4 Reasons Your Kids Should Skip Trick-or-Treating→

I took my kids trick-or-treating on a few occasions, but the more I thought about the messages we were communicating to our kids, the more I began to think trick-or-treating might not be such a great idea.

Ironically, while growing up, Halloween was one of my favorite holidays. What kid doesn't like candy? Having a free-for-all candy night with no adult supervision was the equivalent of kid Heaven.

But that was then when Halloween was a lot more innocent. Between the food waste and the front lawn horror shows, I now stand on the side of those who think we should skip trick-or- treating.

Here are 4 good reasons for you to ponder:

#1 Health & Mixed Messages

Letting our children trick-or-treat contradicts our position that sugar is bad for their teeth and bad for them. We limit the sugar our children eat all year, but one day a year we give them a free rein to eat as much sugar as they want.

Here’s a shocking fact to put things in perspective: the average child consumes three cups of sugar on Halloween!

Eating Halloween candy is not limited to one night, either. For however long it takes them to get through their bag of candy, that's how many days they are filling their bodies with harmful amounts of sugar.

Allowing our children to trick or treat on Halloween and eat so much candy is not practicing what we preach, nor is it responsible parenting. I'm guilty too, but when the facts are on the table— wow.

One Dentist’s Strategy

I read that one dentist pays children $2.00 for every pound of Halloween candy they give him. While I can appreciate his intention, we have to consider the message gestures like these send our children.

We buy the candy, the kids knock on our doors, we give them the candy, and then the kids sell it to the dentist.

How can turning our kids into candy peddlers be a solution?

#2 Manners & Strangers

We teach our kids not to talk to strangers, and we teach them that it isn't polite to ask people for things, yet, one night a year we let our kids knock on the doors of strangers and ask them for candy.

As a mother reflecting on the idea of trick or treating, it strikes me as being a contradiction of everything we’ve taught our children thus far.

My Shameful Story

I had just turned twelve, and my best friend Bridget and I were famished after a long day of sitting in classrooms. At about 3:20 in the afternoon, as we were walking home with pangs of hunger, we had this bright idea.

It was Halloween which meant that we could quell our hunger pangs by trick-or-treating!

We knocked on the door of an apartment near our school, and an elderly woman opened the door. Very surprised to see us, she asked, "Isn't it a little early, girls?"

She gave us some candy anyway.

We teach our children that it's not polite to ask for things, yet, once a year we permit it. We teach our kids not to speak to strangers, yet, once a year we permit it. We teach our kids NEVER to take candy from a stranger, yet, once a year we permit it.

Of course, there are always exceptions to rules, but these are a lot of exceptions and all in one night.

#3 Corporate Horror Show

Halloween has become a creepy holiday. The decorations have become gothic and violent since the corporate world has recognized the money to be made on Halloween.

When we were little, we had innocent little costumes: princess and cowboy outfits. Sometimes we threw a sheet over our heads and went out as ghosts. There was nothing more than a pumpkin with a candle burning inside on the doorstep of each home.

Forty years later, my neighbor would put gravestones on his front lawn and skeletons that moved to look like they were coming out of graves. When we drove up the hill at night, the scene looked so real that my kids used to get scared.

So did I!

And that was a mild scene. My friend's neighbor would spend a fortune decorating his lawn until it looked like the scene out of a horror film. I used to wonder what on earth that man was thinking.

Halloween is supposed to be for kids, not psychopaths.

#4 Waste & Starvation

I like the idea of carving pumpkins, but should we be wasting food like that? With so much starvation and deprivation in the world, it seems insensitive to waste pumpkins for a night of amusement.

For Halloween, about 22.2 million pumpkins go to waste! At your average price of $5.00 per pumpkin, that's 111,000,000 dollars of food that we waste.

The average cost to feed one person per day in the US is supposed to be about $11.00 (seems very low); divided by 111, 000,000, we could feed 10 million people, roughly. (2022 stats)

My god, that's a shameful waste of pumpkins.

What Can Kids Do Instead of Trick-or-Treating?

1. Have a costume party

2. Start a local fund and ask people to donate $5.00—instead of buying a pumpkin—and then use the money to donate food to a local charity.

3. Study the history of Halloween, the practice of Halloween, and the contradictions of Halloween, and ask your children to take a position for or against it. Then let them have a debate with the opposing party or write an age-appropriate essay arguing their side of the argument.

What You Should Not Do

Don’t take a stance of moral superiority if you decide to skip Halloween.

I had a friend whose children would stay home on Halloween. When the neighborhood kids knocked on their door, they would offer candy and then explain why they didn’t celebrate Halloween.

The unspoken was that the family was morally superior to those who knocked on their door. I’m pretty sure that no one accepted candy from said family without feeling “less than.”

Instead, use it as an opportunity to teach your children that everyone is entitled to their beliefs and to their opinions, just as you and your children are entitled to their own.

While we may not always agree with other people, we need to respect other people’s ways because each person is born with an inherent dignity that is worthy of respect.

What do you think? Let me know in the comment section.

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework for homeschooling brighter, happier, engaged kids who can get into the top 20 colleges and excel in their personal and professional lives.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Liz's unique course to raise a serious reader, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of younger children, who are concerned that their children develop well physically, emotionally, neurologically (brain), and intellectually, start with Liz’s original online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 23 years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, Liz devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Liz is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

Teach Your Children the Critical Habit of Discipline!→

Discipline is a habit that you want to help your child develop, because it will make a critical difference in his life. Without it, he will struggle to reach his potential, and he will struggle to reach his goals. 

It's an interesting word, discipline. It comes from a Latin word, "disciplīna," which, according to Cassell's Latin Dictionary means "instruction, teaching…in a wider sense, training, education…the result of training, discipline, ordered way of life." 

When we speak about correcting a child's behavior, we use the word "discipline," not necessarily as a punishment, but the idea is to train the child in the habit of doing the right thing, so he grows up to embody good character. 

“I say that habits long practice, friend,
And this becomes men’s nature in the end.”

— Evanus, Ancient Greek Philosopher and Poet

Which is one of the problems in the way we approach raising children today. We misunderstand the ultimate purpose of discipline and view it as a punishment more than a training in the way of good character.

Hence, the idea of using discipline to punish a child’s misbehavior has become a faulty premise from which some modern parenting theories have evolved. 

As we witness the increase in mental health challenges, which now effect 87% of our children, we have to begin to question the ways in which we are raising children today.

When it comes to raising our children to reach their potential intellectually, physically, morally, and emotionally, as well as acquire personal and professional success, discipline is what’s called for.

We discipline the child, so the child learns how to develop the habits he needs to embody good character and to reach greater heights in life; and one of those habits is the habit of self-discipline.

