Homeschool Alliance: September 2019
Next month in the Homeschool Alliance, I am reprising my talk from the summer Brave Learner Conference called “Collaborating with Compassion.”
We’ve all discovered the power of partnering with our children—a common theme in the Homeschool Alliance.
We look for ways to:
- connect to them,
- honor their interests, and
- see them as full persons already (as Charlotte Mason reminds us).
Ironically, it takes putting yourself in the center of this educational equation—as a learner—to see the fruit you crave. We talk about child-centered learning. I love that because it implies the value of the child.
But sometimes that posture paralyzes us into inaction, waiting for the child to take the lead, to complete the task, to burn with intensity unprompted or supported by us. If he really wants to learn the physics of flight, he’ll learn it. If he doesn’t, then he will stop.
In fact, that is NOT how it works. What we’ll look at in our webinar together is an idea whose time has come. What would it mean to follow your child, but to follow as your child’s leader? (Maria Montessori)
The goal for September is to become more aware of the opportunities to see from behind the eyes of our children and then to take the actions that spring from that awareness.
We’ll talk more about it September 19 at the Brave Learner Book Club webinar. Join us!
