What Is
Home schooling And How Do I know If It's Right For My
Family?
by: Anita York
Do you know what these famous people have in common?
- Alexander Graham Bell
- George Patton
- Albert Einstein
- Benjamin Franklin
- Winston Churchill
- Agatha Christie
- George Bernard Shaw
- Will Rogers
If you guessed that they
were all Homeschoolers, you'd be correct. This is a very
short list of famous and successful people who were
educated at home. If you would like to expand this list,
do a search on the Internet for ?famous Homeschoolers.?
There are many websites that list these people and some
provide detailed biographies. There is even a book
called, aptly, ?Famous Homeschoolers,? by Nancy and
Malcolm Plant. (http://www.fun-books.com/specials.htm)
The point here is to get
into the mindset that people can be educated and become
successful adults without attending public school. And
because I can almost ?hear? what you are thinking, no,
it is not necessary to have a high school diploma to go
to college.
So what is
homeschooling? In the broadest sense, homeschooling is
educating your children at home. You, as parent, become
teacher. Parents homeschool for more reasons than you
can imagine. Some want to avoid having their children
exposed to violence and peer pressure. Some homeschool
so that they can make sure their children's education
adheres to their religious beliefs. Some live a
different lifestyle?perhaps they travel a lot? and want
their children's schooling to be flexible enough to fit
around that life style. And some, like me, simply enjoy
being with their children. They don't want the public
school to interrupt and weaken the parent/child bond
that they have been working hard to create for the first
five years of their child's life.
Just as there are many
reasons to homeschool, there are many methods of
homeschooling. All the way from ?un-schooling? (learning
by doing, learning from life, not using textbook type
materials) to ?school at home? (using textbooks at desks
set up in a schoolroom at home) and everything in
between. It's very easy to find hundreds of homeschool
Websites by using a search engine, but just to get you
started, try:
Jon's Homeschool
Resource Page
http://www.midnightbeach.com/hs/
When I decided to write
this article, I thought hard about what I could offer
that wasn't being displayed on thousands of Websites on
the Internet. I realized that the only thing I have to
offer anyone interested in homeschooling is? my
experience. So everything in the article below comes
from my fifteen years of experience homeschooling my
four youngest children. I hope it is of some use to you.
Deciding to homeschool
your child may be one of the most important decisions
you ever make as a parent, and it will take a lot of
thought and soul searching. To the newcomer, it may seem
impossible, overwhelming and very, very lonely. But like
most huge obstacles, once it's broken down into smaller
pieces, it becomes manageable. We'll take it one step at
a time, in small enough chunks to get a hold of. So, if
you're game, roll up your sleeves and let's get to work
figuring out if homeschooling is for you and your child.
First things first.
Organization is the key. Get a three-ring binder
(homeschooling parent's LOVE three-ring binders) and put
a label on the front. (If you've made the transition to
digital record keeping, you can just start a folder on
the computer. But it's not as much fun.) Label it
something serious, like ? My Homeschooling Plans? or
?Homeschooling Thoughts.? Put some paper in the binder,
find a really comfortable ink pen, and sit down
somewhere quiet.
Ready? Good. Now, let's
get started.
What are your reasons
for considering homeschooling? Even if you haven't
actually made the decision to homeschool, the fact that
you are here reading this article says you are curious.
Perhaps you honestly don't know the answer yet? and
that's ok. The remainder of this article is going to try
to help you start to find those answers.
Homeschooling is legal
in all 50 states, but each state has it's own set of
laws that must be followed. Compulsory (how I hate that
word) education here in Washington State starts at the
age of 8. Even though I had been homeschooling him from
birth, to stay legal once my son reached 8-years old, I
was required to become ?certified.? That meant I either
had to have two years of college education, or take a
?certification class.? I met this requirement by taking
an independent correspondence class, during which I was
asked to put on paper my goals, philosophies and reasons
for wanting to homeschool. I'd like to help you do the
same right now.
