Demystifier #2:
It’s not really learning until it changes you.
Learning changes you. Getting it right on the test doesn’t mean you have learned it. I took a test to get my driver’s license, and I had to know the speed limit in order to pass the test. But if I blithely drive twenty miles over the speed limit, did I really learn it? The police officer who stops me will not be impressed when I say, “Oh, I know the speed limit.” He will write me a ticket, I’ll pay a lot of money, and my insurance will go up. What are the odds that from that point on, I will pay attention to the speedometer, and actually drive the speed limit? If I do, then I will have learned my lesson.
Learning changes you. If I learn French, then that means I can actually speak it or read it. If I learn punctuation, I will correctly place my commas. If I learn percentages, I will save money at the grocery store. These are all indicators that real learning has taken place.
So, are your children really learning history? Are they adept at using their math facts? Have their biology lessons made a difference in food preparation? Are they able to write a letter to the editor concerning a local issue or, if they are much younger, a thank-you note to Grandma? Can they remember what they read in the story yesterday?
Mastery
When we begin to see the importance of letting them learn until they actually have mastered and are able to use the material, we will slow down our mad rush through facts. We will make sure that our children understand what they are studying, that they have time to interact or play with the subject matter, that they have processed and reviewed the material in a way that brings the meaning to life, that they have had the light bulb go on. In short, when what is being studied is no longer a factoid that can float out of the head just as easily as it floated in, but has become a living, interwoven part of their being, then it has been learned.
If you will put these two basic truths — to help them love learning, and to have them interact with the material to the point of mastery before you move on — into everyday practice in your homeschool, your children will astonish the world.
Remember, stay relational.