Learning in the Absence of Education

Essays on Homeschooling

© Beverley Paine

Dispelling a Myth - 'Practice Makes Perfect'!

Home educating has given me the opportunity to question many things as I watch learning unfold naturally in my children’s lives. I would find myself often quoting 'practice makes perfect' in many a situation, and believed it to be always true.

April was the first one to show me otherwise, and it was quite a revelation when it happened. She was having difficulty understanding decimals. At the age of nine, one look at the sums on the page brought a frown to her face and she declared that decimals confused her. I tried to convince her that working out the sums on paper and doing the set activities in her maths book would help her make sense of decimals, and that with regular practice her confusion would turn to mastery. Her frustration turned to tears, and a growing feeling she was no good at maths (which she was!). I reluctantly put away decimals until she showed signs of readiness. That was two years later!

In the intervening period April did maths competently in all other areas, using both practical applications and her text books. I removed work from her books that included working with decimals, although in real-life situations. April handled decimals without a fuss - she didn’t recognise them as the same problems as the sums on paper! At age eleven, I gave April a maths test on decimals, including working to four decimal places in each of the four mathematical functions. She obtained 95% on the test, having never practiced or learned decimals from maths books.

I had to conclude that April’s life was full of experiences that allowed her to build up a complete concept of decimals. Her daily activities, in all areas of her life, supplied her with the practice that made her knowledge of decimals so perfect!

My next convincing encounter of this was with Roger’s spelling ability. He was, and still is, an inventive speller, drawing on all the strategies he knows to spell a word. After the age of seven he rarely did regular book work, and until about ten the most I could get him to do in daily writing was a line or two in his journal, or a much abbreviated shopping list! Occasionally I give him a spelling test taken from misspelt words drawn from his writing and a list of words I felt he ought to know.

I began to notice that as time passed even though Roger was not regularly reading anything other than a Lego catalogue, and rarely wrote anything, his spelling improved. He was adopting conventional spelling forms and learning new strategies gradually over time, without any apparent practice.

Unlike April, who had opportunity to use decimals everyday with money and measurement, Roger was showing no sign of engaging himself in written language in any way. The process still remains a mystery to me, but I believe that our life is so full of the written word it was unavoidable for Roger to be exposed to it. He simply absorbed it.

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More than 60 essays covering a wide range of home schooling concerns and issues, such as late readers, value of play, socialisation, learning maths, part time school, and thoughts on testing. Learning in the Absence of Education is an intimate and honest look at day-to-day homeschooling life spanning several years. Includes articles on learning maths, reading and writing, spelling, socialisation, part time schooling, fathers and homeschooling, value of play, grading and testing, coping with stress and illness, and much more.

"These essays are the real life experiences of a long term home educator and activist and make inspiring reading... a valuable resource for all those interested in home education.... What I particularly appreciate are the personal day-to-day stories that are so specific in the incident or outcome These are essays written over time that reflect natural learning (read life) as it really happens.

I really enjoy Beverley's writing style in this book. It is very direct, sometimes even challenging the reader. She tries to be scrupulously honest always so we read of advantages and disadvantages of whatever topic she is discussing. She will also point out the ideal situation and how she thinks she falls short. Sometimes she is self-deprecating; sometimes she glows with enthusiasm for their successful lifestyle. There are touches of humour and sometimes wry cynicism.

Hopefully this book will answer many people's questions and fears about natural learning. It is all in here: how right it feels when natural learning is working well, what happens when we have insecurities ourselves, and the results so far. By presenting the natural learning case in this essay style, Beverley has been able to reflect the different moods, the ups and downs, that make the book a valuable resource for all those interested in home education, whatever their current style."
Janine Banks, home educator, Qld

ISBN 1876651016, 128 pages... $22.95

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Homeschool Australia SA HE Network Unschool~Kidz! About Beverley Paine

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