I’m hearing lots of chatter from friends about the possibility of diving into homeschooling this fall. Not everyone is confident in their ability to actually make the experiment successful, but a number of factors are pushing parents to at least give homeschooling consideration. I’ve written about homeschooling plenty of times before – why it’s good for socialization, how the purpose of education makes parents the best teachers, and why you would probably be better at it than you think – I guess one more article can’t hurt?
I recently read the classic book by Janet Erskine Stuart on The Education of Catholic Girls. The book isn’t specifically about homeschooling, but what I noticed as I read is that her theory of education is compatible with homeschooling. With the way education has changed since she wrote it, homeschooling may, in fact, be the best place to put her advice into practice. Nowhere does she mention test scores, pressuring students into equating success with high-paying careers, needing a graduate degree in educational theory in order to teach, or using cutting edge technology in the classroom. Instead, she focuses on moral development, seeking to achieve a happy life, promoting a lifelong love of learning, and the necessity to do the hard work that is involved in gaining knowledge. In many ways, parents are the best teachers when it comes to these topics.
Here are 8 quotes that I underlined as I was reading. I hope you’ll find them encouraging.
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Thinking about homeschooling this fall? Keep these 3 things in mind
And today we celebrate...