Just another reason we homeschool

Imagine the setting.

You have a picture of a rabbit, a chick, a puppy and a kitten. Which one does not belong and why?

Go ahead and answer before you read on. I will wait.

Did you say chick? My daughter did. And why did she answer chick? She literally had 11 reasons why chick was the answer. And ALL of them were correct. From the fact the chick only had two feet and the others had four to the fact that chick did not have a double letter in it and the others did.

However, the BOOK had a different answer.

I don't know about you, but growing up in the public school you were expected to do things a certain way. You could not just do the math, fast like in your head, you had to write it out... step by step. Partly so they would know you were not cheating and the other part because the teacher was not taught that there was another way and so YOU cannot do it any other way.

That was VERY frustrating to me. I wasn't cheating. I just KNEW answer. And I could do it faster in my head, finishing my homework much sooner, thus moving on to things I wanted to do, rather than HAD to do.

But no, if I had to spend hours writing the answers out, I was not going to do the homework. I guess I always did rebel, even back then! LOL!!

Now some might argue the importance of learning to comply and conform. OK, for those people, I ask the question - why? When, in real, every day life, do you need to conform? Not obey, that is different. We all need to learn to do what the boss tells us. But in a working environment (which is where they will all most likely be some day), they are told what is needed. Some requirements are given (sometimes) and other times, as long as the desired result is gotten, how they got there (as long as it is legal) does not matter.

I know that my husband actually gets bonuses when he thinks outside the box and does something in a way no one thought of before. MOST companies ENCOURAGE THAT.

So back to the question about the rabbit, chick, puppy and kitten. Did you pick the chick too?

Or were you like me and picked the rabbit because it was an adult and all the others were babies?

I have learned that sometimes the book has certain answers. That does not mean it is the only correct answer. I have learned to encourage my kids to think differently. After all, that is how most businesses are created! By people who thought differently! And when my daughter gets an answer that is different than what the book says the answer is... as long as hers is correct, I smile, give her a bit of praise for thinking of things in a different way. I tell her that her answer is absolutely correct. Then I mention the book has a different answer and encourage her to see if she can think of what answer the book might have. She usually gets that answer too, but it is fun for her to try to figure out what answer the book has rather than "the correct answer." Because usually her answer is just as correct.