We homeschool. And though I embrace a very relaxed approach, I’m still often governed by the expectations and pressures of what school is supposed to look like. (Even though I believe that kind of school hurts kids.)
“Don’t do that–you haven’t done your ‘school’ yet.”
I’ve been guilty of saying that before. But no more. Math (or whatever subject) is a small part of the big picture, and I’m DONE with our society treating these few things (the curriculum) like they are paramount to these other hundreds of amazing things.
And you should be too.
So this morning my daughter wanted to make a cool video about her bath bombs (“Brooklyn Bombs,” to be exact). The ones she’s selling this Christmas to help pay for her gymnastics.
People love the bath bombs, and she is starting to get some traction by posting about them on Instagram. So she was making a “satisfying” video, showing the effects of a bath bomb in water.
She had not done her regular school work yet and I almost instinctively scolded her for that. But then I stopped myself.
“She is enjoying this. But more than that, she is doing something important. She’s is learning marketing. And that skill will be 10 times more valuable to her in the future than perhaps the school work she does today.”
So I let her.
Then, she came and asked me about the caption she should include with the video.
“Oh, you’re going to write that,” I said.
“But what do I write?”
And this will be her writing assignment for the day, I thought to myself.
Because this is where it matters. Writing matters when you want to say something important and you figure out how to say it. And this was her chance.
“What would compel you to buy that bath bomb?” I asked her.
And we talked about words, imagery and compelling copywriting.
And that’s where real life makes sense of “school.” That’s why I don’t stress about whether she has finished the textbook. The things that will stick with our kids are the things that matter to them.
And for this day, if she gets a feel for what it means to market a product, she has had a huge lesson. She did the other work. But I know she didn’t learn as much from it as she did from this project of merchandising, copywriting and marketing.
We made it important.
The schoolwork is fine. But let’s not let it crowd out all the meaningful things they’ll learn that their interests lead them to. Curriculum is a tool; not a master.
