Searching for the Backdoor



Fail. The real "F" word. What a horrible word. The dreaded grading letter that makes a student cringe and a parent's eyebrows furrow. I managed to dodge the unacceptable letter for most of my academic career...until Dr.Mantz. Twelve years of public school under my belt, then in college, it happened. I received and F+++ on a literature paper. My reaction was not expected...I laughed and laughed. Stared at it for awhile until the truth set in, then set on a journey to find out what happened to my stellar academic career.
Truthfully, I met my match with Dr.Mantz. Being more of a science type, I couldn't get my brain around, beside nor in the vicinity of this world of literature. My high school experience somehow missed that class...but passed me anyway. Later on, I was relieved and impressed with Dr.Mantz's final exam. There were 3 essay questions that had to be about 3 pages long each, all of which I had insufficient knowledge. I started to see that "F" appear on the front of my paper again, until I read essay question #4. It read something like this:

"Write 3 pages on anything you know anything about from our classes this semester."

Now that I could do. I wrote and wrote about who knows what and passed the exam with great relief. I never forgot that approach. It became more and more important to me as I studied about education and began homeschooling.
We are so programmed to study and regurgitate information in order to get that checkmark, that we forget what real knowledge is. Sure, we have to be able to write tests to some extent, but intelligence is far more complex than just being a good test taker (which is what I was). I will feel justified in giving the "checkmark" when my kids can narrate to me something they have learned, in their own words, written and orally. Not an easy task. Especially when every third word tends to be "like" or "um", and because for some, a pen in hand means "it's time for a nap".
I don't always decide what they must know, their brains guide me. Their aptitudes and interests give me insight into what God has planned for them. There is no way they can learn everything about everything, so somehow, we teachers have to filter through the endless topics, books and activities to choose each student's course of study. Then focus in and master these things...without letting those other rejected topics seduce us into more brain cramming. I have heard this message so many times now from veteran homeschool Moms and their graduated, successful students. This is really a great relief to me. They don't have to KNOW everything, they just have to able to efficiently and independently LEARN anything they want to. My job is to plant the tools firmly into their hands, not to fill their heads with trivia.

Retaining knowledge is the key, not just being able to memorize and reproduce information only to forget it a year later. My husband never forgets anything. It's highly annoying, but I wish I could be that annoying. That's why he rarely had to study, while I beat my brain to death for exams. One catalyst for this kind of true learning is interest. If you are interested in something, you will burn those memory paths in your brain "real good". So, I set out to major on the subjects of interest and then, find ways to make those undesirable, yet necessary things more interesting and acceptable. If that doesn't work... just do it anyway...that's life...hopefully not most of life, but some of life.

My 10 year old has definite learning issues. His ability to recall is extremely impaired...even the names of people in our church he has known for his whole life can refuse to come to him. He can recognize sufficiently, but names and words do NOT come easily. For this reason, his reading list is very short and he may never be a prolific writer. However, there is a budding scientist or engineer looming behind those chocolate brown eyes. I wish there was a window into his mind because I'm sure the intelligence held within is captivating. It often comes out in his doodling and questions. My job is to provide a door for him to express that knowledge and ability. The usual door is locked, so I am searching for another.

I fear sometimes, that I'm not looking hard enough or in the right places, but I know God will help us. He will show us the way in His perfect timing. For now, we plug along with dedication and dive into what we can. It may require my bathroom becoming a science lab, hundreds of doodle papers strewn about the house and board game pieces arranged into a battle-plan on every table, but we will tolerate the disarray of creativity.

The school system diagnosed Einstein as mentally retarded. Sometimes outward appearances are inaccurate, and we must not be quick to lower our expectations. Although, I think his mom could have done something about his hair.

The science lab:




The "not so mad scientist":

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