We’ve had two meetings now for the EC that my wonderful, patient dh is leading for the boys in our homeschool group. It turns out that nearly every boy (from one homeschool group) that was even close to the target ages signed up. I have twenty-one (yes, 21) boys on the list! The first day we had 17 men & boys in our basement. Four dads showed up and really seemed to learn a lot and enjoy the lecture dh gave.
The second meeting brought us nine boys and four dads, some of each group being new. Dh lectured again and demonstrated something electronic-y. Everyone seems to be having a really good time, even dh.
I think he is channeling his inner teacher. He always says that he is not a good teacher, but I think he is great when it is something he is passionate about. He seems to be rather at ease up in front and has managed to really excite some of the boys (and dads!). Isn’t that what teaching is all about? Exciting and inspiring your students to further study and exploration? I say a resounding YES!
I’m pretty excited about how all of this is going. I have to admit it isn’t working out how I’d originally thought; dh is doing a lot more lecturing and the kids are doing a lot less playing. But that will turn around soon, once they get a bit of foundation under their feet. Most of the boys came into it with little idea of what electricity was and now they’re moving on to components and theories.
Cheeseburger is enjoying it, as well. He is making some friends and learning a lot. Dh had taught him a lot of this already, but to have it presented in class form like this is causing him to focus a little better and take in all the information on a deeper level. He comes up after class and doesn’t even seem disappointed to have missed two hours of video game play. {wink} That’s really saying something!
Or should I say, “Dad school”? One of the ideas for a homeschool family who is trying to implement a Thomas Jefferson Education (Leadership Education), is Mom School. The idea is somewhat like a co-op, but run a little differently and the reasons for doing it are a little different.
Firstly, the planning and implementation of a Mom School is not only in the hands of the parents, but the children who are to participate also contribute. In a normal co-op setting, moms (and dads, of course) make the decisions about curriculum, classes, teachers, and times. In a Mom School, the child or children involved fully participate in the planning and execution of the class or club.
Secondly, the entire idea of the Mom School is to implement an activity that your child(ren) needs to fulfill a part of their training for their life-mission or even the mission itself. This is not just regular schooling (although it could be) because Mom doesn’t feel capable of teaching Algebra. The idea is that if your child needs something, and it isn’t already available, you make it happen.
I’ve decided to take this step with Cheeseburger. He has been passionately interested in electronics for several years now. Because of this, we’re going to start an electronics club, opening it up to the two homeschool groups to which we belong. I’m not sure what kind of participation we’ll get because we are a half-hour out from each group’s central location, but I’m hoping at least five or six boys will want to join us. Mr. Nutt will teach a concept (determined by the boys’ interest and knowledge level) one Saturday each month, and two weeks later, we’ll meet again for experimentation and application. I’m really hoping to form a cohesive group of boys, so that we can enter a contest or two.
Do you see an area in which your children need a class, club, or organization? Is it already available in your community? If not, is there some way that you could get it started?
