Schooling: The Book Review

It's time for another book review! This time we're talking about two books and the different views of schooling they assert. If you've read my post To School or Unschool, you know that we here in the Henson household are going back and forth about how we're going to educate our kids.

I wanted to read Going Public because in the past couple of years I've heard about nothing but the dangers and inadequacies of the public school system from the Christian community.  My husband and I both attended public school and loved it. We both found that encountering a broad range of beliefs and opinions expanded our thinking and helped us to understand people who were different from us instead of stripping us of our faith.

The book was written by David and Kelli Pritchard who are parents to eight public school attending children and on staff with an organization called Younglife. I was attracted to this book because the authors are Christians, and they had positive things to say about their choice to enroll their children in the public school system.

I picked up The Year of Learning Dangerously while I was in the library with my kids after I'd finished reading Going Public. It follows a mother's decision to pull her child out of private school and try homeschooling for a year.

The author, Quinn Cumming, wrote the book as sort of a humorous memoir chronicling her decision and the aftermath. I was attracted to this book because it was written by a mother who pulled her child out of school for academic reasons.

Going Public

Going Public was a great read. I would recommend it to any parent regardless of their educational choices. The main thrust of the book is that public school can be an incredible training ground for your children IF will you take on the full responsibility of parenting by teaching and training them. The authors stress the fact that you shouldn't expect any school -- or any church for that matter -- to provide a complete education for your child.

Overall, the Pritchards have positive experiences with the school system, but they also encounter their fair share of trials. Real life can not always be customized to fit all your child's needs and strengths. The Pritchards choose to help their children navigate hardships and work through tough relationships in the hope that these experiences with bad teachers and bullies will help them one day deal with tough bosses and less than ideal life circumstances.

In all of these situations, the pressure of public-school life is not necessarily a bad thing. It can cause growth in us all. Both generations- parents and our children- can emerge stronger from the experience of wrestling with difficulties.

I appreciated that the authors did not suggest you send your children to public school in the hope that they would become some sort of 5 year old street preacher. They acknowledge that children are primarily in school to learn and to learn to love others without hidden agenda pushing.

The main job for a Christian child or teenager in public school is simply to be a good student, a good citizen, and a servant-leader- to model what Christianity actually is...we reinforce constantly to our kids that they need to deliver a basic level of performance that earns respect from both teachers and fellow students.

This is not to say that kids shouldn't open their mouths about their faith. The book is chock full of stories about how their family is able to love needy classmates, teachers, and parents that come across their paths and into their home.

The Pritchards did an excellent job of communicating the benefits of sending their children to public school without doing any homeschool bashing.

The Year of Learning Dangerously

Quinn Cummings, the book's author, has a daughter who is gifted in English, language, and history but averse to mathematics. Reading has always been easy for her; math is something that she has to work at, and she is not motivated. Cummings decides to home school when she realizes that her daughter's teachers are not able to properly motivate her to try in her math classes.

The book shows that homeschooling can be an intimidating but wonderful experience for both you and your child. The author is initially afraid to be with her child so many hours of the day: scared that she will somehow be known too much.

Throughout her first year as a homeschool mom, Cummings researches several different homeschooling philosophies. She attends two conferences: one aimed at Radical Unschoolers and a second for the Fundamental Christian crowd. She also explores classical education and online public school.

In the end, her daughter falls neatly into none of the above categories. That first year the author ends up teaching her daughter English and History, her partner tackles Science, and they hire tutors to cover Mathematics and French.

The main lesson I gleaned from reading about their adventures was that education is not one size fits all. Part of what it means to parent effectively is being willing to be flexible and figure out what your child needs in order to learn.

While I don't consider myself a Fundamentalist Christian, I did enjoy some of the observations she made at the conference. I think some of what she said could be applied to some of the Christian home school crowd I've encountered myself.

While taking a break at the conference she comments:

They were the reason homeschool even existed in the United States. In the early 1980's, a coalition of Christian conservatives started to lobby in each state for legislation that made homeschool legal in all fifty states, and by the middle of the 1990's they had succeeded. Yet they still didn't believe they had separated far enough from the tainted society they feared and so eagerly rejected... By the end of my first day as a pretend Fundamentalist, I realized that these people - burdened by the weight of their convictions not to mention their modest clothing- were even gloomier than I was.

Ouch! The Fundamentalist crowd was making their educational decisions based on fear of and despair about the world surrounding them.

At the end of the book, she writes a fascinating little assertion about the future of schooling. The school system is broken. With the new opportunities that technology has opened for us, she expects to see most kids engaging in some kind of hybrid between corporate schooling and virtual home studies-- making way for more flexible schedules and new learning environments.