“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”

— Epictetus

Most well-accomplished people exercise much self-discipline in their lives. Whether it be a writer who improves his skill by writing every day, a pianist who becomes great through much practice, or an athlete who is at his sports training daily; these people will have acquired the habit of self-discipline. 

There are many areas in our lives that are directly affected by the level of discipline we exercise in our lives;  areas that will be critical to your child's personal and professional success. 

PHYSICAL HEALTH

In maintaining physical health, it's important to exercise discipline in eating well and getting regular exercise. It takes will power to pass up dessert every night, and it takes effort to get into the habit of daily exercise

However, without the self-discipline around diet and exercise, it’s easy to become an overweight adult who develops health problems at earlier ages than one would expect.

Also, exercise helps improve one’s mental well-being, which is a significant component to exercise given the increase in mental issues now.

BECOMING GOOD AT ANYTHING

In developing any skill to a higher level we need to practice, and daily practice takes discipline. If your child learns to play a musical instrument, speak a foreign language or become a good athlete, for example, he will have to practice at least five or six days a week.

Daily practice is how we attain levels of mastery and excellence. And having self-discipline means that we practice whether we want to or not.

It's easy when we want to do something, but it's doing it when we don't want to that will make the difference. Those that learn to keep at it are the ones who attain a higher level of skill; the rest become dabblers.

INTELLECTUAL PURSUITS

A well-trained mind is predicated upon strong language skills, especially the ability to read well. Your child will need to develop a daily habit of reading, so that he can become a skilled reader. 

Most intellectual pursuits will involve reading, so if he hasn’t developed a love of reading, it may hinder his intellectual pursuits. As he gets older, and the literature requires more of an effort to read, self-discipline will get him through any difficult book.

Even the ability to think independently requires the skill of reading. Without being able to read what others write ourselves, we can never evaluate a situation, an idea, or an event using our own minds.

We will have to rely upon third-party sources to tell us what to think. We want to raise independent thinkers, not followers of the latest popular opinion or belief.

CHARACTER MATTERS MOST

Habits are the result of the choices we make in life. Aristotle said that the sum total of our habits determines the quality of our character. If we want to raise children of good character, we have to inculcate the quality of discipline in them, because they need discipline to act in the right way and at the right time.

Do we choose to have self-control around food or not? Do we choose to exercise or not? Do we choose to read or not?

To choose to eat well, to choose to exercise daily, to choose to read when we would rather watch a film requires discipline!

“Through discipline comes freedom.”

— Aristotle

As you can see, self-discipline is one of those qualities that if your child does not develop it, he will be at a disadvantage in his life. Discipline is at the core of everything we do well, which is why its opposite, sloth, is one of the seven deadly sins according to the Catholics. 

Whether you believe in God or not, the lack of discipline will always be deadly to any goal we set, because we can't get there without it. 

And, neither can your child. So help your child develop the habit of acting with discipline, because he'll go much further in his life with it than he will without.

Download the free in-field report: 6 Reasons Why Homeschooled Kids Have Better Social Skills.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework for homeschooling the "whole" child for brighter, happier, engaged kids who can get into the top-20 colleges and excel in their personal and professional lives.

Too many homeschooled kids are not reaching their full potential because parents are struggling with how to raise and educate a "whole" child—a child who is well-developed physically, emotionally, socially, and intellectually—so that their children receive a first-rate education and are well prepared to blossom and succeed in their life's journey.

The Smart Homeschooler Academy, with Liz as your guide, is the answer.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 22+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

Don't Teach Your Children About Diversity!→

One of the beauties of homeschooling is that we can protect our children from political agendas that don't serve mankind, and the diversity issue may be one of them.

It mirrors the old military strategy of Julius Caesar's, "divide and conquer."

And Julius Caesar was no dummy.

So why is diversity the wrong conversation to have with your children? The best illustration for arguing against a topic which has divided so many of us is the example of my mother. 

My mother was different from the social-justice warriors you hear about today. An original warrior, she never preached to anyone, she wasn't spouting angry rhetoric about perceived wrongs, she never felt better than you or me because of the services she did; she just helped where she saw that people needed help.

When I was a young child, my mother was very active in the Civil Rights Movement, a violent and bloody time in America. Despite the dangers, she relentlessly marched with the oppressed in their struggle for equality, more worried about their safety than she was her own.

The World Encyclopedia even included a picture of her and my sister Kathleen, who had both flown across the country to demonstrate with hundreds of other people in the historic march on Selma, Alabama, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1965.

My mother is on the left, my sister is holding the sign.

As I became a young woman, my mother, who was now middle-aged, served on the board for the homeless people where she listened to their stories, helped them get shelter, and assisted people in getting back on their feet.

She said to me once that homeless people weren't the bums others thought they were; they were usually people who'd had some hardship in life with no one to fall back on for support, and they'd ended up on the streets. 

Her heart always went out to the underserved amongst us.

When I hit my middle-ages, my mother, who was now an old woman, served as a volunteer teaching the Hispanic community English. She did that until she became ill at the age of ninety. 

To my mother, each life mattered because each life contained a human heart and that human heart possessed inherent dignity and worth. That was the ideal my mother embodied and lived by.

Color, religion, race; those weren't labels she understood.

She recognized that we all suffer the loss of loved ones, we all worry about our children, most of us struggle with our siblings, some of us wonder if God exists and many of us question why so much killing and suffering happens in the name of religion.  

There’s more sameness in us than there is difference.

The Diversity Rhetoric Questioned

Some years back, after my mother passed away, I had a series of experiences which led me to question the new diversity rhetoric that had emerged, such as the time I was asked to give a talk on education to a group of mothers from varying backgrounds. 

In defense of diversity, a woman of color felt it her duty to ask me why I only promoted books written by white people. Well, I don't, I explained. I promote books for the quality of the writing and content, not because of the skin color of the author. 

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. ”

— Rumi

The fact is that there are only six canons of great literature in the world and one of them belongs to the West.

I had wanted to introduce these women to our body of great books for children—not all of whom were written by white people—but this particular mom could only see the color of my skin and what she thought was the color of the authors' skin. 

Another experience was with a friend who espoused diversity ideals. When Trump became president, this particular friend of mine from an Eastern country grew livid and said to me,  "The white people have shown their true colors!" 

I had never seen my friend in terms of her skin color, yet she had just revealed that that was exactly how she saw me. I was her "white" friend and now my people had shown their true colors. 

But the experience that took the cake was when an academic corrected me after I objected to the racism of a certain "movement"  which  was in vogue at the time. 

She informed me that I could not accuse other people of being racist because I was white and only white people were racist. Her lack of logical reasoning dumbfounded me.

When you have lived in many different countries, as I have, you learn about  different cultures and different ways of viewing the world. I can tell you first-hand that I have never met a people who did not think they were better than another people.

