Seton Magazine Catholic Homeschool Articles, Advice & Resources
Summary
Young dad and Seton grad, Dominic de Souza thinks that homeschool kids may have 5 advantages over others in the coming apocalypse.From the "Top 20 All Time Most Popular Articles."
Editors Note:Originally published October 20, 2014.The Zombie Apocalypse – we’re told – is coming, so get prepping.
We’ve seen the hordes of pale, disjointed shadows staggering around neighborhoods, clawing through windows and muttering something about ‘bwainzz…’ You haven’t? You’ve been missing out.
This hilarious meme made me realize that homeschool kids may have five advantages over everyone else in this coming apocalypse.
Maybe you’ll think of more (and better ones!), but here we go. : )
1. Homeschool Kids Get Better Cardio
And we all know we’ll need it when they come after you during your morning jog. Better cardio means faster neural response, regularly active muscles, and sure, a harder punch.
Scientific evidence has demonstrated again and again that children who eat well and get lots of fresh air and regular vigorous exercise are better students in every way. They are more alert and better able to focus on their academic work and household chores. (Happy and Heathy)
I don’t know about your family, but growing up in mine, we had plenty of kids and not-plenty of the money (sound familiar?). So we improvised. When studies were over, we were out creating obstacle courses, climbing trees, digging Pits-of-No-Return and re-enacting favorite movie moments.
Compare this to “The average young person racks up 10,000 hours of gaming by the age of 21…” (Game Designer Jane McGonigal, TED.com)
Hey, I’ve nothing against video games. I love a good HALO 4 binge now and then. But still, that 10,000 hours of sunlight, exploration and cardio that most/some homeschool kids have under their belt that others don’t.
An advantage? Check.
2. Homeschool Kids Use their Environment Better
Otherwise known as innovation. Granted, not all kids are equal, but I bet you that actually playing around in the physical world preps your mental and physical gears to make better connections and clever inventions. I mean, it’s worked for the last 6000 years…
When it comes to pairing objects, overcoming challenges, and dealing with daily reality, homeschool kids who get out and about are far better able to judge distances and object resistance (jumping rooftops and using planks/anvils on… stuff).
Gaming will give you fun and fantastic theories, but without practice, theory stays behind the screen, and hand-to-eye coordination misses out on body-to-mind involvement.
“Rather than being a hindrance to athletics, homeschooling is increasingly recognized as a boon to athletic life” (Coming to a Stadium Near You).
Muscle up, hombres.
3. Homeschool Kids Make Better Teams
Okay, so this is debatable. In my family – with five boys – whose team you were on depended on whether you’d played fair last time. Although my parents stepped in frequently to separate our little cage fights, we battled constantly. But, against any outsider, we always pulled together.
Almost.
So this one will depend on how y’all get along. When it comes to World War Z, if the goal is saving everyone, then you’ll want people used to working/playing/fighting with each other, not just Numero Uno.
What was important was that we got to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, not just through a headset and a HUD, but the actual person. When to trust the person and where in the line to put them makes a world of difference when the wall is coming apart at the seams.
In ‘Why I Hope to Homeschool My Family’, Emily Molitor sums it up perfectly:
Even while one sibling may disagree with another, or struggle to find common ground as adults, we nevertheless have something bigger which unites us and overcomes our differences. We have our faith, our family, and our memories. Most of our ideals and memories are ones which unite, rather than divide us. I think that we have an understanding of one another which runs deep, and is rooted in the hours spent together in our home.
4. Homeschool Kids Have Community – Or None
In my experience, homeschool moms come in two flavors (determined by type/situation): the mom who networks like crazy and has friends all the way out to California (or Wyoming if you’re over there already), or the other mom who lives on a farm/far from everyone because of the job or preference.
Option 1 means that in case of an emergency, she’ll know where to go and have loads of contacts ready to collect at the nearest baseball field, parish hall or retired nuclear silo. These kids are always highly-socialized from trips to Senior Care Homes to chicken-pox parties (do those still exist, by the way?), not to mention birthdays. “For our family, this type of socializing is much more realistic and applicable to the real world” (The Two Absolutely Best Arguments for Homeschooling).
Option 2 means that in the event of a zombie apocalypse… it doesn’t matter. At least if you’re on a farm, or further out in the boonies. They’ll never get to you, and you’ll become the Last Homely House in Kentucky. And you’re still highly socialized because of daily contact with each other and various family age-groups.
And if you’re just far away from friends, in a new neighborhood or something, well, we’re talking about homeschooling Moms. They invented the idea of ‘safe zones’ and ‘efficient evacuation’.
You think guys did? How do you think moms get everyone to Mass or games on time?
I’m in serious need of a professional organizer who specializes in homeschool classrooms for 10 kids in a 12×14 foot space. This specialist would need to have experience in Emergency Disaster Relief, and two-year-olds, and have a good sense of humor too! (I’m Not a Professional Homeschooling Mother. Seriously.)
And yet this mom still has the job, and I’m sure she’s excellent at it.
5. Homeschool Kids Think Better and Faster
When it comes down to zombie survival, the ones who will make it and be able to protect the weak will be those with strong bodies and quick minds. Homeschool kids have that edge (okay, most. Many. You think?).
One of the chief academic benefits of homeschooling is that students can move at their own pace. Without the confines of a classroom in which a teacher must move slowly enough for the tortoises yet quickly enough for the hares—which really is an impossible task when you think about it—children have the freedom and the motivation to excel. (The Tortoise and the Hare in the Classroom)
And more often than not, we can be fiercely independent (at least in my background we’re Latino-Irish… hotheads all round.)
Especially in our post-Christian culture, peer pressure often has devastating effects on young people. … My homeschooling taught me to be highly independent. My education in high school was largely self-directed, although my mom gave me help when she saw that I was overwhelmed. I was independent in my schooling, but I could also think for myself when I was around people (4 Life Lessons I Learned from My Homeschooling Mom).
With room to breathe for mental excellence and the freedom to be independent, this is starting to sound a whole lot like some historical figures who rose above the status quo, and were forces of change in their environments. Founding Fathers, anyone?
So there you have it. 5 reasons I can think of for homeschool kids to survive the zombie apocalypse. What can you add?
Dun dun dunnn…. Oh wait, maybe it’s here already… ; )
About Dominic de Souza
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