Seriously, the name alone should offend. When did it become popular to aspire to be "common"? I don't want my children to be "common". I want them to be as unique as their fingerprints, as stripes on a zebra as...well...something else that is unique.
This is Travis Alexander. He does take unique to an art form. He is nearly 14 (which quite frankly blows my mind). He has been homeschooled, like his siblings, for a total of 6 out of his 7 years of "schooling" to date. He chose to go back to public school this year. Mostly to see what the fuss was all about. I love the fact that he is very introspective about his experience, but even when Travis is introspective, he is chatty. Travis is NEVER non chatty...I mean NEVER. But, that is my cross to bear...moving on.
So Travis is a bright kid. I don't credit myself or homeschooling...he is just a bright kid. So he is doing very well in school. He pulled up his grades on Power School last night and was talking them over with his dad. Now Kevin (his dad for the one of you who may stumble upon this and not know us) is a type A "achiever" kind of guy. It took him awhile to embrace homeschooling for our kids and even then he had trouble sometimes with the attitude that "grades don't matter" (because they just don't! REALLY). So, when our older kids eventually went back to school he had finally acclimated more and was okay with A's and B's as long as they were learning and "doing their best". But, Travis is kind of a LOT like his dad. If he is going to bother to do something he might as well be the best, or at least his best. So, Kevin sees him as his "great white hope". He sees him as his "high GPA guy" and he, not so secretly, is excited by this prospect. I know it is not just the label he is excited about. After putting three daughters through several years of college and anticipating our fourth college tuition next year, I have learned the value of a high GPA, grades still don't matter...to me...but they do to some and so we will jump through their hoops. So, back to Power School. Travis has two A-'s. The rest are A's. But, I sat a few seats away, last night, listening to Kevin ask Travis "why the minuses"? In Digital Portfolio it is because he doesn't type well (my bad, that is actually a valuable life skill which I can confirm because Kevin doesn't know his home keys and he does use typing in his day to day job and we often pity the keyboard he has to use because he beats on it with his two index fingers. Of course, last night I saw him pick up his new Ipad and do some voice recognized notes so, seriously, in the world we are advancing towards how important will typing be? But, I digress)
The other A- was in Language Arts. Why? Because Travis doesn't really understand diagramming sentences. Now I will ask you, with a show of virtual hands, how many of you have diagrammed a sentence in your life post schooling? Granted, I am "just a housewife" but I can't come up with a career path that will require diagramming a sentence. (Other than a homeschool mom...so there is that irony). Let me just tell you that Travis writes well, not physically mind you. His handwriting is an abomination. But, he is creative and his writing flows and makes perfect sense. And boy does he love to read. I have seen him get as passionate about a book he is devouring as he gets when he takes the ball away from a charging forward on the soccer field. He uses words appropriately and in context. So why, why, why, is he diagraming sentences? Or failing at it I guess I should ask? I blame me, of course, I didn't focus on it in the past few years when I had him home. Why would I want that to be what we did with our time together? It just didn't seem important...because. it. isn't.
I have read the history of public schools. I know why they were created. I encourage you all to do the same. It is quite the eye opener. I am blessed beyond belief that I don't have to rely on them for my childrens' education. I am not a school basher. There are many things professional teachers are far more qualified to teach my children than I am. I support and respect the profession of teaching, administrating, lunch lady-ing. All the people that put their time and effort into being there each day and trying to shape a young life. I just don't understand why our government aspires to make this generation "common".
Where is the glory in that?
Well said :)
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