In every country I’ve lived in, there’s always been the majority group who believed they were better than the minority group or they were better than the people of a neighboring country.

And then there's the individuals; us. Have you ever known an individual who did not express a judgement on another individual, either verbally or by inference?

We expose our petty, self-righteous arrogance every day; she gossips too much, he's too ambitious, he's too materialistic, she's too bossy. 

Whatever they is, we is above it, right?

“We’re all islands shouting lies to each other across seas of misunderstanding.”

— Rudyard Kipling

We all contain seeds of the virtues in our hearts such as compassion, generosity, temperance.

However, our hearts also contain seeds of the vices, such as envy, anger, greed.

But the crowning vice is arrogance, and some of us cultivate the roots of it more than we like to admit, even to ourselves.

Yet, what is racism, if not arrogance?

The Danger of the Group

There are a lot of diverse groups in America and they largely stick to their own kind. Maybe it's a kind of religion; or a kind of race, or a kind of political ideology, but "groups" tend to keep to their own, which makes sense because, after all, they are groups.

But there is something dangerous about  a clustering of kind when we base our identity on the "group" we belong to and see people outside of the "group" as the "other."

Barbara Coloroso, a parenting expert who had studied the genocide in Rwanda, said that the seeds of  genocide take root when we objectify a group of people as "other."

Rather than see them as fellow human beings traveling with us through the journey of life, we see them as "different" from us. 

And that's the crux of the matter. When we teach about diversity, we are teaching about differences, we are teaching about the "other."

If we allow our identity to be based on the identity of a particular  group  instead of our shared humanity, we lose sight of the inward bonds of our collective hearts. 

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

— Mother Teresa

It's not that we can't be a member in a group, but let's not be of the group. And if we have to identify with a group, then let's identify with the group of human beings who shed tears of joy and sorrow for all the same things.

That was the group to which my mother belonged.

Instead of teaching our children about our differences, I'm suggesting we raise our children to focus on our samenesses.

Genocide is genocide; it doesn't matter who is committing it or who it's being committed against. 

When it comes to the innocent slaughter of women and children; regardless of their race, religion, or color, who are we being if we don't stand on the side of mercy?

Who are we when we raise our children to think in terms of "otherness" instead of the common bond of the human heart?

When we dismiss a child's book, not on whether or not the book is worth reading, but because of the skin color of the authors, haven't we ourselves nurtured the seed of genocide?

Upcoming FREE Masterclass! Discover 3 Homeschooling Mistakes No One Tells You About
with Liz Hanson

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework, so you can raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of good character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated; as she guides you to train your children’s minds and nurture their characters.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

Don't Homeschool If Your Children Have This One Bad Habit!→

The most frequent complaint I get from homeschooling moms is that their children don't listen to them. It's more than just a complaint  because  for a homeschooling mom, not listening is a serious issue.

Children who don't listen, won't obey and children who don't obey, won't get their work done. Which means that you, the homeschooling parent, will struggle  to do your job well. 

“The essence of successful discipline is not technique; rather, it is self-confidence.”

— John Rosemond, author, A Family of Value

However, I am not suggesting that you put your children into school; but only to train them to listen before you continue homeschooling. After all, the skill of listening is a vital skill and one children must be taught.

An Effective Approach

The most effective approach would be to stop homeschooling for a short period until you get your relationship back on course with your children. 

The reason for this is because the frustration everyone is feeling from the tug of war around studying is probably causing a lot of tension, and your children may develop a negative association with homeschooling if it continues. 

Once your children decide that homeschooling is no fun, instead of one problem, you’ve now got two. So a break is the best strategy for this situation.

But rather than announce you are putting homeschooling on hold until they learn to obey,  announce that next week will be a homeschool break week. You don't need to offer any reason other than, "Because I said so!". 

The Crux of the Matter

Now, you can focus on the issue which, at the core, is a problem of disrespect. Like most parents in the West, your children are not showing you the respect you deserve. 

It's a societal problem for various reasons including, but not limited to, the negative influences on children via multi-media and technology, as well as the push for modern parenting practices that sound great in theory but haven’t worked. 

While there are multiple strategies that should be employed in your efforts to correct your relationship with your children, we'll focus on the primary tactic of assuming the role of leadership.

As two captains will sink a ship, you and your spouse will have to show up as one. In other words, you have one voice. What one says, the other supports, at least in front of the children. Any disagreements you have regarding your children, must be discussed privately.

Successful Parenting Traits

It's critical to understand the traits of successful parents, so you can learn to imitate them until they become your traits, too.

Successful parenting leadership…

• They are decisive

• They communicate clear expectations

• They hold their children accountable

• They assume authority (not to be confused with "authoritarian")

• They set clear boundaries

• They give their children age-appropriate responsibilities

• They do not bend down to their children's level; they let their children look up to them

If this list sounds too authoritarian, it may be in comparison to the modern advice you've probably been given. 

The question to ask yourself is, how's that working?

Your children need to see you as the authority, someone worthy of respect, someone they can trust to keep their word, and a role model they can emulate.

You want to be a good influence for your children, so you can guide them towards developing good character and excelling in your homeschool. Like us, they won't emulate someone they do not respect. 

“The more attention you pay to your child, the less attention he will pay to you.”

— John Rosemond

Once you have successfully established your boundaries by assuming the role of leader, your children will listen and obey you and homeschooling will be more fun and fruitful. 

Effective parenting leadership must include unconditional  love, but I know you have that part covered. 

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework, so you can raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of good character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated; as she guides you to train your children’s minds and nurture their characters.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

The Six Purposes of Schooling by John Taylor Gatto→

When people ask me why I homeschooled, I tell them I had no choice. If they knew what I knew about public education, they would homeschool too.

John Taylor Gatto was the man who opened my eyes to the nefarious agenda behind institutionalized schooling. What follows is a transcription of the key section from John’s classic speech and opus, The Underground History of American Education.

John was a brilliant and well-researched man. I have read what is below in Ingles’ book myself; it is all true.   

Transcription of John’s Talk

“I have something here.  I have the six purposes of schooling [from the book Principles of Secondary Education by Alexander James Inglis] as laid down in 1917 by the man whom Harvard named their Honor Lecture in Education for. 

So far from being a fringe individual, this guy is the reason the Harvard Honor Lecture in Education is named as it is:  The Inglis Lecture.  I would like to read you the six purposes of schooling.  I moved heaven and earth as it took years to find this book [Principles of Secondary Education]--just like trying to find in past years a copy of the Carol Quigley [book] Tragedy and Hope.  

