Does anyone have a kid who just really could not care less about rabbit trails?

[Janie Grace]

My feeling is that you can learn something even if you're not interested in it, and in fact, a whole lot of the things you need to learn for college or for your career or for life in general will probably be things you don't care about.

 

But sometimes you just have to suck it up and learn it anyway.

 

So while I agree that if it's not a big deal, you can just ditch it and choose something else to study, there are some subjects that a kid will probably have to learn even if he hates it, whether it's reading or math or spelling or science or history, or whatever.

 

I'm not sure we do our kids any favors by not forcing them to learn things they don't care about. I think we should try to make the information as interesting as we can, but I also think that kids need to know how to study and learn even the most boring things, because there's going to be a test on it, or they'll need it for college, or because they'll need to know it before they move on to the next level. It's an important life skill to be able to study and learn about things that don't interest you, but that you "need" to know.

 

I'm not saying that I'm not all for interest-driven learning, but I think there needs to be a balance.

 

:iagree: I guess it depends on the age of the kid. If my 6-year-old is bored by the planned spider unit but passionate about frogs, sure -- I'll ditch spiders for frogs. But in the upper elementary/middle school years, we stay on task for the above reason.

[goldberry]

And then he says, "Nothing." :D

 

Oh wait. That's just my kid. :glare:

 

My feeling is that you can learn something even if you're not interested in it, and in fact, a whole lot of the things you need to learn for college or for your career or for life in general will probably be things you don't care about.

 

But sometimes you just have to suck it up and learn it anyway.

 

It's an important life skill to be able to study and learn about things that don't interest you, but that you "need" to know.

 

I'm not saying that I'm not all for interest-driven learning, but I think there needs to be a balance.

 

:iagree::iagree:

 

And no, not just your kid.

 

My DD will say she is interested in something, only to find out learning about it might require actual EFFORT, and then, surprise, she is not interested anymore! She NEEDS to learn how to get through the boring part in order to get to the good parts. It's part of life.

 

I believe there truly are kids out there that can learn entirely from interest-driven work. But it's a certain personality and not all kids fit that. To imply that the parent is simply "stifling their curiousity" is rather insulting and presumptive. Personally, I have gone out of my way since day 1 to encourage DD's curiosity with little results. I have exposed her to a myriad different activities, subjects, questions, opportunities...all looking carefully for that "click" moment when she really sparks about something. NADA. I'm still doing it, and still looking, but in the meantime, she still needs an education.

Edited August 31, 2012 by coloradoperkins

[mrsanniep]

:iagree::iagree:

 

And no, not just your kid.

 

My DD will say she is interested in something, only to find out learning about it might require actual EFFORT, and then, surprise, she is not interested anymore! She NEEDS to learn how to get through the boring part in order to get to the good parts. It's part of life.

 

I believe there truly are kids out there that can learn entirely from interest-driven work. But it's a certain personality and not all kids fit that. To imply that the parent is simply "stifling their curiousity" is rather insulting and presumptive. Personally, I have gone out of my way since day 1 to encourage DD's curiosity with little results. I have exposed her to a myriad different activities, subjects, questions, opportunities...all looking carefully for that "click" moment when she really sparks about something. NADA. I'm still doing it, and still looking, but in the meantime, she still needs an education.

 

True dat.:iagree:

[LNC]

I was intensely curious as a child, particularly about history. We would learn a snippet in a textbook or lecture and I would check out library books about the subject.

 

We study history chronologically in our homeschool and use TQ history. I have a HUGE living books library used in our checklists. So, I have come to the conclusion that they don't have the curiosity I did bc they are satiated intellectually.

:001_smile:

Edited September 2, 2012 by LNC

[kokotg]

I think there's a difference between kids lacking curiosity, kids lacking interest in what you study for school and kids not following rabbit trails. My kids have a lot of curiosity and enjoy most aspects of school. They ask questions, they want answers, etc. If a child lacks that kind of spark at least sometimes, I would agree that there's something gone wrong.

 

On the other hand, my kids don't have obsessions (unless you count Phineas and Ferb). They don't have huge sustained attention spans for a single topic. They're much more interested in moving on, learning something new, etc. They can come up with things they want to know about and I foster that in various ways, but they're just as happy to learn whatever I say is on the plate for today. I call them my little Renaissance men because there's no topic that they won't sit and learn about or have some interest in - want to go to this art exhibit, this nature class, this robot thing, that history demo? They're always up for anything.

 

But they're not follow rabbit trails kind of kids because that requires an ongoing desire to learn about the same thing and keep pursuing it. It's just not their personality. And I refuse to believe that I did anything to squelch that. I was actually looking forward to having "little experts" - kids who went gaga for trains or dinosaurs when they were little, who wanted to soak up all the information. We were very unstructured until first grade and I was always waiting for them to get into something in that obsessive way kids have. And it never happened. One day this, the next day that. I think that's totally okay.

