(by Lorie Codispoti)
Deja vu?
The longer you live the more likely you are to see or hear something you’ve experienced before.
For example, within our homeschool circle in the 80’s & 90’s you were on the cutting edge of fashion if you wore a jean jumper & little white tennis shoes. (I confess, I had jumper envy until I was able to purchase one.) The look was so cute & comfortable.
It was Marie Antoinette’s dressmaker who first coined the phrase, “There is nothing new, except for what has been forgotten.” Perhaps she had requested a garment that would wow the masses. Something that would not only surprise her audience, but a look that would send every woman of nobility to the nearest dressmaker to copy this innovative new look.
I wonder if Antoinette’s dressmaker borrowed his thought from Ecclesiastes 1:9, which says that “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” The thing is, this truth was recorded well before the 18th century. Imagine how much has been forgotten & then rediscovered since then.
I’m thinking of all the curriculum choices homeschoolers have today.
Writers & publishers have designed some wonderful products that are sure to wow the masses. And, while it’s exciting to attend a book fair, where you can spend a whole day (& a lot of money) perusing some fabulous options for teaching reading, writing, & arithmetic, one can become easily overwhelmed by all the options.
So, here’s my tip for those of you who are in the middle of trying to decide what will work for your students: “… there is nothing new under the sun.”
Teachers have been instructing students to learn how to read & write with the same basic tools for generations. Before you make your final decision, take some time to assess your student’s needs, your budget, your time, & your resources.
Sure, if you have a big enough budget & want to support the hard-working people who design new ways of learning old things, then by all means do so. But, don’t let perceived limitations discourage you into thinking that your child will be deprived of a good education if you don't have the newest reading program. Not all the bells & whistles are repackaged in such a way that they will guarantee any greater success than the old & forgotten curriculum that your parents used to teach you. It might smell a little musty from being stored in the attic, but last I checked adding & subtracting haven’t changed, & we ’re still using the same alphabet the pilgrims used to teach their children.
Speaking of attic treasures: I was looking for something completely different when I discovered something long forgotten.
You guessed it - my daughter’s jean jumper. Yep, I must have saved it. I was so excited that I took a picture & sent it to her with a note that expressed my elation, along with an offer to mail it to her. Sadly, she did not share the sentiment & very politely said, “No thanks, Mom. You can donate it to the thrift store.”
Ouch! Really?
Not everything forgotten is seen with new eyes.
Unless they are my eyes.
I’ll be holding my head high as I sport my new, old jean jumper.
And to all the Marie Antoinettes of the world, get in line!
Nostalgia is back & deja vu is all the rage.
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