Every parent needs to home school their kids
Education happens at home — not just in school
In Seth Godin’s recent blog post, ‘We are all home schooled’, he set out this challenge to parents:
Day after day, year after year, it’s the interactions we have at home that have the biggest impact on who we become.
Public school is an essential part of our culture. But the inputs and foundations that parents create are essential and they are truly difficult to outsource.
What would happen if you figured out how to spend two hours a day, every day, without electronics, with your kids? Looking them in the eye, being present, doing projects, setting standards, raising the bar, learning, seeing, hearing, connecting, challenging, questioning, being questioned…
I love this. I have long believed that educating my girls is first and foremost my responsibility. Yes, school has a vital and important part to play in Eloise and Imogen’s education, but it is not okay for me to simply pass on all educating responsibilities to the schools they attend.
Out in the real world, I don’t think two hours a day is realistic for our family, nor many I know. Juggling life in a household with two working parents, after school clubs and activities, and homework just doesn’t leave that amount of time. But I do like the challenge. Even if only half-an-hour or an hour is possible, I don’t doubt the benefits that would come to having that kind of intentional, focussed time with my girls.
