June 26, 2025 • 20 mins
Hey friends, Shanna here! 💖 Today we’re talking about a BIG mindset shift: Are you making the mistake of confusing school with learning? Because let’s be real—school and learning are not the same thing. 📚❌
Just because a kid checks all the boxes or sits through all the lessons doesn’t mean they’re actually learning something that sticks. And that pressure to “do school right” can get in the way of some of the best learning moments—like those late-night deep talks, kitchen science, or car ride trivia battles. ✨
In this episode, I’m breaking down how we draw the line between “school” and real learning in our secular homeschool life. Whether you homeschool, unschool, or just want more freedom and flexibility in how your child grows, this is your reminder: learning happens everywhere—not just in a classroom.
👇 Let’s keep the convo going:
💬 What’s something your child learned outside of school that actually stuck?
💬 Ever felt like school was blocking true learning?
Let’s challenge the system, support each other, and raise amazing humans together.
———
⭐ Follow for more honest talk on secular homeschooling, parenting, and mindset.
👍 Rate + review if this hit home.
📲 Share this with a friend who needs to hear it!
#ConfusingSchoolWithLearning #SchoolVsLearning #MakingEverydayMagic #SecularHomeschool #HomeschoolMindset #ParentingWithPurpose #UnschoolingLife #HomeschoolCommunity #LearningEverywhere #RaiseGoodHumans #HomeschoolPodcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey. Hi. Welcome back.
You will see this videoafter the last video
that I filmed in this exact same location.
And that video will explain to youwhy I'm in this location.
That video is actually also kindof related to this video, but this video
is gonna talk about
how we really need to stopconfusing learning with school,
(00:24):
because then memorizing and not sayingthat I'm acting everyday magic.
My name is Shanna.
If you are new herewe are homeschooling a family of four.
We are in our eighth yearof homeschooling.
I have a middle schooler and what will bea late elementary year in our home.
So no, not an expert
to have years of experience in my pocket.
(00:45):
So that is why I come here and share.
Because, it is important to meto come here and share
because then you guys share with me.
I share with you.
We're growing the whole thingwith secular talents and I love it.
And it's great.
Today I want to talk with youabout confusing learning with schooling.
And while you as a high schoolparent, might not be doing as well
everybody aroundyou. So let's jump into it.
(01:11):
Before we go any further, please scrolldown, hit the big red subscribe button,
turn on that bell for notificationsand give this video a thumbs up.
As always, you can find me right on downthe comments over on Instagram.
Practically everyday magic.
There is an assumptionthat school is learning.
School is not learning.
School is a societal construct,relatively new
(01:33):
in the grand scheme of thingsthat provide many services.
The most commonly discussed is learning.
The intent is that you send your childrento a place and they will learn.
They will be educated.
However,just like you can lead a horse to water,
but you can't make it duringschooling is not learning schooling?
(01:56):
Serve school serves many purposes.
You know, it gets children child careduring the day so that parents can work.
It does work to give everyonekind of a base knowledge.
However, there is no guaranteethat learning will happen at school
and there is absolutely no onewho should be
(02:18):
thinkingthat learning only happens at school.
Learning is when you are gainingknowledge, when you are taking
both experiences and thingsthat you can read about or see about,
and applying those into new informationthat you retain in your person.
School is not the same.
If you have been following along recently,there's a big, big push is for schools
(02:43):
to actually be held accountable
when they are progressing childrenthrough their grade levels.
There's even a student in Tennesseewho says that she graduated with honors
but couldn't actually read,and so therefore
she is suing the school district,because they have failed her.
So I think it's very importantin this planning season
(03:05):
that we are discussing school and learningschool is not the same thing as learning
and as you eitherlook into the homeschooling way of life
or as you are tackling it, and you'regetting some naysayers and some doubters,
it can be very
hard to like, stand fast and say,you know, just because my children
(03:28):
are not in school does not meanthat they are aren't learning.
It can also be really limiting to yourselfinto your homeschool to think that
just because the kid down the streetdoes go to school, that they are learning.
That's not always the case.
A large amount of school,especially in these days,
and for example in Texas, is based aroundmemorizing things that you can
(03:52):
then apply to a standardized testthat can then be
used to evaluate both your district,the school, and the teachers.