I learned about Inglis from a twenty year President of Harvard [1933-1953], James Bryant Conant, who was a poison gas specialist in World War I--and was in the very inner circle of the Atomic Bomb Project in World War II--was High Commissioner of Occupied Germany after the War. 

So he [James Bryant Conant] wrote--there must be 20 books about the institution of schooling--of which he was completely a proponent.  And he is a very, very bad writer.  I forced myself to read most of these books, and one of them he says that if you really want to know what school is about, you need to pick up the book that I’m referring to Principles of Secondary Education. 

Two years it took me to find a copy of the book [Principles of Secondary Education by Alexander James Inglis]--750 pages, tiny print and as dull as your imagination can be.  And furthermore, it is not till you get to the very middle of the book--in an unlabelled section--that he spills the beans.  Let me spill them for you.  

 There are six purposes, or functions, as he calls them.  The first he [Alexander Inglis] calls the Adjustive Function: Schools are to establish fixed habits of reaction to authority.  That’s their main purpose--habits and reactions to authority. 

That is why school authorities don’t tear their hair out when somebody exposes that the Atomic Bomb wasn’t dropped on Korea, as a history book in the 1990s printed by Scott Foresman [did], and why each of these books has hundreds of substantive errors.  Learning isn’t the reason the texts are distributed.  

The Adjustive Function

So, first is the Adjustive Function--fixed habits.  Now here comes the wonderful insight that being able to analyze the detail will give you.  How can you establish whether someone has successfully developed this Automatic Reaction because people have a proclivity when they are given sensible orders to follow. 

That is not what they want to teach.  The only way you can measure this is to give stupid orders and people automatically follow those.  Now you have achieved Function #1.  

The Integrating Function

Have you ever ever wondered why some of the foolish things that schools do or allow to continue?  [Function] #2, he [Inglis] calls it the Integrating Function, but it is easier to understand if you call it the Conformity Function. 

It’s to make children alike as possible--the gifted children and the stupid--alike as possible because market research uses statistical sampling, and it only works if people react generally the same way.  

The Directive Function

The Third Function he calls the Directive Function: School is to diagnose your proper social role and then log the evidence that here is where you are on the Great Pyramid, so that future people won’t allow you to escape that compartment.  

The Differentiating Function

 The Fourth Function is the Differentiating Function.  Because once you have diagnosed the kids in this layer, you do not want them to learn anything that the higher layers are learning.  So you teach just as far as the requirement of that layer.  

The Selective Function

 Number five and six are the creepiest of all!  Number 5 is the Selective Function.  What that means is what Darwin meant by natural selection: You are assessing the breeding quality of each individual kid.  You’re doing it structurally because school teachers don’t know this is happening. 

And you’re trying to use ways to prevent the poor stuff from breeding.  And those ways are hanging labels--humiliating labels--around their neck, encouraging the shallowness of thinking.

 I often wondered, because I came from a very very strict Scotish-Irish culture that never allowed you to leer at a girl.  But when I got to NYC, the boys were pawing the girls openly and there was no redress for the girls at all, except not showing up in the classroom--high absentee rates. 

Well, you are supposed to teach structurally that sexual pleasure is what you withdraw from a relationship and everything else is a waste of time and expensive.  

 So, the Selective Function is what Darwin meant by the favored races.  The idea is to consciously improve the breeding stock.  Schools are meant to tag the unfit with their inferiority by poor grades, remedial placement, and humiliation, so that their peers will accept them as inferior.  And the good breeding stock among the females will reject them as possible partners.  

The Propaedeutic Function

 And the Sixth is the creepiest of all! And I think it is partly what Tragedy and Hope is about--a fancy Roman name, the Propaedeutic Function.  Because as early as Roman bigtime thinkers, it was understood that to continue a social form required that some people be trained that they were the custodians of this.  So, some small fraction of the kids are being ready to take over the project. 

That’s the guy--the honor lecturer [Inglis], and it will not surprise you that his ancestors include the major-general of the siege of the Luknow of India--famous for tying the mutineers’ on the muzzle of the cannons and blowing them apart, or somebody who was forced to flee NYC, a churchman at the beginning of the American Revolution, because he wrote a refutation of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. 

They were going to tar and feather him.  He fled and was rewarded by the British by making him the Bishop of Nova Scotia.  Those are Inglis’ ancestors!  

 So, Al Inglis is certainly--when I learned of this and wrote to Harvard, asking for access to the Inglis Lecture.  Strike me dead, Lord, if I’m exaggerating at all.  I was told “We have no Inglis Lecture--hasn’t been for years, and we have no records. 

It was the same that happened when I discovered that Elwood B. Cubberly, the most influential schoolman of the 20th century and the bionomics genius had been the elementary school editor of Houghton Mifflin, and I wrote Houghton Mifflin--Is there any record? And they said, “We have no record of anyone named Elwood P. Cubberly. 

Now Harvard is telling me, “There is no Inglis Lecture.  A week passed and I got a call from Harvard, from some obscure office at Harvard, saying “What is your interest in the Ingles Lecture?”  I knew that I was on thin ice. 

And I said, “Well, James Conant referred me in his books to the man the Inglis Lecture is named after, and I was just wondering if I could get some background on this fellow, and a list of the lectures.  

 And in due time, I got a list of the lectures and instructions [on] how to access the texts, but not easily. Enough hoops that someone who has to mow the lawn and burp the baby wouldn’t jump through those hoops.  I was able to prove Harper’s [magazine] wouldn’t publish [it in] the cover essay I wrote, which Lew Laflin [?] named Against School, but I had called The Artificial Extension of Childhood because I think that is the key mechanism at work here.  

 So, they wouldn’t print the information about Cubberley because Houghton Mifflin denied it.  It was only months after that I looked through my extensive library of incredibly dull books about schooling, and I opened [one]--and on the facing page said Elwood B. Cubberly, Editor and Chief of Elementary School, publishing arm of Houghton Mifflin. 

By the way, the secondary Editor and Chief was Alexander Ingles.  So you see how this cousinage works.” 

*****

*Video transcribed by Roger Copple. To watch the full 12-minute video: The Six Purposes of Schooling [Video]

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework, so you can raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of good character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated; as she guides you to train your children’s minds and nurture their characters.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

Discover One Key to Embrace Your Homeschool With More Joy→

Many people have told me they homeschool because of something to do with fear. While fear of what might happen or not happen in school can be the catalyst for deciding to homeschool, we need to leave the fear behind and embrace a new attitude once we get started.

Bullying and Violence

It's not that there aren't things to fear about public education, or even private schools —absolutely there are. Bullying and violent crimes are a concern, with incidences happening more times than we have days in the year.

Sex and Drugs

Early exposure to sex and drugs is another problem in schools, especially the inappropriate classes in sex education, sexual preferences, and gender issues. 

