(The desert above Carlsbad Caverns.)
First, I wanted to say that as far as I could tell, this is a very family-friendly documentary. I did miss the first five minutes because I was a smidge late to the theater, but there was no mention of any sensitive topics (like gender ideology, for example) in the parts of the film for which I was present.
I think the purpose of this movie, from my perspective, was to present a vision for how homeschooling can look, the freedom families have to do education their own way, to think outside the box and help their kids pursue their own interests and talents. We saw kids taking pilot-lessons at 14, raising ducks, exploring the woods, starting Etsy shops, interning on farms and in a chiropractic office, accelerating their education to graduate college before most finish high school, and traveling the country full time just because they can. Under all this was the theme that homeschooling is a way to build tight-knit relationships within your family and experience life together, and I thought that theme was very poignantly highlighted at the end of the film.
I thought the documentary in alot of ways was very intentionally balanced. I could tell they tried to include a homeschool families from a variety of backgrounds and tell their stories, giving them a chance to present their insights. We had families who had homeschooled for a month and some who have homeschooled for decades, young families and families that have graduated children. There was an emphasis on how children can learn at their own pace in homeschooling, so it was mentioned that children who need more time to learn certain concepts get that time, and can excel. To balance that out, we also hear from families who have students on an accelerated pace. We have kids who applied to college and won prestigious scholarships, kids who tested out of college classes by studying at home, and kids who are successful without attending college. There was also a focus on finding the individual talents or "smarts" (based on Kathy Koch's "8 Great Smarts" book), and we saw children in the documentary with a wide variety of talents and interests.
There are also obvious benefits in homeschooling to pass on your worldview to your children as a full time pursuit, and the documentary also touched on that aspect. Christian principles were mentioned throughout, while also discussing how a family of any faith could also see benefits of passing on their values to their children.
One way I thought the documentary felt a little imbalanced was that alot of families were showcased that did not have traditional job structures. There were several parents talking about owning their own businesses and how that gave them flexibility for homeschooling, and one family who bought an RV and traveled the country for several years (I'm not sure if it was ever mentioned what kind of jobs this couple had). One family had a dad who worked from home while the mom homeschooled, and I think that was the closest we got to the types of jobs that most people have - which are "9-5" jobs, either at home or in an office or job site. I thought it would have been nice to showcase a few more..."average" families, so to speak. Alot of us can't travel the country and give kids all these out-of-the-box experiences full time. You can give a child rich, and meaningful experiences in more local ways or through simple summer vacations, working within the limits that a 9-5 job structure would naturally place on an average family. Several of these families perhaps were working with a "9-5" job structure, but that fact just wasn't highlighted or mentioned.
I do think the focus on this documentary was on imaging how homeschooling could look, exploring all the possibilities, but in some ways which I mentioned above, I think it missed the boat a bit on giving a realistic day-to-day picture. This is a movie to be inspired by and get ideas from, but my encouragement would be to keep in mind that the documentary was still very much a highlight reel. Most days are not going to look like the bits shown in this film, and some days are downright hard, but that doesn't mean you are doing homeschool wrong, and it doesn't mean what you're doing is not worthwhile and meaningful, even if it doesn't always look exciting.
I'd recommend this film for those who are curious about homeschooling, new homeschool families who want to get inspired, and for family members that may be skeptical to help them catch the vision. This is not a movie that I would call a thorough "apologetic" for homeschooling, it is very much about offering inspiration and helping you think outside a traditional school structure.
For experienced homeschool families, this is a chance to get a little inspiration and a chance to support a great homeschool film. I didn't learn a ton from this documentary, and I know from my own experience that there are hard days being the scenes to balance out a lot of the exciting opportunities showcased in this film. But I did find myself tearing up seeing the strong relationships within these different families, and remembering that what I am doing in homeschooling is investing in my own family in the best way I know how. That reminder was certainly worthwhile to me!
If you want to see the film in theaters, tonight is your last chance! You can learn more about it here. I don't know of any plans for it to be released online, but I imaging eventually it will be available in other formats too!
Post a Comment