Whereas to me at least,that's not the same thing as learning.
Learningis when you are doing something for
a need otherthan just being able to regurgitate it.
(04:15):
So we are bettering our lives throughthe information that we are gaining.
We are learning every time we do anything.
So we are learningby the things that we see.
We are learning by the things that we doboth in school and out of school.
But to think that the primary concernthe most confusing aspect of this
is that everyone in society
(04:36):
tends to equate school and learning,
and they simply are not the same things,and they don't
always serve the same purpose.
So todayI just thought it could be helpful.
Like I said in this planning season,to discuss a little bit of this.
So school is a structured systemwith set schedules,
curriculum and assessments,which comes back to that.
(04:56):
Standardized testing.
Learning is the process of gainingknowledge, skills and understanding
which can happen anywhere, anytimeand in various forms.
So that is why formal educationschool is not the same thing as learning.
Anybody can learn anywhere.
You don't have to be in school to learn,and any time
that you think you are learning lessbecause you aren't in school,
(05:19):
you're doing yourself and your homeschoola disservice.
Many people again, society has been shapedto believe that you send your children
to school to learn and thereforethe learning happens at school.
But if you and I am,I am happy to say this out loud
for those in the back,
if you are relying on schoolto be the only place
that your children are learning,you're failing your children, okay,
(05:40):
it is your job as a parentto help them gain more knowledge.
It is your job as a parent to ensure
to reinforce anythingthat is even taught at school.
It's your jobto make sure it's being learned.
So make sure that you are not just falling
back, getting lazybecause your kid goes to school,
that the learning is happening thereand that you don't need to be doing
anything to continue on with that,because that completely failing
(06:05):
as far as parental duties are concerned,in my opinion, and schools
focus is on grades and completion of taskrather than understanding.
They are not fostering the criticalthinking skills
that help your children either.
Figure out how to find the answersthat they're needing, or figure out
how to use the information that they'vealready got to make those bigger steps
(06:27):
to question what they're doing,and to be eager and excited to learn more.
They're checking the boxesas has been passed down to them
from higher upsand state agencies and federal agencies.
When it comes down tricklingdown to the kids, the kids just have to be
the kind of little puppetsthat are performing
for the rest of all of the adults,all the way up the food chain.
(06:47):
I have big feelings.
In case you can't tell.
The structure of school, in my opinion,is counterintuitive
to learningbecause learning does require movement.
Learning does require
exploration.
Learning requirescreativity and public school
systems, and increasinglyso are not set up for that.
(07:10):
Your kids, at least here in history,
it is becoming increasingly rarethat a child can even walk into a library
and pick up a bookthat they want to read on a school campus.
History schools have begun eliminating
libraries disproportionately.
This is a whole nother topicfor probably a whole nother video, but
(07:32):
is disproportionately disenfranchizingthe students of low income,
low performing schools by giving themmore work time, more study time.
But eliminating things like librariesand librarians on those underperforming
campuses, again, disproportionatelyaffecting low income and minority groups.
But again, that's a videofor another time.
(07:55):
Focusing heavily on testing and standardsjust increases memorization.
It doesn't increase a love of learningor foster a deeper understanding.
It does create a lack of real worldapplication
when you are just focusing on certainthings, certain standards, certain ways
(08:15):
to diagram a sentence, certain waysthat a paragraph has to be structured.
It does not allow for real world
application or even personal interestto shine through.
And we all know as homeschoolparents, kids who are personally invested
in the things that they're learningare going to learn more.
Not to mention, this all increases stressand anxiety around grade achievement.
(08:37):
Instead of true, real, enjoyable learning.
We are getting to a placein our homeschool
where my kids are old enough to knowwhat they are and are not interested in.
And because of that, going forward, I'mgoing to focus much,
much more on tailoring everythingthat we're doing to their interests.
There is no point in asking my art
(09:01):
child to go outand do things she doesn't want to do.
She doesn't have an interest,and if it doesn't serve her
in both short term and long term,we are at the point
where we really are going to be exercisingthat custom
and tailor made educational modelfor our girls.
True. True learning happens everywhere.
(09:23):
True learning, I would argue, doesn'teven have a place in the classroom.
