Excerpt from CNF Essay

I had to submit my portfolio for my creative nonfiction class today, so I was up late working on it, since I procrastinated as usual. Since I was making myself chuckle while reading over the first CNF essay I've ever written, I thought I'd include an excerpt here so you can tell me what you think:

"…Then, there are also the selfish reasons for homeschooling. I want to be the one who sees the lightbulb go off in my daughter’s eyes when she learns a new concept. I want to receive the hugs and kisses (technically, teachers aren’t allowed to receive such touchy-feely gestures) when she is proud of herself and in turn shows me her thin-lipped, gummy smile. I want to be able to say, 'That’s my daughter. Isn’t she smart?'

Now, my problem lies in the realization that the lightbulb often takes a lot of twisting, turning, flicking the breakers, and trying out various switches in order to finally go off. There is this new craze in investigating learning styles and multiple intelligences in the homeschooling community, even though the idea of multiple intelligences surfaced in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner. This idea shows everyone has some ability to learn in eight different areas, but each person has a different amount of strength in each area. For example, according to a fun little learning styles quiz found on Edutopia.com, I am 100% strong in verbal-linguistic learning and 94% strong in intrapersonal learning, both qualities often found in writers. So, in order to see the difference in my daughter’s learning style, I took the quiz as her. It turns out, pseudo Lovely is a naturalistic and musical learner, meaning she can learn better when dealing with plants, animals, and when ideas are put into song. These answers sound plausible, but my habit of questioning authority causes me to wonder, don’t all young children learn better when they can play with plants, animals, and sing while doing so? (With the exception of children with extreme allergies, that is.) So, now I just wonder if my daughter is that particular learning style because she is that particular age, and I wonder if learning styles aren’t simply manifestations of interests that are formed over time, through experience and desire. Now, I’m back at the beginning and wonder, which switch do I try for day 104 (and perhaps the next school year)?"

I'm sure investigating learning styles isn't new in all homeschool communities, but it is in mine. This essay is about 7 pages double-spaced, but it was so much fun to write!