WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD

A friend of mine, a knowledgeable and experienced homeschooling mom, recently told me about an interesting encounter. One weekday, she was in line at the checkout counter at the grocery store with her four kids, ages 5-12. A man in line behind her, tapped her on the shoulder and said in an accusatory way, "Your children should be in school." He added, "They need to be in the real world."

My friend, being a very nice person, did not react as most of us might, with, "Mind your own business." Instead, with a forward extension of her arms, followed smoothly by an all-encompassing lateral movement of her outstretched hands and a slow, deliberate, smiling side-to-side glance, she said, "But this IS the real world... "How profound!

Children come into this world with a strong innate desire to learn about everything around them in order to adapt and eventually become autonomous adults like mom and dad. They learn to become adults by doing ordinary tasks, through trial and error and by imitating adults.

Initially, their surroundings are limited to the crib and the warmth and tenderness of their mother's arms. As they grow through infancy and the preschool years, they need to be increasingly exposed to, and involved in, EVERYDAY ADULT ACTIVITIES. While they also need to learn how to get along with children their own age, this is of little value in their quest for achieving adulthood.

In school, children are introduced to more of the world through their studies. However, sitting in class with other kids while learning history, math and other subjects, does not help them become adult-like. Kids learn how to become adults from adults, not from other kids.

Consider this: Let's say you want to learn to become an electrician. Would you learn best from beginners like yourself, or by spending time with an experienced electrician as he diagnoses and fixes real problems? Electricians learn to be electricians from electricians, not from electrician "wanabees."  

Let me repeat... Children learn to become adults by being involved in REAL WORLD, EVERYDAY ADULT ACTIVITIES. Being isolated and sequestered with other kids in traditional school is NOT the real world. As a parent, you should try to counterbalance the time your child spends in school with time spent in an "adult apprenticeship"... cleaning, cooking, doing the dishes, doing laundry, mowing the lawn, walking the dog, having dinner together as a family, discussing the news and yes, even shopping at the grocery store.

Bernard Schencker