If you think about it.Think about a classroom setting.
Especially these days when so little ofa school day is spent on actual learning.
When one person is trying to engagewith let's conservative,
let's say 20 kids,when those kids are made to do
(09:44):
things like change at the sound of a bell,we are doing something.
And then the bell ringsand we're just ripped out of that.
How long does it takeyou to get in and get settled?
What if you're focusing on the bathroombreak?
What if you needed a snack?
What if lunch was weird?
How are you going to get true learning?
And if one of the 20 of the kidsis incredibly disruptive?
Oh wait, we've got fire drills, hurricanedrills, and school shooter drills.
(10:08):
How are you expecting your childrento learn in such an environment
again, where they are put into a situation
where they aren'teven allowed to really and truly interact
with anybody outside of their owngrade age
level socio economic bracket,in most cases by homeschooling
and by focusing on true learning,we are fostering curiosity, which, like
(10:33):
I have already said, is going to encouragereal, deep, true understanding.
Learning.
We are, especially here in our homeschool.
People will ask, well,how do you know if your kids are learning?
I am with them, right?
So if they do their machineand they've gotten something wrong,
I don't just well, your grades are 70.
Here you go. Try again.
Next time we sit there, we reworkthe program, we rework the problem
(10:57):
and understand where they went wrong,where the mistake happened.
And it's not something that's punished.
It's not something that we don't takethe time to correct,
to allow them to do better next time.
We also work very hard,
especially as homeschool parents,to make real world learning applicable.
So something that I loveand I've talked about ad nauseum here
(11:20):
on this channel,and I will just forever and ever and ever.
And most recent example,as we learned about Texas, Texas history,
we learned about the battle of the Alamo,hopped in the car and drove to the Alamo.
So when you are standing,we read a book about Susanna Dickinson,
who, was a woman who was in the sacristyduring the battle of the Alamo.
Only the women and childrenand slaves were spared.
(11:42):
Her husband died defending the Alamo.
We were able to sit in the same room.
She cowered in.
Over those 13 days,we are able to go to the things.
And when my child is sitting therein that same small space
and visioning all of these things,they get a real hands on example of what
(12:02):
things are like when we go places,when we go out into the world,
when we go to Stonehenge,and we're able to talk about
the geological properties of the rocks,and that's how we know that they came from
so far away when we visit the Louvreand we can see Napoleon,
and when we are ableto connect our learning
(12:24):
and fall back on our previous knowledgewhen we see something in the real world.
My children light up.
And yes, yes, schools try to do this.
They do a really good jobwith the resources that they have
by doing field trips and things like that.
This is probablya really good place to start.
I am not anti school.
School serve an amazing,amazing role in our community
(12:46):
and I do not want to live in a worldwhere children
do not have accessto schools, to public education.
I do, however, want to remind youthat school and learning are not the same.
Schools do a great job.
Teachers do a really, really good jobwith the resources they have
while simultaneouslytrying very hard to meet.
(13:07):
So much more than the learning needsof the children in their care.
They're having to worryabout their social needs.
They're having to worry about their homeneeds, their basic hygiene needs,
whether or not they have tummies fullenough to be able to focus on learning.
So by no means am I anti school,but I just want to remind you
(13:27):
that using the default as well,
I send my kids to school or they send kidsto school, therefore they're learning.
It's absolutely not the case.
And this is one of those thingswhere mostly
I want to speak to youin an encouraging way, so
that when you do have the mother in lawsor the stranger at the grocery store
who gets confused about your situation
(13:50):
and your decision to school your childrenin a slightly unconventional manner,
you can fall back on this schooldoesn't mean learning.
School doesn't mean socialization.
It's forced association.
We were boarding a boat for a whale tour
in Alaskawith my children during the school year,
(14:11):
and the captain of the boat was like, oh,no school today.
And I looked him dead in the face.
This is school.
That's it.
School is real world learning.
My kids aren't going to knowwhat it looks like for an orca
in the wild to breachwithout being able to go do those things.
(14:31):
And I'm not sayingyou need to do those things.
I am just saying school isn't learning.
Learning iswhat happens all the time, every day.
And you need to be reminded.