Weaker Family Bonds

Schoolchildren tend to have weaker bonds with their families, and losing our children's loyalty to peers or values we don't espouse can be devastating and wreak havoc on the entire family. 

Too Much Technology

Excessive use of computers in the classroom, with the subsequent problem of addiction to technology, is another grave issue we face. Addiction centers are popping up more frequently and organizations to de-program our kids are becoming more popular.

Lack of Concern for Character Development

Because schools no longer uphold standards of behavior based on traditional values, good character development is something we must concern ourselves with.

How can we raise children of good character if they are in poor moral environments for a large number of hours per day? 

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

— Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

Substandard Education

And last, but not least, education. Putting a child through 12 years of school to find he doesn't enjoy reading, cannot write a persuasive essay, and is unable to think critically is a reality too many parents face today. 

While all of the above reasons may motivate us to keep our children out of school, we want to climb onto higher ground when we are homeschooling. 

Fear is an emotion that triggers feelings of isolation, disconnectedness, anxiety, apprehension, . and this is exactly how many homeschoolers say they feel. 

Fear, at times, is necessary. In this case, it served its purpose; it motivated us to homeschool. But now it’s time to shift our attitude.

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”

— Joseph Campbell

Another Perspective

Instead of fear, why not embrace the joy of homeschooling?

If we can discover a strong "why" for homeschooling, it will be easier to stay the course, put our hearts into our work, and enjoy teaching our own. 

We want to turn our backs on the "fear" motivator and embrace the "love" motivator. 

To do this, we need to discover a love for why we are homeschooling. Fortunately, there are many “loves” to choose from. They come in the form of your “why,” your primary reason for homeschooling; a reason which keeps you motivated even on days when you feel tired and overwhelmed.

Discovering Your "Why"

Discovering our "why" simply means reflecting on that which is most valuable to us as parents. What is it that we want most for our children and for our family? What is it that we would love the most if we were to see it happen?

Strong Family Bonds

Your "why" does not have to be the same as someone else's "why" either.  Nurturing a strong bond with your children, and therefore, building a stronger family might be what you care most about. 

Training of the Mind

For someone else, it might be the training of the mind and raising children who are not fooled by propaganda or misled by faulty thinking, but they can think critically and develop their own ideas and opinions. 

Nurturing Children’s Hearts

Maybe you want to protect your child's heart from the inappropriate things that are being taught in school today, such as sex-education, gender issues, and sexual preferences. There's also the issue of bullying and violence in schools today, and mass shootings which happen more frequently than we like to think. 

Integrity

Or maybe, like me, you are motivated by the simple desire to raise children who have integrity and are true to themselves. 

Whatever your "why" is, write it down and let it be your homeschooling mantra. On the days when you feel overwhelmed or out of patience with your children, remember your "why" and never look back.

Homeschooling is the best gift you can give your children; it is the gift of your time and the training of their minds and hearts. 

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework, so you can raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of good character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated; as she guides you to train your children’s minds and nurture their characters.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

What I Would Say if These Parents Had Called Me to Chat→

A friend sent me a telling article from the Guardian (UK newspaper) on home-education in the UK. Whether it's the UK, the USA, or Europe, it doesn't matter. Parents are parents and the concerns are similar.

I will say that while reading this article, I felt a little frustrated by what I was reading. With homeschooling, when it is thrust upon us from a lack of other options, it comes down to how we choose to look at it. Do we embrace the challenge or resist it?

So, here's what I'd say to the parents in this article if they had shared their concerns with me.

(The quotes are excerpted from the Guardian article.)

Julie

"My child had been struggling with the school environment from the start,” Julie said. “She’s autistic, has sensory difficulties, finds noise and lights difficult, but is academically clever. She found it so hard to navigate relationships with peers and her anxiety was so intense she was mostly mute at school.” —Julie

“Julie’s daughter, now nine, has been home educated since, an experience Julie describes as “distressing” due to her lack of knowledge about teaching and home learning, and a lack of support.” —Guardian

The Support I Offer Julie

Julie, why do you think you have no knowledge about teaching? You are your child's first teacher; you have been teaching her since the day she was born. All parents are teachers of their children.

While moving into academic teaching may seem daunting at first, there isn't anything during the elementary years that, with a few tools under our belts, we can't tackle. I agree that you need to know what you are doing, but there are resources available in the homeschooling community to give you the understanding and confidence to homeschool successfully.

An academically clever child is a joy to teach. If you have a child who is eager to learn, as you indicated your daughter is, then you are doing better than many parents whose children are plugged in and disengaged. Consider this a huge plus when homeschooling, because it makes your work so much easier.

As for support, if you join local homeschooling social groups for your children, you will also find companionship and support amongst the parents.

Mathew

“After the switch to secondary school he started having anxiety attacks that slowly escalated,” Matthew said. “They were mainly related to tests, homework demands, and managing expectations. The chaotic and uncertain environment of frequent supply teachers, constantly shifting timetables and bullying made it very difficult for him to cope.”

“Our son’s panic attacks have mostly disappeared, he’s gained confidence and has been making better progress academically, because we’ve been able to tailor the topics more closely to his interests and ability. But much of this success is down to the fact that we were both working as qualified teachers in the past. I worry about all the people in a similar situation who aren’t teachers, and don’t have understanding employers – mine has allowed me to work flexibly from home.”

Quelling Mathew’s Concerns

You did the right thing by removing your child from a distressing environment during the years when every experience is magnified and contributes to the formation of his character and personality. And I'm so happy to hear he is doing significantly better, though, I'm not surprised!

Mathew, while it's kind of you to be concerned about homeschooling parents who aren't certified as teachers, I would beg to disagree with you. Your success is not because you and your wife were former teachers; it’s because you are homeschooling.

Studies show that parents—whether professional teachers or not—are just as qualified to teach their children and do a very good job of it, and that children learn better at home. While being a professional teacher may give you a sense of confidence, initially, it really will make no difference in the long run.

Catherine

“Catherine, 50, a teacher from Brighton, who also said that she took her daughter, who has ASC [autism spectrum condition], out of school to avoid fines for poor attendance, is one of many parents who switched to online school.” —Guardian

“She started just on two subjects but now does a full eight and is choosing options for GCSEs. She’s engaged and enjoying her learning, it’s been wonderful.

It is a struggle financially, though. The online school costs £300 a month. I’m a single mum and had to give up working outside the home. I get by on whatever remote work I can find and benefits. I also worry that if my daughter wants to go to university or work in an office environment she will have had no exposure to that kind of thing.” —Catherine

Some Suggestions for Catherine

Catherine, your concerns are valid. Your daughter needs to be engaged in the real world with real people, so she can better develop the social and emotional aspects of her character and personality.

