Our Next Adventure

In one week, we will be venturing into a very controversial phase of our lives.  Yep, that's right, we will begin home schooling.  Asher is starting Kindergarten.  Many friends and family seem to have an opinion about this, so I figured I would just put it all out there.

People choose to home school their children for a variety of reasons, and we are no different.  Well, maybe we are different because our approach encompasses not just one single reason, but several.  Hopefully this explanation will shed some light for friends and other readers, and by the end we might not seem like total weirdos.  Just slightly different.

First, I have to say, homeschooling my children is not intended to be a slap in the face to the public school system.  There are plenty of wonderful teachers out there, even in our humble little school district, and I do get kind of defensive when people speak ill of the area where we live, that they need to move away to find "better" schools.  I was raised here, I can't help but find that a little bit offensive.  There are amazing teachers here, and there are some not-so-amazing teachers here.  I am sure it is a good cross-section of the country, and no matter where you go, if you are looking for good or bad, you will find it (that goes for pretty much any aspect of life, but in this case I am talking about public schools).  That being said, I enjoyed going to school, for the most part.  I liked most of my teachers and I felt like they did a decent job.  However, I believe that whether a child attends public school or not, the primary teaching responsibility lies upon the parents.  We cannot rely upon another entity to raise our children.  You can still be responsible for your child's education even if he/she is not schooled at home, but schooling them at home does give you a little more freedom in how and when you teach your children.  Public schools are great, and we do plan on having our children attend them, eventually.  But for now, during their formative years, we have chosen to keep our children completely under our care as far as educational instruction goes.

Sometimes, I get jealous of my friends.  They get a break during the day if their kids are in school, and then I realize that when their children come home, there's homework.  Ugh.  I hated it then, and I hate it now.  Kids need to play, they need to explore, they need to love learning.  That is my major beef with "the system" is that children are not allowed to be children as much anymore. A great book reference would be "The Hurried Child: Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon," by David Elkind, PhD.  There's some interesting research in it about a correlation between piling too many responsibilities upon children and increase in depression, suicide, etc.  Not to say that your child is going to jump off a bridge because they have homework in kindergarten, but dang, kids don't need as many pressures as our society is giving them. I want my children to enjoy learning, and gain confidence, not pressure, through their responsibilities, and I feel that happens best in a loving environment of trust.

Homeschooling does not have to be rigid.  Studies have proven that rigidity and over-structuring the lives of children limits their creativity.  A friend of mine who teaches 3rd grade told me recently that she hates all of the standardized tests that she has to give her students.  It takes away from the fun things that she likes to do with her class, and she feels that there is too much pressure among teachers, and from the teachers to their students to teach to the test, and perform better.  I think it is wonderful when teachers want to work harder to help children succeed, but is it really helping the kids advance?  I am a terrible test-taker, but something I learned from a college professor was that if you truly learn what you are studying, it will be in your heart and your mind.  You will not just be memorizing facts to spit them back out.  That will not stay with you.  You will be recording feelings and thoughts connected to those facts.  That is real learning and wisdom.  Again, I want my children to learn for the sake of learning and apply the knowledge they obtain, not just be able to spit back facts.

The homeschooling plan we chose for this year seemed to be the best fit for our situation, and I have heard great things from several friends who have used it.  It is called K12, and it is online, public schooling.  My child is not going to be sitting at a computer all day, but that is how we get access to lessons and assessments and record attendance.  There will be mentor teachers helping me as I guide my child's learning.  I'm really looking forward to it because I don't consider myself a very rigid and structured person, but having the lessons already there sounds great.  They sent us all of his books and materials (free!) and when we are done, we send them back at the end of the year, or save them for our next student (and some supplies, I hear, we get to keep).

Some friends have asked how I will be able to give my child enough attention to teach them when I have other kids at home.  Hmm...well, how do I get anything done in a house with kids at home?  Little by little, that's all I can say.  People learn to be more independent.  It is much less challenging than the teacher-student ratio in schools.  1 teacher to 30 kids (if you're lucky), and maybe an aide or two.  That's why kids have homework, or at least that's the only reason I can think of; if the work doesn't get done, send them home with it to reinforce it.  Our "school" will only be about 4 hours a day, and it can be split up however we want.

So then socialization becomes an issue in the conversation.  I've read responses to this on many homeschooling blogs, but this is my response:  My children interact with other children their age on a regular basis at church and in playgroups (I am also trying to meet other home schoolers in the area).  I want them to have a social life, and I feel that they will.  It might not be the same as a child who is in a classroom with 30 other pupils, but they will definitely have to learn how to interact with other people.  The program we will be doing has many opportunities for interact with other families in the program, and I also have field trip opportunities with home school play groups.  Basically, my kids will not be in a bubble. 

I could go on, but people have probably already stopped reading.  So for now, this is our plan.  We will most likely home school our children up until 4th grade, but then again, maybe we'll try it, and change our minds. My husband and his siblings were homeschooled until middle school (and FYI, they do not fit the stereotype that I had always had that homeschooled kids are odd). We don't think people who send their kids to school are uncaring, just so ya know.  This is just what we feel is right for our family.  I am really excited to be an active part of my child's learning.  I know all parents should have that level of involvement with their children in academics, but I will be INVOLVED involved in it.  I am excited.

Please feel free to comment or ask questions.  I've heard it all, and I am really not offended by the concerns anymore.