I just had to share some of my personal thoughts on something that was on my heart and mind today. First I want to share a quote with everyone:
"For we let our young men and women go out unarmed in a day when armor was never so necessary. By teaching them to read, we have left them at the mercy of the printed word. By the invention of the film and the radio, we have made certain that no aversin to reading shall secure them from the incessant battery of words, words, words. They do not know what the words mean;they do not know how to ward them off or blunt thei eduge or fling them back; they are a prey to words in their emotions instead of being the masters of them in their intellects...We have lost the tools of learning, and in their absence can only make a botched and piecemeal job of it." Dorothy L. Sayers "The Last Tools of Learning"
Okay what brought all of this up besides I have thought this for a while? I am reading the book "The Well Trained Mind" A guide to Classical Education at Home by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. If you have not read this book, I HIGHLY recommend it!!! It just made me start thinking about how the public school system failed me especially in my high school years. Thankfully, reading was in my blood and I loved it and no one could ever possibly take that away from me. While others in middle school were looking for the easiest books for AR just to reach their minimum, I was reading classics that those other kids missed out on like Little Women, Charles Dickens, Gone with the Wind. I tend to lean towards the classics although now I do read some other things too. Reading is one of the most important things to me, but learning to READ using phonics is not what I am referring to when I make that statement. Oh reading is SO much more than that!!! Reading is your outlet from the horrible things happening in our world today. Reading allows you to live in a different time, live in someone else's problems for a change and have the opportunity to question, debate and dream! That is one of the things this book is talking about. The LOVE of Reading has been lost. However, not only has the LOVE of reading been lost, but the ability to analyze, comprehend and truly understand what is being read. Reading helps to learn to see through and reason which are traits that are essential in being successful in life now.
With all of that said, I was educated in the public school system. This is by no means a bashing of the public school system at all. However, I do want to share my experiences. There were a few teachers along my journey that facilitated learning in a way that it SHOULD be and encouraged individual thoughts, questioning etc. It seems so many teachers do not like questions, do not like to be questioned at all. They expect their students to sit quietly in a desk and listen to what they have to say and then take a test on it which DOES NOT CAUSE COMPREHENSION, UNDERSTANDING OR A LEARNING OF IT!!!!!!!!!!! Okay and with that rant:
There were those that were essential to my education. One of the 1st that I truly remember being like that was Ginger Gillenwater whose last name is now Burton. She cared about her kids in her class and had this passion for teaching and learning about her students. I loved her so much that I even attended her wedding with a good friend of mine! The next one that I truly remember is Martha Stooksbury who taught Math. She loved Math and not only taught the facts and memorization by why you arrived at that answer. Math, as many know, is NOT my favorite subject but she was a wonderful teacher!!! The next one that I remember is Mollie Bolton. I remember being in her class debating some of the books that we read (I was in the advanced class) and having discussions that later when I reread those books as assignments again and had to write papers in high school, those discussions that we had in 8th grade Reading class were invaluable to look back on and remember the points that were brought up! Not only did Mollie Bolton LEAD those discussions, but she ENCOURAGED them which is something many teachers just do not do. Again, a lot just want to give out assignments, have the students be quiet and have students who pass these tests and do well on standardized tests to make them look good. When I had Mrs Bolton, never once did I hear about the standardized test given or that we had to be at a certain point by a certain time of year or anything of that nature. She seemed to enjoy the discussion and class as much as we did.
Many that live around wher we do will remember the next one that I remember as she has touched so many lives.... Mrs Dorcas Fairchild. She is a teacher and woman who taught me grammar and taught it WELL! Not only did she teach me grammar, but she that was the beginning of my OCD thing with always writing with correct grammar and being very picky with it. She also encouraged independent thinking as we studied the classics, poems and plays. I will never ever forget Dorcas Fairchild! She is an unusual woman, but no one that had her ever forgot her.
The next teacher I had that was amazing was Mrs Jackson who taught junior English. I felt so bad for her at times as we did not really have a sophomore English teacher so she had her work cut out for her that year. She had to not only teach the material she had planned for the year, but review grammar, the way you write papers, etc. I remember many wonderful discussions about the Crucible, The Scarlet Letter, etc. She is/was an amazing teacher!!!
And now for the person that was my best friend and the most memorable in teaching me to love writing, love reading but to question, debate and discuss everything I read::: Mae Brooks. I miss her like crazy! I spent many hours with Mae going over papers, correcting papers, discussing the books that I had read, but not just being corrected but having discussions on WHY I thought certain things were wrong and how I would fix it before she would lead me in the right direction. Up to the point that I had started seeing Mae for help with writing, I had never been taught in school how to properly write a paper, edit a paper and come up with a finished product. Mae taught me that invalueable skill that has carried over into my adult life and as I have been told, writing remains one of my strongest areas. Not only is it my strongest area , but I LOVE to write! I write for fun which I know many do not say this. As a matter of fact, I even edit papers and such for something fun to do. (yes I am a bit nuts!) I feel like I am giving back a part of Mae Brooks. More than a wonderful teacher, she was a kind woman who had amazing incite into absolutely every part of life! She gave me guidance with college, with writing, with life in general, support when I needed her and spiritual things and things of the heart. In turn, I loved Mae very much and considered her my very best friend. I spent lots of time talking to her about church, school, the kids who she adored, her life and the stress she often had, but Mae always looked ahead into the positive. Oh yes there were times I found Mae down as we all get down. I am thankful I had a part in picking her back up some of those times and was able to give back a bit of the help she gave me. I am just so amazed that right now she is HEALED for forever! No not on this earth like I would have liked, but right now she is with God in his loving arms walking those streets of gold with never a worry again. How amazing! Sometimes it is hard to fathom. Oh yes at times I miss her so much that tears come into my eyes, but I would not wish her back here not even for a second because she is so happy in heaven!
The other night I had this dream that I have yet to share with anyone as of yet. I dreamed that I was at the hospital again to see Mae and Claude was there. I walked in to see her and I talked to her and she said to me "I will be fine because I know where I am going." In my dream, I cried an I said "I don't want you to leave." Then in my dream it is almost like I looked away and then when I looked at her again there was a gold light behind her and then she disappeared and I woke up. I woke up in tears because the dream was not only beautiful, but it made me miss her that much more. However, it was like God was saying to me, she is fine because she is in my hands. That is what I needed since I have missed her like crazy here lately. When I go to church now, her absence has been felt so strongly lately!
I just wanted to share all of that from my heart and I hope I did not ramble too much. If anyone is reading this who does not homeschool and thinks well I would LIKE to do that but I can't, please email me or contact me or SOMETHING! If I can do it, anyone can! The reasons most give me are more excuses such as I don't have the money to homeschool, I don't have patience, I am not an organized person. For those that know me well, you know I am NOT a patient person at all and I am NOT organized. However, when you are giving your children the LOVE of learning, you would be surprised at how patient you can be and how you can learn to organize.
Have a Great Day!
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