by Barbara Frank
You know that look in their eyes that men get when they see their dream car? That glassy-eyed stare that means they’re imagining themselves driving that car on a twisting highway at 90 mph, swooshing along like they’re in the Grand Prix?
Well, that’s the same look I think we get when we see new curriculum. We imagine using it to teach our children. It has everything we need. It has everything our kids will need. It’s beautiful and fresh and clean. It lets us cross the appropriate subject (math, literature, spelling) off our list with great relief. In short, it’s the answer to our prayers.
For a few months, anyway. Then it may lose its luster. The kids begin to groan when we pull out the book. Or we begin to groan. Soon it becomes just one more thing to do on our lesson plan.
This isn’t true of all curriculum, but it’s true of most. Why does this happen?
First, it’s because no curriculum can be everything to everyone. It’s very unlikely that the subject it covers is presented in a way that suits all of your children, because they’re all different. It’s also unlikely that it’s presented in a way that works well for you all of the time. Packaged curriculum is a sort of one-size-fits-all teaching tool that can’t possibly be all things to all people. When you’re desperate for a solution to the question, “What will I use to teach grammar?” it looks like a solution because it’s packaged and advertised that way. But that doesn’t make it so.
We also burn out on curriculum is because most are not very user-friendly. Mainstream curriculum in particular is written in Teacherese for the classroom. It assumes a captive audience with nothing better to do than often-meaningless exercises. It’s not intended for the efficiency and simplicity of a parent teaching a child at the kitchen table.
Finally, curriculum becomes a hassle. It’s often set up to be used a certain number of days a year, which may not work with your family’s schedule. It may require peripherals (books, maps, software, etc.) that add up to a higher cost than the curriculum itself, which was already fairly expensive. Depending on the subject matter, you may find that it takes something simple and turns it into something way too complicated.
Sooner or later, most homeschoolers find that curriculum becomes a burden. And yet, no matter how overcomplicated or expensive or inefficient a curriculum may turn out to be, I think it can actually be an asset to new homeschooling parents, because curriculum gives you a framework to get started. The decision to homeschool is scary enough without having to reinvent the wheel by designing a curriculum. There are ready-made solutions out there that make you feel as though teaching your kids is possible when you’re a newbie.
What many homeschooling parents eventually find, however, is that the framework of mainstream curriculum becomes a jumping-off point for doing their own thing. They start making changes, omitting lessons, and adding books or activities. Pretty soon, after seeing that their changes improve the learning experience for their children, they develop enough confidence to start piecing together their own curriculum. They find that they can combine different curriculum and other resources and the world doesn’t come to an end.
This is when homeschooling gets really interesting. Once you realize that curriculum can be a tool instead of a mandate, you can use it to create individual learning experiences for each of your children. You learn to pick and choose, keeping what works and discarding the rest. You feel free to start in the middle if that’s where your child is. You become comfortable skipping any activities that don’t fit with the way you do things.
Once you reach that stage, you understand that curriculum is just a small part of what you need to teach your children. It joins books, craft projects, field trips, software, videos and free play in the lineup of educational tools in your homeschooling arsenal. Stripped of its mystique and its power, it becomes more useful and less intimidating.
So go ahead and study whatever curriculum that’s available. Read the reviews. Talk to your friends who have already tried and formed opinions about different products. Buy whatever looks good to you. But remember, curriculum is just one tool. It’s shouldn’t be the center of your homeschooling universe.
Copyright 2011 Barbara Frank/ Cardamom Publishers
Barbara Frank homeschooled three children to adulthood and continues to homeschool her youngest son. Her latest book is “Thriving in the 21st Century: Preparing Our Children for the New Economic Reality” (Cardamom Publishers, April 2011). You'll find her on the Web at www.thrivinginthe21stcentury.com and http://barbarafrankonline.com
You know that look in their eyes that men get when they see their dream car? That glassy-eyed stare that means they’re imagining themselves driving that car on a twisting highway at 90 mph, swooshing along like they’re in the Grand Prix?
Well, that’s the same look I think we get when we see new curriculum. We imagine using it to teach our children. It has everything we need. It has everything our kids will need. It’s beautiful and fresh and clean. It lets us cross the appropriate subject (math, literature, spelling) off our list with great relief. In short, it’s the answer to our prayers.
For a few months, anyway. Then it may lose its luster. The kids begin to groan when we pull out the book. Or we begin to groan. Soon it becomes just one more thing to do on our lesson plan.
This isn’t true of all curriculum, but it’s true of most. Why does this happen?
First, it’s because no curriculum can be everything to everyone. It’s very unlikely that the subject it covers is presented in a way that suits all of your children, because they’re all different. It’s also unlikely that it’s presented in a way that works well for you all of the time. Packaged curriculum is a sort of one-size-fits-all teaching tool that can’t possibly be all things to all people. When you’re desperate for a solution to the question, “What will I use to teach grammar?” it looks like a solution because it’s packaged and advertised that way. But that doesn’t make it so.
We also burn out on curriculum is because most are not very user-friendly. Mainstream curriculum in particular is written in Teacherese for the classroom. It assumes a captive audience with nothing better to do than often-meaningless exercises. It’s not intended for the efficiency and simplicity of a parent teaching a child at the kitchen table.
Finally, curriculum becomes a hassle. It’s often set up to be used a certain number of days a year, which may not work with your family’s schedule. It may require peripherals (books, maps, software, etc.) that add up to a higher cost than the curriculum itself, which was already fairly expensive. Depending on the subject matter, you may find that it takes something simple and turns it into something way too complicated.
Sooner or later, most homeschoolers find that curriculum becomes a burden. And yet, no matter how overcomplicated or expensive or inefficient a curriculum may turn out to be, I think it can actually be an asset to new homeschooling parents, because curriculum gives you a framework to get started. The decision to homeschool is scary enough without having to reinvent the wheel by designing a curriculum. There are ready-made solutions out there that make you feel as though teaching your kids is possible when you’re a newbie.
What many homeschooling parents eventually find, however, is that the framework of mainstream curriculum becomes a jumping-off point for doing their own thing. They start making changes, omitting lessons, and adding books or activities. Pretty soon, after seeing that their changes improve the learning experience for their children, they develop enough confidence to start piecing together their own curriculum. They find that they can combine different curriculum and other resources and the world doesn’t come to an end.
This is when homeschooling gets really interesting. Once you realize that curriculum can be a tool instead of a mandate, you can use it to create individual learning experiences for each of your children. You learn to pick and choose, keeping what works and discarding the rest. You feel free to start in the middle if that’s where your child is. You become comfortable skipping any activities that don’t fit with the way you do things.
Once you reach that stage, you understand that curriculum is just a small part of what you need to teach your children. It joins books, craft projects, field trips, software, videos and free play in the lineup of educational tools in your homeschooling arsenal. Stripped of its mystique and its power, it becomes more useful and less intimidating.
So go ahead and study whatever curriculum that’s available. Read the reviews. Talk to your friends who have already tried and formed opinions about different products. Buy whatever looks good to you. But remember, curriculum is just one tool. It’s shouldn’t be the center of your homeschooling universe.
Copyright 2011 Barbara Frank/ Cardamom Publishers
Barbara Frank homeschooled three children to adulthood and continues to homeschool her youngest son. Her latest book is “Thriving in the 21st Century: Preparing Our Children for the New Economic Reality” (Cardamom Publishers, April 2011). You'll find her on the Web at www.thrivinginthe21stcentury.com and http://barbarafrankonline.com