I feel like we all need to be remindedthat school isn't learning.
These aren't the same things now.
It is important.
It is important for parents,especially homeschool parents.
(14:54):
I know all parents, all parents.
100% of parentsneed to be doing their part to make sure
that their students are learning,wherever that is.
So whether you do send your childrento a brick and mortar traditional model,
formal schooling down the street,
or whether you choose to homeschool,I don't care what you're doing.
You need to be pouringinto their interests.
(15:16):
You need to be fosteringa love of learning.
One of the easiest ways that you can dothat is by modeling.
Anytime my kids have a question,I don't know. Let's look it up.
I don't know. Let's look it upI don't know. Let's look it up.
Let's find more information. Here'swhat I do know.
But you know what?
I don't know if that's accurate.
Let's double check all ways.
Always be pouringlearning into anyone around you.
Honestly, because I am guilty of that.
(15:38):
I'm sure you can totally imaginethis super far leap.
I enjoy sharing what I know,I enjoy sharing what I found,
and I enjoy looking into things furtherwhen I don't know the answers.
So for me, I am very passionate.
It's one of those thingswhen when we had children, I knew that
(15:59):
my husband and I were always going to bethese types of parents long before we even
even thought about homeschooling,we were already the kinds of parents
that were pouring into our kidsand encouraging them to do a little more.
To understand a little more,let's talk about those things.
Which is why when she was in preschool
and they came to us and said,did you know she yes, I did.
(16:21):
Did you know she yes, I did.
That helped us decide to homeschoolbecause we had tailor
made her education up to that point.
She would have been aheadat least a year compared to her
public school counterparts.
If we had just waitedon educating her at all, and we didn't
want her to sit thereand not be pushed and push.
(16:41):
So while she was ahead, we knew thatthis was the right decision for us.
And it's also how we continue to gaugeour homeschool now and going forward.
If she isn't always aheadof where she would be,
then we know thatwe're losing a little bit of ground
and we maybe need to considera different method
for our educational approach,but for right now, it continues to work.
(17:03):
For right now,we're always pushing, always striving,
always learning a little more.
And I like to hope that we're doing itin a manner that is enjoyable,
that is interest led, and will fostertrue, true love of learning and deep
understanding, because that is somethingthat we pride ourselves on.
My husband and I are always super eagerto learn a little more,
to learn a little more about the thingswe are investing in, our time, our energy,
(17:27):
anything that we really can'tbecause we do find it very interesting.
Which I just want to point out, I'm killerwhen it comes to trivia,
in case you were wondering,because I really will go down
too many rabbit holes in in in the worldand on the interwebs.
But that's another, another discussion.
So quick reminder school isn't learning.
Okay, so if you're comingto this way of life, just remember that
(17:49):
it's not the same schooldoes not mean your child will learn.
Okay, you can take a horse to water,but you cannot make it drink.
It is the exact same thing.
You can send a kid to school,but you cannot make them learn.
So just remember it's on you.
You've got a lot of responsibility
on your shoulders to make the worlda real world.
Learning for your childhappen to make it available okay.
(18:11):
To encourage them to model it.
So guys, I hope that you found any of thishelpful, entertaining, or informative.
If you did, please scroll downand hit that big red subscribe button.
Turn on that bell for notificationsand give this video a thumbs up.
As always,you can find me down in the comments
or over on Instagramat Making Everyday Magic.
As always guys,I am looking for your conversation
back with me,so feel free to drop a comment down below.
(18:33):
And let's discuss some of this.
What is a real world learning applicationthat has stuck with you?
That was your absolute favorite.
One of my favorites,beyond all the ones I mentioned is,
the Houston Arboretum.
And actually several places around
the Houston area have done this thingwhere when they have a lot of like,
low growth vegetation,but not like a lawn,
(18:54):
they do this thing where they set upa fence and they bring in goats,
and they bring in goatsto act as like lawnmowers.
It is my favorite thing to go see,and I have no idea why.
But we will see another reality,another for the longest time
talking about goatsand the impact on the ecosystem.
Something that actually just happened.
At SeaWorld San Antonio,which was so cool.
(19:14):
The last lesson of our chemistryprogram was about,
ocean acidification and the large amountsof carbon dioxide getting into the ocean
and creating new moleculeslike a whole thing, killing coral.
