There is a formula for building credits.
There is a formula for calculating a GPA.
There is a formula for crafting a stellar transcript.
There is no formula for turning teenagers into exactly who we imagined or desired that they would be.
And, we shouldn’t want there to be a formula for that.
There is a formula for calculating a GPA.
There is a formula for crafting a stellar transcript.
There is no formula for turning teenagers into exactly who we imagined or desired that they would be.
And, we shouldn’t want there to be a formula for that.
Our teenagers are persons, not projects.
They are not ours to attempt to fashion into our image or a reflection of ourselves.
They are also not the “proof” of our faith, our methods, homeschooling as an educational choice, or of the merits of our particular homeschooling philosophy.
The burden of proving us right and validating our choices is not theirs to bear.
Their successes do not wholly validate our choices and their struggles do not wholly invalidate them.
They are humans and we are humans and humans are complex.
Homeschooling and parenting is layered and nuanced and there is no set of code that can be entered in to guarantee what will be churned out.
That isn’t what we’ve chosen to do and set out doing and it shouldn’t be what we subconsciously slip into as we enter the homestretch, no matter how tempting it can be.
Our children are persons.
Persons possess their own worldview, their own opinions, their own personalities, their own perspectives, their own preferences, their own strengths, their own weaknesses, their own questions, their own doubts, their own passions, their own dreams, their own pursuits, and their own autonomy.
Persons fail and make mistakes and change their minds.
Persons grow and adapt and break and heal and contain multitudes.
Persons can not be “fixed” or “formulated” by other persons.
We facilitate.
We encourage.
We share.
We support.
And in this final stretch of homeschooling, we also keep choosing over and over to give them the gift of space and security for their own becoming.
I share about this, and so much more, in my “Posturing, Positioning, Preparing, and Preserving” session in the For the Love of Homeschooling Conference. ➡️
No comments:
Post a Comment