Raising Literate Boys

Today I read this article: How to Raise Boys That Read (goes right along with my review of Boys Adrift).

I have to say that I think this article is right on. Our boys and young men are distracted from reading good books. It is not that they are less capable. I believe that all people, regardless of gender, are geniuses in their own right. My job is to bring that genius to the surface.

The appearance of the boy-girl literacy gap happens to coincide with the proliferation of video games and other electronic forms of entertainment over the last decade or two. Boys spend far more time "plugged in" than girls do. Could the reading gap have more to do with competition for boys' attention than with their supposed inability to focus on anything other than outhouse humor? - "How to Raise Boys that Read"

Chris doesn't like books that aren't "real". He wants stories of people who have done heroic things but are real human beings...not super heroes, aliens, or elves. It took me a while to figure this out. Then I stumbled upon Robinson Crusoe. I know...stupid that I didn't think a classic like Robinson Crusoe would interest my son. First of all, I didn't think he could read such a "hard" book (this was two years ago). Second, I thought we needed to "ease our way" up to those kind of books.

Boy was I wrong! (How could I ever be wrong, right?) He loves adventure books about men who are real people, experiencing hardships and trials and overcoming them through ingenuity and hard work. Some of his other favorites in the past year have been Ender's Game, the Sackett Series, and now The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm terribly disappointed in myself for trying to find lower caliber books for my son to read. I should know better. It took me awhile to figure out what types of books were interesting to Chris. Once I figured that out, the rest has fallen into place and I was able to pull several classics from the library shelves that fit his reading interests.

I also realized that our read aloud books needed to be about family oriented people who work together and love each other deeply enough to sacrifice for the good of the family. We finished the Little House on the Prairie series and are almost done with The Hiding Place. I'm planning on starting Little Britches next, which I think will be a family favorite (it is one of mine!). The fathers and young men in these books are hard working people who love their families and treat females with love and respect. Of course, it is a blessing that Mike, as the patriarch of our home, is such a great example of these characteristics as well.

Oh, What Do You Do....

I get this question a lot..."What do you do about homeschooling? What are you going to do about graduation? What about socialization?" It cracks me up that nobody asks, "What do you do about education? Are your kids learning better at home than at public school?"

I saw a fantastic shirt on a little boy at the library today. It read, "Unsocialized homeschooler...interact or communicate with at your own risk" with a warning sign look to it. I started laughing and wondered where I could get some for my kids so I found them at this website. I'm going to have to invest in some t-shirts I think.

Chris wears a shirt that says, "Homework Kills Trees...Stop The Madness!" He tells people it is a political statement. Most people who look at it think he is talking about public school homework, but he believes he is making a stand for homeschooling and that kids waste their time going to school all day, only to come home with an hour or more worth of homework. He tells people he can get all that done in 4 hours a day. Smart boy!

So, here are the answers to the top three questions I'm asked:

1. "What do you do for homeschooling?" - We read and study from "real" books, not textbooks. We focus on classics like Heidi, Robinson Crusoe, Charlotte's Web, Jane Eyre, Shakespeare, etc. We use fieldtrips, simulations, and life experiences to explore deeper into subjects and we allow our passions and zeal for learning to take us to new things to learn about.
2. "What will you do about graduation?" - Our children will attend a homeschool graduation where they will walk the isle and get a diploma. No, this one is not recognized by the state, but does that really mean anything anymore? For college entrance, they will take the same placement tests or ACT/SAT's that everyone else takes.
3. "What about socialization?" - My kids have so many social activities that we can't fit them all in! We have scouts, church events, homeschool group meetings, fieldtrips, enrichment classes, 4-H Club, Roots & Shoots, etc. Not to mention their family and friends.

Thank you for reading about my answers to frequently asked questions.

Free Education Downloads

For those who are interested, here are a few free downloads on education. I have the books if anyone is interested in reading more....

• A Thomas Jefferson Education & Leadership Education books
• Audio - Talks by Oliver DeMille

Free Education Downloads

Chris is more of an auditory learner than Marly. I have found this follows us as parents - Mike would rather listen to a book on CD than read it, where I would rather read the words. So we have one of each in our children as well - Chris listens to books and Marly reads them. Sam is also a great reader and falls somewhere in between these two.

I have found several free online resources for listening to books and seminars. I am becoming much better at listening to learn as I collect these resources for my family.

Classic Books & Education

• LibriVox - fabulous collections of audio files for public domain books (75 years or older).
• MIT Open Courseware - Free online classes with audio and video.
  
