Homeschooling.....Bart Simpson??

My kids love The Simpsons. Some of you may shudder at hearing that and, believe me, I shudder, too. We dvr it, though, and Matt carefully chooses which ones are "clean" and which ones are just raunchy. For the most part, they are clean fun...not much different than Spongebob.

The other day, Daniel was watching one where Bart was up to his usual nonsense ways at school and seemed to finally go to far. The Principal immediately expelled Bart. This gave Bart great joy as he felt that this was a release from school and he could lounge on the couch daily watching cartoons. Marge, his mother, quickly let him know that she would take over his schooling at home.

I rolled my eyes as this unfolded, waiting for the writers of the show to take this opportunity to make fun of homeschooling. However, the opposite was true. She set up a classroom in the garage, complete with blackboard, desk for herself and desk for Bart. She got him to actually READ a book....in one scene, his favorite tv show was on and he sat on the couch, completely engrossed in the book. She had a guest speaker come to talk about the war and took him on a field trip. Homeschooling Bart made him, well, smart.

By the end of the episode, the Principal was impressed with the new Bart and welcomed him back to the school....and, of course, future episodes show Bart being back to his old ways. But, I thought it was an interesting episode.

Since homeschooling Sierra, I have seen many changes in her. She makes better grades. She has a better understanding of her subjects. Math has become her best subject. Her self confidence is higher. And, possibly more important, she has more time to concentrate on areas of her life that she wants to pursue for her future like sewing and art.

Homeschooling is definitely the best way to go with schooling, if you ask me. The education is tailor made for the individual kid and can go at a pace better suited to that kid. If your kid needs to slow down a bit, so be it. If he/she needs to spend more time on one subject and less on another.....so be it. If he/she is accelerated, than that is good, too. I am SO TOTALLY sold on homeschooling.

So, why not homeschool Daniel? Well, I guess it just isn't the time yet. The time is coming, there is no doubt about it. Whether it be this year...or the next....or even the next....it is coming. I sat with Daniel today to do some reading and math and it is all to clear how easy it would be to school him.

If Marge can homeschool Bart, than anything is possible, right?

**If only it were cheaper!!**