Learning in the Absence of Education
Essays on Homeschooling
© Beverley Paine
Index
Homeschool
Australia
Thoughts on Spelling
(continued)
It is easy to invite a child to practice reading without resorting to books - printed matter is everywhere in the world, needing to be read, like recipes, labels, instructions. But what about writing? How can we introduce more writing into our lives in a natural way, in order for our children to practice their skill at spelling, and the other conventions of writing?
Writing is generally done in our house when there is a need or a want, never before and rarely contrived. Hence opportunities to practice spelling are very rare. I used to worry about this, and even resorted to school type activities and exercises to bring writing into the home more. But over time I noticed that with hardly any writing practice at all my boys improved their spelling - simply by living. There were months of no practice, a minimum of writing, but still plenty of improvement. This happened mainly between the ages of ten and fourteen, and I had to wait until ten years of home educating to really see the importance of this. I have yet to see an adequate explanation in the teacher manuals on learning to spell in this way. Perhaps because only a homeschool like ours allows children to develop spelling skills naturally.
It made me ask the question: "How much in our 'teaching' do we harm or duplicate the natural learning processes at work?" And yet another: "How important is it for young children (under teens) to be writing, unless of course they want to?"
It seems to me that we are asking, prompting, or pushing our children in this direction because of our own highly schooled backgrounds and the emphasis that the educational system placed on it. As home educators we have the opportunity to leave this way of learning behind - the evidence of its failure is all around. We could fool ourselves and say that teachers aren't correctly or consistently implementing methods of teaching spelling, reading and writing, or blame curriculum programs, teachers and schools. Or we can look at the whole system of learning, as it has been built up in education for over a century, and see that it isn't geared to catering for individual learning styles, and therefore can't educate individual children to their full potential. Home educating environments can.
Another aspect of spelling ability needs to be explored. I can write using 'good' spelling, and this usually occurs when I am in a literary mood, or writing for a specific purpose and audience and it is important to impress that audience in some way or other. At other times, when in a more relaxed mood, I spell however I like, so long as the designated reader can understand it. My spelling on draft copies, or for note taking is appalling. The key for me is whether or not my writing can be understood by my audience. Of course, it goes way beyond spelling, but spelling is the start. Spelling, reading and writing are ultimately about communication.
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Excerpt from Learning in the Absence of Home Education: Essays on Homeschooling
© Beverley Paine, 1999
