“I’m going to homeschool Hannah,” Valerie said, referring to our seven-year-old granddaughter. She said it very calmly, which is the way she announces significant decisions she has made. I couldn’t believe Valerie wanted to homeschool. Isn’t that the main purpose of kindergarten and grade school, to give a harried parent a few hours off to repair the wounds and get ready for the afternoon onslaught? I thought it was a crazy idea but I didn’t advise against it.
There were several reasons why I thought Valerie shouldn’t attempt homeschooling. First there was the exhaustion factor. And then the fact that Valerie knew nothing about teaching. And the fact that professional teachers presumably did. Valerie didn’t like what the Philadelphia Public School System was doing with her daughter. Too much rote and not enough inspiration. Too much tedium and not enough excitement about learning. And so it started – Hannah’s education.
Telltale signs that this was happening started appearing everywhere in the house, like mushrooms after a downpour. Big maps of the United States and then the world on the living room wall. Colorful little tables with colorful little chairs on which to paint and write. Block letters of the alphabet on all sorts of surfaces.
I thought Valerie would abandon this craziness after a few months or a year at most. She didn’t. Zachary, our grandson, three years younger than Hannah, passed the admission test and was enrolled in the Valerie Drake Altman Home School. Payton was still a baby but I knew her fate was also sealed. Slowly my fears dissipated. The kids seemed to be thriving.
Homeschoolers in Philadelphia were a vibrant community of gifted people. Mothers and fathers who had experience in different undertakings contributed their experience as adjunct professors in the VDAHS. The whole city became their classroom– the Philadelphia Museum, the Academy of Natural Sciences, all sorts of craft places and theater groups. Whenever Valerie gave a party, the house was filled with parents from all walks of life with their children, socializing just fine even without having learned this in the structured environment of a formal school.
The nagging concern of how Valerie would deal with the more difficult subjects taught in high school remained. She had never taught a foreign language, science or high-school-level math.The challenge grew when the family moved to Florida because Valerie had to start up all over again with a new homeschool system. She quickly got involved and soon the kids were working with on-line teachers and not only doing high school work but some college courses as well. I’m sure I might be a little prejudiced as a proud grandfather but I think the three grandchildren are more at ease with adults and more creative in dealing with challenges than children who attend traditional schools.
Hannah has done volunteer work for the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and the Florida Aquarium. Zachary has won a bunch of tennis and other sporting prizes. And Payton is as quietly self-assured as her mother is headstrong. So all my fears were unrealized and now I rest easily. Or almost easily. I am bracing for the day when Valerie invites us down to Florida and announces, very calmly: “Daddy, I’m going to teach Hannah to become a heart surgeon.” There’s no telling what she has planned for Payton and Zachary.
Tags: Academy of Natural Sciences, alternative education, education, family, Florida Aquarium, grandparents, Homeschooling, learning, parents, Philadelphia, schools, students, teachers
