How to Manage Withdrawal from Excessive Media Exposure

Changing a bad habit isn’t the easiest thing you’ll ever do, but it can be done. If you’d like to help your family withdraw from the daily media barrage, it will help if you have a specific plan for how to do it.

One of the easiest ways to begin is to wait for a natural transition time– the end of the school year, a family wedding or house move, a vacation, or anything that breaks into the normal routine. Have a family meeting and let everyone know that a change is coming, when it will arrive, and what you expect life to look like once the change occurs.

In A Thomas Jefferson Education, Oliver DeMille suggests a useful method for “detoxing” the family when switching from institutional education to something more nurturing. It seems equally applicable to the process of withdrawing from excessive media exposure as well. He suggests instituting “a careful program of family activity… which emphasizes wholesome activity that does not reward conformity but the attention of the individuals. Some examples include hiking, hands-on art creation, service projects, travel, etc.” (94)

He cautions that change can be stressful, but by “over-programming family time with wholesome and constructive projects, the family can ease off” gently and move into a lifestyle more conducive to learning. This aligns nicely with my favorite admonishment to “do and be; don’t sit and stare!”

It’s rewarding to see each family member gradually develop genuine interests in constructive activities and the reading of good books. Some will take longer than others, but no matter what anyone says, the effort is truly worth it.

*****

If you’re not familiar with A Thomas Jefferson Education, by Oliver Van DeMille, it’s one of the books I recommend most highly, along with its companion, A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion. My copies flutter with sticky tags and the text is underlined and annotated all the way through.

TJ Education tidily encapsulates the type of learning I’ve shared with my children and with those of you who have heard me speak (and it’s compatible with much of what Charlotte Mason teaches). I wish I’d had these books in the beginning– they would have made my path much clearer. They are worth having at any point, though, because the knowledge they provide will help you step away from the “conveyor belt” style of education and create a lifestyle of learning that can bless and enrich your family for generations.

The Core Curriculum Teaches Connections

Whenever the weather permits, I eat lunch outside on the patio in the edge of the woodland. At this time of year, there are spiderwebs everywhere. It doesn’t matter that I come out every day and sit in the same chair, I still have to brush away an accumulation of delicate webs each day.

I hadn’t been sitting there for more than a minute or two today when I noticed that one fine strand of web had already been spun from arm to arm on my chair, rather like an airy version of the festive ribbon that outlines special seating sections at a wedding. Inevitably, my thoughts turned to the gossamer threads that link ideas and subjects, and from there to the single greatest benefit of the classic core curriculum.

Although many students never suspect it while they are in school, knowledge is not naturally divided into separate subjects. Math walks hand in hand with science, and both affect the course of history. Literature and the arts both reflect and forecast trends in the culture from which they arise, creating an enduring portrait of what is, and sometimes, what is to come.

The core curriculum, defined as the organized exposure of students to the basics in and the links between each knowledge area- history, literature, the arts, science, mathematics, language; touches the young person’s palate with variety, and ideally, introduces great ideas. Like a healthy diet, the core curriculum offers a varied smörgåsbord of intellectual nourishment, resulting in a healthy, robust mind. Read more

Limiting Negative Input Creates a Healthy Learning Atmosphere

Last week, I wrote about how turning off television can improve your quality of life. However, negative influences don’t come only from television– they can come from many sources. While some sources of negativity may be hard to avoid, such as family members who sport a perpetual bad attitude, there’s no reason to actively seek out and give attention to media personalities who thrive on creating fear and controversy.

Have you ever reproved your children for speaking rudely to a friend or sibling, or wondered where they learned to use ridicule in an effort to make someone else look or feel bad? You may find the answer in the rude rantings of radio talk-show hosts who use ad hominem attacks and ridicule, rather than serious, intelligent communication, to gain support from an unthinking audience. If your children hear these “adults” communicating with name-calling, insults, and mocking, you needn’t be surprised when they try these tactics at home.

