When I first started mentioning that we were considering homeschooling our kids, I can’t tell you how many scoffed at the idea or tried to talk us out of it. People have VERY strong opinions on homeschooling… including those who have zero experience with it! I’ve been warned to make sure my children remain properly socialized, I’ve been asked about our (presumably very conservative) religious leanings, and I’ve had people with kids in public school take offense that we were considering removing ours. Our personal choice to home school is just that – it’s a personal choice. Our kids are happy, healthy, and they’re learning a lot, developing crucial skills, and growing as people. THAT’S WHAT MATTERS. I do not need to justify our choice to anyone; however I will explain why we made this choice as I feel it will resonate with many other parents.
Neither of our children (hell, nobody in our family) fits into the neat “normal” box that society demands. We have always found teachers and staff very caring, but there were simply not enough educators to go around. Once our son entered middle school, he was handed an iPad as an “educational tool” and spent a tremendous amount of class time switching around different apps for digital projects. We worried about how much actual learning was taking place. Our daughter was already being picked on for her appearance in the first grade. Both kids were doing well academically according to grades, standardized tests, and report cards, however we had concerns about the reliability of these metrics. Additionally, our son was having significant struggles socially and behaviorally, and there were simply not enough resources to ensure that he wouldn’t fall through the cracks.
Also, budget cuts mean that mainstream public school is seriously lacking in arts, music, physical education, and other critical classes that help develop our children into well-rounded young adults. (Remember home ec and industrial technology?) The district had millions to spend on iPads, but apparently not enough money to invest in the very people – teachers – who are tasked with imbuing the next generation with the knowledge and skills required to be proper functioning adults. Don’t even get me started with how incredibly wrong it is to send marketing emails from Apple to my child’s public school email!
Of course at the end of the day, the responsibility really falls on parents to raise their children – we cannot expect the school to do it for us. Many parents are not only juggling both working full-time outside the home, but also extra-curricular activities in an effort to fill these competency gaps. While we participated in some extra-curriculars, our kids suffered from lack of down-time and the freedom to be just kids. We are very fortunate to be able to make the choice for our kids to step back, simplify our life, and invest in their learning full-time.So why is homeschooling a good choice for us?
Flexibility
Our kids learn at their own pace. If one of the kids encounters a difficult math concept, we can take the time to understand it before we move on to the next topic. Conversely, if a subject is easy, we can review it quickly and keep moving. This limits busywork and keeps learning interesting, and focuses on knowledge and skill mastery.
One-on-one instruction
Individual attention has made a world of difference for our kids’ learning. Through home school I can take the time to individually work with them to ensure they’re understanding the material.
Less screen time
No more staring at a school iPad for hours at a time! Both our kids prefer learning the “old fashioned way” — paper and pencil, instruction and hands-on activities, and reading from an actual book. Through home school, we can accommodate that. Of course we still use technology quite a bit, but screen time is limited to certain school projects (PowerPoint presentations are a favorite at our house) and fun.
Applied learning
The beauty of home school is that we can immediately incorporate everything we’re learning to the real world. While studying geometry, we used a quadrant to estimate the height of various trees around our property. I tied gardening concepts into our life science curriculum. We practice fractions while baking. While planting corn kernels this spring, we discussed the cultural significance of corn in Aztec and Maya cultures and how they selectively bred teosinte to produce the maize we know today. The possibilities are endless and learning never stops.
Freedom to pursue interests
With our schedule being so flexible, we are now free to participate in a wide variety of activities off the property. We attend educational workshops and activities at our local library often, we participate in 4-H, we go on field trips that tie into what we’re currently studying, and we connect with other home school families. Home school is very popular in our area! These are just a few of the reasons why we’ve gone the home school route. As I’ll discuss in later posts, the transition was anything but smooth and the learning curve, for me, was huge, but so far it’s been worth it!
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blueorgyfor witness!@blueorgy really on your blog has been coming big crowd of steemians just because of your blog keep rocking it!!🤘
Always a good thing!!
Wow, thanks so much for this insight. We have numerous kids in our community that homeschooled. We even considered homeschooling our boy too but unfortunately it's not an option at this point in time. Maybe in the future though ;)
I definitely agree on the screen time issue!! Kids are over-stimulated and thus can't sit still and be "bored" anymore - big problem!!
Thanks for the post :)
I agree on the "bored" thing - I think being bored is an important thing for kids these days! My two kids (13 yo son and 8 yo daughter) get along so much better now that they are forced to interact instead of being able to constantly escape into their own worlds. They solve problems together and even help each other with school work. It's very rewarding to watch!
Wow, that's amazing to hear!!
