but will bring them joy throughout their lives contributing to their ability to thrive in relationships and in the work they choose.

The most important attribute I have observed in homeschooling parents is an interest and delight in ongoing learning for themselves. Whatever your choices are for the education of your children, share your own love of learning with each of them and with all of the children you have contact with. Acknowledge your confidence in them that they will be able to find answers and make decisions. Remind them that learning lasts a lifetime. Celebrate sharing the journey of ongoing learning with them. Provide an example of working diligently to fill in your own gaps!

New Reality

When in the thick of early parenting, or the midst of elementary education - homeschooling or otherwise - or during the busy, busy, run here and there of active teen years, it is hard to imagine that the day, whether sometimes longed for, or sometimes dreaded, will ever actually arrive. And even though it has clearly, been approaching steadily, looming over the horizon, day by day - it lands with the sudden surprise of a lightening strike in an approaching storm, not yet immediately overhead, and the day is here. They move out and into the world on their own.

So with pride and tears and joy for all that has been shared and all that is in front of them and me, too - I watch and guide as best one can, as they fly, or lurch, or stumble, away into the big wide world and the best thing left to do is to sing praise for the love and wonder of it all!

Coppelia

Traditional ballets have some commonality with traditional fairy tales. Old stories of good and evil with a healthy dose of romance. Beautiful princess', handsome princes and strange characters offering temptations, fulfilling their own desires with magic or granting wishes for a price by way of poison apples, witches spells, dolls coming to life to dance or by some other wizardry. Maybe the common aspects come from the time and place originated. It is my understanding that the Grimm brothers weren't the actual authors of the many tales they recorded but the collectors of the tales. Many of both fairy tales and ballets have a dark aspect, a kind of creepiness included.

The story of Coppelia is one of the early ballet stories. The music was written by Clement Philibert Leo Delibes, a french composer of the Romatic era (1815-1910). The ballet is based on a short story written by the German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, (the same writer of the original novel the more commonly familiar Nutcracker ballet was based on). The ballet includes a comedic twist within it's theme of the potential havoc that results from a man attempting to create a live human replica based on his own desire.

As for traditional classical ballets, the stories are old and probably also based on stories from the oral traditions where they first appeared. Usually they include a romance, good and evil or at least some mischief and the everyone dances around happy ending. Or as a favorite stand up comedian, Brian Regan, shares about his efforts to understand ballet performances, "he loves her, she doesn't love him, she loves someone else and they all dance around for a couple of hours" his description could be a condensed version of Coppelia with the addition of  the wedding finale. In the story of Coppelia, one of the someones is a mechanical doll created by the toy maker Coppelias. The addition of the characterization of mechanical dolls adds to the variety of  physical dance movement, delightfully performed by the ballerinas.

Why am I writing about a specific ballet? (besides to share and brag a little) about the accomplishment of our last graduating home school student. Mostly, I want to share and give an example of learning by following a students interests, how so many subjects including academics can be covered by, or at least touched upon, by interest led learning. I want to share our experience so that it can serve as an illustration of the value of doing and learning in the bigger world. Participating in the world by following interests can lead to intense and relevant learning for any student.

 

My daughter's participation in this production is just one of the examples from our homeschooling experience of how it really can work. That most, if not all, subjects can be learned through actual participation in events, projects and work. Sometimes homeschool families need encouragement to follow the lead of their students. Sometimes, it is the students themselves, who need reassurance of the value of what they are doing. For some students, confirmation of that value may not come to them often enough before they venture into the real world as young adults.

My daughter, the aspiring ballerina/dancer was cast in the role of Swanhilde for this classic ballet. As a homeschool student, completing high school, we considered her acceptance of the role as a part of her completion of her homeschool high school journey. The many hours of learning and practice fulfilled more than one requirement for her transcripts. This was an interest led unit study. An extreme interest led unit study.

