Keep It Cheap and Simple

When a friend of mine mentioned that she was developing her home schooling philosophy, I looked at her a bit stupefied.

A home schooling what?

I never did very well with any of my educational psychology classes in college (as demonstrated on one of my finals that I flunked) where words and phrases such as philosophy and doctrine of education were explained. Honestly, terms like philosophy kind of scare me. It's a big word. I've heard it used before and have a vague grasp of its meaning, but it's not a word a generally employ in my daily speech - despite the fact that my husband likes to pick on me for using big words (most of which I misapply or use out of context). It kind of unnerved me when I realized that many home schooling parents have what they consider to be their philosophy of home schooling.

I've since learned that there is the Charlotte Mason philosophy, the Montesori philosophy, the Classical Education philosophy, and the Classically Charlotte philosophy, to name only a few. I'd heard about all of these through my college education, but I never really thought about applying them to my own teaching. I started looking over each of these and ended up feeling even more overwhelmed rather than enlightened.

And then two beautiful things happened, and the light went on. First, I asked my husband what he thought about all of this, and he simply laid out a few ideas for me of what he hoped the kids would learn through home education. His tips were helpful and straight-forward, and they gave me a foundation for teaching. The second thing I did was talk with a seasoned home school mom who had taught all of her children without really directly following any of these lines of teaching. She gave me a wonderful phrase, one that I've turned into my philosophy.

"Keep it cheap and simple."

I loved it! It was easy to follow and, even better, easy for me to understand. Most of all, it fit our lifestyle better than anything else I'd come across. Don't get me wrong; I think it's fantastic that others have been able to create elaborate philosophies that fit their individual family's needs. Some children and/or parents need that high level of detail. There is relief in having constant, ornate assignments. Therein lies the beauty of alternate education: you can tailor it to meet your own situation.

I really like having a philosophy, and I'm thankful that I found one that gives me purpose and direction. It was something I'd never before thought about, which is why getting together with other like-minded families can be so beneficial.

Soon, I'll try to outline our "cheap and simple" home schooling ideas. They won't work for everyone, but they keep me motivated and have kept me from (totally) losing my mind.

That, to me, is the mark of a good philosophy!