Start a page--either the
?tree? kind or a file on the computer?and title it ?My
Educational Beliefs.? List what personal beliefs you
have about education? especially the education of your
own children. Get as detailed as you can here--the value
is in the thinking process behind the list. Take your
time, I'm in no hurry.
As an example to get you
started, I'm going to share with you what I wrote on my
list nine years ago.
My Educational Beliefs
1. I believe my child's
attitude about learning should be:
One of continual
curiosity and seeking of knowledge.
2. I believe my child's
learning should lead towards a lifestyle that is:
Rural, physically
active, creative.
3. I believe these basic
values should be part of my child's learning:
- Respect for others
- Loyalty to family and
friends
- Honesty
- Generosity
4. I believe children
learn best:
Through hands-on
learning experience, reading, workbooks.
5. I believe a teacher
should:
- Provide side-by-side
assistance and direction.
- Interact with the
child.
- Provide the structure
within which the child may explore, experiment,
study and achieve.
- Provide a good
example of excitement in learning.
6. Other beliefs:
I believe my child
should grow up to be self-reliant and occupationally
secure in a field of high interest to them.
Now, that wasn't too
bad, was it? Don't give up on this until you have at
least something written down, but don't agonize over it
either. You can come back to it later if need be. Next,
start a paper or file titled ?Life Goals For My Child.?
I want you to write down
what kind of person you envision your child being as an
adult. What are your hopes and dreams for him/her? What
educational gifts do you hope to be able to help them
find that will serve them their entire lives?
I'll share mine from 9
years ago, just to get you started.
?Life Goals for My
Child?
7. Be literate.
8. Be self-reliant.
9. Compete well in their
chosen field of occupation.
10. Appreciate art,
music, and literature.
11. Be creative.
12. Be inventive and
resourceful.
13. Be healthy, mentally
and physically.
14. Co-operate with
others.
15. Maintain a strong
sense of self-worth.
16. Maintain a life-long
curiosity, seeking knowledge as a way of life.
17. Look to the future
with a sense of excitement and adventure.
For the last exercise,
start a third paper titled: Why We (I) Am Going To
Homeschool Our (My) Child? (Yes, single parents can
successfully homeschool their children.) You may not
have all the answers for this one yet either, but just
get something down. All of these ideas and beliefs can
start getting mixed in with other people's opinions once
we start educating ourselves in depth about
homeschooling, and you'll be glad you have these lists
tucked away.
Okay, here's my old
list:
Why We Are Going To
Homeschool Our Children
Our family consists of
myself, my husband, a 21-year-old daughter, a
19-year-old daughter, an 8-year-old son, a 7-year-old
daughter, a 4-½ year old daughter, and an unborn son due
in 6 months. My two oldest daughters (from my first
marriage) were in the public school system for the whole
of their educational years. It is largely a
dissatisfaction with the public schools and all it's
attendant problems (academic, social, and moral) that
has caused us to make the decision to homeschool our
youngest children. We decided, even before our
8-year-old son (the oldest of the younger set) was born,
that somehow we would find an alternative to the public
schools.
We want to homeschool
for some additional reasons. We want added closeness
with our children. We want more independence, greater
control over our family's moral and philosophical
values, and better awareness of our children's
interests.
We dislike the thought
of any government agency--no matter how well
meaning--directing the raising of our children.
We intend to homeschool
because we do not want our children's academic, social,
and moral education taken out of our hands.
We believe these areas
of a child's education are a parent's responsibility,
right, and pleasure.
I'd like you to spend
some time going over these lists until you feel they
accurately reflect your feelings about homeschooling
your children. When I did these exercises, I had only a
vague idea about why I wanted to homeschool and what
kind of education I wanted to help my children acquire.
These simple exercises helped me to ?solidify? my ideas
and provided the basis for our future homeschooling
methods. I hope they help you to do the same. Keep these
lists in a safe place and add to them as you explore the
possibility of homeschooling your child.
