when you are a facilitator, not a teacher, per se...

[Bloy]

of a child who works at a level that demands a bit more from them then they have the psychological/emotional ability for the child to sustain... what do you do?

 

I'm not a teachery flavored hs-mom. I see myself as one who supplies her kids with materials, and is there to talk/read/ explain to some degree, and share my experiences, but not a teacher, necessarily (I'm a mom).

 

My son is seven, and a very typical seven year-old, but can sit and read for hours at a time, or wants to know how things work in very minute details...

 

I'm sure you folks can relate... but what does this mean to you if you don't see yourself as a teacher, but one who, rather, is a facilitator-- you provide the raw materials, but don't dictate the outcome... how does this shape your homeschooling?

 

I guess I'm having a bit of an identity crisis, with the new 'school year' starting up in the fall (we've had to take a break from hs-ing for a few months, so 'summer' if you will) and I'd like to be a better hs-mom.

 

So how does this facilitator role work in your home with your kids? Do you just put the work they have to complete in a folder and review it at the end of the week? Do you sit with them all the time they are doing their 'work,' or do you do your own thing? How much teaching in a traditional sense do you do (in contrast to reading out loud, or just talking and having tea, etc.)

 

My son really learns so much with just reading *all day* but I'd like him to learn some other things, too, that he wouldn't naturally gravitate towards... but I'm just trying to figure out how I fit in there... does this make sense? How did you deal with the many ways you could relate to your child and how you found being a facilitator to be successful for the whole family?

 

grazie!

 

bloy

[LisaKinVA]

I don't "teach" per-se, either (other than working with the littles on letter formation -- which requires a bit more help).

 

For my oldest, who turns 9 next week, I pretty much introduce the lesson(s) and the rest is up to him to complete.

 

For example: Literature -- we go over any new vocabulary or literary terms, talk about some examples of those things -- then he reads and answers the required questions, does the activity etc. & turns it in.

 

I do this type of lesson intro for anything "new" (first spelling day, new math concepts, each literature). He really does most of the work on his own though (he has a lesson plan he follows).

 

My younger two are mainly in work books. I explain new math concepts to them, listen to them read -- work on any new phonics things together -- and help them with letter formation as needed. But, again, they do pretty much everything on their own.

 

We do history, art, grammar & science together, because the littles are both doing the same work. It's the only "teaching" I really do -- but this will only last a couple of years (if that), and they'll be doing it pretty much on their own too.

 

FWIW, most of my "lesson intros" are usually no more than 5 min. If the children are having a difficult time with a concept, we spend more time on it together -- but that doesn't happen often.

[Jen500]

I enjoy learning along with my boys. So, we're learning Latin together, and just starting chemistry. (I don't remember anything from high school chemistry class). So, we read and participate together in those subjects. I enjoy the teacher role more in certain subjects that I have a high interest in, like math. Like your son, there are many areas where my dc have read so much about on their own that they seem to know more than I do! We also follow a lot of bunny trails that come up in many subjects...getting more library books, looking up topics on the internet, and more discussion.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

I am much more of a facilitator than I am a teacher, just because of dd's independent nature.

 

I pull together her schedule for the week and she van pick and choose which order she does things in. She does math and science on the computer and we have a DVD component to writing and art. For other subjects, I often explain the concept or directions, and she completes the assignment, asking for help when needed. She also does a lot of independent reading. I usually stick around pretty close by. Often I'm on the net or reading myself, sometimes I do a few chores.

 

I mix in the times where we are working one on one. Logic is really good for this, and we both enjoy that time together. Her dad also does projects with her that are related to what she's learning.

 

It has taken a long time to get things as good as they are now, and a lot of trial and error- especially error. I still feel like I am always learning and finding ways to make things even better.

[Nan in Mass]

Keep in mind that my sons (I'm homeschooling a 14 and an 18yo this year) aren't brilliant, just brightish, and not academically oriented.

 