I really do wish you guys all the best with the homeschooling 👍🏻😁
@cheeto.blue I'm also agreed from ur post and also despite the many benefits of educating one's children at home, there are some disadvantages to home schooling. The most significant disadvantage is the amount of sacrifice it takes, physically, emotionally, and financially. Time is needed to prepare and teach lessons, organize outside activities and field trips, and schedule opportunities for the home schooled child to nurture his friendships and develop his interests. Home schooling parents do not have the luxury of having time for themselves while their children are at school. This almost-constant time together can at times seem suffocating, and may not work for some families.
And that is one of the main reasons we have not been able to as yet...
Yes's bro true!!
Yep, the disadvantages you list are the ones I am most struggling with! Time by myself in the garden helps a ton!
Yes yes yes! Thumbs up, i second! :) While homeschooling may not be an option for some, or an interest for others, it is most definitely a great choice for my family. And @sylviategan, there are subjects I'm not comfortable teaching, so I either learn it right beside the kids, or give them the books and they self teach it. (See @addijayne0911 she's my daughter, and did a post a few days ago about self taught math and how it's made her a better person. )
There will be scoffers. We've had to prove some wrong in our extended family, but usually we just keep trucking on and roll our eyes at the negativity.
Nothing can replace the family time. Nothing can replace the close bonds with the kids. My kids aren't shy and are not the wall flowers at events. We don't worry about them not being socialized.
People forget some of the greatest minds in history were homeschooled or self taught.
I'm so glad the stigma of the 80's is not the norm of today.
We were...well are unintentional homeschoolers. Our oldest was actually in public school, but due to his autism, food allergies, and then undiagnosed medical condition, we pulled him. He wasn't thriving, and was instead regressing. Homeschooling ended up being the perfect fit for him, and it also worked out when my other two came along with the same medical condition. They also had their own challenges that would have caused them to struggle in a traditional setting. I think what amazes people, is that my kids are in fact more social and know how to act in a variety of settings versus just knowing how to 'sit still and be quiet.' It was the best choice for us, and this is coming from a parent who did well in public school. I feel as if my eyes were opened by accidently finding the world of homeschooling.
I will upvote, resteem, and follow :)
thanks! We didn't start off thinking of homeschooling, either. Glad it's working out for you!!
One of the greatest gifts I can give my children is to keep them close to me. I won't have to ask them someday "what did you learn today?" because I will know exactly what they have learned today. @ironshield
@ironshield I get your feelings but I think if you keep your children's to you. Than your children never learned many things.
I get what you mean - I think it depends on the style of home school. I try to remain objective and we explore different world views all the time. By trying to keep an open mind I get to learn right along with my kids. I think it's also important to make sure that they have opportunities to learn from a lot of different people!
I agree - I am learning right along with them!
Very informative post. I think many parents considering homeschooling worry, as @sylviategan did in her reply that "I would be good at certain things: art, reading, writing, cultural/historical stuff...But I'm very much lacking in math, science, geometry stuff." But then I read in your post:
and I assume that you're learning, or re-learning, right along with your kids. Sounds like you made the right choice. Best wishes to you.
I am, or at least, trying to! My kids teach me quite a bit, too. It's been a fun process!
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STOPI hear you loud and clear captain you got another homeschooling Soldier here. We too chose to homeschool our kids for many of the same reasons you just mentioned and with the combination of our Co-op and our church family our children or not only well socialized but they are both strong leaders amongst all of their peers, those who are in regular school and those who are in homeschool.
What a wonderful piece to read. I commend you. My kids are my world and if I could have done homeschool I would have. I felt strongly about my kinds learning in a different language, actually their father's native language. So I put them into a french school so they could communicate with their grandparents. I would continue the teaching after school and on weekends so that I picked up the slack that the school was lacking. Really, your school has Ipad to teach? That is seriously unfortunate, as kids I find have way too much screen time as it is in the off hours of school. I put all my kids in music lessons, and one in each a sport to occupy the time outside of school. Thanks for sharing.
I think French immersion is a great idea, and your children will benefit greatly from being bilingual! Yep, iPads in every child's hands, classrooms full of zombies. It was touted as an amazing benefit for the students. In the US, the school system is not guided by what's actually the best for children, but what's best for profits. Mainly the standardized testing companies, who also publish college textbooks (Pearson etc). Oh and all the educational software that is forced upon districts... it's a massive, lucrative industry!
Sad that our kids have to be the victims of this. No actually immersion programs across the board and languages has been clearly determined that it has a negative effect on the developing mind. It get too confused. In the early years kids need all and a little but not 50/50, as when they grow they will have never really mastered either language and get frustrated and have failing negative affects in their High School years. My father was a teacher for 35 years and have pilot project of french immersion in the early years. Thanks
Congratulations on the homeschooling decision. Always a wise choice if you can handle it.
Thank you! Only time will tell haha. May cost me my sanity LOL
Great choice @flusterfarm!
Your kids will learn more wholesome in homeschooling settings.
I too did not fit in in traditional school education system. Struggles thru them till i graduated uni. I learned more on my own than in school. But am lucky that i realised later on and didn't stop learning outside of school settings.
