Time to reflect – Easing the Pressure

When people ask me what I like best about homeschooling I always say “Time”

Time to stop and investigate a concept or an approach that doesn’t click. Time to figure out what is the next logical step in learning. Time to take care of relationships and misunderstandings.  Time to dream and think. Time to contemplate.

Richard Rudd, creator of the Gene Keys calls contemplation a gift, 

“our true depth lies beyond the domain of objective understanding. To know what we really are, we will have to go beyond the mind itself. This is the purpose of the Art of Contemplation”

Ironically, in the conventional school setting, there is a lot of time left-over in the course of a full school day. Time spent waiting for others to understand concepts or finish an assignment. Time where children will naturally want to socialize and when, in conventionalways of thinking, children become “disruptive” – a negative concept that punishes play and sociability. 

No doubt it is frustrating for a public school teacher to work under pressure to teach a homogenous package of lessons to groups of children with varying styles of learning, degrees of aptitude, and emotional literacy. Disruptiveness only adds to the pressure in this kind of setting.  But as a homeschooling parent, if you’re able to set a different course, I bet you will find yourself and your children to be happier and be able to take the time to figure out when they aren’t. 

In my next post I’ll look into the value of flow