Label Me Schizophrenic

My latest article is out, in Home Education Magazine.

The article is entitled, "Label Me Schizophrenic" and grew out of a post on the Real Learning discussion list (a place on the web that is rich, fertile ground for all kinds of discussions that I greatly appreciate) about the possiblilty of combining a child's self-directed education with direction and guidance from the parent.

The article begins:

Classical. Charlotte Mason. Unschooler. Yup, that’s me. There’s just a slight problem. The labels contradict one another, don’t they? Yes. And no. They’re accurate, but inaccurate. (What is the sound of one textbook flapping? I’ll move beyond the Zen musing and into my point.)

I dislike labels. I refuse to label our homeschool. My aversion to labels has been both advantageous and embarrassing over the five years we’ve been doing this: advantageous, because I’m free to approach learning in a variety of ways, and embarrassing (in the beginning, though I’m over that now) because I never had a succinct answer to, "What curriculum do you use?" I used to hem, haw, stutter and say something about an eclectic mix. I was initially reluctant to say, "We unschool," because most people interpreted that as, “Yes, I really do homeschool because I’m lazy.” I shied away from saying “We’re pursuing a Charlotte Mason education” because I didn't follow CM methods to the letter, and hadn’t even read all of her original writings. I didn't want to say "we’re classical" because, although some classical elements were present, we fell short of the mark and I feared someone would ask me to say, “My child adores The Iliad” in Latin, Greek and one other language of my choice.

So, what was I? It used to bother me, not having a definitive answer. But these days, when faced with The Question, I look my inquisitor in the eye and brazenly reply, "I design our curriculum myself." It’s a true and simple answer that covers the fluid flexibility of our days. Sometimes I design structure, routines and the tackling of a workbook. At other times, our copywork from classic literature would make Charlotte Mason quiver with pride at the thought of her mentoring. And often – quite often – my design includes open-ended time full of reading, writing, observing, talking, experimenting and growing.