While sitting in front of a computer to learn may seem easier, it is not going to give her the tools she needs to function well in the world, especially if she is already struggling with an autism diagnosis.

It's much easier to homeschool using real books, it costs far less, and your daughter will have time for more social engagements, which will help her develop better social skills. As you said yourself, she needs to be engaged so when she is ready to go out on her own, she can manage.

The 300 sterling you save each month by getting her offline, you can put towards extra-curricular studies for your daughter, such as piano lessons, tennis lessons, or learning French.

Oh, one last thing, you mentioned you worked remotely. When you homeschool using real books, your daughter's homeschooling day is much shorter, too, so you will still have time to work. 

Liza

“While many parents praised the advantages of online schooling, some were less convinced, among them 46-year-old Liza, from Walsall, who said her daughter had struggled with online lessons after she left school at the end of year 10 due to bullying.” —Guardian

“I’ve spent over £2,000 on tutors since September, and £1,000 so she can sit exams. She’s better now, however socially it’s been very hard. She’s very isolated, my husband and I both work full-time.” —Liza

An Idea for Liza

Liza, kudos to you for removing your daughter from the world of screen learning and back into the world of books.

I’m sorry about the tutoring expense, as it is a lot, but one of the things you might consider doing is to hire an undergrad college student instead of paying full price for a professional tutor. Also, can your daughter join any extra-curricular clubs for social interaction?

She does need to socialize, especially at her tender age, as friends are very important for teenagers.

Anonymous

“One parent, who wanted to stay anonymous, said they had taken their child out of year 6 last September because of unmet needs in school, and desperately hoped they would be able to return as soon as possible.” — Guardian

“The experience [of home education] is not great, my child is now struggling to leave the house and is missing out on socializing with peers. She’s too anxious to attend home education meet-ups. We need the correct support so she can attend school. It’s so unfair.” — Anon

My advice to anonymous

(I have to assume the child is in front of the computer all day because of the socialization issue)

Naturally, she will long for her peers because she has already established a relationship with them. This is a good sign because we know she is capable of establishing good social relationships, but she's probably become socially anxious because of the excessive screen-time use and lack of social contact. 

My first plan would be to get her off the screens and get her learning with real books. You might consider starting a book club or some kind of a program in your home with other homeschooled children. 

Instead of having to go out and meet people, your daughter could meet them while feeling safe at home. Once she gets used to socializing again and has a few new friends, she'll be better able to venture into new social situations without panicking or refusing to leave the house.

My Thoughts on This Article

What is concering to me is that as parents, we want what is best for our children, and we will do whatever it takes to provide it; yet, too many parents feel dis-empowered when it comes to their child's education. 

After 22 years of working with parents of school-age children, I know that this mindset is not uncommon. 

We have to remember that our children’s education can make or break them. Not a single government in the entire world is providing a sound education for children. It's up to us to make sure it happens.

Together, we can do it.

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

5 Ways Schools Kill Your Child's Love of Learning→

Children come into this world curious and ready to learn. They have just enough hearing and sight to kickstart the wiring of their brain. 

They are born to know. Literally.

It's a profound characteristic because it begs the question, know what? And in that lies the secret to life. 

If the desire to know is how we tackle the mysteries of life, including who we are, why we are here, and where we are going, then shouldn't we protect our children's desire to know at whatever cost?

Shouldn't it be our #1 priority? I take the position that it should be which begs another question: Well, how do we do that?

One of the ways we do it is by not putting our children into school because, ironically, schools will kill our children's curiosity and love of learning.

John Taylor Gatto, an award-winning teacher and author of the best seller, Dumbing Us Down,  said that schools are dangerous places for kids. That was his conclusion after teaching for 30 years.

And John was right. 

1.  The Confining of the Child's Mind

Children are taken out of the home and put into schools at far too early ages. Even Harvard studies show that children do not benefit from early education. 

Instead of feeling safe and loved while exploring, moving, and exercising their curiosity and desire to know, children are put into organized programs where they are confined to a classroom and told what to do and when to do it. 

The cuter the classroom, the more deceptive are the dangers of school.

What we know through research is that children enter preschool with their curiosity intact (as long as they are coming from the home and not from two or three years spent in daycare). 

Somewhere around kindergarten and first grade, their curiosity begins to wane. That little light in their mind begins to dim. 

The curious child learns that school is a place where you sit still and listen. Too many questions are not encouraged; and he learns to be quiet.

The more he suppresses his desire to know, the more dwarfed his curiosity becomes.

“The children are teach have almost no curiosity, and what little they do have is transitory. ”

— John Taylor Gatto, author of Dumbing Us Down

It's like a Bonsai plant. When you clip the child's curiosity, his mind is hindered from growing. 

As a school teacher has 30 other children to contend with, she can’t handle a lot of questions because  she  needs to stick to her schedule and get on with the day's lessons. 

While it isn’t the teachers’ fault, the child quickly learns that his desire to know is not socially acceptable in the classroom.

2. Failure to Read

Most children are taught to read before they are developmentally ready. While some kids can manage, some can't, and some will even fail.

The children who struggle will begin to think they are not very smart, and their self-esteem will decline and their confidence will grow weak. 

If school is where they go to learn things, then they conclude that they’d rather not learn anything. At least then they will not have to suffer through the frustration and embarrassment of not being able to keep up with the rest of the class. 

3. Textbooks that Kill

Have you ever read a real science or history book, one that wasn't a textbook? It's a totally different experience because science and history are fascinating subjects, and if the author is a good writer, you won't be able to put the book down. 

But we don't teach our children with well-written books in school. We bore them to death by imposing textbook learning on them, replete with the endless list of proscribed questions

I hated science and history in school. Juxtapose that to my  homeschooled children who read quality science and history books for fun, and you'll begin to see the problem. 

“The children I teach are ahistorical; they have no understanding of how the past has predestinated their own present, limits their choices, shapes their values and lives.”

— John Taylor Gatto, author of Dumbing Us Down

Put a child into school, hand him a textbook, and threaten him with a test; and you are about to destroy any interest he had in that subject. 

4. The Tricky Test

And let's not forget the exams. After reading the boring textbook, a child now has to have an exam on something he was completely uninterested in. 

Not only that, but he has to guess what questions the teacher might ask, so he can memorize the answers.

And how much information will a child retain? Probably not as much as he would have if he had been interested in the subject. And he will proceed to forget most of it once the exam is over.

5. The Reward and the Punishment

And then come the grades. It doesn't matter if a child does well or he does poorly because he has studied for an exam, not for the joy of learning.

Whether he is rewarded with an “A” or punished with a “D”, he still loses. 

Schools are dangerous places for kids because they destroy the one quality it takes to get a real education; the desire to know. 

