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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-10-01, Page 19• Entertainment • Features *Religion • Family *More SECTION Dungannon children learn through work, play and travel While rainy days will find Jeremiah and Noah Sommer stu- dying academics indoors, upper left, sunny days usually mean outdoor activity. Below, the boys along with their friend, Jesse, pick apples to make cider. Play and incidental learning make up a large part of the boys' home schooling. (photos by Susan Hundertmark) By Susan Hundertmark Home schooling Parents teach at home to avoid competition and conformity BY SUSAN HUNDERTMARK existing educational facilities. To do so, The day started with eight-year-old they provide a 1:1, 2:1 or 1:2 student - Jeremiah and his brother Noah, 6, teacher ratio with a larger group occa- harvesting some vegetables they'd helped sionally. They also make everyday ex - their parents grow in the garden and set- periences the basis of learning and direct ting up a vegetable stand. activities allowing for fluctuations in a Once they'd finished pricing the child's energy level. vegetables, it was time for lunch and they They avoid competition ' which they decided to pretend that the kitchen table believe to be a "corrupt incentive" and in - was in a restaurant. Their mother played stead acknowledge improvements with a along by writing receipts and "charging" sincereword or motion. They also avoid her sons for lunch, helping them add up the conformity which they believe stifles in - totals. dividuality and creativity. .— During —.During lunch, the radio announced Television . and other "brain -washing storm warnings for the afternoon and as media" is avoided while the importance of the skies grew darker, the boys decided a wholesome nutrition is promoted. tornado must be coming their way: They By teaching their own children, they closed up the vegetable stand talking with learn with their children and hope to avoid their parents about what emergency a "generation gap." measures they should take in preparation "If we really would be more stopidetol think or family than to at for the storm. o Though they weren't sitting . in a' have a mother and father willing to teach classroom, they had learned lessons that and learn with their own children?" they day, with the help of their parents, in ask m the paper. agriculture, mathematics, nutrition, Both Pauli and Phil agree that though science and life skills. they use a lot of energy teaching their kids There's no such thing as an average day, at home, they get a lot out of it as'well. agrees their parents Pauli and Phil Som- "If I was off selling life insurance, I feel ' mer, of Dungannon, who are educating ' I'd be missing a vital aspect of humanity their children at home. by not being with my kids. With adults, you "School doesn't have to be a building. don't see the same raw discovery that The whole world is your school," says children havewhen they learn," says Phil. Pauli. "They're constant reminders to be here A former public school teacher, Pauli in the present right now. You almost have knew she wanted to educate her children to teach them to worry about the future or at home since the conception of her first drag out the past," saysauli. child. After teaching 38 children in a Grade Because everyone works and learns at 5 and 6 class in Waterloo County which was home, there is no scheduled time when the part of 120 students with three other Sommers start the day. Because "eth e teachers in an open concept classroom, children are academically"perkiest she was frustrated by the ineffectiveness the morning or sometimes even late at of the large ratio of students to each night, lessons revolve around those times. teacher. • "Some tires of the day, it's impossible "It was extremely stressful for both the to ' get them to Concentrate on anything children and the teacher. Too much was academic but other times, I can't give it to going on at the same time and the sound - them fast enough," says Pauli. level was incredible. Nobody seemed to be One of the advantages of home schooling flourishing." is that the children can learn at their own "And, the florescent -lit confined ,glassroem situation is an unhealthy en- vironment especially for little ones. Children need to be active and out in the fresh air," she says. Her last year of teaching made up her mind. At the end of a satisfying year of teaching 18 Kindergarten students when a sense of play and activity was used to its fullest, she took her class to visit a Grade 1 class on a typical afternoon ip June. "It was hot and half of the 30 kids in the classroom looked like they could have fallen asleep. The teacher was trying to drag some phonetic lessons out of them," she recalls. "The Kindergarten kids watched and quietly went back to our room. When we got there, they were so upset saying, 'We don't want to go to Grade 1." After that year, she becafne pregnant and decided to stop teaching and join her partner with his glassworks decided they iness at home. At that. time, they', de would educate their children at home. They named their boftte Scheel "kinesis- Nexus Matrix" meaning learning through pace. For example, Jeremiah has recently discovered division and is really excited about it. While talking with a friend his age about learning to divide, Jeremiah learned that his friend won't learn to divide until Grade 3. "At a regular school, you go the pace of the teacher. But, Jeremiah assumes you tan learn whatever you want whenever you want," says Phil. Pauli admits that while her sons may be far advanced in some areas, they fall behind in others. Jeremiah has taken an achievement test to determine what grade, level he's at. "We want to know the local curriculum so we can know they've covered it so that they could slip into the regular system with their peers if they had to," site says. To do that, the Sommers will introduce subjects their sons may not have any in- terest in. "I seize on tunes when they're direc- tionless and direct them to curriculum subjects and that could be any time of the day, eve made startling advances late s because we've ve taken.the oppor- and n hi a nig motion,connecting through.,>�e��tio s t n);.y�pp or dri in) for tun{ y,>. she says. and providing aatri C g ut most''of the time they follow their consciousness. � �f :. , what he 'II lear'� each e `basis of stall'.reo� About wha � y ><< Ina ppaper ,whiilh explains th their. sclraol, the Sommers say they hope'to day, Anal f'ni the first couple 'of years of correct what they consider detrikrietltal in school, the Sommers believe their sons should be spending -most of their time play- ing. Even the academic subjects are ap- proached in the spirit of play. One morning, Jeremiah had the notion he'd make toxic chemicals. So, he gathered some jerusalum artichokes and conducted an experiment after consulting with the family's homeopathic doctor. Jeremiah's experiment is only one ex- ample of the incidental learning he and his brother do everyday. While working with theirparents in the garden, the two learn about photosynthesis, nutrition and agriculture. They both know how to