I made a list of my end goals: what well educated meant to me, what I wanted for them in life, and which part I considered my responsibility education-wise. A lot of this was lifted straight out of TWTM. Then I thought about what they needed to be able to do to accomplish that. It more or less boiled down to this: it is my responsibility to make sure they have the skills to teach themselves and get along well in the world, make sure they have a minimum basic knowledge base (content), make sure they don't close too many avenues before they are old enough to be very sure they don't want to go down them, and make sure that they have the opportunity to learn and explore the things they choose to. What does this look like? For content in the younger years, in areas where they were interested I just let them read library books. In areas where they weren't interested, I chose library books for them and made them read them. In high school, so as not to cut off any opportunities, I am careful that they are covering the standard college-prep subjects some way. If it is something they are interested in, then we cover them in a more creative way (which tends to take more time), usually chosen by them. I just make sure there is an academic component. For example, my older one all his social sciences by peace walking. I make him write something occasionally, and make him read a world history book, a US history book, The Idiot's Guide to Government, and some books on peace or various countries he was going to travel in. That is the academic componant. As my son puts it, this is the part where I take all the bits and pieces he has learned and tie them altogether. I don't make him DO the history book, just read it. On the other hand, if it is a subject that he isn't interested but I feel he needs to have a basic exposure to and needs to appear on his transcript, then I find a textbook and he does it, not just reading but answering the questions, too. Textbooks are actually a pretty efficient method of aquiring the basics in a subject, and efficient is what you want if you aren't interested in something. Yes, doing it in an interesting way might make you like it better, but unless you are brilliant, there isn't time to do everything in an interesting way AND do lots of extras in the things you really want to explore. The skills part is where I push and really lend my adult discipline. This part isn't done in an unschooling way. I try to work with them to find a way that works and isn't too unpalatable and is efficient if they are disliking it, but I sit them down every day and make them practise whatever it is. Some of these skills take an ordinary person years of daily practice to become competent in, like math, and for my children, writing. Some children are naturally good at disentangling more complicated sentences, but some need lots of grammar to be able to read poetry. Some children naturally read enough to aquire a large vocabulary, but ones who are more hand-on oriented may need a vocabulary program in order to up their reading level to one that will allow them to manage the more complicated adult literature. It takes a bit of practise to be able to learn to learn out of a textbook, picking out the main point, figuring out which bits you need to memorize, etc. Stuff like that. If college is a possibility, then you need to be able to show colleges that your student did indeed aquire some knowledge, which will mean taking standardized tests like the SAT, or taking classes elsewhere for a bit (mine are taking some classes at the community college at the end of high school), or making a nice portfolio, so you need to take that into account and make sure you don't neglect anything that will allow you to do some of that.

 

I also divide things into input and output. Output is usually at a lot lower a level than input, but I try hard to make sure there is some sort of output. If there is no output, then I don't count it as school. We do tons of things like that GRIN, but they are just for fun. In those cases, I leave them to teach themselves however they like and try not to spoil things for them. If it is for school, I lend them my adult self-discipline to accomplish the things they want. I also lend them my adult experience about the possibilities out there, but I let them choose what they want to do and not do. I can help a lot, there.

 

Most of this is in TWTM. TWTM is formal about learning skills, but loose and unschooly about content. That is the whole idea behind following a spine. I'm grateful to SWB and JW for showing me how to have my cake and eat it too.

 

HTH

-Nan

[E_Edgerton]

First of all, this is a great topic. I am a home tutor/nanny. The children I work with are all quite gifted. I am definitely a facilitator. Their Mom is their true teacher. She is brilliant and seems to find a fun way to explain everything! When I am with the kids, I am there...sitting with them during pretty much all their studies...except maybe their independent reading. I answer questions, we get out the dictionary, we reference other texts/internet together, and discuss when questions arise. I am mostly their to help maintain focus, hand out resources, stay organized, and give options...by options I mean new ways of looking at the given situation or problem. Overall, I am their to supervise these amazing children as they journey through their education. :)

[Bloy]

thank you all for your replies! Nan, I haven't read all of your post, but did want to say that I have found WTM to be the best method of homeschooling, if there is a theory to our madness :lol.

[JennW in SoCal]

I definitely consider myself a facilitator, and have always allowed my kids great leeway in following their own interests. But my kids won't learn and master all the skills they need on their own, so that is where I put on my teacher hat and add structure to the day or week. I like to believe it has worked well -- I've got a 16yo senior and a 13yo 8th grader who are good doing well, and the amount of structure I give to their studies now is far different than it was when they were in the early grades. The input/output ratio, as Nan has put it, has become more equal.

 

When my kids were young, say up to 4th or 5th grade, the skills part of their day, the math, spelling, grammar, and writing, was very short -- maybe an hour at the very most a day, and often it was in the form of games. We didn't do Latin or logic until middle school, didn't worry about truly formal science until high school as they had learned so much content through reading, watching NOVA and similar shows, and just being observant and inquisitive people. History and literature also just was a part of our day in the books we read, or in looking up something we heard about on the news or following some other item that caught someone's interest.

 

The middle school/puberty years can be real shock as many kids who were eager little sponges suddenly aren't interested in anything but one very narrow topic of interest -- often video games or rock music to the dismay of many parents -- so it is a perfect time to assert parental authority and start more disciplined schooling, having more specific requirements and expectations. I'm fortunate that my current middle schooler's passion is reading, so I'm not as panic-stricken as I was when my oldest was in 7th/8th grades!

 

Really it works as long as you have a great reference library with a good atlas, a history encyclopedia, animal and bird identification books, and The Way Things Work, a globe always handy, perhaps a timeline on the wall, magnifying glasses and binoculars for exploring the world outside. Without you telling your son what to learn, he will learn more than you could ever assign to him, and he will remember it and understand it better. Your job is simply to slowly and steadily work in the skills you want him to master.