coffee break ver. 1.20 -  What characteristics of a school are you looking for?

Goodbye, pool floats! Hello, school bags! Hopefully the bags don’t float when the floods come.  

I actually do not know how to answer this question right now because, at present, our kids are not enrolled in a traditional school but as of today (while my sanity is still intact) they are being homeschooled. I actually don’t have the statistics of how many families in the Philippines homeschool their kids but I do know that the number is growing steadily.

What is homeschool? It REALLY IS school conducted at home. The next question would probably be WHY? Which brings me to Jan’s coffee break question. Let me put it this way. The decision to homeschool was a joint decision between hubby and myself. It is not something that will work for everybody but this was what we thought was best for our children. This is also not a decision that can be taken lightly because it requires a really strong commitment to see it through. This is what we agreed on and we will continue to do it as long as we are capable. We agreed on what we wanted our children to learn. We did our research on the different curricula and methods of teaching in different schools and what we were looking for is not part of or even if it was, the school itself is not accessible to us, logistically.

Hence, our house is not your typical house. It is filled with books, books and more books all over. It is where our children are educated. It is not a perfect school but I know that our intents for their best interests is the driving force that pushes us to persevere. Our aim is to educate and raise them to fulfill all their potential. This is what burns in our hearts. Our home is our school and school is in the heart of our home. 

Here’s a wonderful definition I got from the 1828 Webster dictionary to inspire you all:

EDUCA’TION, n. [L. educatio.]

The bringing up, as of a child, instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations.

To give children a good education in manners, arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties.

Here are some famous people who were homeschooled:

Educators

Fred Terman (President – Stanford) 
William Samuel Johnson (President Columbia) 
John Witherspoon (President of Princeton) 

Generals

Stonewall Jackson 
Robert E. Lee 
Douglas MacArthur 
George Patton 

Inventors

Alexander Graham Bell 
Thomas Edison 
Cyrus McCormick 
Orville Wright & Wilbur Wright 

Artists

Claude Monet 
Leonardo da Vinci 

Presidents

George Washington 
Thomas Jefferson 
John Quincy Adams 
James Madison 
William Henry Harrison 
John Tyler 
Abraham Lincoln 
Theordore Roosevelt 
Woodrow Wilson 
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 

Scientists

George Washington Carver 
Pierre Curie 
Albert Einstein 
Booker T. Washington 
Blaise Pascal 

Statesmen

Konrad Adenauer 
Winston Churchill 
Benjamin Franklin 
Patrick Henry 
William Penn 
Henry Clay 

Composers

Irving Berlin 
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 
Anton Bruckner 
Felix Mendelssohn 
Francis Poulenc 

Writers

Hans Christian Anderson 
Charles Dickens 
Brett Harte 
Mark Twain 
Sean O’Casey 
Pearl S. Buck 
Agatha Christie 
C.S. Lewis 
George Bernard Shaw 

Religious leaders

Joan of Arc 
Brigham Young 
John & Charles Wesley 
Jonathan Edwards 
John Owen 
William Cary 
Dwight L. Moody 
John Newton 

Others

Charles Chaplin – Actor 
George Rogers Clark – Explorer 
Andrew Carnegie – Industrialist 
Noel Coward – Playwright 
John Burroughs – Naturalist 
Albert Schweitzer – Physician 
Tamara McKinney – World Cup Skier 
Jim Ryan – World Runner 
Ansel Adams – Photographer 
Charles Louis Montesquieu – philosopher 
John Stuart Mill – Economist 
John Paul Jones – father of the American Navy 
Florence Nightingale – nurse 
Clara Barton – started the Red Cross 
Abigail Adams – wife of John Adams 
Martha Washington – wife of George W. 
George Washington – 1st President of the U.S.
James Madison – 4th President of the U.S. 
John Witherspoon – President of Princeton U. 
Benjamin Franklin – inventor and statesman 
William S. Johnson – President of Columbia C. 
George Mason