This Is Boring But Your Children Will Be Ahead

Summary

Ashley Buffa argues that children’s education depends less on constantly finding exciting new materials and more on maintaining a steady routine over many years. Parents cannot control exactly what their children will become, she says, but they can control their own daily effort: showing up, ensuring the work gets done, and supporting their children consistently.

She cautions that today’s culture of on-demand entertainment and instant delivery can encourage a desire for novelty and quick results. That mindset can spill into homeschooling, leading parents to change curricula, planners, or teaching methods whenever they feel bored or hear about another approach. Buffa’s central message is to resist that impulse and give a thoughtfully chosen plan enough time to work.

Repetition is a key part of her approach, both for establishing productive study habits and for learning specific material. She illustrates this with a geography lesson for two fifth graders. They practiced identifying countries on a blank map, labeling a map she drew, naming states and capitals orally, and spelling them through dictation. By varying the activities and maintaining a cheerful attitude, Buffa says, the students stayed engaged, mastered the material, and felt proud of their results.

For children with learning difficulties or delays, Buffa especially recommends focusing on regular practice rather than becoming discouraged by the gap between a child’s current level and the desired outcome. Her broader lesson is to assess the work being done each day, not just the results. She closes by urging families to keep going when the novelty of the school year fades and to establish or return to a consistent daily schedule.

Practical Guidance

• Choose a basic routine and stick with it.

  • Teach the same core subjects in a regular order and begin at a dependable time.
  • Maintain the routine over the long term rather than continually searching for a new method.

• Complete a full week’s worth of work.

  • Study five days a week, or compress the same amount of work into four days.
  • Avoid repeatedly working only two or three days and leaving the week or year unfinished.

• Resist changing plans out of boredom or comparison.

  • Don’t switch curricula every time they feel stale.
  • Don’t keep searching for a perfect planner.
  • Don’t abandon a carefully selected method just because someone else uses a different one.

• Use repetition deliberately.

  • Practice math facts with flashcards or daily training exercises.
  • Revisit spelling words regularly.
  • Use repeated exercises to help children retain and master material.

• Make repetition engaging without losing its purpose.

  • Keep a positive, energetic attitude.
  • Change the format of practice when useful—for example, combine written work, oral questions, map exercises, and dictation.
  • Give children enough practice to experience mastery and take pride in their progress.

• For learning difficulties, prioritize consistent support.

  • Focus on whether the child is receiving the practice and help they need each day.
  • Avoid judging progress only by how far behind the child may seem.
  • Repeat appropriate exercises and support the child steadily.

• Measure effort and sequence, not just outcomes.

  • Ask whether the daily work that supports the goal is being done.
  • Teach children that results depend on the effort they put in.
  • Buffa highlights the saying, “Stop getting angry about the results you didn’t get for the work you didn’t do.” She says she does not know who originally said it.

• Keep going when the school year feels repetitive.

  • When the excitement of a new year wears off, renew your effort rather than stopping.
  • If there is no daily schedule, create one and use it consistently.

Speakers and Sources

• Ashley Buffa — The video’s speaker, who describes her experience homeschooling for 20 years and shares examples from teaching her children.
• Unidentified source — The originator of the quote, “Stop getting angry about the results you didn’t get for the work you didn’t do.” Buffa says she does not know who said it.