The Education System is a One-Size Fits All System

It seems like many people (educators and the general public alike) think that learning to read is just a matter of being taught. If you “get them early” you can give them a “head start”. But some kids (especially visual-spatial kids) need more time to develop then others. They just are not ready. And no amount of teaching can change that. - Throwing Marshmellows

I can’t agree more.

Growing up I had a difficult time in school, I was never pushed to read by my parents.. I don’t really remember even being read to a whole lot.

When I entered the second grade in 1981, I remember reading & math being pushed on us and after a while the class was split into 3 groups… the equivalent of advanced, average and below average. First of all.. I was (but didn’t know then) a visual-spacial learner and looking back probably wasn’t quite ready for the level of reading being forced on me. Secondly, the group thing can definitely damper a child’s self-esteem. For a while I bounced between the average and below average group.

It wasn’t until I got into college and was finally able to break away from traditional learning. I found experiential education. I finally realized that I was one of those visual-spacial kids and I learned differently. I eventually majored in Outdoor Leadership because of the curriculum and how the classes were taught.

Now you’re probably thinking that it’s the equivalent of a degree in underwater basket weaving. however I attended one of the top 10 programs in the country and it was no vacation. The workload was strict but it had a great balance between the formal classroom setting and hands on experience.

Now that I’m a parent, my wife and I started talking about home schooling or finding a Waldorf-style school for Jaden. We are leaning more toward home schooling because we as parents know our child best and we can adjust our teaching styles to suit Jaden’s ability to learn. As it is, we read to her every day and she watches very little television. Just from watching her play and pretend, I can already see a lot of me in Jaden in the way she learns… visually and spatially.

Ultimately, we are very fortunate to even be able to consider homeschooling being that my wife and I both work from home. I have a sucessful consutlting business and my wife stays home to make family a priority. Having a flexible schedule allows both of us to be part of Jaden’s education.