The American Heritage Dictionary describes resilient as “Marked by the ability to recover readily, as from misfortune”. An example of a resilient person would be someone who functioned well in the midst of tragedy.
Homeschoolers have to be resilient. When homeschooling is a part of one’s life, it is hard to ignore that fact that sometimes life gets in the way. Kids have to be taught that learning is a part of everyday life so that every opportunity to learn something is seized. Learning continues both in the midst of tragedy and in the midst of unadulterated fun.
Today we are in fun mode. Right now, my daughter is squeezing in a math lesson before she gets dressed to go usher a play. The ‘school’ she attends on Mondays is putting on a production of The Music Man Jr. She is not in the drama club, but she has volunteered to help and is very excited.
When she was in school she would not be able to work if something exciting were about to transpire. But now that learning has become as natural as breathing, she is resilient enough to do some math (well) and then participate in a special event.
We have also continued to homeschool in the midst of tragedy. My family was a bit taken aback when my husband, my kids, and I brought our laptops with us last year when my brother passed away. I had deadlines to meet, and my husband had to work remotely. We knew that we would be spending a great deal of time, just waiting, so it never dawned on us that we could not work during a time of extreme sadness. As for my kids, they opened their laptops and did their work anyway.
Whether this was an act of resilience or of natural learning, I am not sure. Perhaps it was a bit of both. When learning is as natural as breathing, you keep learning at all times just as you would keep breathing. Also, as homeschoolers, we have learned to not let life get in the way of education. If we did, they would never learn anything.
(This essay is an exercise in vocabulary. I encourage you to pick a new word each day and have your children to write an essay. Choose the number of required words according to grade level, age, or ability. ) For more words of the day see: syncretism, autodidact, extreme and mediocrity and more.