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| Toughy |
I am forever cognizant of the fact that I don't have any kind of monopoly on parenting wisdom. So I'm reluctant to criticize others' choices.
But Alisa and I are at the completely opposite end of the spectrum. We are fans of education. We think that education sets a person free, it makes them heir to the entire wealth our culture's wisdom. We think education makes possible a life of the mind that is part of being a fully actuated person in this world. I have had opportunity to be struck by the particular kind of frustration and ineffectiveness that seems to be the the lot of some intelligent yet uneducated people I have met in western societies.
So, yeah, we're into educating our kids in a pretty formal way during these years we're spending on Galactic.
But - easier said than done. Conflating the parent-child relationship with the teacher-student relationship is liable to be an upsetting experience for both parties involved.
Into this breach strides the Arab Rose, aka My Reason For Living; Alisa. She's the one who hectors and hounds Elias into getting his school work done. She's the one who who keeps a strict schedule for the weeks that it takes to finish the work of each term. She's the one who day after day shows by her example how seriously we take education, and is (hopefully) conveying the discipline to do the hard mental work that is required for any kind of intellectual achievement.
She's tough in a way that I think is paying off. So I guess this is a shout-out of sorts.
You could sail the world without my wife.
But I wouldn't recommend it.
What is with the green tape around the portholes? Do you have plastic taped on there to help with condensation? Surely it is to cold to varnish? Education gives you the freedom to make your own choices I believe.
ReplyDeleteDrew
Hey Drew - Great combination of comments! We have shrink plastic over the portlights to give us temporary double-paning to reduce condensation. It's used in the US a lot to winterize houses. We added the tape to block gaps around the window frames.
DeleteAt one time you did Tasmanian Correspondence, do you still do that? or do you follow an American based course. As an Australian (our correspondence school is free except for postage), can you get similar from the US, or is it all fee based?
ReplyDeleteWe're still doing Tasmanian correspondence - the kids are Aussie citizens so they're covered. Alisa adds some additional materials, notably from the Well-Trained Mind material - Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. I *think* the US is all fee-based, but we haven't looked into it.
DeleteI agree that being the tutor/mother is a tough job, as I did it with our 3 for a few years. One of the 3 was very difficult to motivate to do his work and stay on task, that is the real challenge, and you have to rely on yourself, as the school teachers assigned to you are far away. Good news though, when they got to "real" school they were well up with the others. One thing they did lack was "sport", and never did take to team sports (but then they are all cruisers kids, so not expectead really). During a small break in cruising at a school, we did realise that we had to make a point of throwing and kicking balls, an important skill for fitting in with the other kids.
ReplyDeletethat's a good one - we have started throwing the baseball around lately, but in general the kids have had very very little exposure to the normal suite of sports...
DeleteLet's hear it again for Alisa - yay!!! Hang in there, girl. xx
ReplyDeleteA great post, and one that really resonates with me on two fronts. The first is as a former homeschooled boat kid myself. I well remember my poor mother trying to motivate me. I'm convinced I have some degree of ADD, which did not make it any easier. Nor did comparing myself to my sister, who sailed through her lessons (my mother never compared us - at least, not out loud, lol). My parents both value education, and it was very important to them that we have "real" schooling, as far as possible, so we wouldn't be behind our peers when we returned.
ReplyDeleteThe second front is as a mother myself, who has been looking into homeschooling options. I'd like to be out cruising in 2-3 years, and in spite of the fact that there seem to be many more homeschooling options than when I was a kid, most seem to lack rigor. We currently have both kids in an I.B. curriculum at a charter school, to combat the somewhat weak public school system we have here in California. Ideally, I'd like something that equates to that, but haven't had any luck finding anything. I've heard great things about homeschooling programs from cruising families from other countries, but I'm not sure we're able to use those options. Would love to hear more about your and Alisa's research on the topic.