Homeschoolers
Need Grandparents
(And Grandparents Need Grandchildren)
by
Linda
Schrock Taylor
by Linda Schrock Taylor
There
must be thousands of families that would remove their
children from public schools in order to homeschool them, if the
parents had a better support system within their extended family
unit, and especially if that support came from the grandparents
of the children.
I
hear from grandparents who fervently hope that their children decide
to homeschool the grandchildren; who would love to be invited to
be a part of the process.
I
hear from young parents who wish that they could homeschool but
feel that they cannot live on one paycheck. Many fear that they
lack the skills to school their children, growing up as they have…themselves
undereducated victims of the State school system.
Let
us all help these two groups to communicate, cooperate, and coordinate
schedules in order to promote homeschooling in as many families
as possible; as absolutely soon as possible. Grandparents will know
how to handle schooling for they were educated in a different era
– one that valued scholarship, quality, and competence. Parents
realize that they missed much in school as they often struggle to
read, to spell, to write, to understand the confusion in today's
world. Parents want the best for their children, and who could possibly
love those children, and also want the very best for them, as much
as the parents? Why, the grandparents, of course! (Absolutely NOT
the State!!)
Maybe
this generation of grandparents has taken off to Florida, Arizona,
Mexico…not so much for carefree retirements filled with bocce ball,
card parties, shuffle board…but because they no longer feel needed
or wanted in our modern family constellations. If so, it is time
to reprioritize family values and call upon grandparents to assist
in the homeschooling of children.
In
the past, grandparents played integral roles in the rearing of children.
The grandparents often lived with, or very near to, their children.
The grandparents could tend, teach, and love the grandchildren,
while they instilled values of the past, and freed the parents to
work, either on the family property or on the property of others.
Continuity in family structure and beliefs could be maintained and
nourished.
Consider
a modern family that sees and understands the dangers within the
public schools, but is unable to homeschool because of the shameful
tax rates with which the State has burdened its people. Too many
mothers cannot afford to be home with their children for they must
work to support the government mission to steal from them. The children
go to babysitters, daycare centers, and eventually into huge groups
of children at public school facilities. None of these outcomes,
brought about by excessive, unconstitutional government, is in the
best interests of any child. The children end up in such placements
either by financial default, or because the State was successful
in brainwashing their parents.
Consider
an extended family that readjusts its value system so that every
effort is made to keep the children within the safety of family
dwellings. If grandparents are near, they can assist with the homeschooling,
allowing the mother to work part time should the family need that
extra income. If the mother does not need to work, the grandparents
can still assist by taking children to music lessons, dance classes,
museum trips, even a walk through an antique store to show the children
the types of items that were once used in homes and in farming.
The homeschooling parent can then work with the younger, or the
older, children, giving them more direct attention.
Grandparents
can certainly teach classes, especially in reading, spelling and
history. Grandfathers can teach skills such as woodworking, vehicle
repair, hunting. Grandmothers can teach homesteading skills like
crocheting, gardening, canning, and knitting. Such homeschools,
organized to tap into all talents in the family, would be unsurpassed
in their ability to wisely parent and broadly educate the next generation.
Should
grandparents be absolutely unable to move near the grandchildren,
then parents should seriously consider the drawbacks of this mobile
society we have created, and make the decision to move back home
near the grandparents.
We
did, and we have never regretted it. We love Colorado Springs; our
son was born there; our jobs were interesting. However, by the time
that David was one year old, we had come to the conclusion that
not only did he need his grandparents; they needed him, as well.
We sold out, packed up, and headed home to Michigan. We bought 22
acres with a 140-year-old farm cottage in need of repair, and together
we turned it into a home that we dearly love.
My
father invested time, teaching, and love in David. Dad is gone now,
but his commitment continues to pay dividends, and he passed his
torch to the next generation. David is an expert mechanic, on engines
small and large, and he learned those skills from his grandfather.
My mother taught school into her seventies, and so was able to provide
extras that often we could not afford since we tried to always have
one parent home with David. Thus, David had piano lessons, vacations
to interesting places, hundreds of books to provide him with ever-wider
experiences. David also, from all of us, developed one of the strongest
work ethics that I have ever seen. Along with his homeschooling,
he works for businesses, individuals, and serves his own small engine-repair
customers. He began working at age 8, and has not slowed down since.
Absentee
grandparents can still play an integral role in a homeschooling
family. They can help to finance the educations that the children
are receiving at home. They can write long newsy letters each week,
and request that the grandchildren write lengthy letters back, thereby
giving the children purposeful reading and writing practice so that
the children develop better language skills. Grandparents can invite
the children to visit them for long weeks in the summer and plan
a multitude of educational experiences – trips, books read aloud
in the evenings (instead of TV), oral stories of the grandparents'
own childhoods and youth, helping to anchor the younger generations
to their ancestors and past. Grandparents can coordinate vacations
with their children and grandchildren so that all share experiences
about which they can write and talk for months, even years, to come.
We
did just that in my family, and I will never forget the trips with
the grandparents. No seatbelt laws then, so Dad, Grandma and my
deaf brother, Reed, would sit up front. Grandpa, Mom, Scott and
myself would sit in the back. Our trip to Washington DC was the
most memorable, for my grandparents had always longed to see the
capital of the nation, but had never expected that they would get
there. Their enthusiasm heightened our own perceptions of each monument,
of each experience, of the trip as a whole. When I recently flew
to DC, and the plane came in over the monuments, my thoughts were
back with Grandma and Grandpa and the delight they found in having
their dream come true.
That
was also the trip during which we all learned to sing in harmony – except
Reed, unfortunately. We sang our way through Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania
and New York. Grandpa sang tenor, Grandma sang contralto, and the
rest of us did the best that we could, with Grandpa coaching us
on pitch and harmony; having us plug our ears so we could better
sing our own part without being drawn to join a stronger voice.
We had more fun than most kids could ever imagine and the hills
rang with old hymns, with old popular music. It is no wonder that
my favorite pub is The Golden Bee in Colorado Springs where everyone
sings those old songs as the piano player plays.
All
children need grandparents who are involved in their lives. All
children would do better in school and in life if they were homeschooled
well by committed family groupings – groups that would also serve
to reduce stress. (Yes, it is easy to become stressed by the awesome
responsibility of homeschooling.)
What
makes more sense than to encourage all three generations to participate
in the raising up and educating of our nations' children who need,
so badly, to be removed from ineffective, counter-productive, even
dangerous State schools? I cannot think of anything more important.
Parents!
Call your parents and invite them to share in the homeschooling
of their grandchildren. You will probably be surprised at the eagerness
with which your invitation is accepted.
 December
20, 2004
Linda
Schrock Taylor [send
her mail] is a free-lance
writer and the owner of "The Learning Clinic," where real reading,
and real math, are taught effectively and efficiently.
Copyright
© 2004 LewRockwell.com
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Schrock Taylor Archives
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