Identical desks. Identical books. Identical uniforms. Identical input leads to identical output…. Or so they think!
This paradigm is how traditional classrooms are set up, but it is easy to see that this system is failing many of our children. You may have chosen to homeschool to get away from this one-size-fits all mentality. But even within the homeschooling community there is often pressure to conform to a pre-determined schedule of learning. How many times have you been asked if your child is working “on or above grade level” in a certain subject?
God did not create us using a cookie-cutter. Knowing that, how can we expect our children to learn in a cookie-cutter fashion? Within families, you can find several different learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses. As parents, even more as homeschooling parents, we should seek to know our children well enough to nurture their strengths and strengthen their weaknesses.
One of the more significant benefits to homeschooling is the ability to tailor an education to each child. If you have an auditory learner, audiobooks may become a daily part of your lessons. With a kinesthetic learner, hands-on activities are a must. Visual learners may enjoy drawing illustrations to solidify their lessons. You do not have to conform to one set way of teaching your children or of having them express that they have learned. Children are individuals and are meant to be treated and taught as such.
God created us with our own particular strengths and weaknesses that are suited for His perfect plan for our lives. While our strengths are usually seen as our biggest asset, sometimes our weaknesses can bring even *more* glory to God. In our weaknesses, we can more readily see His hand at work.
While we help our children improve in their areas of struggle, we cannot forget to utilize their strengths as well. Do not let those gifts from God grow stagnant in the wake of hours spent trying to bring their struggles up to an average level. Set them up for success as often as possible. Go deeper in the areas where they excel. Allow them to dig as far into a topic of interest as they want to go. They may surprise you with their tenacity when given a task they enjoy.
You may have a child who has so many struggles you are beginning to think that they don’t have any strengths at all. Take heart and give him some time and space to discover his God given passions. He may be so worn down from his difficulties that he doesn’t know what would be a pleasure to him. She may have a schedule so full of athletics, arts, church events, and social activities that she doesn’t ever have an opportunity to entertain herself and discover what she enjoys. Each child has passions from God deep within them. We have to help them find those passions and it takes both time and space. Be thinking about that when you sit down to plan your “school.”
We did not design our children. God did. We must look to Him as the ultimate guide as we facilitate our children’s education. He holds the plans in His hands. He knows what they need and He cares for them even more than we do. Let us not forget our ultimate goal is not necessarily to have the most intensely educated children, but to have children brought up to fulfill the goals that God has for each one of them individually. Start with God, work with God, lean on His wisdom.