They had a piece of coral on display, andthey were all about ocean acidification.
And I was like,look at that. And it's horrible.
And so it was really coolto be able to see that
(19:36):
not in the wild because we're at SeaWorld,but like in the world.
And it was so cool.
And I loveI just love this whole connections.
And it makes me so incredibly happy to belike, we learned about that one thing.
Remember that thing, that thingmissing all that time?
We just that I just,
that that that is why I do this.
I get so excited. I get so excited.
I mean, I got me really excited. Sure.
(19:58):
That. Hello. What's your thing?
What is this for your life? That's.
It makes me feel good on the inside. You.
Hey. Hi. Welcome back.
You will see this videoafter the last video
that I filmed in this exact same location.
And that video will explain to youwhy I'm in this location.
That video is actually also kindof related to this video, but this video
is gonna talk about
how we really need to stopconfusing learning with school,
(00:24):
because then memorizing and not sayingthat I'm acting everyday magic.
My name is Shanna.
If you are new herewe are homeschooling a family of four.
We are in our eighth yearof homeschooling.
I have a middle schooler and what will bea late elementary year in our home.
So no, not an expert
to have years of experience in my pocket.
(00:45):
So that is why I come here and share.
Because, it is important to meto come here and share
because then you guys share with me.
I share with you.
We're growing the whole thingwith secular talents and I love it.
And it's great.
Today I want to talk with youabout confusing learning with schooling.
And while you as a high schoolparent, might not be doing as well
everybody aroundyou. So let's jump into it.
(01:11):
Before we go any further, please scrolldown, hit the big red subscribe button,
turn on that bell for notificationsand give this video a thumbs up.
As always, you can find me right on downthe comments over on Instagram.
Practically everyday magic.
There is an assumptionthat school is learning.
School is not learning.
School is a societal construct,relatively new
(01:33):
in the grand scheme of thingsthat provide many services.
The most commonly discussed is learning.
The intent is that you send your childrento a place and they will learn.
They will be educated.
However,just like you can lead a horse to water,
but you can't make it duringschooling is not learning schooling?
(01:56):
Serve school serves many purposes.
You know, it gets children child careduring the day so that parents can work.
It does work to give everyonekind of a base knowledge.
However, there is no guaranteethat learning will happen at school
and there is absolutely no onewho should be
(02:18):
thinkingthat learning only happens at school.
Learning is when you are gainingknowledge, when you are taking
both experiences and thingsthat you can read about or see about,
and applying those into new informationthat you retain in your person.
School is not the same.
If you have been following along recently,there's a big, big push is for schools
(02:43):
to actually be held accountable
when they are progressing childrenthrough their grade levels.
There's even a student in Tennesseewho says that she graduated with honors
but couldn't actually read,and so therefore
she is suing the school district,because they have failed her.
So I think it's very importantin this planning season
(03:05):
that we are discussing school and learningschool is not the same thing as learning
and as you eitherlook into the homeschooling way of life
or as you are tackling it, and you'regetting some naysayers and some doubters,
it can be very
hard to like, stand fast and say,you know, just because my children
(03:28):
are not in school does not meanthat they are aren't learning.
It can also be really limiting to yourselfinto your homeschool to think that
just because the kid down the streetdoes go to school, that they are learning.
That's not always the case.
A large amount of school,especially in these days,
and for example in Texas, is based aroundmemorizing things that you can
(03:52):
then apply to a standardized testthat can then be
used to evaluate both your district,the school, and the teachers.
Whereas to me at least,that's not the same thing as learning.
Learningis when you are doing something for
a need otherthan just being able to regurgitate it.
(04:15):
So we are bettering our lives throughthe information that we are gaining.
We are learning every time we do anything.
So we are learningby the things that we see.
We are learning by the things that we doboth in school and out of school.
But to think that the primary concernthe most confusing aspect of this
is that everyone in society
(04:36):
tends to equate school and learning,
and they simply are not the same things,and they don't
always serve the same purpose.
So todayI just thought it could be helpful.
Like I said in this planning season,to discuss a little bit of this.
So school is a structured systemwith set schedules,
curriculum and assessments,which comes back to that.
