Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Go Ahead. Be a Quitter.

In talking to moms who are wanting to take their kids out of the school system (public, private, whatever), I've noticed a trend. They all want to wait until the end of the semester or the end of the school year.
But what is the point of that exactly? I recently found Guilt-Free Homeschooling (and despite my husband's joking, that does not mean "How not to homeschool and not feel guilty about it." har har) It's a website full of resources, solutions, and encouragement for homeschool moms or those who one day hope to be.
The author, Carolyn, has this to say about quitting the school system:


Let's take a reality check time-out here. By leaving the child in a school system that is not teaching him, or that is teaching him incorrectly, what you, the parent, are teaching him is that quitting is not ok, but failing is awesome.
Once you realize that something isn't working, why do you feel the need to stay commited to it?

6 comments:

rachel said...

Yeah, why keep riding a dead horse?

(Confession-one of my children who needs LOTS of extra help does go to a school, but I have been wanting to use this expression and it fit perfectly!) Simple joys, you know!

Anonymous said...

"Once you realize that something isn't working, why do you feel the need to stay commited to it?"

Ginger - would you ask this same question if someone were referring to their marriage? Just curious.

Barb J.

Ginger said...

Is that a serious question??
Marriages don't stop working. People stop working on their marriage.

Veronica said...

Ok, Barb, in answer to your question, I think I see the problem here. We are not talking about quitting in general, but quitting a method or course of action that is not working for you. If, for example, your child is not receiving an education at a public school, you might try private school or homeschooling, and try it right away, rather than wasting time waiting for the next calendar break, etc. You would not however, quit on getting an education altogether, and dropout, right? The same for marriage. If something is wrong in a marriage, you work on changing the way you communicate, behave, etc, rather than continue on in the same way you had always been. But you would not quit on marriage, and just stop being married.

Does that make sense, or is it clear as mud?

What I mean is, you don't stay committed to a way or method that isn't working. Those things are the means to an end. You DO stay committed to the end though.

Chas said...

Ginger...

You are absolutely right, I hear that a lot too.
"I wish I could homeschool or I might try it after this or that... or you must be soooo patient to keep the kids home with you."
Hardly. :)
I am by no means a model teacher or my children model students, but we know it works and that is what matters. That and the fact that *I* am the one who gets to witness all their advancements and their sweet faces all day, not a public school teacher.

As for the fact of what Barb J. asked.
Absolutely NOT!
You NEVER quit your marriage. Ginger you were right on again!!! marriages DON'T stop working, people stop working on their marriage.

Julie said...

I remember how some people thought we were crazy to take our kids out of school with only a few weeks left to finish the year. But we went straight from the courthouse where the adoption was finalized to the school board. Oh happy day. I was not willing to leave my kids with that bunch for one more minute. :)