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So much to worry about, and so little time.  If you are worried about gaps in your child's education, though, I suggest you relax a bit.

 

OF COURSE the will have gaps - we ALL have gaps.

 

Instead of thinking about how you might compare against a perfect school, remember to deal in reality.  In real life, all schools have gaps, and no educational system is perfect.  Perhaps the only perfect schools are in heaven?  Maybe you shouldn't tell the kids about schools in heaven....

So it's true confession time.  I have gaps from high school.

I had six years of choir through middle school and high school, but they never actually taught me to read music. That was a HUGE gap. That's like taking 6 years of math, and not learning fractions!  And yet I've had a gap and survived a gap.

What gaps have you experienced from your high school?

Here are some gaps that others have shared with me on Facebook.

I never formally learned fractions. I moved that year over Christmas break. The school I left taught decimals first and fractions second. The school I arrived at taught fractions first and decimals second. Full year of decimals...no fractions. Good thing I like math and had a father who was good at math to help me. ~ Debbie

I didn't understand how all the history facts I had learned fit together (until I homeschooled). When I went to college I had to take a course that integrated science and math as remediation~most students had to take the course. ~ Samantha

You could drive a truck through my gaps. I learned so much more as a homeschool mama than I ever did in my school days. ~ Julie

I learned American history. Period! If I had any smattering of world history, I certainly remember none of it! Praise God for learning with my children--I feel much more rounded now! And I didn't learn to read music either, in spite of being in choir all through school. ~ Ronda

Last year, my 15 year old came home from his community college classes and said, "Mom! You forgot to teach me about MLA Standards for writing papers!" So I said, "Oops. Now what are you going to do?" He said, "I'll look it up and figure it out myself." I said, "Thank you very much- I did teach you how to do THAT!" ~ Lisa

Cherub Beard For shame on your choir teacher ! Students in my homeschool choirs have music theory lessons every week. ~ Cherub

One word. Math ~ Jennifer

One military friend said with all the moves, her son never learned to tell time with a clock face! Me, I had no gaps. *sarcasm* I had American Lit and Comp. twice though, due to a move between 10th and 11th grade. ~ Lois

We all have gaps and when we homeschool we have a second chance to pick up on what we either failed to learn or failed to have been taught the first time. Our children will swear blind there are things we didn't cover even though we know we taught them. Through homeschooling I'm learning to be a life-long learner. That is also what I want for my children - learning layer-on-layer. We aim for no learning gaps, knowing there will be some. Teaching for excellence, not perfection! ~ Debbie

I'm learning every day when I homeschool. Because of homeschooling, I've learned to take courses to develop myself and just for fun. I am confident that I am leaving gaps in my kids' educations. It's just not possible to cover everything perfectly. With luck, we teach our children how to fill in their gaps for themselves. ~ Elizabeth

I graduated public high school with a 3.99 and was valedictorian. Still, I feel that my knowledge in history, world geography, world cultures, and all sciences was severely lacking.....until I started homeschooling my own children. I did know English and writing very, very well which I credit to a strong "stickler" of an English teacher who really cared about our success in college and beyond. I guess we really do get a second chance to do it right! ~ Nicole

I can still only do basic math and easy algebra. I even took it in college and I have gaps. the only history I remember is what I learned on my own in more interesting ways than watching my history teacher sleep everyday. ~ Andora

For girls my age, it was science! ~ Ron

Each year I remind myself that no school, including our homeschool, is responsible to teach them everything. They will learn more in college, and they will continue to learn for their lifetime. My firstborn is starting a 2nd year of college, middle child has started his senior year of homeschool, and one more sophomore in homeschool. Not perfect - but all are doing well. It's really been worth it all. ~ Ellen

I had a huge gap with Math. Don't think my teachers liked Math either. I managed to get enough of it though that I'm not a total failure there. ~ Nancy

Would you like to join the conversation on Facebook?  Just run on over to my Facebook page;www.Facebook.com/TheHomescholar.  Please click on LIKE, and then click on the like button and "Show in News Feed" so you'll be able to follow along each day!