WARNING: Appearances Misleading



We went to the Atlanta History Center's Homeschool Day yesterday to learn more about Ancient Empires.  I had high hopes. We went with two other homeschool friends, a mother and son, and had a lovely afternoon.  Denver and Alex had a particularly good time together.  Nevertheless, I found myself struggling with the experience. 

The Atlanta History Center offered a variety of activities for children.  It purported to be for ages six through teens, though John Robert and I agreed it was geared primarily for lower elementary.  Despite this, John Robert was a good sport, and participated in everything.  We went from activity to tightly scheduled activity in a hurry-- building mayan temples, building an aquaduct, erecting an obelisk, Zulu warrior training, and learning about life as a gladiator in Ancient Rome. 



This all sounds marvelous-- except it wasn't really.  Students were rushed from one activity to the next with no time to think, discuss, or ask questions.  There was little history provided with each activity, and no books or other materials from which to learn more about an area of interest. "Teachers" displayed little or no knowledge of their subject matter-- How much do you have to study to pronounce "obelisk" correctly or to know what years an empire existed?  So perhaps it is for the best that students were discouraged from asking questions.  They may have been able to learn a lot from one another, though, if they had the opportunity.

One of the reasons I took my boys out of school was to immerse them in real learning.  Too often they went to school and "learned" about Native Americans by getting their pictures taken in a feathered headdress, or learned about early colonists by making a pilgrim hat.  That is not real learning.  Parents and teachers love those activities because they are cute and make good photo opportunities.  The worst part of that type of experience, though,  is that it plants the seed in the child's mind that they "know" about a topic because they made a paper hat.  Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

I want real experiences for my children-- not thirty minute fabricated activities with little to no explanation behind them.  We can get that in school.  Most of all, I want all children treated like welcomed guests whose questions and interests are worth listening and responding to.  I want deep, focused learning; not just cute pictures. 

That is why we homeschool.