(04:56):
Standardized testing.
Learning is the process of gainingknowledge, skills and understanding
which can happen anywhere, anytimeand in various forms.
So that is why formal educationschool is not the same thing as learning.
Anybody can learn anywhere.
You don't have to be in school to learn,and any time
that you think you are learning lessbecause you aren't in school,
(05:19):
you're doing yourself and your homeschoola disservice.
Many people again, society has been shapedto believe that you send your children
to school to learn and thereforethe learning happens at school.
But if you and I am,I am happy to say this out loud
for those in the back,
if you are relying on schoolto be the only place
that your children are learning,you're failing your children, okay,
(05:40):
it is your job as a parentto help them gain more knowledge.
It is your job as a parent to ensure
to reinforce anythingthat is even taught at school.
It's your jobto make sure it's being learned.
So make sure that you are not just falling
back, getting lazybecause your kid goes to school,
that the learning is happening thereand that you don't need to be doing
anything to continue on with that,because that completely failing
(06:05):
as far as parental duties are concerned,in my opinion, and schools
focus is on grades and completion of taskrather than understanding.
They are not fostering the criticalthinking skills
that help your children either.
Figure out how to find the answersthat they're needing, or figure out
how to use the information that they'vealready got to make those bigger steps
(06:27):
to question what they're doing,and to be eager and excited to learn more.
They're checking the boxesas has been passed down to them
from higher upsand state agencies and federal agencies.
When it comes down tricklingdown to the kids, the kids just have to be
the kind of little puppetsthat are performing
for the rest of all of the adults,all the way up the food chain.
(06:47):
I have big feelings.
In case you can't tell.
The structure of school, in my opinion,is counterintuitive
to learningbecause learning does require movement.
Learning does require
exploration.
Learning requirescreativity and public school
systems, and increasinglyso are not set up for that.
(07:10):
Your kids, at least here in history,
it is becoming increasingly rarethat a child can even walk into a library
and pick up a bookthat they want to read on a school campus.
History schools have begun eliminating
libraries disproportionately.
This is a whole nother topicfor probably a whole nother video, but
(07:32):
is disproportionately disenfranchizingthe students of low income,
low performing schools by giving themmore work time, more study time.
But eliminating things like librariesand librarians on those underperforming
campuses, again, disproportionatelyaffecting low income and minority groups.
But again, that's a videofor another time.
(07:55):
Focusing heavily on testing and standardsjust increases memorization.
It doesn't increase a love of learningor foster a deeper understanding.
It does create a lack of real worldapplication
when you are just focusing on certainthings, certain standards, certain ways
(08:15):
to diagram a sentence, certain waysthat a paragraph has to be structured.
It does not allow for real world
application or even personal interestto shine through.
And we all know as homeschoolparents, kids who are personally invested
in the things that they're learningare going to learn more.
Not to mention, this all increases stressand anxiety around grade achievement.
(08:37):
Instead of true, real, enjoyable learning.
We are getting to a placein our homeschool
where my kids are old enough to knowwhat they are and are not interested in.
And because of that, going forward, I'mgoing to focus much,
much more on tailoring everythingthat we're doing to their interests.
There is no point in asking my art
(09:01):
child to go outand do things she doesn't want to do.
She doesn't have an interest,and if it doesn't serve her
in both short term and long term,we are at the point
where we really are going to be exercisingthat custom
and tailor made educational modelfor our girls.
True. True learning happens everywhere.
(09:23):
True learning, I would argue, doesn'teven have a place in the classroom.
If you think about it.Think about a classroom setting.
Especially these days when so little ofa school day is spent on actual learning.
When one person is trying to engagewith let's conservative,
let's say 20 kids,when those kids are made to do
(09:44):
things like change at the sound of a bell,we are doing something.
And then the bell ringsand we're just ripped out of that.
How long does it takeyou to get in and get settled?
What if you're focusing on the bathroombreak?
What if you needed a snack?
What if lunch was weird?
How are you going to get true learning?
And if one of the 20 of the kidsis incredibly disruptive?
Oh wait, we've got fire drills, hurricanedrills, and school shooter drills.
