One of my main reasons for choosing to homeschool is to give Little Prince the opportunity to experience the beauty of language, and the expansion of world view that comes from learning a language other that into which you were born. And so, every Sunday morning this past year we have been rising with the sun to head out to Newton and attend Chinese classes with the Huaxin Chinese School, an extension of the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association.
LP is also a natural-born performer, so while school’s often have many showcases for kids to perform for their parents and prove that they really are learning something. I see LP learning every day and there are not many outlets for this type of expression for him. Which is why I was really looking forward to the Speech “contest” (for LP it was more recital) in early April. And I know LP looked forward to it as well and as you can see, he had a LOT of fun with it:
LP’s performance at Chinese School 4/5/14
While he clearly enjoys performing he is very anti- “on-demand” as far as performing. And be honest former (or current) language learners: how often do you have some witty comeback for the stranger/friend/family member who discovers you are learning/speak x language and wants you to say something in that language? As LP’s homeschool coordinator I often feel on trial when people do this to him (mostly in language and math), and that should he fail to answer appropriately is a direct reflection on my supposed “inability” to properly educate my son. However, my belief is that education, especially early education, should be child-centered. That rather than worry so much about ensuring our 5-12 year old children are “ready” for college we – adults – should worry more about guiding them in their struggle to understand the world in which they exist. And there are many, many, MANY different strategies to learning this. Whether through structured lesson plans, or interest-led discussions that randomly crop up through out the day. Children are constantly learning and that learning should be encouraged and painless. Which is what I love about the Huaxin Chinese School’s philosophy: they are there for the child and to make learning fun. They want their school to be a place that kids WANT to come to (especially early on a Sunday morning) and they know that there may be times a kid doesn’t want to get up, or just doesn’t want to do the homework and that is OK.
LP and I truly enjoyed our first year with Huaxin Chinese School, and if you are in the Boston area and interested in learning Chinese, I can not recommend this school highly enough. They offered a great resource as far as learning and an outlet for LP to do what he does best: perform! We are both sad to have had to cut our year short but will certainly be back to continue our lessons in the fall and are trying to spend some time each day speaking to one another and reviewing what we already now. Did I mention that they offer concurrent adult classes? No? Well, they do. And I think that is stupendous!
Elizabeth E. Yahn 