The Greenhouse Effect
A hot topic around America’s youth is Mental Health.
The world our children are growing up in is such a different world than the one we experienced. We were told to leave the house and don’t come back till the sun comes down. But today is different: social media propaganda, access to pornography, cyberbullying, drugs, addiction, abuse…. of course Hive Method Families want to protect our children from the effects of all of that!
Yet, many homeschooling adversaries think our decision to homeschool and choose our community will overly shelter our children and inhibit their preparation for “the real world.” What an outrageous thought! Except, that is exactly what I’m doing. The suicide rate for children has escalated to the third leading cause of death in school aged children 10 or older! I will absolutely be vigilant in protecting my children from this fate—but that is not to say that by homeschooling I’m inherently sheltering them from the realities of the adult world.
One of the best analogies I’ve read about this topic is similar to that of a greenhouse. Thank you Christy-Faith (follow her here). The purpose of a greenhouse is to protect young plants as they mature. These plants aren’t ready to be on their own–exposed to the full strength of the elements. These plants are instead exposed to healthy stressors appropriate for their stage of growth, instead of traumatic life altering ones. Their “plant childhood” is about strengthening them to be resilient, strong, and confident “plants” ready to make their way into the garden. And who decides their rate of growth for this? The HOA (government) or the Gardener (you)? I believe it’s the responsibility of the “gardener” to decide what their plants can and cannot withstand and when.
Children are not developmentally ready to handle the burdens of the adult world. A nurturing and protected environment that respects the children’s natural developmental needs will create the environment they thrive in. However, I would be remiss to dismiss the importance and necessity to intentionally prepare our children for the realities of our world.
What does that look like?
Teaching conflict resolution
Learning to apologize and take responsibility for their actions
Teaching forgiveness and self control
Building their self-esteem through the responsibility of their own actions.
Losing gracefully and winning humbly
Caring and respecting opinions different than your own
It’s not the avoidance of stressors, it’s being strategic with the exposure to them. Children will all experience the same stressors they are exposed to in a traditional school. (Disclaimer: isolating homeschoolers will produce the ideals our opposers predict). But pods allow for a more controlled environment to expose our children to those stressors and guide them in dealing with them appropriately.
So, I will happily join the gardener's club to protect my plants as they grow and mature. The covering of the greenhouse will preserve the innocence of childhood. But not to worry, there will be PLENTY of teachable moments where we can prepare our children to cope, overcome, and live victoriously in their future world.