This is an interesting article in the Washington Post.  Makes me wonder if they hate literary analysis as much as I do.

Here is what the author, Nancy Schnog, says:

I’ll never forget what one parent, bemoaning his daughter’s aversion to great books after she took AP English Literature, wrote to me: “What I’ve seen teachers do is take living, breathing works of art and transform them into dessicated lab specimens fit for dissection.”

As someone who teaches in private schools, I find this especially painful to acknowledge. I haven’t been constrained in my teaching methods by Standards of Learning or No Child Left Behind testing. But even where teachers are free to design their own “best practices,” I’ve been amazed at the chasm between their sense of purpose in their curricular choices and teens’ sense that what they choose for them is irrelevant. Ironically, kids’ turn-off to books can originate in teachers’ hopes of turning them on.

Hmmmmm.   I think I’ll stick with my guns, and just say again that it’s the LOVE of reading that matters.   The author’s conclusion is that we shouldn’t beat kids up with literary analysis, and we should encourage them to read books they will love.

If that means an end to business as usual — abolishing dry-bones literature tests, cutting back on fact-based quizzes, adding works of science fiction or popular nonfiction to the reading list — so be it. We can continue to alienate teen readers, or we can hear them, acknowledge their tastes, engage directly with their resistance to serious reading and move gradually, with sensitivity to what’s age-appropriate, toward the realm of great literature.

Read the rest of my series:

I Hate Literary Analysis - Part 1
I Hate Literary Analysis - Part 2
I Hate Literary Analysis - Part 3
I Hate Literary Analysis - Part 4

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I spoke at a co-op and posted a snippet on YouTube.  I thought you might enjoy seeing it.

Make sure to subscribe to my video clips on YouTube.  I will continue to place more out there.  Comment, rate or otherwise let me know if you enjoy them!  Thanks!

Dear Lee,

I’m trying to update my son’s transcript tonight.  So just in case you’re watching your email and don’t mind answering this… How many high-school credits should be awarded for Thinkwell’s Pre-Calculus?  My son did all 344 lessons (both in the book and online), took every test, and ended up with an A for the year.  It took him the full year, and he spent easily more than 10 hours per week on it.  My son was hoping that it would be more like 1.5 or 2 credits, since 1 credit is 120 hours, and he put in more than three times that many hours.

Thanks,
Gigi in MD

When I was younger I memorized Philippians 4:6, which said in my version, “Be anxious about nothing.”  I remember thinking, “Wow!  I have that one down pat!  I’m anxious about nothing all the time!”  For a long time I had that verse on a refrigerator magnet in my kitchen, and I would often giggle about how it was my life verse, because I felt constantly anxious over things.

But you know, I don’t think that’s what God intended for that verse :-)  It has since been translated as “Be anxious FOR nothing” or “IN nothing.”  Which isn’t nearly as funny for a life verse.

Choosing curriculum is an anxiety-ridden endeavor.  But here is what the entire verse says in Philippians 4:6-7.  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all your understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

If God were speaking slowly, I think he would say something like:

“Don’t be afraid.
Pray.
Ask Me.
Be Thankful.
Talk to Me.
Have peace.
I know more than you do.
Keep the faith.”

I was whining to my cousin, I confess.  I never let my kids whine, but it’s OK for me.  You know how that is.  Anyway, I was complaining about my getting a remodel.  I know I have to do it.  Two months ago we pulled off some wallpaper had a new kitchen window installed.  Here we are, two months later, and I still have no paint on the walls, and the window remains “unwrapped.”  I don’t have curtains or blinds.  The summer sun beats into the kitchen.  Two months.  And yet, I just can’t do it.

“I just want someone to come here and do the thinking for me!  I don’t have any forward momentum, it’s all come to a dead stop!”

In all fairness, my business does keep me… well… BUSY!  I hardly have time to do anything, but especially not something as large as a remodel!  Still, to live in a paint-less kitchen with a roughed-in window isn’t very fun!  So I plan to hire a contractor.  Really.   I plan on it.

Everyone needs help sometimes.  Nobody can do it all, all the time.  If you need help with homeschooling, I can help!  That doesn’t mean that *I* don’t need help with some other things sometimes.  It’s not a sign of weakness at all!  I’ll be glad to come alongside of you.  I know what it’s like to ask for help.  Everybody asks for help sometimes.

What has you immobilized?  I’d like to hear if you have things you know you have to do but just can’t get moving forward.  Please leave a comment!  Come on…It will be theraputic!

