However, how to definite “roots”?

“There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.”

— Hodding Carter II, former noted Mississippi editor

Hi, nice site. I’ve been reciting that quote in my mind for sometime, thinking there was a third one that we could “bequest for our children”. Oh! All the while there are only two? At least, I remembered both.

I blogged on this back in August of last year: http://marcys-musings.blogspot.com/2007/08/do-homeschooled-kids-have-wings.html, when I first came across his article. Here are a couple of thoughts I had that still resonate with me months later.

>>There are some of us who believe the first five years of a child’s life are a bit short to sink their roots deeply. Even for a tree, the process of building solid roots takes many years; it can’t be accomplished overnight. How much more true is that for a child? There’s a reason our country keeps parents accountable for their kids’ actions until they are at least 18 - because we recognize children aren’t adults until then. They need time to sink deep roots. Homeschooling facilitates that.>Just like a gardener, we gradually release the stakes that support them, one at a time, not all at once. So when they do leave home (for swim team, for camp, or for college), we don’t worry as much, because we know their roots have gone deep. These are not shallow-rooted trees that will tip over in the first big windstorm; they are solid, mature oak trees that will stand against the worst weather.>I very much want my children to fly. I just don’t believe that pushing them out of the nest before they have their flight feathers is going to do anything but land them on the sidewalk for the neighbor’s cat to feast on.

My question will always be….where do the little ones want to be? In most circumstances, they want to be hanging around with their family at home or elsewhere. If they’re little social bugs, then the parents can accommodate that if they find it necessary for their child(ren).

But none of that should be happening just because the government is telling us that pre-school or daycare is best for our children. (To keep them out of prison!?) That notion brings us back to the lack of logic again.

Nothing like old entries to dig up old conversations. : ) But I hadn’t actually seen the animal school video before last night, and it reminded me of that so I dug it up. : )

More than 25 words, but oh well. I had a tough enough time staying within the 1600 word limit I was given on my last article.

“Children can’t fly if they aren’t free, and they aren’t free if the conformity of a classroom is the only acceptable path to education.”

— Laura Derrick, president, National Home Education Network

. . .I wrote a carefully counted (not counting one contraction) 25-word response too, just to see if I could:

“Daycare, a bedtime kiss after homework, supervised weekend visitation
– otherwise all kids are creatures of the State and that’s the only way
to raise ‘em?”

I based mine on Judith Warner’s NYT parenting blog, specifically her parent involvement post that throws into such stark relief the media’s ignorance of School as the number one environmental toxin for a family-friendly culture. . .

JJ

In my area the stay at home mom’s often use daycare at the two year old age, not three. They don’t have wings at age two either. They allow fall birthdays so technically some are still one year old when prek-2 begins in September.

I don’t think all have strong wings at 5 or close to 5 when they begin Kindergarten in a school either.

Sad…

I love the Animal School video and have blogged it several times. Glad you are mentioning it to your blog readers too.

Have a great day.