www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
If your number-one desire is to raise chil-dren;who;make;high;scores;on;standard-ized;tests,;you;will;have;different;goals
than a parent who desires to raise a child
who;loves;learning;and;who;can;find;in-formation independently, verify it, and
share it with others. For many years now
I have encouraged parents to be the master of their ships, setting the sail toward
their desired destinations, planning their
academic adventure based on their goals
instead of commonly held ideas about
scope and sequence, segregating subjects.
I frowned upon the idea of duplicating
the school system with which we are all
most familiar.
Instead, I suggested that parents con-
centrate;on;developing;a;Biblical;world-
view,;reading;good;books,;and;creating
public speaking opportunities, as well
as teaching logic, debate, and current
events. In addition, and perhaps most
important, I suggested that parents teach
their;children;how;to;ask;the;right;ques-
tions, question the answers, and be se-
cure in discovering the truth (developing
strong;research;skills).;Being;confident
that my youngest two would eventually
learn to read, I made the decision not to
teach them to read in order to see what
would happen. What I did do each year,
with purpose, was to plan and expedite
co-ops that were designed to create a
safe and friendly learning environment.
These co-ops created opportunities for
honing;the;skills;most;important;to;rais-
ing functioning, thoughtful children who
can;think;critically,;who;understand;why
they believe what they believe, and who
can articulate and defend those beliefs
orally and in writing.
Was I concerned that my experiment
would harm my children? Absolutely
not, or I would not have been willing to
forgo reading lessons. When an adult ap-
plies;for;a;job,;he;is;never;asked;this;ques-
tion:;“At;what;age;did;you;learn;to;read?”
Employers do not care when you learned
to read; they only care that you can read.
Did;you;know;that;there;is;a;U.S.;Presi-
dent who did not learn to read until his
wife;taught;him;at;age;17?;(Use;your;re-
search;skills;and;verify;that;fact.)
Reading is a means to an end—not the
end;itself.;We;want;to;fan;the;flames;of
interest and show our children how read-
ing is a tool that provides encourage-
ment, comfort, information, and more.
By;the;way,;I;love to read, and I have
always read aloud to my family. Our
read-alouds were chosen to enhance the
co-op studies. I’m also a book-aholic
and;a;firm;believer;that;there;are;never
enough;bookcases;in;a;home;to;house;all
the;books;one;should;have;on;hand.;Our
non-readers had access to quite a few pic-ture;books;and;easy;readers,;which;they
could enjoy during rest time and play
time.
The year I had decided not to worry
about teaching my youngest two to read
we were involved, as usual, in a co-op.
We;met;once;a;week;with;several;fami-lies whose children ranged in age from
We want to fan the
flames;of;interest;and
show our children how
reading is a tool that
provides encouragement,
comfort, information,
and more.
