Last week I mentioned homeschooling. While its not for everyone its worth noting that homeschooled students have the opportunity to adjust their learning to the learning style that fits them best.
There are different learning styles and methods:
Visual: See or read
Auditory: Hearing
Kinetic: learning by doing.
Schools are set up to benefit those whose learning style is visual (see or read), then auditory (hear). Those who have to do what is being taught before they understand it and those who have to move while being taught are often not considered. It doesn’t mean you’re not intelligent or interested or able to learn… it just means the system was not set up to favor your learning style. There is nothing wrong with you and you just need to find a system that works for you or create one of your own.
Here’s a quick quiz to learn your learning style and how you process information:
https://www.learningstylequiz.com
Public schools don’t have the time and resources to work with individual students and tailor the lessons to those students, except in the cases of extreme learning or behavioral issues. Homeschooling allows this. (There are still standards and grading systems depending on what state or country you’re located in.)
My parents had me take a standardized test yearly. They didn’t have to – they just wanted a way to prove to them that I was learning and wouldn’t be the little weirdo who only knew horses and history. (Don’t worry – I eventually started reading books on organized crime and serial killers. I’m not sure they were thrilled, but there are plenty of days where I use this knowledge.)
By knowing how you process information best, you can improve your understanding and completion of skills. The unfortunate thing about standards, is that they are set to measure skills and some of the most critical skills are not measurable. As we get more reliant on technology – human based skill sets are becoming incredibly valuable in the workplace. https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/blogs/articles/6-skills-that-won-t-be-replaced-by-artificial-intelligence
This is good news, especially for the sensitive, creative, empathic people who have learned to read and judge human behaviors. As trauma survivors and healers we can all benefit and use these skills. The people based skills cannot be truly replaced by machines or technology – because human connection is not a measurable trait.
Schools also cannot teach these skills, especially with their current programs because they’re not looking out for the individual student. They just don’t have the resources. Homeschooling, tailored to the individual student or in small groups with a focus on education and life skills – helps kids not only learn important social skills in a more organic environment – socializing with people of all ages, instead of just their peers – but it surrounds them with opportunities to bring their talents and interests into the educational curriculum, often filling in needs that the public schools had to cut due to budgets. Art, music and dance flourish in homeschool circles… so do the trade skills like small engine repair and agriculture. (We all drive or use a vehicle to get places and we all eat.)
There is also a hybrid form of this. My younger cousins were in public high school and middle school during the 2020 lockdowns. They needed the structure of a school day and sitting in front of the computer with the distractions of home wasn’t helping them. Other parents in the community noticed this too. So they gathered at a local non-profit, following all the safety protocols and had a ‘school’ set up there. Each student had their computer and their own lecture, but everyone had the structure of a shared space. There were adults to monitor the situation and help out if something happened, while other parents got to concentrate on their work. Without the distractions the kids were able to finish their school work because their brains recognized the routine of school vs goof off time at home, and that helped them concentrate and graduate.
Next week we’ll talk about continuing education.
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