We got the results for Trevor's homeschool test about a month ago. You know, the one they make your kids take so the state knows you're actually doing something with your kids to teach them. So why haven't I posted the results on our family record? Good question. Because Trevor did really awful? Nope. His composite score was above average. So wouldn't I want everyone to know? Even just to show friends and family that homeschooling is not so bad after all, that I'm not going to mess my kids up with this crazy, unconventional plan?
First of all, kindergarten is not that rigorous anyway, and shouldn't be.
Next, I feel very strongly about not ranking or grading children, especially at such a young age when their ideas of self-worth and "others-worth" are in such a green stage. I want Trevor to feel good about his efforts, but knowing that you rank higher than someone else is not necessary to feeling good about your own efforts. In fact, when I get a compliment for one of my kids in earshot of them, I try to talk to them about it afterward, making sure they understand that doing better at a subject or activity in no way makes them better than anyone else, that we all have different strengths and the Lord expects us to develop the talents we have, but it isn't true that we all need to be perfect at everything. (That being said, I also feel strongly that every "subject" is interconnected and I encourage my kids to develop all areas, as well as the ones they are naturally inclined toward.)
Let me just stand a bit higher on my soapbox for a minute. Over the years, I've learned that a lot of things effect success and achievement. Maybe the kids Trevor ranked higher than have an abusive home life or a serious test anxiety or parents who really could care less about achievement themselves and don't set any kind of good example. Does it make Trevor better than other people because he has a mom and a dad at home? Or because I get to be a stay-at-home mom? Or because he has parents who care? Maybe when we or our kids achieve something great, we shouldn't be patting ourselves on the back or endlessly praising our kids, but instead looking around to see who we can help reach their goals, too, who might not have the same advantages that we have. Maybe it's money, maybe it's a loving mentor, maybe it's a kind word of encouragement. (To get a little political, I think the left wouldn't be so loud about welfare if there was a little more of this attitude.) (And this is not to say I don't ever get caught up in my kids' achievements and am not prone to boasting about them from time to time--I still have a long way to go.)
Of course there are people who have everything they could possibly need who will still make bad decisions about how to use their time and whether they develop talents. But I believe these people are the exception rather than the rule. I think most people, given the right circumstances and the right kind of love, can be just as successful as the next guy.
After struggling within myself about whether to put the results on the log or not, I decided to do it just for the record, and because it's a great opportunity to express my feelings about ranking and grading children. So there you have it: according to one, unimportant test, Trevor is above average. Whatever that means.
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