Accountability
and Homeschooling
from Louise Keckler
Nobody likes it, but everybody needs
it. Who does not look with disdain at school districts nosing into our
curriculum? We all agree that standardized tests do not accurately measure all that
our homeschool program can do. Who needs evaluators scrutinizing our work?
Truthfully, though, we all need accountability in some form or another. I would
like to share a few accountability measures that I have used for myself and my
children.
Accountability means answering to
someone else for our actions. I don’t like to feel intimidated by my school
district or spend weeks worrying about achievement test scores. I also like to
view my evaluator as my friend not a “heavy.” So I have established several
accountability measures for our family.
Contests are a great accountability
tool to use. Contests always have a DEADLINE! (nasty word, isn’t it?) Deadlines
are important to me. I like the sense of accomplishment when I have finished a
project on time. I have noticed the same feeling of elation in my children
when, say, the Pentel art project was in the mail on time. (I admit, I have had
to resort to Overnight Express a few times.) Finally, the research project on
Integrated Pest Management was finally typed, proofread for the umpteenth time,
and ready to send. Contests are also a great tool for gauging quality control.
Even my son, who can be a careless speller, is concerned enough to look up
words, use the spell check and ask for help when he knows that this paper is
going to be read by strangers.
Nationally recognized exams are
another accountability measure that I have taken advantage of. The National
Mythology Exam, National Greek Exam, National Spanish Exam, the Math Olympiad,
and MATHCOUNTS are all programs that I have used or am planning to use. When my
son studied ancient Greece and Rome, we decided to try the mythology exam.
Stuart probably spent more time studying up on Greek and Roman Myths and we
actually read The Aeneid, because we
knew that he was going to take the exam. We are currently using the Destinos Spanish program and studying
old National Spanish Exams to prepare for this year’s national test. I think we
are probably working harder at understanding and listening comprehension
because we know that he will take this exam.
The Math Olympiad has been a great
accountability tool for us as well. Katie, who is a natural mathematician,
picked up the first contest in third grade an got three right out of the five
problems! Katie has always enjoyed doing problem-solvers and Math Olympiad
problems. But, for Stuart, no way. He struggled to understand exactly what they
wanted, much lest how to do them. I still signed him up for the Math Olympiad,
even though he was not particularly fond of problem-solving. he saw steady
improvement from third grade until sixth. He finally achieved a patch in sixth
grade, and just missed a silver pin by one point. He was very thrilled with his
performance. His goal always was to improve himself. In all likelihood, if he
had not signed up for the Math Olympiad, he would not have gained the
self-confidence to try the MATHCOUNTS problems this past year.
Another measure of accountability
that I have used for our family is public appearances. I really felt that with
all of our head knowledge I also wanted to have my children do community
service and political activism projects as well. Usually these kinds of
thoughts would go something like this: Over a cup of tea one afternoon, I would
think about how nice it would be to go to a nursing home to sing and talk to
the residents, or take cookies to all the neighbors, or stage a live nativity
for the community. Then I would think about the happy faces, the glowing
thank-yous, the important memories I would be creating for my children. Then I
might change my position a bit in my chair and stare out at the bleak sky and
imagine getting dressed up to go, planning the songs, making sure that the baby
had enough diapers, getting in the cold van, dirty dishes, and peanut butter
sandwiches and then I would shake my head and quickly get up out of the chair.
I just kept coming back to the fact that I wanted my children tobe active in
community service and active for causes which we deemed important. So I made
myself accountable. I called a local nursing home and scheduled my family to
come in and talk and sing with the residents. I forced myself to sign up once a
month to do this. Why? Accountability. Do we always go? Yes, usually, but it is
a hassle sometimes. When we see how glad the people are to see us and how they
depend on us now, we are very glad to take the time. We are always on the
lookout for a new song or an old song to play on the recorder or the harp.
Money is also good to use as an
accountability tool.. An area where I felt that we needed accountability was
physical education. I know most people have no problem filling in this area. I
always depended on the kids riding their bikes for exercise, but at one point
two things forced me to take control of PE. First, every bike tire in the place
was flat and it took my husband a while to get around to them all. Secondly, I
realized that as I was getting older, I needed a bit more exercise. Skirts that
I had worn for years were starting to shrink! I am sure everyone who is 40-ish
knows what I mean! I needed accountability! I knew I would never do it on my
own. So I enlisted all my children in a jogging (for them) and walking (for me)
program. WE have been trying for about a year to achieve the President’s Sports
and Fitness Award, and hopefully this will be the year! I needed something more
definite to achieve my goal of daily exercise. My children (the spirit) were
very willing, but I (the flesh) was very weak. So I finally found just the
thing. It was a small town Fun Run and 5K race. I had to pay $5 per person to
enter, so I knew I would definitely do it! The kids had a ball. I actually made
it. I felt better because I knew I had persevered. I had practiced jogging for
over five months prior to the race. And I had helped to establish good health
standards for my children. Now that is what accountability is all about!
So if you feel doomed to failure
because of lack of initiative, force yourself to be accountable. Enter a
contest, sign up for a community project, or if all else fails pay for your
accountability. You will feel good about your accomplishments and you will not
need to feel intimidated by the law. You will be accountable to yourself!