Contrived Learning Activities
I often founnd homeschool unsatisfying because we often didn't seem to
do much. As Thomas, Roger and April grew into middle childhood and
early adolescence they rarely instigated activities of the kind I'd
find in a classroom of their peers. We were always busy, but products
weren't always a focus or immediate outcome of our activities.
Sometimes it took ages to complete a project, even years. Many
projects were abandoned mid-stream, as new passions or interests
arose; or as I later realised, the essential learning driving the
interest was satisfied and there wasn't a valid or pressing reason to
go any further.
Because the children came to projects motivated by their own interests
and passions, usually bursting with ideas, they stayed on task,
working for hours on end without break, sometimes focussed for days.
It would have been silly for me to interrupt these intense learning
sessions, to introduce an activity that would 'teach' or advance other
skills...
I realised that a lot of the curriculum presented in schools mimics or
tries to set up artificial environments to stimulate learning that
naturally and effortlessly occurs in the home, especially in the area
of health, personal and physical development. Learning hygiene and
nutrition at home isn't alienated from cause and effect, sanitised by
reams of paperwork and colouring in. It's immediately meaningful to
the learner, who doesn't even know he or she is learning anything at all.
Homeschooling for us has been essentially activity based, and as we
grew in our knowledge of how learning really occurs those activities
became less contrived. It's hard to justify doing something for
learning's sake, but it's easy to persuade involvement in rebuilding a
petrol driven motor for a miniature car for a senior citizen to drive
in the local end of year pageant as a clown... Easy because Roger and
Thomas are interested in mechanics, love to help friends, don't want
to perform in the pageant, but want to support it by cheering it along
and helping build a float or two, as they see participation as vital
to building community.
Up until a couple of years ago, I still fell into the trap of asking
Thomas to do something that feels alien and not at all immediately
meaningful in any context. I rack my brain for reasons, and usually
find some kind of fear, and we settle on that, and do the silly thing
and feel better. We're happy to compromise, but only because most of
our life is full of busy, self motivated and meaningful activities
that are loaded with all the goals and objectives and stated aims of
all the school curricula I have ever read. I often wonder what lasting
effect constantly mimicking real life, way past the age where such
pretend games are happily played, has on young minds...
© Beverley Paine
You may reprint the above article provided you include this information:
Have a homeschooling question? Become a member of the friendly Homeschool Australia Frequently Asked Questions email group. Visit Homeschool Australia for more original content. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to the FREE bi-monthly Homeschooling Australia Newsletter, or sign up for Daily Homeschooling Tips
Visit www.alwayslearningbooks.com.au for a great range of homeschooling, unschooling and books on natural learning!
do much. As Thomas, Roger and April grew into middle childhood and
early adolescence they rarely instigated activities of the kind I'd
find in a classroom of their peers. We were always busy, but products
weren't always a focus or immediate outcome of our activities.
Sometimes it took ages to complete a project, even years. Many
projects were abandoned mid-stream, as new passions or interests
arose; or as I later realised, the essential learning driving the
interest was satisfied and there wasn't a valid or pressing reason to
go any further.
Because the children came to projects motivated by their own interests
and passions, usually bursting with ideas, they stayed on task,
working for hours on end without break, sometimes focussed for days.
It would have been silly for me to interrupt these intense learning
sessions, to introduce an activity that would 'teach' or advance other
skills...
I realised that a lot of the curriculum presented in schools mimics or
tries to set up artificial environments to stimulate learning that
naturally and effortlessly occurs in the home, especially in the area
of health, personal and physical development. Learning hygiene and
nutrition at home isn't alienated from cause and effect, sanitised by
reams of paperwork and colouring in. It's immediately meaningful to
the learner, who doesn't even know he or she is learning anything at all.
Homeschooling for us has been essentially activity based, and as we
grew in our knowledge of how learning really occurs those activities
became less contrived. It's hard to justify doing something for
learning's sake, but it's easy to persuade involvement in rebuilding a
petrol driven motor for a miniature car for a senior citizen to drive
in the local end of year pageant as a clown... Easy because Roger and
Thomas are interested in mechanics, love to help friends, don't want
to perform in the pageant, but want to support it by cheering it along
and helping build a float or two, as they see participation as vital
to building community.
Up until a couple of years ago, I still fell into the trap of asking
Thomas to do something that feels alien and not at all immediately
meaningful in any context. I rack my brain for reasons, and usually
find some kind of fear, and we settle on that, and do the silly thing
and feel better. We're happy to compromise, but only because most of
our life is full of busy, self motivated and meaningful activities
that are loaded with all the goals and objectives and stated aims of
all the school curricula I have ever read. I often wonder what lasting
effect constantly mimicking real life, way past the age where such
pretend games are happily played, has on young minds...
© Beverley Paine
You may reprint the above article provided you include this information:
Have a homeschooling question? Become a member of the friendly Homeschool Australia Frequently Asked Questions email group. Visit Homeschool Australia for more original content. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to the FREE bi-monthly Homeschooling Australia Newsletter, or sign up for Daily Homeschooling Tips
Visit www.alwayslearningbooks.com.au for a great range of homeschooling, unschooling and books on natural learning!
