Better Than School: A Homeschooling Success Story

I recently finished Better Than School: One Family's Declaration of Independence, a book that has changed my perspective on educating children. The book is Nancy Wallace's account of her experience of removing her son from public school and instead homeschooling him in a time when homeschooling was a very uncommon practice. She tells the story of watching her son grow more and more miserable in school, seeing him struggle to keep up with a curriculum that pushed him, tested him, labeled and categorized him, bringing him to agitation and depression. She recounts her difficult experience of battling with the school board for permission to teach him at home, and after receiving approval, having to deal with standardized testing and providing proof of her son's progress. The rest of her story describes the way her son (and daughter) excelled when given the opportunity to learn what he wanted to in a way that worked for his personality and learning style.

The Wallace family did their schooling through free play, real-life learning, reading good books, playing music, learning all about whatever topic most interested the kids, private music and language lessons, and small amounts of structured work on math and handwriting. In contrast to a controlled school environment, they changed their routine based on how they were feeling, what they wanted to do that day, and what they were most interested in and focused on.

I liked this book for lots of reasons. I liked that Nancy learned to trust herself and her children, even when she was being pressured by the school board or watching her children go through cycles of not doing any "work". I especially liked how in tune she was with her kids-- she paid close attention to her children and focused on how they were doing. Because she noticed her children's behavior, attitude, reactions, and processes so closely, she was able to work with her children rather than push them toward what she thought best for them. She danced with them, moving with them in a flow that supported them and led them while allowing them to move in their own ways.

John Holt, a pioneer of the homeschooling movement, writes in the introduction of Better Than School,

"One of the most important things the schools can learn is that their efforts, now of long standing, to force on all children a uniform curriculum, timetable, and methods of learning is a disastrous error. Reading about Ishmael and Vita, we can only be struck by how very personal, idiosyncratic, and unique are their ways of learning. It is tempting to think that most children have more orthodox ways of exploring and making sense of the world. But it is not so; all children move into the world in personal and idiosyncratic ways, and no two do it alike."

This is one of the first of many homeschooling books and websites I will be reading through the years. I forsee a lot of reading and learning on our part as we embark on the journey of schooling our children. We have chosen to homeschool our children, thanks to books like this one that motivate us so intensely. We want our children to be excited about learning, to develop their own passions and creations, to see life with wonder and possibility, and to become masters of their chosen interests.

What kind of education worked or didn't work for you in your life? What would you do (or plan to do or have already done) differently for future generations?


Related links/posts:
John Holt and Growing Without Schooling website
Winning at Parenting through Trust
From Lawn to Nature's Playground
Celebrating Womanhood