Based on learning this role, there was immersion into the story as told through the dance and the classical music of this ballet. Through her participation, she covered to some degree; subjects of music, western civilization & history, themes in literature, art history, technology, internet based research, performance, and business. For some of these topics her awareness was simply increased, for others a deeper understanding was achieved. There were the many hours of the physical demands of dance needed to learn the choreography. That combined with the listening, learning about the music and the history created an intense unit study. The dedication to continue was supported by her learning about the importance of attention to her own needs for rest and good nutrition. There was learning about planning, organization and following through on a big commitment.

An added bonus to this kind of a homeschool approach to learning: If you, as a homeschool parent, continue to have any reservation about the big question of socialization or are still confronted by the question from others, is how this answers those questions. An approach that puts you and/or your children right smack in the middle of projects like this offer a very real opportunity for what the goals of socialization really are; to interact in a real, professional way with people of all ages who are working to accomplish a common goal, where the outcome is dependent on dedication, trust and the need to support everyone involved to do their very best.

I am most happy to say that this is, in fact,  the thing I am most proud of about my daughter's participation in this production. She handled herself with grace while consistently working over time to achieve the goal of knowing and performing her part to her full capability. Her character traits of a strong work ethic, support for other cast members, respect for teachers and of avoiding drama or gossip were evident throughout. These are all qualities that improve the result of any endeavor. Seeing this and practicing it in real situations provides value far beyond what I or an isolated classroom experience could hope to impart. Wherever my daughter's dance career takes her, these qualities will create the most value to herself and those she interacts with through out her life.

Could it Really be True?

Gotta have art!

There are big changes coming in our family. We are in the midst of our last year of homeschooling. Late this spring, I will officially be done homeschooling my children. Hip Hip Hooray and all that jazz -  celebrations to ensue, but there will be more than just a tear or two being shed through these final months of homeschooling. Mostly, they are tears of joy, for all that has been accomplished by us as a family and by each of us individually. I will miss so very much our homeschooling lifestyle.

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Homeschooled pets are lucky creatures.

I am anticipating a major shift in my life and daily activities. We still have a couple of things to complete with our home schooled high school senior. Baring any dramatic changes, she will be given her high school diploma in June of 2019, just a few short months away. She is currently preparing for her own independent adventures as a young adult. Our two sons are also making their plans for establishing there own domestic domains. With all three leaving the nest there will be big changes in this household! 

Milestones and next steps.

As a result, there will be new blog topics for me to explore in the months to come. I hope to be posting more about my own activities, the plans I am making and the adventures I am looking forward to. Homeschooling was in part an outcome of my own interest in intentional life long learning. My own education continues, anyone interested in joining me as a life long adult un-schooler?

Technology and classical ballet meet.

For our daughter this winter and spring, the final homeschooling agenda has included her completion of some course work and taking care of some of the details of high school graduation. She will finish some language arts requirements which in our 'school' continues to require daily reading and writing. Just a few things beyond that for her to complete, including the completion of a math component and  she'll be completing the official testing required. I'll be completing her transcripts.

Acquiring a driver's licence is in the mix for her to top it off with some additional real world functioning. Add the attainment of an actual drivers licence and she's off!

For my daughter the next few years will include more dance training and auditions in hopes of participating as a dancer in an actual ballet company. She plans to begin college classes while continuing her focus on dance.

Thankful for amazing online resources.

It has been an amazing journey. A learning adventure where the adage about how the teacher learns more than the student has consistently been realized over and over in our home. in full force!  I do not regret for a moment, our choice to home school our children. I am in fact sad to see it end even as I know it's eventual ending was the ultimate goal. I can barely remember any difficulties of learning on the part of my "students" I do remember some frustrations with myself as a "teacher".  

Oh those days!

My own inadequacies were overly obvious to myself and probably my children time and again throughout all the years of homeschooling. Each display of my lack of skill whether it was simply knowledge, preparation or organization, was an opportunity to show the value of life long learning, growth and character development. The need for growth for all of us in character was and is always more imperative than any immediate need of academic requirement. 