If you don’t listen to talk radio, but have news on during the day, you’re likely to find that constant repetition of bad news– rising prices, falling wages, home foreclosures, murders, random crimes, natural disasters– leaves everyone stressed and on edge. Children don’t necessarily listen to what is said, but they definitely understand the tone of concern and alarm, and feel the stress.

There are many valid reasons for living a quiet and peaceable life, but it’s particularly important for homeschooling families. Fear and stress are emotions that short-circuit the learning process, and noise, all by itself, has been proven to dramatically increase stress and reduce the ability to think clearly (visit the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse for detailed information). If your goal is to create a home where learning happens, it’s a good idea to limit noise, particularly negative noise.

I have discovered that our home is more serene and happy when the only news source is the newspaper. It’s quiet, easily portable, and doesn’t assault us with excessive drama and repetition. We can read it at our leisure, and put it down when someone more important (such as one of our dear children) wants to talk with us. We don’t have shush them in order not to miss anything. Frankly, I’ve heard very few things in the news that would be worth ignoring my family to hear, and it seems a bit odd to think of placing a disembodied radio voice at a higher level of priority than people I love!

Is there a chance that you’ll miss something important? It’s highly unlikely. By the time the second plane struck the World Trade Center, I had already heard about it. Even if you’re not in on breaking news, anything of importance will show up in the newspaper, and is likely to have the virtue of being edited and placed into historic context. You won’t have to waste time listening to news people talking to one another, repeating the same facts and figures over and over while waiting for something new to happen.

If you’ve been in the habit of having something on all day, I suggest reading about the harmful effects of constant noise, and reconsidering your habit. If you must have something, or you want to substitute something positive for negative radio shows and news, choose something without words such as a CD or DVD of nature sounds (water sounds are particularly soothing and thought-friendly) or gentle classical music. These are easy to find and usually inexpensive. However, if you have any space at all around your home, you may enjoy planting bird-friendly shrubs and trees to encourage your very own nature sounds.

Your children will absorb what they hear. There’s absolutely no need to serve up dark messages of impending disaster or crude, rude ridicule as a substitute for warm, loving, intelligent conversation. Remember– what goes in is what comes out.

If you’ve unthinkingly permitted rude and negative voices to invade your home or car, you can expect to hear those thoughts and speech patterns reflected in your dear little ones. I recommend the better way found in Philippians 4:8- Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Announcements

The Ultimate Homeschool Expo is going strong this week! Join Cindy Rushton and her remarkable line-up of speakers for a huge dose of education and encouragement that you can enjoy from the comfort of home. There is at least a year’s worth of good listening and reading packed into the member website, and you’ll have a whole year to download and listen to your heart’s content– I encourage you to go right over and sign up!

Today’s Carnival of Homeschooling is hosted at the Homeschool Buzz site, with a theme of Visions of the Future. Be sure to visit!

TV Turnoff Week: Fast, Cheap, & Easy Life Enhancement!

Why not live a little this week? The Center for Screen Time Awareness is once again sponsoring the ever-timely TV Turnoff Week. Pointing out that “television cuts into family time, harms our children’s ability to read and succeed in school, and contributes to unhealthy lifestyles and obesity” (though otherwise, it’s not so bad?!), the Center suggests that during the week of April 21-27, families keep the television OFF.

They suggest that “Turning off the television gives us a chance to think, read, create, and do. To connect with our families and engage in our communities. To turn off TV and turn on life.” We always learn more when we choose to do and be, rather than sit and stare.

If your family usually watches a ball game, try playing a game outside. If you enjoy cooking shows, try cooking instead! If your children like to watch cartoon, introduce them to the comics, and try drawing a few. Do and be, don’t sit and stare! The key is to live, rather than watching someone else pretend to live. Read more

Writing Opportunities for Teens- Contests and Blogs

Whenever I speak on writing, I ask students whether they like to write. There are always a few, usually sitting on the front row taking copious notes, who respond eagerly that they LOVE to write. A few, usually sitting in back, clearly not there by their own choice, indicate firmly that they don’t like to write anything, anytime.

