NHEN’s Laura Derrick Dropped By!
6 01 2008And her remarks are just too good not to be pulled up top, for all to see –
It has been said that politics is the art of the possible. I believe homeschooling is the art of the everyday. It ranges from the sublime to the mundane, from incredible moments that we never could have imagined, to the simple, inevitable joys and sadnesses of living. It is how we spend our days, how we live together, what we achieve, the goals we seek, and how we learn from the experiences we’d love to have do-overs on.
It is inevitable that we will not all go about homeschooling the same way, and that we won’t have the same ideas about how to protect our right to homeschool. I think that’s a positive thing. We need diversity, and we need a wealth of ideas and strategies. Some of us will be politically active. Others may gag over politics and choose instead to give advice or comfort. Still others might be the organizers of support groups or co-ops. Some might reach out through youth groups or churches, some by writing books, blogs, newsletters, websites, or magazines, and some might make their legacy by making a positive difference for one single, lucky child. There are as many ways for homeschoolers to keep homeschooling alive and well as there are ways and reasons to homeschool.
But you know, it’s not easy to sit by when someone else takes an approach you think is particularly unproductive, or maybe one you even think is counterproductive. It happens. We’ve all been there. I’ve come to the conclusion that it won’t ruin us unless we get stuck there and stop doing what it is that we know we’re good at. Not every strategy will turn out to be effective. Not every one will win friends. But intention is worth a lot, and I’m trying my best to accept the good intentions (for homeschooling, not necessarily for me) for what they are, to honor them, and move on.
I could give up talking to reporters because I know there are people out there who’d rather remain anonymous. I could decide the media would never listen to me anyway because they’ve been fed so many myths for so long. I could curl up and get cozy here just taking care of my family. And you know what? That would be fine. Life would go on, and chances are I would still make a difference in the lives of a few other families along the way. It’s enough. Really. And I’m sure I will be in that place someday.
For right now, I love making change. You know that moment of epiphany when your child first grasps a concept or masters a skill, when they make one of those huge leaps forward? It’s inspiring in a way that is pretty much unmatched by anything else. Well, for me, the moment when a reporter “gets it” - when they really, truly connect - is priceless.
It’s not so personal as what happens with my own children, of course, but it is almost as thrilling. (I’m keeping a record of all those reporters that come back to me later for homeschooling advice for their own families, by the way, and there are dozens so far.)
So I keep on. And I know we could have a hundred stories out there like the one about the college student for Obama, but only if more people like me decide it’s worth doing.
There IS change. There will continue to be change. It doesn’t depend on people thinking like we do, or agreeing to work together, or joining a particular organization. Just do what you do best. Do it with your heart and soul and mind engaged. Try to be generous and patient enough to let others do it their way, even when it grates on you. Remember that this homeschooling life IS the art of the everyday, after all.
And if you need inspiration to keep going, read stories about why people decide to homeschool in the first place. Here’s a recent article from my city paper’s blog with responses from my local homeschooling group. Real people taking back their everyday lives and moving forward, making change.
Thank you for your insight, Laura. Your words are a balm.
Nance
At least you didn’t call her balmy!
About change and its many mouthpiece meanings–
Looks like Dana at Principled Discovery is discovering as a Christian, the same principles Laura describes learning as a homeschooler, about dealing with seeming “fellows” who nevertheless shock, frighten and madden us, and worse, misrepresent to the larger world who “we” are, causing us all problems for which there’s really no solution except within ourselves.
“Adventures in fundamentalism” — interesting post plus comments.
Wondering if there is or should be, some difference between the phrase “fundamentalist homeschooler” and “homeschooling fundamentalist” —
and whether either of them might be useful to describe someone who was a fundamentalist *about homeschooling* specifically?
“Politics is the art of the possible. . .”
And that connects to Colin Tudge in his EDGE Question Center piece, expounding on the quote that “science is the art of the soluble:”
So let’s see then — science solves what it can, and politics paints over what’s left to keep it publicly “palette-able” (get it?).
MY problem is when science solves something with a new window that politics paints shut, with us trapped inside!
[...] 6, 2008 in educational freedom, living our lives Here’s a great comment (and some excellent advice) from Laura [...]
Leaving out the fundamentalist/secular issue for a moment, I think the Obama homeschooler article does more for the public about making them feel comfortable with homeschooling than the majority of the cookie cutter articles reporters write in which they try to describe how homeschooling works. Most people seem to come away from those articles feeling slightly threatened or appalled because the reporter didn’t have the kind of platform or wherewithal to describe the concepts and practicalities in enough detail.
[...] have to snag this little gem by National Home Education Network’s Laura Derrick shared by Cocking a Snook: It has been said that politics is the art of the possible. I believe homeschooling is the art of [...]
Valerie on her HEM news and commentary blog says:
“Amen to that, Laura!”
Kim, you are brilliant! SUCH a great point. . .
It’s much more powerful “power of story” to show, rather than tell. (This was an enduring principle inculcated in us through my own news-editorial journalism major — show, don’t tell! — and this is a great example.)
Educating the public about homeschooling is exactly like educating our kids in the first place. Remember Bloom’s taxonomy of knowledge, where rote memorization and reciting facts accurately isn’t much! It takes deeper and more complex learning and understanding before we can integrate and internalize real knowledge of anything, have it change our opinions and beliefs and politics, our relationships, and how we live and why.
Home education as an advocacy community (even more than schoolfolk), should by now be dazzlingly expert at understanding and applying this principle, to the way we educate people about home education! Otherwise we negate our own power in the very process of trying to claim it.
Laura’s showing through power of story does work, and she SHOWS us that it works:
That is strong evidence she reached these reporters with real learning and understanding, affecting their own relationships and how they personally live.
I had the darndest time, while reading this commentary, keeping my subconsicious focused on the 2008 election. It kept wandering over here.
Hi suze, and thanks!