~ HOME LIFE NEWS ~
 July 2009
TEACHING THE HEART VS. TEACHING
Greetings!

In this newsletter we'd like to point you to a wonderful audio podcast by Lani Carey, one of HLA's homeschool counselors. The podcast is available online for FREE. Below is an outline from the workshop. Enjoy! And may your remaining summer with your kids be full of excitement and learning!
 
INTRODUCTION:
Lani Carey
Define teaching the mind - Teaching of facts, concepts, and theories in such a way that the child memorizes the information and is able to spit it back out, either orally or on a test.

Teaching the heart is so intricately woven into the whole concept of loving to learn and learning to love that teaching the heart produces a love of learning, which in turn produces a person who is capable of loving. God wants our hearts, He looks on our hearts to see who we are. "A child trained in his mind and not his heart is a menace to society." -Theodore Roosevelt

Teaching to the heart produces thoughtfulness.

What is thoughtfulness? The term thoughtfulness refers to the union of thought and feeling. It unites the head and the heart, thinking and feeling, because it integrates thinking and feeling, a union of heart and mind too often overlooked. Thoughtfulness is more complex than the teaching of specific "thinking skills."
We want children who know how to think, but we want thoughtful children, too.

Characteristics of thoughtful persons:

1. Confidence in problem-solving abilities
2. Persistent (Perseverance)
3. Self-Control (Temperance)
4. Open to others' ideas
5. Cooperate with others
6. Listeners
7. Empathetic
8. Tolerate ambiguity and complexity
9. Ability to approach problems from a variety of perspectives (Can put themselves in someone else's shoes)
10. Research problems thoroughly
11. Relate prior experience to current problems and make multiple connections
12. Open to many different solutions
13. Pose "what if" questions, playing with variables
14. Ability to transfer concepts and skill from one situation to another.
15. They are curious and wonder about the world. They ask good questions.

A way to teach thoughtfulness for kids of all ages is to have your children keep "Thinking Journals". You can use these as part of Eng., History, or Science. Some good starters are "I wonder...", "What puzzles me...What I am curious about...", "This reminds me of (or relates to)...", "What interests me here...", "I feel...", "What would happen if...?"

Give your kids time to think about things - don't demand quick answers

Set good examples. "If you want a kid to be caring and compassionate, what are you showing them?"

Don't place too much importance on grades. "If we go to war with our kids over grades and push them too far, it can be a battle won but a war lost." More important than activities and grades are your child's heart, character, relationships, and his or her sense of identity. In the game of parenting, it's not about the length of his hair, it's about his heart," according to Michael J. Bradley, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist from Feasterville, Pa., and the author of several books including Yes, Your Teen is Crazy! Loving Your Kid without Losing Your Mind.

 
Producing Leaders, Not Followers

3 major types of schooling:
 (The following is from A Thomas Jefferson Education)

Conveyor Belt- teaches what to think. Most public schools

Professional Education - teaches when to think. Includes apprenticeship and trade schools and law, medical and MBA programs, which create specialists.

Leadership Education - teaches how to think. Oliver Van DeMille calls this a Thomas Jefferson Education. Prepares students to be leaders in their homes and communities, entrepreneurs in business, and statesmen in government.

The seven key components of the leadership education model are -
  1. Classics, not textbooks
  2. Mentors, not professors
  3. Inspire, not require - Most of us believe that if our students aren't forced to learn, esp. math or science, they won't do it. The truth is that force produces followers, not leaders.
  4. Structure Time, Not Content
  5. Quality, Not Conformity
  6. Simplicity, Not Complexity - Read, Write, do Projects, and Discuss.
  7. You, Not Them - Set the example. Read the classics. Study hard.
2 MYTHS ABOUT EDUCATION:
 In high school, esp., we need to be aware of 2 myths about education -

Myth #1) That it is possible for one human being to educate another. It isn't! Everyone learns as much as he chooses to - no more, no less. We can increase opportunity, incentive, motivation, and improve the environment, the materials, and the resources - but, ultimately students must choose to learn or they won't.

Myth #2) The job of teachers is to educate. No, the role of teachers is to inspire. Those who inspire teach; those who don't, don't. We need to empower our students to take more control of their own education and their lives, which means sharing control (what subj. for electives, schedules, curr., when and where they study, read, etc. You will be amazed at the results.)
Challenge our students to pose and resolve some problems on their own, set goals, and design strategies to reach those goals.

Teach our students something about the nature of thinking, what makes a thoughtful person, and how one can improve one's intellectual performance by learning different ways of figuring things out. Create an "invitational environment" for our students, inviting students to think, to challenge, to question. We want to reverse the common mindset fostered by the public school system. As one student put it, "I think outside school. Here (in school) I memorize stuff."

Set expectations high. We are all geniuses because that's the way God made us - let your kids know that you expect greatness from them, but don't determine the path that greatness will come by. Build good memories.

Look at the fruit - Don't copy what someone else is doing because your family and your children are individuals who need an individualized education , but seek out families whose children have become the kind of adults that you want your children to be and find out their philosophy of teaching.
 
We pray for you and your children everyday.

To read more of the Outline Click Here. To listen to the Entire Audio Podcast Click Here. 

Home Life News is a monthly newsletter resource provided to all HLA teachers. HomeLifeAcademy offers parents the freedom to choose their own books and custom design a learner-centered educational plan to meet the interests and needs of each individual student. From Kindergarten to graduation, HLA provides record keeping, transcript, counseling, resource links, college placement and more, allowing parents to do what they do best, lead their children into a life-long love for learning!