A joyous account of a progressive family’s homeschooling experience.
Acting on their conviction that to educate a child well is to enable her to find her destiny, David Albert and his partner Ellen listened carefully, with respect and with love, to how their children expressed their own learning needs. Leaving traditional homeschooling methods behind, they followed their daughters’ unique knowledge quests-from astronomy and botany, to opera and mythology-and then went about finding the resources and opportunities to meet those needs within their community.
Gracefully written, And the Skylark Sings with Me passionately illustrates that real learning is much richer and more mysterious than any school can encompass.
Inhoudsopgave
Foreword , by Joseph Chilton Pearce
Saraswati
Ali discovers the violin, and we receive our first homeschooling lesson; on choosing a music teacher
Hares with Shells on Their Backs
the author as an advocate for all children, not just homeschoolers; ‘adequate’ education as inadequate; learning as vital to the quality of children’s lives; the end of education; Meera discovers the piano next door and learns to read music; choosing the right instrument
Hallelujah (Again!)
we sing the Messiah; music and standardized tests; our vision of the perfect learning environment; utilizing the community; educating ourselves as a family
‘Dog Kitties’
nature awareness and the process of naming; children’s delight in the natural world; what’s wrong with zoos; our house becomes a menagerie and we breed snakes; the societal costs of educating indoors; the evolving journey of self-awareness
Mr. Newton’s Rules
we meet Fig Newton’s brother and learn about gravity and momentum; the scientific method and true scientific inference as ‘but the normal working of the human mind’; science centers; Ali reintroduces us to astronomy and we build a telescope; an experience of educational democracy
Fearful Symmetry
pattern blocks and beads; the cult of method; mathematics as language and as operations; finding a values-based context; preventing math phobia
Exits and Entrances
the complexity of ‘child’s play’; how toy manufacturers take control; Meera and Ali discover opera and ballet; children empowered with control over their own play scripts; opera rehearsals and playwriting; preparing kids for the theatrical experience; poetry as theater of self
‘Letters’
letters in the environment; manipulating a book; writing before reading; phonics and whole language approaches; ‘reading readiness’ schemes; television; writing and editing
Cinnamon Bear
performing at the Sri Thyagarajah Festival; talking about race; the curriculum of combating prejudice; principles for children’s community involvement; our religious perspective as Quakers as it informs our homeschooling practice
Bric-A-Brac
my children teach me what I need to know; school as Cannery Row; the misuse of child development theory; the ‘Holy Grail’ of educational testing; teaching thinking skills?; the bric-a-brac principle; learning music as paradigm; the ‘S’ word; socializing the community to the needs of the child
The Fountain
music composition; learning to trust our children; the value of ‘wasted time’; the unnameable fountain)
About the Author
Over de auteur
David Albert is a storyteller, writer, and senior planner and policy analyst with the Washington State Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, and a contributor to Spinning Tales, Weaving Hope. Albert lives with his family in Olympia, Washington. He has written several books, including And the Skylark Sings With Me, The Healing Heart-Family and The Healing Heart-Community.
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