Holes
When people find out I'm homeschooling my son, most ask if I'm afraid they'll be holes in my his education, aren't I afraid I'll miss something important? I always answer, of course they'll be holes in his education, but no, I'm not afraid of missing anything important. On the surface this answer seems contradictory, but on closer examination it makes perfect sense.
Of course they'll be holes in his education. We all haves holes in our education. There is so much to do, see, and learn in this world, there is no way anyone can learn it all. There is no way any school can even come close to teaching it all. How many people graduate high school knowing nothing about chemistry or world politics? How many people graduate college knowing nothing about art or religion?
I have a PhD in biology. I spent 23 years of my life in school. 23 years! I have huge holes in my knowledge. Although I'm a scientist I know very little about physics. I knew even less geology and almost no astronomy. I'm learning more astronomy now because my husband is really interested in it. My holes in other subjects are even larger.
My son wants to build a real combat robot like those seen in Battlebots. I know nothing about this. I have no idea how the mechanics work, how the motors and gears go together to make motion. I don't know how the electronics are hooked up to bring power to all the components. Programming a remote is beyond me. Even the metal working, the seemingly simplest part leaves me at a loss. The good news is I can learn all these things. I am learning all these things. I can fill this hole. However, I will always have holes. So will my son.
No, I'm not afraid of missing anything important. What's important to learn is different for each person. What's important for an artist to know will be totally different than what's important for a mathematician to know. I can't know what will be important to my son, a school certainly can't know what will be important to him, only he can know that. What I do know is that if it is important he will learn it. He may not learn it by the time he is 10 or 15 or even 18, but learning doesn't stop at these ages. Learning happens our entire life. If it is important to know when he is 40, he can learn it then. There is no deadline on learning.
There will definitely be holes in my son's education, but I'm not worried about missing anything important.
Of course they'll be holes in his education. We all haves holes in our education. There is so much to do, see, and learn in this world, there is no way anyone can learn it all. There is no way any school can even come close to teaching it all. How many people graduate high school knowing nothing about chemistry or world politics? How many people graduate college knowing nothing about art or religion?
I have a PhD in biology. I spent 23 years of my life in school. 23 years! I have huge holes in my knowledge. Although I'm a scientist I know very little about physics. I knew even less geology and almost no astronomy. I'm learning more astronomy now because my husband is really interested in it. My holes in other subjects are even larger.
My son wants to build a real combat robot like those seen in Battlebots. I know nothing about this. I have no idea how the mechanics work, how the motors and gears go together to make motion. I don't know how the electronics are hooked up to bring power to all the components. Programming a remote is beyond me. Even the metal working, the seemingly simplest part leaves me at a loss. The good news is I can learn all these things. I am learning all these things. I can fill this hole. However, I will always have holes. So will my son.
No, I'm not afraid of missing anything important. What's important to learn is different for each person. What's important for an artist to know will be totally different than what's important for a mathematician to know. I can't know what will be important to my son, a school certainly can't know what will be important to him, only he can know that. What I do know is that if it is important he will learn it. He may not learn it by the time he is 10 or 15 or even 18, but learning doesn't stop at these ages. Learning happens our entire life. If it is important to know when he is 40, he can learn it then. There is no deadline on learning.
There will definitely be holes in my son's education, but I'm not worried about missing anything important.