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Loyalty Commitment Dedication
About thirty years ago generation gap was a familiar phrase. It seemed to explain all the problems parents were having with their young folks. Then I noticed something very strange: as my children went from private school to public (high) school, this strange disease suddenly began affecting them. I mulled over this for many years. The light began to dawn when I began observing home schooled children.
Diseases are caused by microscopic creatures which never seem to be able to shed any light on the reason folks become ill. One must search out the predisposing causes, symptoms, and, at last, the immediate cause: those tiny critters that infect the body. The generation gap disease can be diagnosed in much the same way.
Look at boys and girls who are sent to school. Notice that when we say sent to school those impressionable little ones are being sent out of the home. Right from the beginning they develop short term loyalties. They have had very little time to develop sound relations with parents and siblings, and now there is even less time. Now there are their peers and, possibly, a teacher or two for whom they develop short term loyalties. This doesn’t last long. Soon the child passes to another class, another teacher and, in another year or two, to others for whom short term loyalties are developed.
In the mean time, those, for whom they should have strong ties, are growing farther and farther apart. Then comes age eighteen and (sigh) the child is at last off on his own or married, never having experienced maturing in a family in which he is loved, rebuked, encouraged, and given undying loyalty no matter what.
Unfortunately, particularly in the public school setting, the seeds of disrespect and rebellion have been sown and the generation gap disease is full blown. (Naturally, I speak in generalities. There is always the exceptions. Some overcome the disease!)
Does home schooling best develop well adjusted adults whose sense of loyalty gives confidence and security to both the giver and the given? With the above in mind read the following (slightly shortened) from THE FEDERALIST BRIEF: The Conservative e-Journal of Record; 24 February 2003.
"Unlike the families of the 1950s and '60s, ...our homes sometimes feel like hotels with boarders waving to each other as they pass in the hallways. But experts are finding that making family meals a priority is more than worth the effort.
"(T)he National Merit Scholarship Corporation.... profiled National Merit scholars from the past 20 years trying to find out what these stellar students had in common.... (W)ithout exception, these kids came from families who ate together three or more nights a week.
"Not only can family meals make your kids smarter, spending quality time together over dinner can also contribute to your children's emotional and spiritual growth. After all, it's when you're all together sharing the details of your day that real bonding happens.
"And kids who feel close to their families are more likely to take the family's value system to heart." --Mimi Knight (italics mine) Post a Review Want to comment on this article? We value your input Please send us your comments and if you wish, a link to your site or a link to another page that supports your views and we'll post your valued input here.
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NEW
A Guide to Teaching Grammar using the Principle Approach
With Liberty and Justice for All
Creative Writing and the Essay
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If you are a home schooling family, you may
have noticed something peculiar about your children: they like being with
their family! In fact, the family seems to be the place where they find
the most enjoyment. Have you ever wondered why this is so?