The Crisis in Education

We are in a crisis in education, and we have been for a long time. There is nothing to reform, because the system never worked.

As long as education is in the hands of the government, an education will never be had. 

Children received a real education when the parents were in charge of the schools, prior to the 1850's and before the government introduced mass schooling. 

Before then, America's parents dictated what their children learned, how they learned, and when they learned. They even dictated who they would learn from. 

Fortunately, American’s have retained the right to educate their own and educating our own is exactly what we need to do. 

“That certified teaching experts like me are deemed necessary to make learning happen is a fraud and a scam.”

— John Taylor Gatto, author of Dumbing Us Down

Unless you want the government's dumbed down version of an education for your children, you will need to keep them out of school. 

At home,  you can preserve their love of learning and desire to know about the things that will matter to them in life. 

And, following sound principles and methods, you can give them a stellar education. 

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

Don't Say the "B" Word!→

There's a word that should not be used by children. Instead of forbidding it, adults are indulging the “B” word, too, which is not helping matters.

For example. the other day a kindergarten teacher was boasting about having a  "boredom" hour for her students. It goes something like this: "Ok children, it's "Boredom" time!”

During "Boredom" time, the children need to figure out what to do with themselves. While this is all fine and dandy, it's also counterproductive. 

You see, the point to the use of the word "boredom" is that children should not be allowed to speak, think, or entertain the word under any circumstances. 

“It turns out that bliss — a second-by-second joy and gratitude at the gift of being alive, conscious — lies on the other side of crushing, crushing boredom.”

— David Foster Wallace

How did the boredom epidemic begin in the first place? First, children are being raised in ways that don't allow them the opportunity to self-direct their engagement in life. 

When they are young, instead of playing outdoors, they are put in front of screens. Instead of having a childhood, they start school too early. Instead of exploring their environment, they whine that they are bored and their parents scramble to find things for them to do.

But our job as parents is not to entertain our children or come up with ways to alleviate their perceived boredom. 

People who get easily bored tend to be boring people, at least that’s been my experience. They are people who lack hobbies and interests and need to be entertained much of the time.

In other words, they’re a little empty on the inside.

Waiting for the next Netflix series to hit the screen…

Who amongst us wants to raise boring children? There should be absolutely no room for the "B" word in the life of a child.

The world is too fascinating! To raise children who are engaged in the gift of life and the act of living, one cannot allow a word such as boredom into their vocabulary. 

It's that simple.

There will be transition times from one activity to another, this is normal. But to label this period as "boredom" and allow your child to complain about being bored should be avoided at all times.

“The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

Finding ways for your child to alleviate his “boredom” is limiting your child's ability to become resourceful in life only adds insult to injury.

Our job is to give our children the freedom to independently engage in their own lives from an early age. 

Children come into the world fascinated by life. It is we who interfere with this fascination by teaching our children to be dependent upon sources other than themselves for entertainment.

We do far too much for our children and the more we do for them, the less children learn to do for themselves.

“I’ve got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom.”

— Thomas Carlyle

Let them be is all we need to do when our children are young. Keep them off of the all-pervasive screens, and let them figure out what to do with their own time.

My children never once complained about being bored. At some point, the word was introduced by one of their friends, at which time I told them they were never to use it again. 

Do not tell your kids it is "Boredom" time now and then tell them to figure out what to do during "Boredom" time. Calling free time "boredom" time puts the thought of boredom in their minds.

Scourge the "B" word from your and your children's vocabularies and instead raise interesting children who are fully engaged in the experience of life.

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

7 Reasons Homeschooling Kids Have More Opportunity→

According to the research on homeschooling, homeschooled children are ahead of their schooled peers intellectually and socially. They learn more and they engage in more social activities, which would presumably put them ahead emotionally too.

If you are homeschooling using sound methods, you know this is true because the proof is in the pudding - you can see it for yourself. 

But if you aren't homeschooling, here's 7 reasons to consider  the fastest growing educational option today.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

— Nelson Mandela

1. Share in the Habits of the Top 1%

People at the top of financial earnings have one thing in common, they read books. They usually write and sell their books too.

Yet, only 14 out of 100 children read for fun. 

Only 14!

By homeschooling, you can raise children who, like the top 1%, also enjoy reading books. Reading is the key to knowledge and regardless of what professional field  your child enters, reading will only improve his understanding. 

2. Personal Development

Homeschooling children have more time to develop skills and hobbies. A child who grows up to become a skilled ice skater,  musician, or writer can turn these hobbies into a profession either by performing or teaching. 

We never know what life might bring us, and raising our children to have a skill they can fall back on monetarily, whether it becomes their main profession or not, is always prudent. 

3. Intellectual Precocity

Children, who are homeschooled independently, surpass their schooled counterparts on exams. 

They also have a better chance of getting into more impressive colleges, if they should choose that route. However, some parents fear their children won't get into good colleges if they homeschool them.

This may be true if you put your kids into virtual schools or a public school homeschooling programs (a bit of an oxymoron, no?), but it isn't true if you homeschool independently using methods that are time-tested.

“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”

— Oscar Wilde

If you are homeschooling independently, rest assured that your children's chances of getting into a good college should be higher, not lower.

It isn't just SAT scores colleges look for; they want people who are above average in their accomplishments too. It reflects well upon the schools and helps to maintain their prestigious reputations. 

4. More Socially Adept

Homeschooled children score above schoolchildren in social competency, which makes sense. Children who don't spend 8 hours in school will have a lot more time for socializing.

Practice makes perfect.

Eventually, with more practice, homeschoolers will exceed their schooled peers who spend their school days in classrooms. What little social interaction schoolchildren do have is usually with children their own age.

Spending the majority of time with one’s peers is limiting to their social skill development. and personally and professionally, good social skills will always be critical to one’s ability to get a long with others.

5. Makes for More Interesting People

With more time on their hands, homeschooled children are able to develop a stronger sense of self and engage in all sorts of learning adventures from family travel to starting home businesses. 

And this is on top of the hobbies and skills they are engaged in as well. 

People who have more interests and who have had more experiences in life, especially of the unusual sort, tend to be more interesting people. And like attracts like. 

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

— St. Augustine

The more interesting the people your children engage with, the more unusual the opportunities will be that come their way. 

6. Independent Minds

Homeschooled children, taught at home (not in co-ops or on computers) tend to have more  independent minds. An independent  mind is a quality of leadership, whether of self or others, and people who can think for themselves will always be of more value than those who can't. 

Independent minds are difficult to foster when children are taught in groups and expected to conform to the group thinking. Obviously, this isn't the case in a homeschool, where children are taught independently and encouraged to think more deeply. 

And independent thinkers are not a dime a dozen. Think supply and demand.