 

:iagree:

 

Two of mine are geminis. It would be silly to expect them to maintain an interest in anything for longer than 3 days ;). (the other one is a Sag, who's so interested in pretty much everything that he's just as content to spend years learning about one thing as to move on to the next incredibly fascinating topic)

[posybuddy]

:iagree::iagree:

 

And no, not just your kid.

 

My DD will say she is interested in something, only to find out learning about it might require actual EFFORT, and then, surprise, she is not interested anymore! She NEEDS to learn how to get through the boring part in order to get to the good parts. It's part of life.

 

I believe there truly are kids out there that can learn entirely from interest-driven work. But it's a certain personality and not all kids fit that. To imply that the parent is simply "stifling their curiousity" is rather insulting and presumptive. Personally, I have gone out of my way since day 1 to encourage DD's curiosity with little results. I have exposed her to a myriad different activities, subjects, questions, opportunities...all looking carefully for that "click" moment when she really sparks about something. NADA. I'm still doing it, and still looking, but in the meantime, she still needs an education.

 

:iagree::iagree:

[Lovedtodeath]

I make sure I provide plenty of books on the topic, right in front of their faces for an extended time and I make them read at least a couple of pages sometimes because you never know if you don't try it.

 

My daughter has no interest in American History outside of the AG books, so she is now happily working through a workbook and when she is done with that she will go back to Ancient History with pictures and projects and rabbit trails... because that is her area. Doesn't TWTM talk about "specializing"?

[coffeefreak]

And then he says, "Nothing." :D

 

Oh wait. That's just my kid. :glare:

 

My feeling is that you can learn something even if you're not interested in it, and in fact, a whole lot of the things you need to learn for college or for your career or for life in general will probably be things you don't care about.

 

But sometimes you just have to suck it up and learn it anyway.

 

So while I agree that if it's not a big deal, you can just ditch it and choose something else to study, there are some subjects that a kid will probably have to learn even if he hates it, whether it's reading or math or spelling or science or history, or whatever.

 

I'm not sure we do our kids any favors by not forcing them to learn things they don't care about. I think we should try to make the information as interesting as we can, but I also think that kids need to know how to study and learn even the most boring things, because there's going to be a test on it, or they'll need it for college, or because they'll need to know it before they move on to the next level. It's an important life skill to be able to study and learn about things that don't interest you, but that you "need" to know.

 

I'm not saying that I'm not all for interest-driven learning, but I think there needs to be a balance.

 

:iagree:

And please don't misunderstand, there are things my children are forced to learn whether they like it or not with a good attitude or else. However, there should be something in our school that they do enjoy. ANYTHING! Otherwise, we kill the love and we're just training prized pigs (as Charlotte Mason puts it). Some years, it's art and I make sure to schedule Art every day for my oldest. Right now for my youngest it's aquatic animals so we're doing Jeannie Fulbright's Swimming Creatures book. It's the bone, if you will that gets them motivated to do all the stuff they don't want to do. It gives them something to look forward to.

 

Here's a good question for everyone, how do you decide what your child NEEDS to know? Besides Math, Grammar, Writing etc, when looking at history and science what does your child really need to know? Because that's really what we're talking about here, right? Most if not all of us force our kids to do math and the rest of the 3rs, but when we talk about rabbit trails, and kids getting bored, we're talking about the extras. That's where I do some interest driven learning. That's where we can really pique their interest and love of learning. Even TWTM recommends following rabbit trails or backing off if your kid hates what you're studying. There's a difference between spending one day or week on Ancient Egypt, and entire semester. And, does she really NEED to know as much as VP was giving her, or did she really just need the highlights and we should move on?

 

Just thoughts for moms feeling stuck in a rut.:001_smile:

 

OH, and FWIW, even though my kids love learning certain things in school, when asked overall if they like school their response is, "What kid really likes school?" I hold no illusions that they love school and can't wait to get to the table. They would much rather watch TV all day and lay around in their pajamas. But, what they don't know that I know is they DO love learning new things and discussing them, they just don't know that they're doing school when we do that. Does that make sense? It's why they love Ambleside and CM even though it stresses me out a little with all the planning. They love reading and learning that way rather than with text books.

 

Blessings!

Dorinda

[PeacefulChaos]

And then he says, "Nothing."

 

Oh wait. That's just my kid.

 

My feeling is that you can learn something even if you're not interested in it, and in fact, a whole lot of the things you need to learn for college or for your career or for life in general will probably be things you don't care about.

 

But sometimes you just have to suck it up and learn it anyway.

 

So while I agree that if it's not a big deal, you can just ditch it and choose something else to study, there are some subjects that a kid will probably have to learn even if he hates it, whether it's reading or math or spelling or science or history, or whatever.

 

I'm not sure we do our kids any favors by not forcing them to learn things they don't care about. I think we should try to make the information as interesting as we can, but I also think that kids need to know how to study and learn even the most boring things, because there's going to be a test on it, or they'll need it for college, or because they'll need to know it before they move on to the next level. It's an important life skill to be able to study and learn about things that don't interest you, but that you "need" to know.

 

I'm not saying that I'm not all for interest-driven learning, but I think there needs to be a balance.

