On pickles and peanut butter: Sue Patrick's Workbox System (TOS Review)

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I kept running out of yogurt. "Why not make your own," my friends said. Each one told me a different way of doing it....From the various methods I devised my own. And it works....When Kath visited me last summer and I proudly served her my yogurt, she said, "That's not proper yogurt; it should be made fresh every day with goat's milk."--Edna Staebler, More Food That Really Schmecks (1979)

I had intended to use the above quote in a different, more food-related review (coming soon). However, it fit just as well here, and it seems to describe the current situation with Sue Patrick's Workbox System.

It's an example of what happens when a good idea is welcomed...and then spread, and adapted, done differently, possibly misinterpreted or misapplied...or perhaps even improved upon, sometimes by people who never read or saw the original source. The issue then becomes a question of who's using whose idea, as well as whether they're doing it "right," and whether or not the variations can be as effective as the original. The first person to spread peanut butter on a sandwich may have been horrified at the thought of peanut butter and jelly. And having worked on the Ambleside Online project for the last several years, I'm familiar with the issue of trying to protect the integrity of even a free curriculum, while still encouraging suggestions and feedback from the community of AO users.

For CM homeschoolers, this issue of the "original voice" has always turned on Charlotte Mason's own books. To say you were truly using the method of education that Miss Mason described, it was only fair to have at least taken a good stab at reading what she wrote, and to have tried out the methods as she described them before assuming they wouldn't work.

That's the way I felt about receiving Sue Patrick’s Workbox System, A User’s Guide to review--like the original, unvarnished peanut butter sandwich, cut on the diagonal--after I had already set up a "based-on" but not identical system in the Treehouse. I was attracted by the idea that our two students would be able to literally see what they should do next, and how much work was left in a school day. It also seemed like a good way to encourage independent work, to manage a situation where there is some shared teaching, and to get us quickly into a routine this school year.

I was able, using online sources, to get quite a good idea of what homeschoolers are currently calling "workboxing," and to read a number of different ideas on both the physical setup and the contents. I decided ( if we can carry on the metaphor) how thick to slice the bread, added homemade raspberry jam, and felt I had come up with something that would carry us through at least the fall term. But I was still interested in hearing how the system should work from its originator. I was even willing to start "slicing it" Sue's way, if her book gave me enough reason to do so.

Now, having read the book, I am unfortunately but honestly going to have to say that in this case, I'm not so sure that the original trumps the variations. First, the physical layout of the book is a bit off-putting. It's formatted in a large font, which, my techie husband assures me, could be adjusted by the reader, but I'd prefer something that I can print out as is (without using too much paper). It's also a bit unusual that the needed reproducible materials aren't included in the book; however, this isn't too big a problem, since book purchasers can download them from the Workbox System website (or order them already made up). These are small things, but they do contribute to a book's overall impression.

More seriously, there are a number of one-size-fits-all assumptions made about homeschoolers' space, equipment and time. Folding laundry and cooking while children work is discouraged, because it distracts from our whole-hearted attention to teaching...but for many of us, multi-tasking between teaching and homekeeping (or caring for other family members) is a necessity (and sometimes an art). We do not all have, or want, dedicated classroom space with small desks and work centers; and these things do not appear integral to the workbox system itself--they're kind of like insisting that everyone serve pickles and carrot sticks with the sandwich. Some of us would like to try the system, but need to use what we have on hand, or just don't have room for the full setup of boxes as recommended; it's discouraging to have it implied that there is only one way to arrange this successfully. Suggestions for those working in small spaces or under less-than-ideal circumstances would have been welcome.

There are also many pronouncements in the book that seem a bit over the top, or at least arguable. "This system works very well with all homeschools and all children ranging from 'typical' to disabled." "The Workbox System works with anyone’s curriculum and work load." (Italics mine.) "I believe if all we ever did was play board games, our children would learn everything they needed to know and be able to graduate from High School." "Learning about fractions from one source and then having it presented completely different from another source will help ensure their mastery of it." (Or it may just confuse them.) "So often we would like to open a text book, place it in front of the child and simply have them learn." Maybe--but we've never taught that way, and I hope most homeschoolers (at least since Ma Ingalls) don't just put textbooks in front of their children and tell them to "learn."

I can recommend that you buy this book (or the workboxing products) as a thank-you to Sue Patrick for working on this idea over many years and making it available to the homeschooling community. I can recommend that you buy it if you have a child with special needs (as Mrs. Patrick does); or if you're very disorganized and want to revamp not only your homeschool but certain aspects of your home organization as well. You might even find that Sue Patrick's sandwich (plus pickle) is exactly what you've been looking for. But given the book's limitations, and its insistence on the original "recipe," I think that many purchasers, especially those who have already explored some of the variations, would find in it less information than they might expect; or perhaps more, but not on the topics they'd like to hear most about.

Other reviews of this product are available on the TOS Review Crew Blog.

Dewey's Disclaimer: This product was received free for review purposes. No other payment was made.