Values

So who administers Carmella's exams?
I do.
And who grades her?
Me.
W-H-A-T????!!!!!

Yes, I get this horrified reaction from people every time I talk about homeschooling.

Most homeschooling parent take on the daunting task of teaching their children because they believe that learning is far more important than ranking. And so with no teaching certificates nor mentoring experience whatsoever, they embark on this journey filled with so much challenge with their hearts as their only beacon. Some have even given up their careers because their children is now the goal.

Maybe Carmella is totally different from ones coming from regular school. She may view the world differently from the next kid, choose a different tool for her art and may be lacking the sophistication or the finesse of one coming from an exclusive girl's school.

But that she can read, do multiplication and division, express her feelings in water color without art school, openly expressive of her creative mind, dance ballet, focused in spite of pressure, independent, at ease around older people, be a charming and loving grand daughter, who treasures friendships deeply and more, all of it born outside regular classroom environment, speaks much of this father's heart.

And this heart discovered it is all about our experiences and what we learned from those experiences that defines us. This is real education.

In this world where competition is fierce and has become the norm, being at the top of the heap has become, sadly, synonymous to success. And in the desperation to put ourselves there, it is often our values that takes a beating. Because of the rush, we can no longer identify with what is true and honest and find integrity a strange word.

Which is perhaps why people are so suspicious about parents homeschooling and then rating their children. Maybe because most of us now find being honest as a truly formidable task.

But when we decide on eroding our values just so we can position our children over and above the rest, no one else losses the most but them. What does that make of us, of them?

So I continue homeschooling Carmella. And surprisingly, not only does it teach her the essential, less the fun fare, but the whole exercise also teaches this father how to be true to himself.