"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." ~Mark Twain
As I read through Dewey's (1897) Creed, this quote from Mark Twain kept cycling through my head. Dewey's remarks of our home-life and education connections reminded me of the sometimes harmful effects that come with public education, such as the over-abundance of standardized assessments, rigorous curriculum maps tied to deadlines rather than student mastery, and lack of student choice and play in our classrooms. But rather than let these schooling elements hinder us, we need to embrace our "own powers, tastes, and interests" (Dewey, 1897, p. 77) to propel our individual education forward.
Another topic that I felt aligned nicely with Dewey's (1897) Creed was homeschooling. I taught public school for several years and then decided to homeschool my son when he started kinder due to the lack of play and forced assessments such a young child was going to be subjected to. He is starting 4th grade this school year and my daughter will be starting kinder. We base our curriculum off their interests, their choices, their needs as Dewey (1897) discusses, "education, therefore, must begin with a psychological insight into the child's capacities, interests, and habits" (p. 77). Homeschooling allows us to continue building upon activities that my children are comfortable with and interested in (Dewey, 1897), which enhances their educational foundation and knowledge across multiple areas. The strong social life of our home, in which my children have been nurtured (Dewey, 1897) is conveniently their place of education, as well.
Dewey, John (1897, January). My pedagogic creed. School Journal, 54, pp. 77-80. https://doi.org/10.1177/002205742510101803
Hi Rebecca,
I have to say, I'm a bit jealous! I have often wished that I could homeschool my kids because I am so passionate about exactly these things that you mentioned! We have chosen to keep them in a school mostly because of the dynamic of them being triplets and never being away from each other! 😂 Fortunately for us, here in Qatar we have tons of choice in schools, so we have been able to find one that fits with our philosophies and values as parents and educators. I think, for us, this has been the key to creating that home-school extension/connection. I mentioned to Mark as well that I see a disconnect with this at the sc…
Hello Rebecca,
I really admire the decision you made for your children. You must put great love, patience, and effort into your son. Homeschooling has also become more and more welcomed in my country, Taiwan, especially for younger parents. Their reason for choosing homeschooling is probably similar to yours. The Taiwanese parents chose to teach their children on their own because they did not trust the education culture and systems in this country. They thought that under the current school system, their children would not fully develop their own learning path, but rather become exam taking machines. Even though it is really difficult to design curriculums and most of them have a job to do at the same time, they…
Hi Melissa,
Thank you for sharing the Mark Twain quote. I had never heard it before, and it very much relates to Dewey’s thoughts. I agree with you and Trahyn on how most schools these days are too subjective, and limit learn possibilities. Over the past few years, as I engaged my younger co-workers regarding their high-school experiences, I found that most had their passions stifled by the education system which led them to joining the military. I was lucky that my high school was extremely large, almost 4,00 students, and offered a wide range or courses. However, I quickly found out from my academic advisor that taking the different courses that I wanted to take, like CAD or Research…
Finding schools these days that offer an array of options for students to test out their interests and talents is hard. Either they have music or Spanish, never both. Maybe you have to "decide" at a young age what you want to be and then the focus is on that. I can be honest and say that my boys don't know what they want to be/do yet with their lives, and I have a 7th grader and two 5th graders. How am I, as the parent, supposed to choose a school that focuses on only one thing. Flexibility is what schools are missing these days. I loved how Dewey kept saying that school/formal education was supposed to be an ext…