The most common response, though, comes from the majority, who indicate that they like to write as long as they are writing something that they want to write. Read more

Seven Things to Know Before You Begin Homeschooling

I wrote this post last week, after speaking at Cindy Rushton’s Talk-a-Latte on What I Wish I Had Known. Unfortunately, due to the migration of our server, the post disappeared when I hit ’save,’ and I didn’t have time to recreate it. Let’s try this one again!

1- Know where you are going before you gain momentum. (Once you’ve gained momentum, it’s hard to change direction!)

In Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, he points out that you must begin with the end in mind in order to be sure you’re on the right track. Plan your homeschooling path by envisioning where you want your family to be in 5, 10, 20 years, then work backward to decide on the steps you need to take to reach that goal.

Just as a map helps you reach a travel destination, a clear vision of the family life you desire (you can describe your goals in a family mission statement) can make time and money management choices much easier. Our family mission statement included the goal of creating “a loving, serene, creative environment that encourages personal and spiritual growth as part of a warm, nurturing family.” That helped us to be thankful, rather than unhappy, when circumstances and finances combined to give us more time at home than we anticipated. Read more

115th Carnival of Homeschooling: Oh, The Things That You’ll Do!

Welcome to the 115th Carnival of Homeschooling! The theme for this carnival is adapted from Dr. Seuss’s beloved Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Homeschoolers are a diverse bunch, and I thought it would be interesting to read about some of the things we do.

One of the things we do particularly well is read, so I’ve also included posts that develop the theme that “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” (I Can Read With My Eyes Shut, Dr. Seuss).

Grab some popcorn, and enjoy the Carnival!

The Joy of Home and Family Traditions

Our first post is a celebration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday. In Fun that is Fun, posted on PinkPaperPeppermints, Melissa Okonski shares her family’s multi-generational delight in Dr. Seuss stories, and announces that the next edition of her ezine will “be ready soon and [it] includes a printable pattern and tutorial for a [Dr. Seuss-themed] mini book that could be used for scrapbooking, lapbooking, and homeschooling as well as links and my favorite quotes!” Read more

California Homeschool Ruling: Why It’s Absurd

If you’re not stranded, like Robinson Crusoe, on a desert island, you’ve probably heard about the California court ruling that essentially outlaws homeschooling in California. You can read an overview of the case as well as a complete copy of the brief at the Home School Legal Defense website, and you may also join the thousands who have signed a petition to request that the decision be depublished.

As I read through the brief, one thing struck me as particularly absurd. I found it remarkable that the California legislature has, over time, apparently concluded that the only way to meet the constitutional mandate that “A general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence being essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people, the Legislature shall encourage by all suitable means the promotion of intellectual, scientific, moral, and agricultural improvement” (Article IX, Section 1) is to enact draconian laws that criminalize parents who don’t institutionalize their young people full time during the primary formative years of their lives. Read more

Happy National Grammar Day!

National Grammar Day, sponsored by The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG), is celebrated annually on March 4. I’m sure that someone somewhere has scheduled an event with party hats and noisemakers. I thought perhaps we’d content ourselves with a quiet celebration and a few links to interesting grammar resources. If you visit the links from the NGD site, I’d suggest you preview them before sharing them with your family, as I haven’t checked them all.

Let’s begin with a podcast of “Top Ten Grammar Myths” from Grammar Girl. She tackles the myths that trip would-be grammar experts everywhere, including items such as the true definition of run-on sentences, possessives, the use of ‘a’ or ‘an,’ split infinitives, and the number one myth– ending a sentence with a preposition. Read more

Homeschooling High School: Is Outsourcing an Option?

When I talk about homeschooling through high school, I always mention the possibility of seeking outside help for advanced subjects. Although most people understand the reasons behind finding an experienced algebra tutor or writing coach, some parents don’t see it that way. I heard from one irate mom after I mentioned several options for working through advanced subjects: “That’s not homeschooling through high school,” she fumed, “that’s not even homeschooling!”

As I understand homeschooling, the defining characteristic is that parents choose and oversee what is learned and how it is taught, and most of us do most of the teaching, at least for the primary grades. Read more

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