(10:08):
How are you expecting your childrento learn in such an environment
again, where they are put into a situation
where they aren'teven allowed to really and truly interact
with anybody outside of their owngrade age
level socio economic bracket,in most cases by homeschooling
and by focusing on true learning,we are fostering curiosity, which, like
(10:33):
I have already said, is going to encouragereal, deep, true understanding.
Learning.
We are, especially here in our homeschool.
People will ask, well,how do you know if your kids are learning?
I am with them, right?
So if they do their machineand they've gotten something wrong,
I don't just well, your grades are 70.
Here you go. Try again.
Next time we sit there, we reworkthe program, we rework the problem
(10:57):
and understand where they went wrong,where the mistake happened.
And it's not something that's punished.
It's not something that we don't takethe time to correct,
to allow them to do better next time.
We also work very hard,
especially as homeschool parents,to make real world learning applicable.
So something that I loveand I've talked about ad nauseum here
(11:20):
on this channel,and I will just forever and ever and ever.
And most recent example,as we learned about Texas, Texas history,
we learned about the battle of the Alamo,hopped in the car and drove to the Alamo.
So when you are standing,we read a book about Susanna Dickinson,
who, was a woman who was in the sacristyduring the battle of the Alamo.
Only the women and childrenand slaves were spared.
(11:42):
Her husband died defending the Alamo.
We were able to sit in the same room.
She cowered in.
Over those 13 days,we are able to go to the things.
And when my child is sitting therein that same small space
and visioning all of these things,they get a real hands on example of what
(12:02):
things are like when we go places,when we go out into the world,
when we go to Stonehenge,and we're able to talk about
the geological properties of the rocks,and that's how we know that they came from
so far away when we visit the Louvreand we can see Napoleon,
and when we are ableto connect our learning
(12:24):
and fall back on our previous knowledgewhen we see something in the real world.
My children light up.
And yes, yes, schools try to do this.
They do a really good jobwith the resources that they have
by doing field trips and things like that.
This is probablya really good place to start.
I am not anti school.
School serve an amazing,amazing role in our community
(12:46):
and I do not want to live in a worldwhere children
do not have accessto schools, to public education.
I do, however, want to remind youthat school and learning are not the same.
Schools do a great job.
Teachers do a really, really good jobwith the resources they have
while simultaneouslytrying very hard to meet.
(13:07):
So much more than the learning needsof the children in their care.
They're having to worryabout their social needs.
They're having to worry about their homeneeds, their basic hygiene needs,
whether or not they have tummies fullenough to be able to focus on learning.
So by no means am I anti school,but I just want to remind you
(13:27):
that using the default as well,
I send my kids to school or they send kidsto school, therefore they're learning.
It's absolutely not the case.
And this is one of those thingswhere mostly
I want to speak to youin an encouraging way, so
that when you do have the mother in lawsor the stranger at the grocery store
who gets confused about your situation
(13:50):
and your decision to school your childrenin a slightly unconventional manner,
you can fall back on this schooldoesn't mean learning.
School doesn't mean socialization.
It's forced association.
We were boarding a boat for a whale tour
in Alaskawith my children during the school year,
(14:11):
and the captain of the boat was like, oh,no school today.
And I looked him dead in the face.
This is school.
That's it.
School is real world learning.
My kids aren't going to knowwhat it looks like for an orca
in the wild to breachwithout being able to go do those things.
(14:31):
And I'm not sayingyou need to do those things.
I am just saying school isn't learning.
Learning iswhat happens all the time, every day.
And you need to be reminded.
I feel like we all need to be remindedthat school isn't learning.
These aren't the same things now.
It is important.
It is important for parents,especially homeschool parents.
(14:54):
I know all parents, all parents.
100% of parentsneed to be doing their part to make sure
that their students are learning,wherever that is.
So whether you do send your childrento a brick and mortar traditional model,
formal schooling down the street,
or whether you choose to homeschool,I don't care what you're doing.
You need to be pouringinto their interests.
(15:16):
You need to be fosteringa love of learning.
One of the easiest ways that you can dothat is by modeling.
Anytime my kids have a question,I don't know. Let's look it up.
I don't know. Let's look it upI don't know. Let's look it up.
Let's find more information. Here'swhat I do know.
