Thinking in Circles

As a new mom I wanted, of course, to do everything right. Who doesn't?

As a result I have tended to be in the "Crunchy Granola" community most of my journey in motherhood. This community is big on "natural" and "earth friendly" (which I'm not, by the way, since I'm not an earth worshiper) and "cheap" uhhh "economical." Sometimes, though, this produces some true weirdness.

"Make your own non-disposable baby wipes!"

This is seriously a subject on many "Crunchy Granola" sites. 

These women are formulating elaborate recipes to replace homemade disposable baby wipes...

....which replace store bought baby wipes... 

...which, if you just think about it, were invented to replace a wet wash rag. 

So, in the effort to save money and be healthier they are reinventing the wheel.

(I just used wet rags and threw them in the wash with the diapers myself. Keeping a few in a wipes warmer so they were always warm and ready was an absolute luxury.)

Why am I writing about this on a homeschool blog instead of my "MOM" blog?

Because many, many homeschoolers are doing the same thing with their children's education. 

They are copying the private schools...

... that copied the public schools...

 that, truth be told, were trying desperately to achieve as good of an education as provided by the average parent at home.

So lets question everything:

• Why do children sit at desks to work? Why not the kitchen table? Or some sort of lap desk on the couch?
• Why do children have separate texts for each subject? Are the subjects really separate in the first place? Is a textbook really the best way for your child to learn that subject? Or is a text just the most convenient way to teach in a classroom (plus the kick backs are better for the purchasing agent.) What about Youtube (i.e. learning about volcanoes or bugs or how to play the guitar)? Netflex (i.e. learning certain history subjects or travel/geography)? Visiting a local business (i.e. how do bees make honey?)? A dedicated website (i.e. government)? An internet game (i.e. geography, spelling)? 
• Why do we teach the subjects we do? (If your state specifically requires certain subjects, what would you choose to teach if it didn't?) Do kids really need the same things they needed 100 years ago? Did they need those subjects then? Who decided which subjects to teach and where to divide, for example, between history and science?
• Why can't learning be fun?
• Why must the parent/teacher force (bully?) the kid? Is there a better way that doesn't look so much like a typical classroom?

I'm not going to give answers. Really, I just want you all to think about it. think about what learning and preparing for adulthood would look like if we had never had government schools.

What other parts of education can you think of to challenge the status quo? Why do you do what you do? Habit or thought out reasonings?