Your kids would be so lucky :)
Thanks! I was the same. I probably would have benefited from homeschooling as well. Also, public school these days is so different than what I remember. Middle school was rough back in my day but now, the social scene seems brutal!
True that. My nephews and nieces are taught be become robots at school. Memorizing and tests stress.
Good thing they have good friends at school. I just told them don't worry too much on their grades. Just have more fun, be curious, learn anything they want to learn.
Fantastic post! I home schooled all 3 of my kids until they went to Junior High. I was very glad we had the opportunity to help form their character and stimulate their minds to be independent thinkers.
Thanks! That's kind of what I am shooting for - developing those critical thinking skills that public school seems to want to quash. Hoping to continue home school through high school with the help of a local coop.
That's a very wise decision, don't know about your country but in mine, going to fashionable schools is considered to be a status symbol and I know some persons who pay half of their monthly income to schools and in return, they get nothing.
We're in the US and it doesn't sound all too different. Private school is a status symbol here too!
A great article. Your right its a personal choice though your personal choice requires a lot of responsibility something most parents lack. I am going to be writing a lot about parenting and am super grateful this community seems to be receptive to "alternative education" as I don't have anything good to say about school at all besides it could be an escape from super abusive parents.....
Keep up the great work and good luck on steemit!
Thanks! I agree that public school can have some benefits. For children from disadvantaged backgrounds, it might be their only "safe" place and the only place they get a proper meal. We're so fortunate that we can make an alternative education choice for our kids!
Yes well you can because you have taken responsibility for that being a priority for you. I checked out your web site and see you are doing a lot of self sufficient things. Which means ur probably independent thinkers and responsible for your lives. This is not only easier to home school but healthier to home school. Great to see some of the aspects of your life. I have a lot of experience with sustainable and self sufficiency as well as community and activism. Steemit should be a great place for you.
Steem ON!
thanks :) Yeah independent thinking didn't seem to be encouraged much in the public setting!
hahahahahhahaha I dare say not!
Grateful you are creating a life where you can apply your independent thinking and create your own life!
My Mom always said she was going to homeschool me, but then she met me. :) Our little girl is similar. She is 18 months and a social butterfly. She realllly enjoys being around other kids. We won't be having any other kiddos, and her older siblings are 15 and 20. I have similar issues with the school systems, and her Dad and I have for sure considered homeschooling or unschooling. I'm envious of your situation and ability, knowledge, and time to devote to parenting/being a teacher. I would be good at certain things: art, reading, writing, cultural/historical stuff...But I'm very much lacking in math, science, geometry stuff. It takes a special person to teach in a well-rounded way. Cheers to you and your family!!
Haha sounds like my little girl! We're lucky that we live in an area where homeschooling is popular. For next year we're considering enrolling our kids in a local homeschool co-op where they teach certain subjects and get extra socialization. Otherwise we participate in lots of free events at our library and through 4-H.
I think even if your daughter goes to public, simply supplementing her education with the things you excel at - art, reading, the others you mention - could be an awesome bonding opportunity plus it would provide enrichment. Though I know it's so hard to do if both parents are working full-time! We know parents who are both at work until 5pm every day and then spend the rest of the weekday evenings shuttling their kids to different activities only for everyone to get home at 8-9pm. I don't know how they do it!! Or when they eat dinner together, or when homework gets done. That lifestyle just doesn't sound all that great to me!
Agreed!! The balancing act is.....tricky. Yes, if our little one goes to public school we plan on doing all those "supplemental" things for sure. And, I think getting outside is so important. We try to do a lot of that, and will in the future. :) That is AWESOME you have access to 4-H activities, homeschool co-op. If your kids end up going to the homeschool co-op, I'd love to read a post about how it works, what they do, etc. Thanks!
Great piece and I enjoyed hearing about your journey. The iPads in classrooms is not something I am a fan of either, and it is telling that the schools that Apple and Google executives send their children to don't have a lot of technology in the classroom.
I write a bit about homeschooling (among other randomness) and hope you'll check me out! I really hope to encourage and grow community here on Steemit talking about these issues. I'll be adding you to my homeschoolers to follow roll call. @beriberi
Thanks @beriberi, I will definitely check it out! I think it's so telling when the tech executives themselves take steps to limit technology for their own kids!
I wish I would have had the knowledge to do this when my kids were young. Good Luck!
I think homeschooling these days is a viable option. There are many online resources to choose from (including educational Youtube videos.) A slight downside would be resource selection.
In this part, I do agree with the investing into teachers. I don't think it is as easy as throwing money at the problem. Tablets and iPads do not guarantee learning as it is still up to the teacher (and the school system) to provide quality education (if they choose to).
Followed you from thl
Thank you so much for sharing. We also homeschool and for many of the same reasons. It's such a privilege to be the one to raise the next generation, and to be our own full time teacher of our children.