In this episode, Leigh interviews Kadine Christie, a mother in her eighth year of homeschooling her three children. Kadine has her BA in sociology from Kean University and her Masters in Counseling from Capella University. She’s also a writer, has published work in several magazines, and is currently working on her upcoming memoir, I am Home.
Kadine shares her own education background growing up in Jamaica and then moving to the United States. Her story traces her tumultuous path through a failing education system and her falling back in love with learning once she was able to take control of it. She discusses curriculum, high school credits, and college prep, questions on many parents' minds. She talks about her daily routine with her children, and how she's been balancing virtual high school with homeschool curriculum while supplementing both.
What's inspiring about Kadine's approach to education is how she empowers her children to ask hard questions, to seek resources outside of the classroom, and to push back against an institution that often perpetuates a patriarchal, white-centric, perspective. Because we are also reading Bell Hook's "Teaching to Transgress" and having conversations about new social structures in light of the pandemic, the foundation that Kadine is building for her children may be a blueprint for what Bell Hook's describes as "education for critical consciousness" and "radical self-determination." At the very least, education from home may be a new frontier for parents that have never considered this option or have felt disempowered to do so.
Kadine shares her own education background growing up in Jamaica and then moving to the United States. Her story traces her tumultuous path through a failing education system and her falling back in love with learning once she was able to take control of it. She discusses curriculum, high school credits, and college prep, questions on many parents' minds. She talks about her daily routine with her children, and how she's been balancing virtual high school with homeschool curriculum while supplementing both.
What's inspiring about Kadine's approach to education is how she empowers her children to ask hard questions, to seek resources outside of the classroom, and to push back against an institution that often perpetuates a patriarchal, white-centric, perspective. Because we are also reading Bell Hook's "Teaching to Transgress" and having conversations about new social structures in light of the pandemic, the foundation that Kadine is building for her children may be a blueprint for what Bell Hook's describes as "education for critical consciousness" and "radical self-determination." At the very least, education from home may be a new frontier for parents that have never considered this option or have felt disempowered to do so.
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