Is Your Child Getting the Education They Need?
by Bob Doman
In the midst of the pandemic, there perhaps has never been a greater time to actually evaluate the education your children have been receiving and look at some options.
Education has unfortunately become almost synonymous with curriculum. Whether we are talking public school, private school, or even homeschool, the first question asked is, “What is the curriculum?” The perception is that the difference between schools and success is the curriculum. I would like to give you a bit of a different perspective. Let’s substitute the word “stuff” for curriculum.
In reality a huge part of curriculum/stuff that is thrown at our children doesn’t stick. And truth be told, no one really expects it to. I imagine that most of you have heard the old saying that on graduation day most graduates have already forgotten 99% of what they “learned” over the preceding years. I would substitute “what was thrown at them” for “what they learned,” for if they had in fact learned it, they would know it.
What tends to get lost in all of the curriculum stuff is an education—teaching our children what they need to know to become successful functioning adults, including functional literacy and working knowledge.
Please go through the following educational checklist to gain some insight as to whether or not your child is getting the education they need:
| Does your child love learning? | Yes | No |
| Is your child a proficient reader? | Yes | No |
| Does your child love reading? | Yes | No |
| Is you child a reader? Do they read on their own for entertainment and knowledge? | Yes | No |
| Is your child proficient in math? | Yes | No |
| Do they have a math foundation and a love of math that will provide them with career options in math-related fields? | Yes | No |
| Has your child had the opportunity to explore and develop their interests, talents, and passions and to start creating a vision and direction for their future? | Yes | No |
| Has your child developed strong auditory short-term and working memory?* | Yes | No |
| Has your child developed strong visual short-term and working memory?* | Yes | No |
| Has your child developed strong executive function?* | Yes | No |
| Has your child learned and adopted good nutritional habits? | Yes | No |
| Does your child know how to structure their time well? | Yes | No |
| Has your child learned how to be highly capable and learned to assume responsibility for significant aspects of the household needs and duties, including cleaning, cooking, lawn care, and house maintenance? | Yes | No |
| Is your child responsible for getting themselves up at a specific time each morning? | Yes | No |
| Is your child becoming mature and responsible? | Yes | No |
| Has your child developed a good exercise/fitness regime? | Yes | No |
| Has your child had the opportunity to learn your family’s social and spiritual values and beliefs? | Yes | No |
| Do you feel confident that your child’s current path is going to permit them to function as a successful, happy adult? | Yes | No |
This list of questions largely represents the foundational pieces that can affect a child’s future success. If you answered “no” to only a couple of these questions your present educational plan is doing pretty well. If you have more than four or five “no” answers you child’s present educational plan is not really addressing the foundational pieces and if you have more than five “no” answers you really need to look at another plan.
Perhaps sitting in a classroom for six hours a day and then adding on homework is not actually doing the job. And, what about distance learning? Lets substitute the hours in a classroom to sitting in front of a screen. How is that going to work out?
If you are open to another plan there may be no better time then the present to explore options. It might be time to bring your child back home and discover how easy it can be to actually educate your child and prepare them for their future.
NACD has been designing individualized home-based educational programs for over 40 years. With a targeted academic program and a plan addressing your whole unique child it is possible to turn these no’s into yes’s. With a program designed specifically for your child we can educate and train you to work with your child. We provide you with daily coaching and support so you can generally accomplish at lot more in a lot less time per day then you might think.
If you are really interested in turning no’s into yes’s and producing a good outcome for your child, explore NACD home education.
* If you don’t know what these are its because virtually none of the schools are addressing these foundational pieces.
Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 33 No. 9, 2020 ©NACD
