I tend to have a real aversion to curriculum that dictates exactly how you are supposed to do and say something. Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is like that. Saxon Math is kind of like that. I've fled from these two curricula because of it. It grates on me. I find it insulting to my intelligence. I don't homeschool to teach my kids the way someone else says I should.
However, I find it absolutely humorous that my job -- working as a field interviewer doing research studies -- is EXACTLY that. Say this..do this...inflect it like this. And it has only taken me five years to figure that out.
What's also intriguing is following my thought process now that I have realized that...when thirty minutes ago, I loved my job. I'll get there again, probably in about an hour. Because what is really interesting and provides the variety are the people that I am interviewing.
Canned curricula not only tells the teacher what to say, but it also prescribed the Correct Answer. When you're doing the field interviewing, there is no correct answer. "Push this button to get that result" is ugly when you're wanting to shape people and turn them on to learning. But specific-words-when-doing-research isn't designed to elicit a certain response, but only to ensure that all those respondents are actually responding to the same question. That's vastly different from a canned curriculum.
ReplyDeleteThat's very true, Susan. I enjoy doing this because of the variety of people I meet. It certainly IS very different than being told to use particular words when I am dealing with only a few people that I know how to communicate with.
ReplyDeleteI had a couple of teachers on FB state that they appreciate it...because in reality, these explanations are put together to most efficiently teach a concept to a group of kids -- and it lessens the amount of kids who are confused. I can see that.
I also had some moms respond that they wouldn't homeschool if those scripts weren't there. It makes me appreciate homeschooling in a time where there are so many options to cater to our comfort zones. There are people now who would not homeschool with the resources I had when I started, and certainly not with the resources that were there 10-15 years before. I actually have complete confidence they could and will do it.
Rebellion is in us all, we can through the lords help overcome but first we must recognize it in our self. It is not so easy to see in our self.
ReplyDeleteIf you identify with other Christian unschoolers, please stop by and visit other blogs -- perhaps even link up your own -- on http://www.sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=985
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the scripts in the Saxon math curriculum when we were homeschooling the Boss. I didn't always use it. Usually I just read through it to get a feel for what he should be expected to do and ideas on how to present it. However, if we were still homeschooling with him starting algebra, you can bet I'd be following that baby word for word. There's a reason I'm certified for foreign language and not math. ;)
ReplyDeleteI, too, like 100 Easy Lessons and Saxon when my kids were younger. I knew when they'd had enough, because they told me, and I also knew I hit all the building blocks. These days, we're definitely in the By-Gosh-And-By-Golly camp.
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