7. Creativity is the Seed of Genius

Children who are given wholesome childhoods and allowed to begin academic training when they are developmentally ready, and not a day sooner, will have the time in childhood to develop more creative minds.

Creativity is the seed of genius. All new ideas and inventions are born out of a mind who can think out of the box and imagine new possibilities. 

We suffer from a dearth of creativity today because children are not getting the kind of childhood’s they need to foster their creativity.

“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.”

— Robert Frost

We want to raise creative children, so their minds are free to roam the heavens for new ideas and inventions. Why limit our children's intellectual capabilities when we can raise them to be and do so much more?

Therefore, if you want your children to live more fulfilling and interesting lives and with more opportunities awaiting them, the solution is to homeschool your children.

It's the fastest growing form of education today because it works. 

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

Is Teaching Penmanship Still Necessary in the Computer Age?→

While some people may argue that good penmanship is no longer a necessary skill in the computer age, this position couldn't be further away from the truth. 

What a disservice we do to our children when we fail to ensure they learn proper penmanship skills! 

While good penmanship skills produce beautiful handwriting, it's benefits far outweigh its aesthetic value. 

Here's 6 reasons why you absolutely must make sure your children learn to write legibly and beautifully:

1. Develops Fine Motor Skills

The more children use their fine motor skills, the better this area of the brain develops, otherwise known as the cerebellum. Penmanship is one way in which children can put their fine motor skills to use.

 Well-developed fine motor skills are critical to a child's ability to become good at many things including, but not limited to,  drawing, painting, sculpting, woodwork, playing a musical instrument, and beading. 

2. Improves the Memory

We need fine motor skills for note-taking. Taking notes by hand helps us remember what we heard better, which, in turn, helps to develop our memories. The more we remember, the stronger our memories become.

“My spelling is Wobbly. It’s good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.”

— A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

3. Fires up the Brain

According to Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, a neuroscientist, writing by hand is one of three activities that stimulates the brain more than any others.

The other two are doing simple math calculations and reading out loud. When children are young, they should write everything by hand so they optimize the use and development of their brains. 

4. Teaches Excellence

Learning to do anything well is critical to a child's understanding of excellence. Becoming good at a skill requires perseverance and diligence, two critical qualities that will help us excel at any skill we tackle.

 It's critical that we hold high standards for our children, so they learn to hold high standards for themselves. Having our children develop good penmanship skills is one of the ways we can help them become good at something and learn to hold a high standard for themselves.

5. More "Screen-free" Time

When children write by hand, they are not staring at a screen with all of the side effects that come from screen use, such as health problems, mental health issues, social awkwardness, and delayed brain development.

6. Improves Writing Skills

When we write by hand, we are forced to slow down which gives us time to be more thoughtful, choose more precise words, and better structure our sentences. 

According to a study in the British Journal of Psychology, students who write essays by hand were found to compose essays of better quality all around. Which also means that they'll do better in school.

“...the beauty and nobility, the august mission and destiny, of human handwriting.”

— George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion

Final Thoughts

Failing to teach our children good penmanship skills is negligent of us, as children need to learn penmanship for all of the above mentioned reasons. 

Start them young, so they develop the proper hand muscles and are in the habit of writing by hand before it occurs to them that they could be writing on a computer.

When my children were young, they wrote everything by hand. When they reached their teens, they asked to use my computer, so I bought them their very own electric typewriter! 

They were thrilled. It makes me laugh now to think about it.

But, yes, they still sell electric typewriters, and I recommend you do the same. 

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

8 Ways to Nurture Your Child's Brain for Peak Performance→

When we consider the importance of brain health on a growing child, and how fast his brain is developing, making sure he gets a healthy diet is critical to his brain's health. 

Not only that but when a child studies, he has to concentrate well so he can keep a train of thought going and retain what he's learned in his memory. 

“You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body.”

— Roman poet, Juvenal

Since his brain uses 20% of his body's energy, you can see why a child who does not get enough sleep or eats a lot of sugar might not do so well during the day.

Especially when he is expected to sit quietly and work out a grammar or a math problem! 

Knowing what foods are vital to a growing brain will optimize your child's brain power, keep him healthier, and make learning easier.

1. Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids build brain cells and as your child's brain is developing, omega-3 fatty acids are critical to good brain development.  

A 2017 study shows that people who have more omega-3 fatty acids in their body also have more oxygen in their brains. Oxygen helps to increase our energy levels as well as improve thinking skills. 

For foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, you want to make sure your children have oily fish in their diet, such as tuna, sardines, and salmon; nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, pistachio, and macadamia; seeds such as flax and chia. 

2. Dark Chocolate

Most children prefer milk chocolate because it's sweeter. But on the occasion when you let your children have sweets, developing a taste for dark chocolate would be better for their brains. 

Chocolate contains flavonoids which appear to be good for the brain in relation to memory and learning. There is evidence that chocolate edibles with at least 70% chocolate supports brain plasticity. With each new thing a child learns, a neural connection is made in the brain allowing the brain to grow and develop. 

A fun fact for your child is that some research suggests that dark chocolate may reverse memory problems in snails!

3. Berries 

Berries are another important food which contain flavonoids and help to nourish the brain. Berries that are particularly helpful are strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, mulberries, and elderberries.

(Check out the recipe for immune-enhancing elderberry syrup here.)

“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”

— Mahatma Ghandi

4. Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds, in addition to containing Omega-3 fatty acids, also contain vitamin E which is known to protect the brain and keep it healthy. 

Nuts and seeds high in vitamin E include sunflower, almonds, and hazelnuts, and peanuts (technically speaking,  peanuts are a legume).

5. Whole Grains

Whole grains contain high amounts of vitamin E. Some grains with higher amounts include brown rice, barley, oatmeal, bulgur, and quinoa.

6. Dark Green Leafy Vegetables

Dark green leafy vegetables contain amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, plus they contain lots of vitamins and minerals which are all critical for a healthy brain. 

7. Protein

In part, the brain is made up of protein which makes adequate protein an important factor in maintaining brain health, especially for growing children,

Some good sources of protein are eggs, almonds, chicken breast, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, milk, lentils, fish, quinoa, and pumpkin seeds. 

8. Supplements for the Brain

If you provide a healthy, balanced diet for your children, you should be able to avoid giving them supplements, but one supplement that is helpful to brain health is Cod Liver oil. 

Cod liver oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids as well as vitamin A and D. It may support stronger bones as well as brain health and is an overall tonic to the body. 

It has been used for health purposes since the 18th century, so it is a well-tested supplemental food for the body too!

In conclusion, if you include these foods in your children's diet on a regular basis, you will raise a child who is healthy, has better focus, and is able to maximize the power of his brain. 

Upcoming FREE Webinar! How to Raise a Reader with Liz Hanson

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling