A Reality Check

I suddenly began to ask myself why I was waiting.

It goes like this.  I was sitting and thinking and feeling, which for me is a really good way to get things done. And I thought, which would I rather be doing, the job that I am doing now, which is a meaningless office job, or teaching children how to learn independently? And the answer was: teaching children how to learn independently.

So, I thought, well.... how can I do that right now?

And the answer that came was: teach them one on one, in a tutorial format, rather than trying right away to create a learning centre. Let the learning centre evolve while you are doing what you love to do and want to do ....

So, yesterday I was in Sutton village at the bank and walked a block down to the whole foods store to look for any postings about homeschoolers on their bulletin board. There were none. But the store owner noticed me looking and asked if I had found what I sought. I told her that I was looking for homeschoolers and I told her why. Homeschoolers are, for the most part, already committed to teaching their children to learn independently or they are at least open to new ideas and are committed to their children's learning. So they are a good place to make a connection.

The store owner kindly offered me a space on her bulletin board. "Write something up and we can post it there and see if people respond." Late July into early August is a good time to be doing this as well, because people are just beginning to really focus in on the start of the school year coming up in about 5 weeks.

This morning I wrote up a text which I will paste into here in a moment. I will have it translated into French as soon as possible. Then, I will have it up in that store, hopefully by this time next week if not sooner.

I also have to find a space where I can give tutorial sessions to children. I'm on the lookout for it and have already begun to network as best I can to find a good space.

Here is the text:

Empower children to independent life-long learning.

I teach children how to teach themselves so they can become confident self-directed learners for life.

For homeschooled children, my support and instruction help them to make the most of their homeschooling experience. The goal of self-directed learning comes closer when the child has all the skills and knowledge needed to proceed with confidence. There is also the possibility of my support with organized small group learning projects for homeschoolers, if homeschooling parents would like to see such an opportunity for their children.

For children enrolled in school, my support and instruction help them to succeed as they build skills for independent learning, whether they like their teacher or not, enjoy the subject or not, they have the skills to make their way through the school curriculum.

For children of all ages and in any schooling or unschooling situation, learning how to acquire knowledge, build skills and measure their own progress is empowering and profoundly enabling.

I have a Quebec teaching certificate and 20 years of experience in traditional, remedial and democratic,  child-centered classrooms.

My approach is currently through one on one tutorials (there is the possibility of a learning center for group learning projects in the future) and my rates are very affordable as I intend to make this life-changing work accessible to all families.

Explore my passion for independent learning at www.teachkids2learn.wordpress.com. There you will find a lot of information about what I do and how I do it.

Lu Emanuel

Independent Learning Facilitator

It Begins as an Impulse

I wanted to sing with friends.

I invited Valerie to come to my house and sing with me, along with a couple of other friends.
Of the people I invited to come sing at my house, only Valerie was able to attend last Wednesday.

Valerie showed up at my door with her two youngest children. Abigail is 4 years old, I think, and Rebecca is about 7 or 8 years old. The girls speak French at home, so I spoke French to them.

Having children in my space and speaking French to them reminded me of my time as a teacher, co-director and administrator at the Ecole P.E.A.C.E. School from early in 2003 until the end of 2004. I was teaching English there, but I interacted with the children a lot in French.

We had a good time singing. Abigail played with my teddy bear, Fred, and Rebecca got my other teddy bear, Arthur drumming on my African drum at the end of our time together. The girls also sang and Abigail danced.

Valerie and I sang and it felt really good to sing together.

But having children in my space got me all lit up and I found myself wanting to move forward with the idea that I had a long time ago and which I have documented at some length on my teachkids2learn.wordpress.com website.

I would like very much to create a learning centre for homeschooled kids that encourages them and teaches them to teach themselves and to learn independently. This is the initial impulse.

So, on Wednesday night, after having the children here at my home and in my space, I couldn't sleep. I was thinking about the possibilities and wondering if I could make a go of it and generally obsessing.

On Thursday, I ran some numbers on Excel to see if it might be financially feasible.

I can live very simply and I own my home outright, with no mortgage, so I can swing this project with an initial minimum of about 17 children. And that is with a charge to parents of a very reasonable $50 per week. I want this to be affordable for all parents.

The idea is that parents who are choosing to homeschool their children can choose as well to take advantage of the service that I will provide at the Centre DIY / Faites le toi-meme. This is the French translation of DIY (Do it Yourself) and that would be the prevailing mantra of the Centre.

Young children can come and spend 3 or so hours each day at the Centre learning how to read, use numbers and print and type. These are the most basic skills that we all need to have if we are going to learn independently. They can also socialize, which is something that a lot of homeschooled kids need and don't get enough of. These children are level One and they spend one hour with me each morning in a small group. I would only take about 4 or 5 of these children so that they get one on one attention during our time together and I can really monitor their progress and attitudes toward the learning experience and the building of their skills. These children are about 6 or 7 years old.

Children who are able to read and print reasonably are in level Two and they can also spend about 3 or 4 hours each day at the Centre. These children are improving their reading comprehension and their phonetic skills, improving their fine motor skills of typing and printing, and developing their understanding of working with numbers. They are also beginning to take on small learning projects of their own. These children are about 7 to 10 years old. They might be a bit younger or a bit older - it really depends on the child, but they are beginning to work independently and to take on learning projects of research and of doing and building things. They can decide to master a skill, construct something or improve their drawing ability... these are examples of learning projects. I would spend an hour each day with this group as well in the morning when they are still well-rested. And these children can spend time in the DIY Centre doing group projects and socializing as well. I wouldn't take on more than about 10 of these children because otherwise the space would become too crowded.

Children who are beginning what we in Quebec call high school, or who are so confident and independent in their learning that they can handle a lighter teacher presence, are in level Three. These children are about 11 to 14 years old. These children are taking on more group projects and the projects tend to be longer term as well. They can be learning projects that take weeks or months to complete. These children are also working their way through the government mandated school curriculum with government approved text books. At this level, some students may take on short apprenticeships in the community. They may help at a farm or in a local business. They may take on writing assignments for the local community newspaper. Sutton is a small village community and there are real possibilities for this kind of engagement. I would work with these children for about 20 minutes one on one two times each week. This allows me to monitor attitudes to independent learning, any problems that come up with some subject of study not being understood or proving to be a bit too challenging, boredom, or other issues around being an independent learner. For the most part, this time together is a chance for the child to show what he or she is doing and learning and to receive a sense from a trusted adult that they are 'on the right track'. These children can also use the Centre DIY as a showcase of their projects, with presentations to the younger children, to me and to their parents, as well as to their peers. They can socialize with peers at the Centre, which is very important for this age group, and they can collaborate on projects, learning to work with others and to lead and follow.

Finally, there are the children who are almost adults in our society. These children are in level Four and are about 15 to 17 years old. These children are beginning to really ask themselves what they would like to do when they have graduated from high school as homeschoolers and they are becoming more and more engaged in learning on their own through the larger community of the internet, their local community organizations, summer employment and so on. I would give these children a minimal amount of guidance, spending about 30 to 40 minutes each week with each child one on one and using that time to make sure that they are on track with government mandated requirements for graduation and that they feel that they have what they need to learn independently as they want to. It is important for children at this age level to experience success as they follow their interests and their hearts and sometimes an adult who is not a parent of the child can provide a valuable perspective.

I came up with a schedule of my time and the children's time, requirements for a minimal space to house the Centre and now I am feeling my way into my next steps.

This blog is one of those steps. As things happen, or my feelings about the project shift, I will document that here.

I intend to allow this creation to unfold and become what it will in a very organic way, that is, without a lot of worry, anxiety, effort or trying on my part.

I intend to 'follow my bliss' and see where it leads me.

I have decided to keep a watch on community notice boards for signs of homeschool activity and to talk to the people I know in the area about my idea.

Let's see where this leads....