 

:iagree:

 

And no, not just your kid.

 

My DD will say she is interested in something, only to find out learning about it might require actual EFFORT, and then, surprise, she is not interested anymore! She NEEDS to learn how to get through the boring part in order to get to the good parts. It's part of life.

 

I believe there truly are kids out there that can learn entirely from interest-driven work. But it's a certain personality and not all kids fit that. To imply that the parent is simply "stifling their curiousity" is rather insulting and presumptive. Personally, I have gone out of my way since day 1 to encourage DD's curiosity with little results. I have exposed her to a myriad different activities, subjects, questions, opportunities...all looking carefully for that "click" moment when she really sparks about something. NADA. I'm still doing it, and still looking, but in the meantime, she still needs an education.

 

:iagree: with both of you and what you said here. 100%.

My kids honestly don't have a heck of a lot of interests that would lead us down 'rabbit trails'. Sure, I have a large amount of useless Star Wars information stored in my brain (from where I used to sit and READ the website and all the 'encyclopedia' entries... aiya... :lol: ) but the fact that they love it doesn't mean I'm going to turn it into a school subject. :D :lol:

Not to mention, just because they like something and are interested in it doesn't mean we need to turn that interest into 'school'. I think that would kill my kids' love of learning! Link loves snakes and dinosaurs and has studied up on them tons all on his own - he's done it since he learned to read 2.5 years ago. I'm not going to suddenly sit down with them and try to go through all their snake encyclopedias (admittedly, the snake encyclopedias make me cringe sometimes :D ) with them as part of what we do for school and then turn around and make a lapbook on it (yuck! Fellow lapbook-hater here, though truth be told I've never tried one, but just looking at what they are, etc, makes me :ack2: . Pretty sure the kids would hate them, too - they hate busywork) or color a picture (another thing they hate to do) or write a sentence about it. They sit and look at the books all the time on their own - they can do it on their own time because I think it's all a lot more fun that way. :)

[Wee Pip]

Wow, mine too...I thought she was the minority! Can't count how many times I say, "hmmm, have you ever wondered blah-blah-blah..." And she is quick to answer, "Nope!"

 

This is also the kid who told me flat out that she doesn't like "deep conversations"...

 

Switched at the hospital, maybe??:confused:

 

She is 13 and still hasn't developed any personal passions. It worries me!

 

This. My 1st child is a no-nonsense, black and white, yes or no learner. It's totally a personality thing. I try and try and try to light her fire, it's exhausting. I just wish there something that sparked an emotional response (other than her severe hatred of schoolwork). She complained so bad this week about school that I said, "alright, we're dropping the schoolbooks and going interest led" and she cried! So apparently there is something worse than organized schoolwork: unorganized interest led schoolwork.

[KungFuPanda]

I was intensely curious as a child, particularly about history. We would learn a snippet in a textbook or lecture and I would check out library books about.

 

We study history chronologically in our homeschool and use TQ history. I have a HUGE living books library used in our checklists. So, I have come to the conclusion that they don't have the curiosity I did bc they are satiated intellectually.

:001_smile:

 

That's an interesting point. I'm SURE that if we lived in the middle of nowhere and rarely left our own property, my kids would be fascinated with every detail about the wider world. However, they've been IN it all along. They've tried so many things and have had loads of experiences. Reality just isn't always as fascinating as your imagination. You cannot behave like a thirsty sponge when you are saturated. Information is so deliciously easy to come by. My kids don't know what it's like to wait and wonder until that next library trip two weeks away. They have the Internet, and three libraries within ten minutes of home, and two cities they can visit and still be home by dinner. Maybe we shouldn't be too surprised when well-fed children refuse to behave like they're starving.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Thanks everyone, you've all given me a lot to think about, and pointed out several things to me that I hadn't considered or had forgotten. For example, when I really looked back at my own childhood, I wasn't into rabbit trails--I was into READING. Anything and everything. Just like my oldest is. And yes, we do provide an information-saturated environment for sure! And yes, oldest does have her own, very specific interests that she's following up on, and for which I allow her quite a bit of leeway.

 

I really need to stop comparing! It gets me into trouble every time.

 

As for the unschooling link, I also need to remember that my unschooling friends complain about some very specific problems of their own WRT to their kids--problems we, as academic-oriented HSers, don't have. So I'll count my blessings and work on appreciating my kids for who they actually are, not who I think they should be or who they are compared to other people's kids or myself as a child/teen. Why is it so hard to keep that in mind, though? :glare:

[Soror]

I think it is natural for kids to have varying levels of curiosity. I wouldn't consider many of the examples listed to be not interested in rabbit trails though. My kids are always more curious in things they think of, invariably when it is something I try to get the interested in it falls flat. I don't think rabbit trails work very well when they are forced or suggested subjects.

[m0mmaBuck]

My son wouldn't voluntarily pursue anything. He will learn what is prescribed. He will pick a research topic if I force him to do so. He prefers I pick books and tell him what to read vs. going to the library and choosing books on his own. He is bright, but he doesn't have a passion for anything in particular.