• Free Classic Audio Books
• Open Culture
  

Education Speeches and Seminars

• John Taylor Gatto
  
• Southwest TJEd Forum - I highly recommend that everyone listen to the first speech - TJEd basics.
  
• Homeschool.com - Free Radio Show
  

Leadership Education Conference

Saturday, Marly and I went to an all-day Leadership Education Conference. There was over 150 people in attendance, both adults and teens. The speakers were based upon our home school method, Thomas Jefferson Education (TJed), although it was not just for home schoolers. There were a few teachers at the conference as well who want to implement the methods taught in their classrooms. The keynote speaker, Dr. Oliver DeMille, has a new book out called "Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning". I noticed that the book covers the materials in the CD's "Core & Love of Learning: A Recipe for Success" that I have previously mentioned. It also includes "The Scholar Phase" information that I was considering buying. It is nice to have it all in one book!

I am blown away with how much we learned. We were both taking a lot of notes. I felt like my spiritual and emotional cups were filled! I nearly came to tears during one speech where I realized how much the spirit has led my thoughts and the Lord has guided my hand to come to the choices we have made. I know that for us, this it the RIGHT choice.

Here are a few quotes that I would like to share:

• "Reading is viewed as laziness in the modern society."
• "Education occurs when students STUDY." - (not through rote memorization or reading textbooks that are watered down and not the real work of the great minds of history and our modern time)
• "You are the expert of your family."

Two Myths of Education:

1. "It is possible for one person to educate another."
2. "It is the job of teachers to educate."

Real education comes when a person studies material for their own reason and purpose. This was evident in many classes I took when I was taking classes at Northern Arizona University to become a teacher. One book called "Learning and the Brain" talked a great deal about connecting learning to a NEED the student has. The questions our brain goes through are: Why do I need to know this? Who decided I need to know this? Do I want to know this? Our traditional education method at both public, charter, and private schools teaches that students need to know the information for the "test". The brain says, "Oh, I need to know this for the test, but I can forget it after that."

Think about it...what do you remember from 4th grade, or 7th grade, or 12th grade, or even college? I don't know about you, but I mostly remember who my friends were and some basic information that interested me. There is not much else stored from all those years at school, including my college years! I know I obviously learned how to read and write and a little math (that seems to disappear quickly for me). But why didn't more stick?

There are some reasons mentioned in the books that I have studied, including this new book from Dr. Oliver DeMille. I hope to continue to study this subject to make my children's education memorable and necessary to them.

Male vs. Female - or Learning Styles?

"Why won't men ask for directions?"

"Why won't men read the instructions?"

"Why do women talk so much?"

Are these issues related to male/female roles or are they something else? Could it be that many men are "spatial learners" so they prefer not to read directions but take a hands-on approach? Are more women "verbal learners" so they feel that others learn by listening also?

Learning Styles

A large part of our curriculum choices are based upon our personal education goals and individual learning styles and/or multiple intelligence. I learn best by reading about a subject, but Chris learns best by hands-on projects. Cathy Duffy, a popular home school curriculum reviewer, focuses on how products match learning styles. This makes it so much easier for parents to chose curriculum or homework helps based on their child's needs.

But - what if you don't know what your family members learning styles are?

Learning Styles Pyramid Model - Interactive with explanations of the various learning style. I was able to start picking up on my children's learning styles while reading the definitions on this chart.

Multiple Intelligence Chart - I like this chart because it is easy to see the explanations. I focus more on the learning styles since I am teaching my children at home.

It was easy for me to see that some of my children need quiet when they study and another likes to listen to music. Complete quiet drives Sam nuts! So - what do I do? I allow the music lover to listen to her MP3 player with earplugs so that another child can have complete quiet.

Chris needs movement. It drives him crazy to sit still - so we sometimes have him bounce a ball while repeating his times tables, walk around while reading aloud, or balance on each foot for a moment before sitting down to work on writing. Sending him to public school was very hard for him as he was not allowed to learn through movement. He was required to sit still, which stifled his need to move and learn at the same time.

I love reading about this subject and applying it to what I do at home. When I first started homeschooling I almost completely modeled the public schools with a stiff schedule...9:00 reading, 9:30 math, etc. I found that this is not how my children learn best...so why do the schools do it that way? I know that they need some form of conformity or there would be more chaos, but what about individual needs?

This year we are taking a different approach to fit each child's personal learning styles and needs. Our new schedule will seem foreign to anyone who grew up going to public school (like me).