Mark Twain and homeschooling

I came across an interesting article by Mrs. du Toit recently. The first part that caught my eye was the title "Finding Mark Twain". I've always enjoyed the books I have read by this author. Upon completing this article, I discovered an interesting blend of Mark Twain, freedom, and homeschooling.

In my experience working with people there are two approaches you can take to get someone else to complete a task. The first is to essentially require/force the person to do it. This involves having some sort of leverage/authority over the person (boss/employee, parent/child, etc). Our government seems to prefer this method forgetting about the whole "of the people by the people" thing. The second approach is for the person to decide that the task is something they want to do. Which method is better? To answer that, when you are presented with a task, would you rather do it because you have to or because you want to?

A famous example of this second approach in action is found in the book Tom Sayer where Tom found a way to persuade his friend to paint the fence by being creative with his understanding and presentation of the job. His friend then decided that he wanted to paint the fence and paid Tom an apple for the privilege.

This concept directly relates to teaching a child via home schooling or via the public school system. In public school, does the child choose what to learn or does the system dictate what he should learn? Does the school provide free time for the student to learn about the things that interest him? Usually not because free time correlates to kids getting into trouble. Could this be because they are not interested in being forced to learn?

A home schooling situation can be much more student driven. The article "Finding Mark Twain" mentions how Mrs. du Toit had to "unschool" her children before they became interested in learning. This unschooling consisted of her giving her children opportunities to learn on their own for about 6 months. This process started with her children asking her questions about lots of different things and Mrs. du Toit helped them find answers to their questions.

I hadn't been able to put my finger on it until I read "Finding Mark Twain", but one reason I like the concept of homeschooling and plan to educate my son in this manner is because I want him to enjoy learning. I want him to learn about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights because he wants to learn about the founding of this great nation. I want him to learn about the Bible because he wants to learn more about being a Christian. If you have a moment, please read Mrs. du Toit's article located here. I think you'll like it.