plant, weed, harvest and preserve beans. "They're both really active in the kit- chen. They'd do the boiling and blanching of vegetables if we let them. And, they know how to make nutritious meals," says' Pauli. - When Pauli's sister gave the boys some French records, they listened to them for hours throughout ti1P winter last year. As a, result, the boys began to learn the language and Noah can sing in French with a better accent than his parents have. - Because the Sommers are artisans and their sons travel with them to craft shows, they have learned how different products are made, who made them and how to han- dle money. assume that things "They usually gs are � Made by people. We've ve had to tell them that some things are made by Machines," says Pauli. Because Jeremiah wanted some spen- ding nrioney at one craft show in Ottpwa, he :drew pictures of the Chateau Laurier, sold them and was able to buy the things he wanted. On the craft"show circuit, the. Sommers Have made friends with a Freneh Cana- dian family with whom they plan to set up an exchange program to teach each other's children French and , English language and culture. Attending the craft shows also teaches the Sommers' children about the value of art. . "They know that art isn't just used to make money but you can survive by sell- ing it. It's,very possible they could become artisans themselves. There isn't enough of an emphasis, en art and culture in the educational system for us," says Pauli. Alojgg with the practical lessens, the Soms say their boys are learning im- portant psychpplogical lessons. "They're 1'eM'hing not to be afraid of be- ing wrong, how to• act positively with a group, how t� be initiators, how to learn without structure and how to learn quickly in new fields. They're also avoiding the racism, sexism and ethnocentricity they could be learning at public schools," says Phil. The Sommers depend a lot on their friends to teach their children about their job or their skirls. "Teachers don't have to be titled as such. Friends can teach a lot. They have a great influehee in their lives," Pauli says. One of the differences the Sommer boys have from other children is their in- noeetiee and sensitivity. froin their 'Tris to page IA No logic behind day care's defeat It was appropriate that rain teemed down on the sidewalk outside town hall and that thunder cracked angrily in the sky, Monday evening after town council voted down day care for Goderich. The weather matched the moods of more ' than 60 disappointed and angry parents who'd hoped that day care's day had finally come for this town. Their hope did not reflect unrealistic optimism or idealism. Rather, there was every logical, economic and businesslike ; reason to believe that day care could be I successful and financially responsible in Goderich. After months of careful research into the issue, the need for such a service was clearly documented with a survey, testimony fror a dozens of parents and let- ters of suppo' t from social agencies such as Family a.a d Children's ery Services. As well, the facts and figures, derived from consultation with the Ministry of Community and Social Services and a a handful of day care centres operating in towns similar in size and circumstances to Goderich, showed a very manageable cost to the town. With a maximum operating deficit of $15,000, it was pointed out that the cost to each household in town would be a mere $5 a year! It was also shown that the $15,000 could be pared down considerably. By operating the Mini Community Centre under a day care budget, the town could actually save $5,000 off its recreation .5 budget. Charging surrounding townships $3,000 to $4,000 each for use of the centre could chop another $6,000 to $8,000 off the total. And, charging a higher per diem rate than $12 per child, as many parents have indicated they could afford, would also ?, shave chunks off the cost to taxpayers. Some councillors' also suggested means tests to charge parents rates ap- propriate for their incomes. The point was made loudly and clearly for anyone who wanted to listen that economics, were not a reason t� turd - down day care. Council has spent much more on a lot fewer taxpayers in the past. And, council has many options available to reduce the costs of day care to a 1 minimal, ahnost negligible expense. But, the numbers failed to move those councillors who voted against day care. Indeed, it was observed that if a day care centre couldbe shown to run at a profit, those councillors who voted "Nay" would still not have been swayed. If logic and a view to economics were not the yardsticks council used to measure day care, I have to wonder what was. What was the hidden agenda of those who voted "Nay"? Is it possible they opposed the mayor who promised day care before the issue was brought to the council table? If so, had they nurtured their "Nay" for so long they were too attached to it to let . logic enter into their decision-making process? Judging from the nature of the ques- tions asked by the "Nay -sayers", ears and minds were not open during past .,meetings and homework had not been done during the months that day care had been on council's agenda. Answers to_ such questions as how many workers would be employed and why parents could not afford to open a privately -run centre had been given several times. Suggestions that the majority of tax- payers in Goderich was against a day care centre also 'seem unlikely. Why haven't we heard from at least one member of the opposition through a let- ter to council or an appearance at one , meeting? Why, in a council chamber fill- ed ahnost to the limit, wasn't at least one voice raised in opposition to day care, if most people in. town are against it? Of course, • if councillors cannot be moved by logical economic arguments, 1 it's foolish to present human ones. But, I still find it extremely disappointing that the welfare and quality care of Goderich children has no power to move those who voted "Nay." While reams of arguments are made all the time - by councillors about the global benefits of investing in and nurtur- ing local businesses, those same arguments are forgotten when they could and should be applied to children.. It's hard to know what sort of advice to offer parents who've worked long and hard for day dare in Goderich. When neither logic nor emotion have been used to arrive at a decision, you have to wonder what exactly councillors did use. Indeed, it's impossible to reason with a group of men who appear to have forgot- ten "reasoning" when they voted "Nay." Since a couple councillors suggested they would only support day care if there was absolutely no cost to the town, parents might consider offering to fun- draise for the remaining deficit. Election time is still two years off so the power of a vote cannot yet threaten. But, this issue trumpets the importance of involvement in municipal politics: I • hope that those who want to make positive changes and invest in Goderieh's future will seriously Consider running for offiee when the time conies. And, 1 hope they willemember those Wht) ve shown that Goderich s children riitd'therefore it's tature are riot a priori. and vote accordingly.