Another Homeschooler of Note

We are in Yosemite National Park, taking a needed family break from packing. Yesterday we stopped by the Ansel Adams Gallery at the Village. While the kids and I admired the artistry of the many poster and photographic prints on the walls, hubby browsed the autobiography of Ansel Adams. It turns out Ansel Adams was homeschooled. After unsuccessful stints at several schools, he was taken home and taught by his father and aunt. (Adams later reflected that he may have suffered from hyperactivity and dyslexia.) As a result, he received an education in the classics, and he becamed well-accomplished in music. Hubby remarks that Adams' writing is both eloquent and funny. Obviously, his lack of a "formal" education had not detracted from his ability to communicate.

Ansel Adams' life, his success as a photography legend, is a reminder to me that our children's career paths can take on their own unique shapes. Sometimes as homeschoolers we get so wrapped up in the academics: the ABCs and the times table and the historical dates of this and that. Yet, there are so many ways a person can contribute to the world without excelling at the traditional academic subjects. I am not suggesting that we do away with the traditional subjects for our children, but I want to remember that success in these things is not the only way to succeed in life. Not everyone will grow up to be lawyers and engineers and doctors--thank God for that! We need beauty and creativity and laughter and inspiration. We need artists and entertainers and wilderness adventurers! It's true that such lives can be less predictable, but what of it?

Watching Chee-Chee come alive in the trails, running, laughing, blabbering, climbing, and just being utterly uninhibited and happy, I know the wild is where he belongs. He might spend his life studying rocks and digging up bones. He might chase after beauty with a camera to the most inaccessible places on earth. In the end, it is the person I am cultivating, his curiosity and understanding, his character, his faith and moral responsibility. Everything else must take a distant backseat.