Tuesday 16 October 2007

Gaps

I was just reading Nurtured by Love this morning and enjoyed her post, Watching for Gaps. As she points out, we can't teach our kids everything, or make sure they have learned everything, before they leave home to go into the big wide world. It's impossible. We might think they are well-prepared and then they hit an unforeseen challenge.

Whether children have attended school or been homeschooled or unschooled or whatever, they are going to know a lot about some things, a little about others, and nothing about others.

I suppose the only thing we can do is encourage common sense and creativity and optimism, and they'll take it from there!

Of course, if disapproving grandparents see the gaps, they will lay the blame firmly on the fact that you decided to homeschool, even though it's patently clear that their own knowledge is lacking in some areas too, and THEY went to school!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for pointing out the post Nicola. I enjoyed reading it. I left a message there that I think quite often learning gaps are a result of our children's lack of interest rather than someone's lack of teaching. I remember that I was taught lots of things that I don't know about anymore.

Having been blessed with a child who is extremely resistant to being "taught" at all, I am having to learn to stop worrying about the gaps and instead focus on just being really present and available to support him in the pursuits he chooses. There is nothing like a questioning grandparent or school teacher friend to stir up the small doubts I have in the recesses of my mind though :-).