What makes Cummings decide to continue homeschooling adventures beyond the initial test year is the effect homeschooling has had on their three person family unit. She loves the time she gets to spend with her daughter and the closeness that has become a distinctive of their family unit.

The Overlap

 There has never been a time when children could be successfully raised without sacrifice and discipline on the part of the parents. -- Elizabeth Eliot.

I'll admit it, I read these books in an attempt to make a more informed decision for my first born. After reading both books it struck me that there were several similarities. Both sets of parents care deeply for their children and make their schooling decisions not based on personal convenience, but on what they believe is best for their children.

I truly respect the thoughts and opinions of both these authors. It just goes to show you that there is no one size fits all solution for every child and every family.

Both families are tight-knit and actively involved in the educational process. Coming away from these readings, I am convinced that however we finally decide to school our babies we have to parent intentionally and trust the Lord with their little hearts and minds.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this issue of schooling your kids. Feel free to leave your comments below!

Current Book List

" You can never get me a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."-- C.S. Lewis

I meant to post my book list in January, but time has not been on my side. I love to read, and I always have. My passion for books almost died a few years ago as a result of too much career related reading. These days, I cannot be without a book. Here are 13 books I'm going to be working through during the remainder  of 2014: in no particular order.


1. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other by: Sherry Turkle
As I think about our culture, one of the most alarming trends I'm seeing is the loneliness and lack of community we all experience to some extent. In this book, Sherry Turkle, a psychologist who studies our culture's relationship with technology, argues that technology is taking us to a place that we don't want to go. It allows us to control our interactions with others. We end up presenting the self as we want to be-- not as we really are. Listen to her TED Talk on this topic to get a better idea of what's in the book.


2. Help, Thanks, Wow by: Anne Lamott

I read my first Anne Lamott book, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, for an English class assignment in 9th grade. I loved it! She has this earthy and realistic grasp on faith that I so enjoy. Her life isn't perfectly packaged (which I can certainly relate with). Lamott's candor and wit about the questions and contradictions she faces read like a breath of fresh air. I want to read every book she has written.


3. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by: Susan Cain
I bought this book for my husband last Christmas, and it has been sitting on the shelf collecting dust. So naturally, I'm going to dust it off and digest it. We live in a world that seems to value extroverts to the extent that introverts are often taught and encouraged to behave like extroverts. I'm interested to see what Cain has to say in defense of the way that introverts think and operate.



4. After You Believe by: N.T.Wright
I love the Bishop Tom Wright. I listened to this lecture he gave on some of the topics he covers in After You Believe, and knew I had to pick up this book. It's already blowing my mind. He's basically talking about how Christian character is different from both legalistic rule following and living spontaneously "from the heart". He lays out a beautiful vision of the kingdom of God and the Church's participation in it. This one is not to be missed!


5.Going Public by: David & Kelli Pritchard
I purchased this book a week ago and I'm tearing through it. It is so good! I have heard every possible argument about why I ought to avoid sending my children to public school. I wanted to read something from the other point of view, and this book fit the bill.  My husband and I have been wrestling with the decision to homeschool or to send our kids to public school. The Pritchards are a Christian family in Washington who send their eight children to public school. They contend that public school can be an excellent way to train your children to live in today's cultural moment. I'm very interested; we'll see how it goes.
 
6. I Invented the Modern Age: The Rise of Henry Ford
 I picked up this gem at my local library and had to return it before I was finished. It's an easy and interesting read that chronicles the life and influences of Henry Ford. So far I have enjoyed the author's account of Ford's wife. Ford called her "The Believer"  because she believed in him and his work so much. The automobile and its innovative assembly line ushered in the modern age. I'm excited to learn more about this titan of industry.

7.The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by: Rosaria Butterfield
I've had several friends recommend this book. It's the story of a lesbian college professor who becomes a Christian while reading the Bible in order to form a case against it. I listened to a lecture she gave about her experience and was really moved. What struck me was her love for the homosexual community. In her lecture, she addressed the Church's need to love. I can't wait to read this one.


8. Divergent by: Veronica Roth
I am a sucker for futuristic science fiction-ish stories. I loved The Hunger Games, and I've had several friends recommend this book. I wanted to read it before it came out in theaters, but who am I kidding? I have three small children, and I'm not going to the movies anytime soon. I'll catch it on Netflix!!





9. The Truth About Style by: Stacy London
Does anyone else love What Not To Wear? I do! If you've never seen it check it out on Netflix. The show takes someone who is frightfully out of style, and over the span of a few days completely transforms their wardrobe and style. The thing I love so much about the show is that it brings out real issues behind why people stop taking care of themselves. What can I say? I love the stories. This book promises to be chock full of them.