There were moments, hours, days and sometimes, though not frequently, weeks, when I questioned what or how we were homeschooling, but never the choice overall. My children have been eager learners and good sports as we wound our way through growing together. They have been wonderful companions and I  delighted in allowing them to keep their childhood curiosity and wonder alive as they grew. As they say, the proof is in the pudding. So far each of our children have taken steps and begun to step out into the world with a solid foundation and in a positive direction. I am extremely proud of each of them.

Over our homeschooling years, one of my main go to resources has been SchoolhouseTeachers.com. It is is an online product with downloadable, printable elements as well as online classes and video components. There are online classes for homeschooling students of all ages. There are encouraging parenting resources and forums for the addition of a potential community of other online homeschooling families.

It is a valuable resource worth looking into if you haven't already.
April is a great month to do so because there is a wonderful promotion going on.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com ~ (http://www.SchoolhouseTeachers.com/) 
This is an online product with downloadable, printable elements as well as online classes and video components.

A Book Review of a New Title by Julie Polanco, God Schooling: How God Intended Children to Learn

For Homeschool Review Crew, I received and was delighted to read a copy of the book God Schooling How God Intended Children to Learn by Julie Polanco. While reading the first pages and through every chapter, I have been creating a gift list of those I'd like to share this title with.

First, a bit of an upfront disclosure.. As a home school mom in Chicago-land, Julie and I have crossed paths on occasion over the years. We met early on in our parenting journeys at a friend's house for a play date with our little ones, later at a home school mom's book group that met at Julie's home and once again at a Special Olympics gymnastics meet. It has now been several years since and though over those years we didn't spend enough time in each other's company to develop a closer friendship, we did both develop a similar homeschooling approach. Our children's interests have led us down different paths, with fewer opportunities to meet, but with a shared understanding of learning.

It has also been a while since I've read a book from cover to cover about education and learning generally, or even homeschooling specifically. In the early days of our family's homeschooling journey, I devoured books about homeschooling from cover to cover late into many nights. John Holt, John Taylor Gatto and David and Micki Colfax, were a few of those who truly spoke to me and reassured me about my own observations and our approach to guiding learning in our home, with our children.

Julie's book falls in line with these authors, who's observations resonated with me then and still today. This is the homeschooling genre that I have read and collected from early on, these are the writings and the views that sustained me, they will always remain in my collection. I think Julie will be pleased to read that her book will join those authors on my shelf.

Learning all the time, natural learning, free range learning, child led, are all descriptive phrases that have been used in an attempt to explain an approach that takes the child into full consideration as their adult teachers and mentors guide them through a topic of interest. It is from a child's own innate curiosity that leads a child into a greater understanding and to continue through the study of any subject matter.

Julie takes a reader through her understanding of this approach, how she has developed a deeper appreciation of a plan bigger than her own for her children. In her well organized writing she reveals her Christian faith as the basis for her approach to homeschooling.

http://www.juliepolancobooks.com/

Julie discusses topics that I have often considered while on this journey, not just of homeschooling but of parenting. My desire to increase the chances of my children maintaining their love of learning and internal drive to continue to acquire new skills and learn throughout life led me to books like Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn. Julie references Kohn's book as well. She sums it up with this statement "The extent to which the environment is controlling through rewards/punishment, threats, survveillance, evaluation, deadlines, being ordered around or by competition is the extent to which a person will lose their intrinsic motivation." Julie Polanco
I think she would appreciate the story of my oldest learning to ride a bike with onlooking neighbors. To their dismay, I did not cheer in excited positive exclamations as my first born rode a bike down our suburban sidewalk for the first time. Without fanfare, I was pleased, I did smile and he did continue to ride a two wheeler!

