A lot of people are surprised to learn that I homeschool my
son. We did the public school thing for kindergarten and we weren’t happy with
it at all. For first grade we decided to homeschool, and we purchased a
curriculum from A Beka, which was great…it was educational, and it was in line
with our religious beliefs, but we felt it was just “school at home” instead of
homeschooling…and believe me there is a huge difference. For second grade we
decided to move to an umbrella school that allowed us to pick and choose our
own curriculum based on our sons individual needs and homeschooling has been
awesome ever since. Over the years
people have asked me a lot of questions regarding homeschool, and these
questions ranged from genuine concern, to simple curiosity, to downright rude…but
I’ll try to answer them all, shed some light on what homeschool is (and isn’t),
and debunk a lot of the weirdness that surrounds the choice to educate at home.
Are you in a cult?
Yes this is a real question and it gets asked more often
than you might think. I think that stems from the fact that many people choose
to homeschool for religious reasons, or because they look a certain way (long
skirts, long hair, etc.). The short answer is no, I’m not in a cult. I don’t
hate public school, I don’t think big brother is out to get me, or anything
like that. We chose to homeschool because we felt that our son would get a more
well-rounded education, and because it works well for our family.
What about socialization?
Many, many, many people think homeschooled kids are socially
awkward, and for us it isn’t true at all. My son does his school work in the
day, and is out in the neighborhood playing with his friends in the afternoon,
or his friends are at my house playing when they get off the school bus, so I
think he gets just as much socialization as any other kid. Maybe this would be
an issue for kids in a more rural setting? There are six boys my son’s age in
the neighborhood who he plays with, and a little girl who is homeschooled as
well, plus we go to church every week, we go on field trips, we go to the park,
etc. Homeschooling doesn’t mean you’re a hermit.
How can you teach if you didn’t go to college to be a
teacher?
This is a touchy subject, because I have so much respect for
teachers, I had a handful while I was growing up who played a significant role
in shaping me into the person I am today, they were excellent teachers, but I
think their ability to make me want to learn came more from who they were as
people than from what they learned in college. I’m not saying that teachers
shouldn’t be educated, but I personally feel that knowing how to teach a
subject, and knowing how to make a child want to learn about a subject are
vastly different. If you possess the ability to make a child fall in love with
learning, that’s most of the battle. The way I’m able to teach without being
formally educated to do so is because I’m teaching my own child, a person who I
understand, and who I can get down on his level and find ways to make him enjoy
his education, and giving him the skills to be self-motivated to learn on his
own. For example, I know my son is really interested in the Civil War, so we go
to Civil War battlegrounds for field trips, we find ways to incorporate other
subjects into our History lesson, we read books on the subject, he writes
essays about the books, etc.
Isn’t homeschooling basically copping out on your child’s
education?
A lot of people think homeschooled kids are being robbed of
a quality education because they’re home and not in an environment that was
made specifically for learning. I personally feel that kids are more prepared
for life when they aren’t put in a cookie cutter environment, only surrounded
by people their own age, with everything planned and everything is done the
exact same way every single day, because life isn’t like that at all. Life with
throw you curve balls and you’ll have to learn to adapt and roll with the
changes while staying productive, and never again in life will you ever be
constantly surrounded by peers that are the exact same age and roughly the same
maturity as you. On top of that, I think making the choice to be with your
child 24 hours a day; 365 days a week is the exact opposite of copping out. I
think it would be copping out if I felt the way I do about what my son needs
educationally, and sent him off to school anyway because that’s the social
norm, and it’s the easier choice.
What is one thing that you think makes homeschooling better
than going to school outside of the home?
The first thing that comes to mind is field trips. I think
kids learn better when they see and experience what it is they’re learning
about. We go on so many field trips, we spend so much time outside in nature
exploring and learning, and it’s so fun to see my kids excited to learn
something new, instead of stressing out over a workbook.
What is one thing that you think makes going to school
outside of the home better than homeschooling?
Not getting the “omg homeschool freaks!” stare down? I
honestly don’t know what would be better because aside from kindergarten,
homeschool is all we know and we love the freedom of it.
While there are some extreme cases, most homeschoolers are
just average parents doing what they feel is best for their families. I would
never judge someone on their decision to go with public school, or private
school, or unschooling, or whatever it is that they think will shape their kid
into a productive member of society later on. At the end of the day it’s all
about the kids, and bringing them up in loving, happy homes. <3
-Cilla
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