I’ve decided to homeschool Pascal because school was getting in the way of her extracurricular activities.
This became especially apparent after her birthday a few months ago, when we got her a skateboard—something she has been coveting for over a year.
Now skateboarding has taken over her life—and mine. We are at the skate park everyday, for 4 or 5 hours at a time, and since we are heading into beautiful summer weather, that is about to increase. But even now, this is a lot of time to be spending skateboarding daily—and since it has become the center of her being, I’m honoring it.
I just think that if a kid becomes completely absorbed by a talent and skill, it is up to this So Called Mom to remove the obstacles that prevent them from going over the top with it.
I mean, let them get eaten alive by their passion, right?
There are no people with success stories that say, I loved to do XYZ, but I was in school and had oodles of homework for 15 hours a day, and that’s what I have to thank for my success. No way. Everything, including education, needs to take a backseat to skateboarding from now on, and it will.
I have come to the realization that, at this point, school is the thing that is holding her back the most, so why not ditch it?
I know Pascal is driven by this new passion because not only can I see it in her eyes—it is deeper in that. There is this fiery competition that exists with herself—and that will be the golden ticket to her own success story. What other motivation could possibly get a kid to dive into a swimming pool with no water like this? It’s coming from within. I just know she is asking herself: Is she better than the Pascal that skated yesterday? If not, she skates longer and pushes herself harder. There are days where I wait in the van in the parking lot, while she skates in the park by herself in the freezing cold rain, falling hard— over and over again. I’ve learned to keep a small first aid kid in my purse.
We started an online curriculum, not because it had raving reviews or a perfect selection of learning materials—but because it was simple and she could get it out of the way faster. Basically, so long as she is passing her classes, I’m not worried. As a side, she did skip a grade a few years ago and her comprehension is at the next grade level, and she is learning Swedish (on top of her second language French) so if she did fall back, she would still be on target.
And, if it was possible to quit school altogether, I’d probably let her.
Kids are natural at learning and being inquisitive—I don’t believe in force feeding education at all.
For Pascal, the real education is coming from four wheels, moving fast, on concrete. She is learning all about herself and that kind of development cannot be achieved in a classroom setting, I don’t care what kind of school it is. There is no amount of instruction that can ever come close to what she is getting on her own out there, right now. So, if I can cut the ties to any barriers that prevent her dream from being a reality, I will—and I have.
It is my job to not push her, but to let her push herself.
Aiding and abetting,
So Called Mom
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