10. The Art of Neighboring: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside Your Door by: Jay Pathak, Dave Runyon, and Randy Frazee
When my family lived in Montgomery, AL we had some great friendships with our neighbors. Since we've moved away, it has been much more challenging to know and love the people who live around us. Maybe its because we lived in a downtown neighborhood and now we live in a more suburban area? Or maybe its because our neighborhood in Montgomery was more socioeconomically diverse and people felt like they needed each other more? Whatever the cause I am in need of some help loving my neighbors.

 11. Steve Jobs by: Walter Isaacson
This is another title that has been sitting up on our bookshelf unread. If you don't know (though I don't know how you could not know) Steve Jobs is the recently deceased co- founder and CEO of Apple, Inc. He is known for his incredible success, energy, drive and vision. I'm very interested to learn more about his life.

12. The Pilgrim's Progress by: John Bunyan
This indeed is a Christian classic, an allegory My mother read an abridged version to me as a child, but I'm excited to sink my teeth into the larger story.


13. Orthodoxy by: G. K. Chesterton
This is one of my husband's very favorite books. I can't believe I've made it through almost five years of marriage to him without reading it. In honor of my husband (the mathematician and software engineer), here is the quote from this volume that he's most likely to share at dinner parties. "The poet only desires exaltation and expansion, a world to stretch himself in. The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is his head that splits."

What are you reading?

Have you read a book recently that you can't put down?

 I'm always looking for new books to read so leave me some suggestions!

Book Review: Lessons from Madame Chic

If you're wondering what I was doing this weekend besides --of course-- cooking, cleaning, going to a birthday party, the beach, and our favorite burger joint...I was reading. This book was THAT good. I made time during an extra busy weekend to blow through it and I enjoyed every... single... moment. This book was fun!! I randomly picked it up at the library on Thursday morning during the 5 minutes I have to peruse the non-children's books before my two year old's gleeful screams get us thrown out of there. The name caught my attention Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a Francophile. My family is from New Orleans: a city with a strong French influence. Also, I took French language classes from the sixth grade all the way through my junior year of college. Needless to say, I'm pretty intrigued by French culture. As a stay at home mother of three, I could seriously use some style secrets.

What I loved the most about this book was its emphasis on simplicity and finding the beauty in everyday, ordinary occurrences. I was kind of expecting it to encourage a sort of lifestyle that would not be practical for me to attain, but the advice shared in this little gem could be practiced by any woman at any stage of life with any income.The book is broken up into three parts. Part one covers diet and exercise; part two covers style and beauty, and part 3 covers how to live well. The chapters are small and easy to digest. The brand of femininity that the author proposes is refreshing and inspiring. I left the book with a deeper resolve to find and bring beauty into every area of my home and life.

To give you just a glimpse of what you'll find in Lessons from Madame Chic, I'll share two of the chapters that inspired me the most. First let's talk about Chapter 4, "Liberate Yourself with the Ten-Item Wardrobe." While the author, Jennifer L. Scott, was living in France, she noticed that most of the French rely on a ten-item wardrobe and wear, " the same clothes in heavy rotation -- unapologetically and with great panache." They concentrate not on quantity but on quality, and not on trendy items but on classic pieces that will last more than one season. They aim to not have just a bunch of clothes they like but a few items that they love. After I finished the book, I headed over to the author's blog, and I found that she had posted a video of her ten-item fall/winter wardrobe. It's seriously inspiring. Her clothes are stylish, classic, and modest in the best way. Right now I'm in a bit of an awkward stage. I'm somewhere in between my pregnancy and pre-pregnancy weight so only half of my clothes fit. After looking critically at some of my clothing, I'm realizing that in some ways I still dress like a college student (all those post-college years I spent working in college ministry probably have something to do with it), and I could use a more mature look. After all, I am 31 years old. I can't wait to try out the ten-item wardrobe.

Another chapter that I found particularly interesting was chapter 15: "Practice the Art of Entertaining." In this chapter, Ms. Scott notes that, "France is truly a dinner party culture." The families she spent time with threw elaborate dinner parties at least once a week. My husband and I have found that really the only way to make friends as adults is to invite people into our home. The French start their dinner parties and even just their everyday meals with family with appetizers and drinks. This aperitif is usually served in the living room and used to break the ice and whet the appetite. This is something I hope to incorporate into our family's dinner party ritual. I'm usually the kind of hostess that has dinner ready to go when the guests arrive and I'm bustling around making sure everything is just right instead of relaxing and putting my guests at ease. I think the apertif could help calm me down and enjoy my guests.

There's so much more that I could say about this book. I enjoyed every chapter and will be incorporating so much of what I learned into my everyday life. Check it out!