The Educational Conveyor Belt

In A Thomas Jefferson Education, Oliver DeMille describes what he calls "conveyor belt" education: one in which everyone receives the same thing (lesson) at the same time and in the same manner, with the same results expected.  Implicit in this is the idea that education is something that is done to you.

In contrast, he calls for an individualized education where each individual learns at his/her own pace, following his/her own interests.  He also acknowledges that for those of us who were brought up in the conveyor belt system (that would be the vast majority of us), it can be very difficult to get off the conveyor belt.  He calls this a "conveyor belt hangover".  It can be especially difficult to get off it when everyone around you is not even aware that there is an alternative, or they just don't see the value in doing things a different way.

Whenever I start to suffer from conveyor belt hangover, my two children (one in particular) let me know loud and clear that that is not their preferred way of learning.  When I can take a step back and take a deep breath, I am grateful that they are so good at letting me know what they need.  Just imagine if I had complacent, eager-to-please children...

Wait, why don't I want that??

Oh yeah...I don't want them to be complacent, eager-to-please adults.  Or to be too eager-to-please with their peers.  I want them both to grow into adults who aren't afraid to stand up for their rights or to just be who they are.  But, oh my goodness, they do challenge me sometimes! :)

So what do you do when you find yourself with one foot back on the conveyor belt?  First of all, go easy on yourself.  You may have accepted emotionally and intellectually that an individualized education is best, but old habits die hard.  Sometimes we don't even realize that we are slipping back towards the conveyor belt, through our actions and expectations.  Sometimes we're acting from a place of fear: fear that if we don't follow the traditional sequence of events, we'll ruin our kids' chances for a productive, self-sufficient adulthood.

Read books by people who have been down this path before you and re-read them from time to time.  There are many out there.  Here are a some good ones that I have read:

A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille, mentioned above
Leadership Education by Oliver and Rachel DeMille
Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto
The Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Llewellyn
Project-Based Homeschooling by Lori McWilliam Pickert (haven't quite finished this one yet, but there's lots of great stuff in it!)
anything by John Holt

Surround yourself with others who are on a similar path, whether in person or online.  You don't feel so alone if you know others following the same or similar path.  And it helps if you can get some tips and advice, or at least some reassurance, from others who have been through this before.

We all make mistakes from time to time, slip from the path we want to be on, but luckily children are resilient.  We can adjust our course and get closer to our ideal.  We'll probably never quite get there, except for rare moments, but so long as we keep trying we may come close.  If we just give up and hop on the conveyor belt, we'll never see the true potential of our children.