Wisdom is Simple: Why Complicate Things? (Part 3)

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In the last two blogs, I discussed how a nearly twenty-year-old presentation on home “schooling” affected me, both nostalgically and philosophically. It was good to be reminded of what home “schooling” was like and to be able to compare those times with what is going on today.

Indeed, what I observed reminded me of some of the wisdom Solomon shared with us in the Bible, particularly his statement “that there is nothing new under the sun.” It brought me sadness to see that in spite of having gained many victories in home education, much has really not changed.

This is largely due to the fact that school has been so internalized as the way to educate. In spite of the great strides made to bring home education to the forefront of educational approaches, many, if not most, people continue to practice some variation of schooling at home. Even when claiming to be unschooling, parents make references to curriculum, grades and standards.
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Complications Based on Misunderstandings: Why Complicate Things? (Part 2)

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Last week, I discussed how nostalgia made my listening to a nearly twenty-year-old broadcast session about home “schooling” interesting. Today, I would like to share the other reason this experience grabbed my attention.

I must admit that when I initially listened to these sessions in 2002, I was, well, nearly twenty years younger and also twenty years less experienced in the field of education.

Now, approaching thirty-five years’ experience in the home education venture, I have come to know things I did not know or believe in 2002, which would have been about half way through the approximately forty-year history of the modern day North American home education movement.

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A Blast from the Past: Why Complicate Things? (Part 1)

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While solo on a lengthy drive, I had an opportunity to listen to a couple of rather dated broadcast sessions by the Focus on the Family organization. These sessions were really interesting for two reasons.

The first reason was that they were largely in celebration of what was then, twenty years of home education in the USA. What was even more interesting was that it was put on by a collection of “big guns,” including James Dobson and Michael Farris, both of whom cited Raymond Moore, who has often been credited with starting, if not having had at least a major influence in the modern-day home “school” movement.

What started as a dated broadcast, soon became a blast from the past. My wife and I had started home education about 10 years into the first half of home education history. Since Alberta was about ten years behind the Americans, we essentially were involved near the beginning of this province’s home education movement. It was interesting to be reminded of what things were like back then.

Continue reading “A Blast from the Past: Why Complicate Things? (Part 1)”