Mandy Davis (2)

Read: October 2023
Rating: 4/5 stars

I found A Matter of Principal to be a really thoughtful, engaging perspective on a topic I have become pretty preoccupied with over the last year or so - homeschooling. I enjoyed reading about a former high school principal's journey into homeschooling. Having worked in UK secondary schools as an English teacher, I found a lot of what Davis had written to be relatable even though her experiences in schools took place in America. The only negative for me was show more that I wasn't keen on the 'self-reflection and exercises' sections, which took up a fairly big chunk of page time towards the end of the book.

I highlighted so many sections of this book but they aren't showing up on Goodreads, which is a bit frustrating. Quotes that really stood out to me were the following:

While school provides a routine - set classes, set times, and more often than not, set ways of assessing through standardized tests - they only represent a single approach to learning"

We must ask ourselves: are we shaping our educational systems to truly nurture each individual's potential, or are we merely molding individuals to fit a broken system?

Far from the isolation many fear, my homeschooled children have additionally found themselves connected to a diverse social landscape. Their interactions span age groups and interests...can we dispel the idea that healthy socialization is sitting at a desk, surrounded by more than twenty-five peers you are told not to talk to during class?

At the heart of it, I yearned for them to possess a trauma-free childhood. A childhood free from the pressures of conforming, from the shadow of unnecessary competition and from the weight of external judgements...I wanted to provide them a sanctuary...where their self-worth wasn't dictated by report cards or peer validations, but by the strength of their character, the kindness in their hearts and the depth of their passions. show less