Can you believe it?  After all the years of homeschooling, and all those messes, NOW is when I finally get a house cleaner!  It’s just more important for me to blog than clean the house, right?  You know what I’ve found out about having a housekeeper?  Now that I have one, I feel completely incompetent about my house.  I don’t know what cleaning products I need to buy at the store, I don’t know if my vacuum works or not, and I don’t know if my bathroom IS clean or if it just looks clean from a distance.  Yesterday I found an HUGE spider in my bed. (This is him, http://www.sfu.ca/~roitberg/lab/people/maxence/tduellica.jpg This photo is actual size, I’m just sure about it!)  Has it been living in my bed all this time?  How could I know, because I’m not the one cleaning.  I’m pretty sure, however, that the sheets on my son’s bed NEVER get washed now that I’m not doing it.

The problem with school in a classroom setting is that you end up feeling incompetent.  You don’t know what your child is doing, how they are performing, or how well they are learning.  You end up knowing that they are NOT getting something that may be critical to you (world view, penmanship, or manners) but you don’t know what else they may be missing.

The joy of homeschooling is that you really DO know what your kids are (or are not!) doing!  There may be gaps, as there are in any other school setting.  But when there are gaps, once you see them you can actually DO something about it because you know it’s there!  The problem with a classroom setting is that the parent may not actually know what is going on academically with their student (or socially, or spiritually, etc.)

Take control.  Homeschool independently to feel more confident. It may not happen right away, but soon you’ll start to see where your child is, and start working with them on those issues that were hidden before.

That said, I’m not giving up my house cleaner!  I’ve been waiting YEARS for this blessing!

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Jennifer asks:
“I am a homeschooling mom of a fourth and second grader.  I know that you work mainly with the high school age, but I was hoping you could answer a question for me.  I have read your information on Occupational Education.  As a teacher of grade school students, do you know if it is necessary for one to incorporate Occupational Education?  I know it is one of the eleven required subjects for Washington, but am unsure if I need to teach this in the younger grades.  Any information you have would be helpful.”

Hi Jennifer,

The 11 required subjects in WA state are to be completed at any time between K and 12th.  That’s why we don’t necessarily have to cover spelling in 12th grade, and we don’t necessarily have to cover occupational education in 3rd grade.  Besides that, EVERYTHING you teach your kids in 2nd and 4th grade is occupational, right?  Because it’s all reading, writing, and math - gotta love that in the work force!  What I tell my clients in high school is that they can just wait until their teens have a job.  At some point, teens WANT a job because they want money.  Once that happens, count hours and experiences of the job, and voila!  Occupational education!  It sounds like an intimidating course, but it’s really the easiest of all.

I hope that helps!

Check out my page on recommended homeschool resources.  I’ve got links from each selection directly to Amazon, for your convenience.

My friend shared a wonderful accomplishment.  Her son Landon is 15 yo son has been inducted as a member of the Cadet Honor Society.  Read about this homeschoolers accomplishment.

There are so many wonderful ways to encourage the unique strengths of your child!  Check out the Civil Air Patrol Cadet program and Sea Cadets, too .

Aren’t these great ideas for teens!  Did you know they can also help you with college admission?  They make wonderful and compelling stories for college application essays.  Write down these wonderful experiences, so that you can add them to their “activity list” on college applications.

Subscribe to my blog via reader or e-mail.  Learn how to position your student for great college scholarships!

I heard the Olympics commentator mention that most of the USA gymnasts are homeschooled, because they practice for so many hours each day.  Wow!  I never thought about that before, but I’ll bet it’s true.  Imagine, each one of those kids has a gift.  Their parents found the gift, fed the flames, and encouraged specialization.  And they ended up in the Olympics!  How proud they must be!

But I’ll bet you work JUST as hard as those parents.  Each child is unique, and homeschooling is a joy, but it’s never really “easy.”  It’s hard work!  Keep the goal in mind.  It may not be Olympic gold, but you still want your child to find their passion and pursue it.

I read an article in Reader’s Digest about a woman named Helen Greiner.  When she was 11 years old, she became OBSESSED with the Star Wars Character R2-D2.  Can you imagine how frustrating that would be to her parents?  I’m guessing they thought it was a complete waste of time, rather than a glimmer of Helen’s unique gifts.  Helen went on to develop the “Roomba” robotic vacuum cleaner.  She also developed robots for mine-sweeping jobs in the military.  In public high school, she was on the math team and chess team, but she says she was NOT encouraged in her specialization at school.  As homeschoolers we are free to encourage our children in their area of specialization.  Even if it’s R2-D2, math, chess, or engineering!  Woo Hoo!

Got your own future Olympian (Sports or Academic)?  Check out my gifted education website, Homeschooling Gifted Teens!