OK

While we are on vacation to Texas this summer my Father-In-Law opened a discussion about why we homeschool. Got to love him for that ! He is one of those guys that I enjoy discussing (debating)with because if you present a good case he is willing to listen and consider, that doesn't mean you will change his mind. He also forces you to think about exactly why you stand where you do on a given position, in my opinion any conversation that makes you think is a good one.
Anyhow, at one point he posed what I have since come to think of as the pivotal question. He asked with regards to our having been publicly school educated, "Well, we turned out OK didn't we?" since then I have really thought about the question. Yes, we did turn out OK. But at what point does OK become satisfactory enough for us not to strive for more. "Well, you did OK on that surgery", "Your math on the new Hubble programming was OK". I guesse what I am asking is, why is OK enough? Is there nothing more than OK? There is no pride or fulfillment in being OK. There must be something more. My children deserve more than to be taught by an OK teacher and turn out OK. I want so much more for them than that. I want them to be passionate about learning. to be passionate about something. Almost ever PS kid I meet has no passion aobut anything, they are just serving their time until they are released, literally.
I love our conversations or debates around the dinner table, I adore how we are stuck on a question until we find the answer, the reason why, and then the fulfillment that comes from now knowing. For example in Seri's math she came across word problems dealing with fractions and was confused about when you multiply and when you divide in regards to fractions. She knows how to do both operations very well, but doesn't always understand when to use which application. Matt knew she needed to multiply but could not explain to her why. I plumb didn't know. So I asked around and tried to figure it out. One person told me that" when it asks you to find a part you divide". But that didn't fit, so finally I found a math tutor online (love the king county library system) and asked his reply was "anytime you are finding a fraction of anything even another fraction, you multiply". there you have it. And now we all understand. Because we were diligent about knowing why. We werent satisfied with the fact that she could do the problem, it wasn't a matter of just getting the problem right. We wanted her to have an intimate and firm knowledge of the material. This she would not get from a PS school. They dont have enough time or energy to deliver this kind of experience to 20+ children whom they will probably never see again.
So, in response, yes I turned out OK, but OK no longer meets my expectations or desires.