Imagine a child… YOUR child… sitting in a classroom with 20 other children. All of the students are young, curious, perhaps a bit antsy, and there they are sitting… as best they can anyway. The teacher is in the front of the classroom teaching (about something important, I’m sure). And there is your child… maybe not necessarily thinking about the topic currently being taught, but their mind is active. They are wondering something. If this is a classroom in today’s society, there is sure to be an assessment of some kind at the end of the lesson, so hopefully your child is listening.
The lesson is underway, the assessment is coming, and there is your child – mind searching, thinking, at work – even if it doesn’t look like it.
The teacher might say something to your child like “Pay attention!” or toss a rhetorical question their way like “Are you listening?” And sure, your child might snap back to the lesson. Sure they might fall back in line for a little while- but the wondering child can never sit still for very long. Their wondering mind can’t be contained. So you might receive a letter home saying something like “Your child is off task in class. Your child is disruptive and doesn’t follow simple directions in class like ‘sit down’ or ‘stay in your seat.’” Now, don’t get me wrong, I have said those very words to students before, and yes, I am guilty of sending home those dreaded teacher notes. BUT is this the very best we have for our children?!
That little one… oh so curious and frustratingly DISTRACTED…
dis·tract·ed
/disˈtraktəd/
adjective
unable to concentrate because one’s mind is preoccupied.
That squirmy, unable-to-sit-still student was Thomas Edison. THE Thomas Edison! You know… the inventor who is credited for such great and monumental inventions such as the light bulb (a WonderHere symbol!) and the telegraph. In researching about this amazing world-changer, I stumbled upon many different articles and blogs mentioning Thomas as a student. Each reports that Thomas was a difficult student to teach in class. He seemed to have his head in the clouds. He wouldn’t focus on lessons taught, was hyperactive, and asked TOO MANY QUESTIONS! He sounds like a wonderer… a curious one.
He is even known to have had letters about him sent home to his mother on behalf of his distraught and frustrated teacher. That poor women was tasked with the insurmountable job of teaching a child who could not be boxed in by “desk-sitting, no-discussion-necessary, think-what-and-how-you’re-told” teaching.
And how did his mother respond? Why, she pulled her son out of school and decided to teach him at home! Home… where his thoughts and creativity would have no ceiling. According to www.biography.com, Thomas Edison was in public school for a total of 12 weeks. It took his mother all of 3 months to decide traditional school was not the best place for her son and she needed to make a change. Alva Edison, Thomas’ mother, had a great influence on her child’s success. His insatiable appetite for knowledge paired with his mother’s wide-open curriculum provided this future inventor and successful businessman a place where his thinking was nurtured and his curiosity was stirred.
I don’t know about you, but Thomas Edison’s life is an inspiration to me! There are so many students I am blessed to teach daily that are just like him. Full of thought, spunk, and tenacity. And YES, in the confines of public education it can be difficult and discouraging trying to meet their needs AND the demands of standards, pacing guides, and high-stakes testing. BUT their needs MUST be prioritized. Their thinking and creativity HAS to be encouraged and their mind NEEDS to be free to WONDER and DREAM and be INSPIRED. If not in school… then at home. And if not at home… then let it be at WonderHere.
At WonderHere the curious are welcome, and the thinkers and question-askers are embraced. We hope to be a safe and loving place where your child will flourish in a wonder-rich environment of learning and fun. This is where inventors, scientists, doctors, authors, and world-changers are nurtured and encouraged.
Homeschooling a child is not a new concept and it isn’t even unique. Moms, like Alva Edison, who would not allow their distracted and seemingly “difficult” child be limited by our school systems have been rolling up their sleeves to take matters into their own hands for decades.
Alva Edison believed in her child and knew that his kind of beautiful mind needed to be taught in a non-traditional way. All children deserve a learning community that is just as nurturing and unrestricted. I sure am glad Thomas’ mother followed her heart and let Thomas follow his wonder. Now let’s follow her example.