Julie gives similar examples from her own family. She describes the evolution of her own journey and provides us with a clear and deep understanding of learning and the benefits of following God's lead, as seen in the blossoming of those in our care. This book is a welcome bridge between the many homeschooling communities that I have been aware of in Chicago-land, from the undisciplined unschoolers to the strictly book work, no nonsense scholars, Julie's book could help us see our similarities, in our hopes and in God's plan for our children. Easy to access and easy to share, I am glad Julie followed the calling to put it all into a published book. I will be sharing this title with the gift list I began while reading the very first chapter. I hope you will, too. It is also available in e-book format for half price through August 22nd.

God Schooling How God Intended Children to Learn by Julie Polanco

To read more reviews of Julie's book, click the banner below.

Travel, Trust, Technique

Recently, I traveled to Nashville to retrieve my youngest, my daughter, the dancer. She attended Nashville Ballet's summer dance intensive. Beginning her dance training "late" in her young life, she is working hard to catch up with her peers. So being away from home for over a month to focus on dance technique was a part of her plan.

For our family, sending a teen off for so many weeks was a huge first! For myself, it was a sudden transition, a preview of what is soon to come in my own life. I see my future and I am actually excited about the possibilities. First up there will be quiet time, with the possibility of uninterrupted thoughts convening in my mind and coming to fruition (or not) based on my own inclinations, not those of others in our household. There will be more travel with my husband and on my own. We will both be able to work more on our own creative pursuits. We will also have the awesome joy of  watching as our young adult children follow their dreams and goals, taking the road to enter the big world as contributing members of a larger community.

For each of us, myself, my husband, our two sons and our daughter, the possibilities are wonderful and exciting. I am thankful that we made the decisions and sacrifices that we have to spend many hours, days, weeks, months and years together developing strong bonds with each other, growing and learning. There were days of questioning ourselves and doubting our decision to home school. We had to trust again, and again that we knew our children and what worked for our family. We did make the best choice for our family by taking advantage of the option to home school. We aren't quite done yet but it is right around the corner. I caught a glimpse of the future and it is good!

Where did June (and the last two decades) go?!

June 2018 was jam packed for this homeschooling family. The many daily decisions and tasks accumulated into major milestones for us to acknowledge and celebrate. Acknowledging a college graduation was one of the big events.

Our oldest, graduated from college. Home schooled through high school, our "experimental child" graduated summa cum laude, with a B.S. in accounting, top 25 in his class, and with a start date to a real job in September. It is not really our accomplishment to claim as a family, but his as an individual student. And though it may not be our accomplishment to claim, it is a testament to family, dedication and to homeschooling. What we (our family & homeschooling families generally) can claim is that homeschooling works.

When I watched as our oldest son, our first homeschooling student, walked in the graduation procession, taking a sit among those young adults, all with the shared academic accomplishment of completing a college degree, my heart swelled with pride. Seeing him cross that stage, I finally and completely left my doubts about our choice to home school behind.

I have always loved homeschooling and have never regretted the decision for our family. The personal and family benefits have been so amazing, many and ongoing. However, I did often question my own ability to teach academic subjects and fell woefully short in some. I like other homeschooling parents, sometimes wondered if we were doing the right thing, or how prepared our kids would be for participation in the mainstream. Those doubts were frequently fed when they intersected with the unsolicited doubts and questions that came from others outside of our immediate family.

Graduating from a university, previously home schooled or not, is major life event for each and every one of those students crossing the stage, what they don't (nor should they, necessarily) realize, is the major life event it can be for their parents. For myself and my husband, after the years of early attachment parenting that led us into homeschooling; the wonderful days of extensive time together, learning, growing and exploring are changing dramatically. While each year has brought changes, I had no idea how wonderfully exciting it would be to see each of my children launch into the world, their own unique lives to develop, their own challenges to overcome and their own contributions to make.
I am beyond proud of who they have become, how competent they are and I am excited to see where they each go.

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