{"id":48,"date":"2016-04-06T08:42:23","date_gmt":"2016-04-06T12:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/lifetransparent\/?p=48"},"modified":"2016-04-06T08:46:53","modified_gmt":"2016-04-06T12:46:53","slug":"the-best-way-to-educate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lifetransparent\/2016\/04\/the-best-way-to-educate\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Way To Educate."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

All four of our children are enrolled in the public school system. While I can\u2019t say that we\u2019ve tried every type of schooling yet, it\u2019s likely safe to say that by the time it\u2019s all said and done, we will have exhausted every educational system available.<\/p>\n

\"(Photo
(Photo courtesty of freedigitalphotos.net)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We had always planned on homeschooling. I sent for my first homeschooling brochures when I was only ten weeks pregnant with my first child. As a young mom, I read every book I could about homeschooling, and implemented all kinds of schooling into our day. My sons would sit in the bathtub while I read to them from \u201cWhen We Were Very Young,\u201d and I had my five year old enrolled in piano lessons before he started Kindergarten. The idea of developing a love of learning was both a noble and beautiful concept, and one we wanted to cultivate within our children. The freedom, flexibility, and \u201csky\u2019s the limit\u201d approach to homeschooling seemed like an ideal, fairytale-like way to raise children. I still believe that.<\/p>\n

It was only the beginning of our second year homeschooling, but it wasn\u2019t going well. Our infant daughter had health problems and developmental delays. She was up most of the night coughing, which made me exhausted during the day. We had in-home therapy each week, and I was often busy with meetings and phone calls. Martha needed my attention all night, and most of the day. I had a two-year old in diapers, a four year old getting lost in the shuffle, and a six year old I was trying to teach to read.<\/p>\n

Additionally, my daughter had 11 different doctors, all of whom wanted to see her every 1-3 months. Each appointment meant a 2.5 hour drive to the Children\u2019s Hospital, then a 2.5 hour drive home. The boys were away from their mom a lot. Mom being out of the house meant that groceries weren\u2019t bought, dinners weren\u2019t made, laundry wasn\u2019t done, and the house wasn\u2019t cleaned. Fitting in homeschool, therapies, and general housekeeping on the days I\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>home was exhausting. And I was unhappy.<\/p>\n

The problem was that sending the kids to school wasn\u2019t even an option<\/em>. We had never once considered, or discussed any other option other than homeschooling. But, we also hadn\u2019t discussed the hypothetical of having a disabled child, either. Something needed to change, because our current pace wasn\u2019t sustainable.<\/p>\n

The wonderful thing about a great Church community and dear friends and family, is that when your family is struggling, they are there to guide you in your decisions. After many tearful discussions with dear souls, and a desperate novena, we confidently enrolled our children in school. (I blogged about it in real time at my old blog.)<\/a><\/p>\n

Wonderful lessons were learned during this experience. Primarily, that there is no right or wrong way to educate our children, and that we must make the very best decision given our circumstances. For some that means Catholic, Parochial, or private school. For others it might mean homeschool, a virtual school, or tutoring. Within these options, I know many families who utilize numerous forms of education at any given time depending on the needs of their children.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a famous quote by Woody Allen, \u201cIf you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.\u201d We had a lot of confidence in our schooling plans, and it was difficult to adjust our minds to changing what we thought was best. It was both hard, and humbling, but a reluctantly learned lesson to realize that we can\u2019t predict our circumstances year to year.<\/p>\n

It always breaks my heart a little when a family trying to make the best decision for their family, is made to believe their choice is due to some personal defect in themselves that keeps them from accomplishing better for their children.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t afford the private school, if the Catholic school is too far away, or if you are homeschooling for family flexibility, it doesn\u2019t mean that the family down the road who sends their kids to the private school, the Catholic school, or the public school are making the superior choice. It\u2019s YOUR family. If schooling isn\u2019t working for YOU, then how does that benefit anyone?<\/p>\n

\"(Photo
(Photo property of Mallory Severson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recently, one of my boys has been asking if he can be homeschooled next year.\u00a0I ask, \u201cDo you think you\u2019d be lonely all day without all the friends you\u2019ve made?\u201d<\/p>\n

And he replies, \u201cMaybe a little.\u201d<\/p>\n

So I say, \u201cWe\u2019ll talk about it, and try to make the best decision when the time comes. I\u2019m not sure yet what the best option will be next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is probably the most honest answer I\u2019ll ever be able to give.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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All four of our children are enrolled in the public school system. While I can\u2019t say that we\u2019ve tried every type of schooling yet, it\u2019s likely safe to say that by the time it\u2019s all said and done, we will have exhausted every educational system available. We had always planned on homeschooling. I sent for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2692,"featured_media":53,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,5,17,16,4,15,1],"tags":[18,19,21,20],"class_list":["post-48","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homeschooling","category-motherhood","category-overwhelmed","category-parenthood","category-parenting","category-school","category-uncategorized","tag-homeschool","tag-homeschooling","tag-parenthood","tag-public-school"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Best Way To Educate.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"All four of our children are enrolled in the public school system. 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