But you know what?
I don't know if that's accurate.
Let's double check all ways.
Always be pouringlearning into anyone around you.
Honestly, because I am guilty of that.
(15:38):
I'm sure you can totally imaginethis super far leap.
I enjoy sharing what I know,I enjoy sharing what I found,
and I enjoy looking into things furtherwhen I don't know the answers.
So for me, I am very passionate.
It's one of those thingswhen when we had children, I knew that
(15:59):
my husband and I were always going to bethese types of parents long before we even
even thought about homeschooling,we were already the kinds of parents
that were pouring into our kidsand encouraging them to do a little more.
To understand a little more,let's talk about those things.
Which is why when she was in preschool
and they came to us and said,did you know she yes, I did.
(16:21):
Did you know she yes, I did.
That helped us decide to homeschoolbecause we had tailor
made her education up to that point.
She would have been aheadat least a year compared to her
public school counterparts.
If we had just waitedon educating her at all, and we didn't
want her to sit thereand not be pushed and push.
(16:41):
So while she was ahead, we knew thatthis was the right decision for us.
And it's also how we continue to gaugeour homeschool now and going forward.
If she isn't always aheadof where she would be,
then we know thatwe're losing a little bit of ground
and we maybe need to considera different method
for our educational approach,but for right now, it continues to work.
(17:03):
For right now,we're always pushing, always striving,
always learning a little more.
And I like to hope that we're doing itin a manner that is enjoyable,
that is interest led, and will fostertrue, true love of learning and deep
understanding, because that is somethingthat we pride ourselves on.
My husband and I are always super eagerto learn a little more,
to learn a little more about the thingswe are investing in, our time, our energy,
(17:27):
anything that we really can'tbecause we do find it very interesting.
Which I just want to point out, I'm killerwhen it comes to trivia,
in case you were wondering,because I really will go down
too many rabbit holes in in in the worldand on the interwebs.
But that's another, another discussion.
So quick reminder school isn't learning.
Okay, so if you're comingto this way of life, just remember that
(17:49):
it's not the same schooldoes not mean your child will learn.
Okay, you can take a horse to water,but you cannot make it drink.
It is the exact same thing.
You can send a kid to school,but you cannot make them learn.
So just remember it's on you.
You've got a lot of responsibility
on your shoulders to make the worlda real world.
Learning for your childhappen to make it available okay.
(18:11):
To encourage them to model it.
So guys, I hope that you found any of thishelpful, entertaining, or informative.
If you did, please scroll downand hit that big red subscribe button.
Turn on that bell for notificationsand give this video a thumbs up.
As always,you can find me down in the comments
or over on Instagramat Making Everyday Magic.
As always guys,I am looking for your conversation
back with me,so feel free to drop a comment down below.
(18:33):
And let's discuss some of this.
What is a real world learning applicationthat has stuck with you?
That was your absolute favorite.
One of my favorites,beyond all the ones I mentioned is,
the Houston Arboretum.
And actually several places around
the Houston area have done this thingwhere when they have a lot of like,
low growth vegetation,but not like a lawn,
(18:54):
they do this thing where they set upa fence and they bring in goats,
and they bring in goatsto act as like lawnmowers.
It is my favorite thing to go see,and I have no idea why.
But we will see another reality,another for the longest time
talking about goatsand the impact on the ecosystem.
Something that actually just happened.
At SeaWorld San Antonio,which was so cool.
(19:14):
The last lesson of our chemistryprogram was about,
ocean acidification and the large amountsof carbon dioxide getting into the ocean
and creating new moleculeslike a whole thing, killing coral.
They had a piece of coral on display, andthey were all about ocean acidification.
And I was like,look at that. And it's horrible.
And so it was really coolto be able to see that
(19:36):
not in the wild because we're at SeaWorld,but like in the world.
And it was so cool.
And I loveI just love this whole connections.
And it makes me so incredibly happy to belike, we learned about that one thing.
Remember that thing, that thingmissing all that time?
We just that I just,
that that that is why I do this.
I get so excited. I get so excited.
I mean, I got me really excited. Sure.
(19:58):
That. Hello. What's your thing?
What is this for your life? That's.
It makes me feel good on the inside. You.
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