Teach your children well

I shared this hilarious take on what would happen if schools decided to implement a curriculum to teach children to walk the other day, but it’s so good I wanted to share it again. When non-homeschooling parents ask us how we know our children are learning, this article comes to mind. How could you not know if your children are learning if they are with you all day? How did you know your toddler learned her colors, or your baby learned to crawl and then walk? You see it daily. It’s much harder to see with 30 children, I’m sure.

My question is, of course, how do you know your children are learning when you aren’t with them all day?

We were at a local school for my daughter’s Girl Scouts event last week when we saw a sign that discussed “how to eat.” How to eat! Wow, my daughter learned that during her first year. It’s amazing that schools think that elementary-aged students require tips on learning how to eat. And the kids who did could enter to win a Kindle Fire! Wow, right?

There were also ads for milk-drinking featuring stars from Twilight and Justin Bieber. My daughter doesn’t even know who Justin Bieber is.

A lot of us unschoolers believe in teaching by example. Kids learn so quickly when you just let them see you eat well, be kind, read, live… This assumption that kids need to be taught to learn, or need to be given incentives, drives me nuts! Kids will learn anything they want to, and anything they don’t certainly will not be retained.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia