04.26.07

Things to consider about homeschooling

Posted in The nuts and bolts of it at 5:06 pm by Meg

There’s a post going around discussing the 10 reasons not everyone should decide to homeschool. After nearly 9 years of this, I’ve seen the newbies that bring out the doubts that she expresses. But I’ve also seen that you can not judge who will make it through their transition phrase.

So, here my things to consider about homeschooling -

1. The statement that ‘Life is what you make it’ describes homeschooling as well. On a macro-scale I have never meet another family that homeschools the same way that we do. And on a micro-scale my two kids are having ‘different’ homeschooling experiences. That means that there isn’t a ‘correct’ way to do it, but the effort that goes into what you are doing is what makes it successful. Homeschooling will be whatever you and yours put into it.
2. Homeschooling is only one option in a fist-full of educational options. At different times and situations one of the other options may fit you and yours better. This doesn’t make them better or worse. If you are choosing the best option for the current moment and are willing to adjust, as needed, then you are doing what’s best for everyone concerned.
3. Homeschooling is a life-style choice. Like all life-style choices there will be people who will think it’s great, those that envy you, and those that will think you are doing the worse possible thing to your child(ren), yourself, your partner, etc. And all those people will feel free to tell you so, ……at length. It’s best to smile, try to help those who want to make the same choice, and try to avoid the ones who truly irritate you.
4. The percent of the population that are homeschooling is very, very small, and the homeschooling population is very diverse. (Hey, how many of the brick and mortar neighborhood schools really have a true mix of different socio-economic levels?) When you find your local homeschoolers it is very likely that they will have some very different views, backgrounds, or life goals. It’s wonderful when everyone can be willing to accept the differences and see what they have in common. But real-life is that many groups are not willing to be open and accepting. When that happens, it’s time to find other homeschoolers and build a your own network.
5. Your kids are people too. And once they realize that there is some flexibility in their place in the world, you can expect them to have some opinions on it. Often very strong opinions about what they want and don’t want.
6. You will doubt yourself. I don’t care ‘how’ you are homeschooling, there will be times when it seems like everything you try to wrong and some part of your family is unhappy with you. And it doesn’t help your head when it comes at you from more than one direction.
7. There will always be kids who are getting an amazing education that puts anything you can do to shame. This is really a corollary to point 6 because it is often one of the factors that will make you start to doubt yourself. But it has a different point. The fact is is that no one (especially a child) can learn everything. It’s really just your job to help your kids learn how to learn. If they get to be an adult who is not afraid to say ‘I don’t know this, how can I learn about it?’ and then go teach themselves (or get the teachers that they need to teach them) then they’ve gotten an education.
8. Never-mind homeschooling, being a parent will keep you very busy. I know brick and mortar school parents that spend all their time running around helping in all the classrooms and trying to balance how much time they spend being with/helping each of their kids. I also know homeschooling parents that work outside the home or run home-based businesses. The difference, as I see it, is the amount of time that you have for yourself. I think of it as the time where ‘the only voice in my head is my own’. When kids are in a brick and mortar school, there will be periods where you can mentally ‘not be on call’. Most homeschooled kids can, and do, figure on being able to reach at least one parent 24/7.
9. It’s nearly impossible to judge who will become a long-term homeschooler, a short-term homschooler or someone who will give up (ie. just ‘return’ their child to a brick and mortar school because ‘it’s not working’). I have never seen a truly consistent factor across all the homeschoolers that I have meet over the years. I’ve seen some of the most hesistant (myself for one) and some of the most gung-ho. You really can’t tell.

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