Ramblings...

November 9, 2013

Today I decided that I am not ashamed of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior.

That may seem odd, as I, being a Christian, am commanded not to be ashamed of him anyways. But, I tell you, it is odd for me to say it as well as believe it truly in my heart.

I have been inspired (it seems more often than not that other people inspire me, rather than me inspiring other people, which is what I would rather do…although, if I lose the ability to be inspired, then I lose the ability to inspire as well…). I have been inspired by a girl whom I met at the conference a few weeks ago.

She is a choir girl and goes to church, and sings about Jesus. She doesn’t care who knows that she goes to church. She doesn’t care who knows that she believes in God.

I decided that I’m stupid, and my excuse: I’m homeschooled. I didn’t know how the world works. I didn’t know that some people just don’t care what I believe. I didn’t know that there are nice atheists out there who believe in me as a person, who care about me, and respect what I believe. I didn’t know that a lot of people don’t mind if I talk about that I believe in Jesus. I just didn’t know…

I’m not saying that I resent being homeschooled, not at all. But it helps to meet other people outside of my little world. People who have different backgrounds than I do. People who have different life experiences that I can learn from. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love being homeschooled. I have second chances with homework. I have textbooks that work better than those idiotic computers that have been issued. I have all the time in the world for the subjects that I need all the time in the world for. I have an incredibly small student to teacher ratio. I have a teacher that understands where I need the most help, and the teacher gives me the most help.

So homeschooling works, for me, at least. I know some kids who work better learning with peers. So public school works for them.

It all depends on the kid.

All that reminds me of a conversation I had with one of my friends (who does not happen to be homeschooled.) She goes to a public  school, close to where I live, which has recently adopted a learning curriculum that involves the use of computers as textbooks. 

I personally hate computers. But I understand that this the way our American  society is leaning. Computer technology is an incredibly useful skill, and by all means, I endorse it as prosperous. 

Yet, what my friend was telling me was that the school system completely abandoned all use of normal textbooks (‘normal’ being two hard or paperback covers that contain pages in between them and hold useful and interesting reading material and also a small bit of magic per page…) in order to better adapt to this generation.

I spoke to this city’s school president (or whatever she is supposed to be called) and what she told me was that kids today are wired to learning through technology. “Just look around,” she said, “all the kids have their phones and computers out; this is where our future is going.” She wanted to help be a part of making our education system better and more adapted to modern children.

Unfortunately, I disagreed, and had not the courage to correct her where she was wrong. (I am a polite and courteous girl, and dislike having to quarrel with my elders.) What I would have said was, “Kids aren’t wired this way. This is the way the adult generation, who sit in labs trying ‘to make life better or easier’ and are actually making life worse, are making us to be. They equip us with these so called ‘tools’, that end up destroying our brains, expecting us to learn, while we wile away the hours on social media, awful websites, online gaming, and other various time wasters. 

 “Furthermore, my generation did not grow up with these technological toys. I have consulted another public schooled friend and her story is similar to mine:

“My particular family only recently bought a computer. When I was young, I happened to thrive on books. My mind developed peacefully, playing in the outdoors. I did not have to deal with a Wii or DS to distract me from my work, only rigorous exercise for my brain and body.

“But now these ‘tools for learning’, the computer, iPod, iPad, laptop, they distract me, and take away essential time that I need to study, to employ it in watching Youtube, listening to Pandora, or doddling around on Pinterest.

“Another thing I would have you know, is that my two (and only two) classes I have taken on the computer, I failed. I could not concentrate on reading my science on a screen. And I could not manage to manage all the cells and formulas that are so complicated in Excel.

 “This is not to mention that there is a huge problem with online textbooks. My pupil, whom I tutor in geometry, is having a difficult time getting on her online textbook. The system can easily overload with the number of students who are trying to study on the site, and she has to hurry up to be the first person online in order to keep up with her class.

“Therefore, I completely disagree with the path that you are taking our children down. And I would have you know that when I grow up and have children, I am homeschooling them, and letting them learn in the most efficient way possible, THROUGH BOOKS.”

And after everyone in the room was finished clapping, I woke up to find that I still had Algebra to do…