MAKING THE DECISION TO HOME SCHOOL
However, when you do find yourself in the position to be able to make the choice, there are many things you need to know about before deciding to accept responsibility for your child’s education. First and foremost, you need to know that home schooling tends to take up a lot of time in your day. It is more than just sitting down with books for a couple of hours. There are experiments and projects to be done, lessons to prepare, papers to grade, field trips, park days, music lessons, and the list goes on. It can be much like a full-time job, but this is your child’s education, so making that kind of commitment needs to be fully understood in order for them to actually benefit. Having a set schedule helps manage the time you do have, and we’ll cover possible schedules for you to consider in a later chapter. Home schooling does require a certain amount of personal sacrifice for the parent. The home school parent has little personal time or time alone. If care is not taken to set aside time for yourself, it is easy to never have time alone. Parent and child are together nearly all the time. That can be extremely stressful, so make sure you’ll be able to schedule time for yourself. There is a bit of financial strain on the family unit as well. Home schooling can be accomplished very inexpensively; however, it usually requires that the teaching parent will not be working out of the home. Some sacrifices will need to be made if the family is used to two incomes. Because school will be at home, your child will not have as many opportunities to make friends and develop socially. More attention will need to be given to getting your children together with others. The beauty of home schooling is being able to have more control of the social contacts your child makes. This is where the home school support group can become a lifeline. Life requires a certain amount of mundane work in order to maintain an orderly household. Housework and laundry still have to be done, but it probably won't get done first thing in the morning. If you are a stickler for a spotless house, you might be in for a surprise. Not only does housework need to be let go at times, but home schooling creates messes and clutter in itself. Relax your expectations and make school the first priority and housework a later one. All family members should be included in the decision to home school. Some authoritarian parents may disagree with this concept, but when you have everyone in the household’s support, your job as teacher will be much easier. It is important that both parents agree to try home schooling. It is very difficult to home school if one parent is against it. If your spouse is against it at this time, try doing more research and talking to more people so that you will be armed with as much information as possible to bring your spouse around to your thinking. A willing student is also always helpful. Ask your child how he or she feels about being schooled at home. Ultimately, the decision is the parent’s to make, but if your child is dead against it, you might have a hard time being effective. Most parents take home schooling one year at a time. There’s no need to become overwhelmed at a lifelong commitment. Circumstances change, and public school is always going to be there if you find that home schooling is no longer an option for you. Some parents who truly feel that their child should get their education at home are intimidated, even scared, that they won’t be an effective teacher. The truth is that if you can read and write, you can teach your child. The curriculum and teacher materials will help through the planning and teaching. Get help from others if you get stuck or hire tutors for the difficult subjects. Plus, there are so many resources out there for parents who are teaching their child, you’ll be hard pressed to be completely clueless when it comes to certain topics. Of course, we’ll have a separate chapter on where to find these resources, but rest assured that the information you need is out there for the taking. Talk to other people who have experience with home schooling. Listen to the reasons why they made this decision themselves and how they feel it is working out. They can become part of your support system as well, so it’s good to make the initial contacts BEFORE you decide rather than after. I’m a big fan of the pro/con list. Divide a piece of paper in half with a line down the middle of the sheet. Label one column “Pros” and list all of the advantages of home schooling. Label the other column “Cons” and list the disadvantages. This should give you a better idea of whether or not your mind and heart are in the right place. Consider some of the following when making your list: Advantages: Parents know their child better than any other teacher could. Because of this, parents can custom-tailor the learning experience. Your children's interests, abilities and learning styles can be accommodated. Home schooling gives a family more time-- to be together, to strengthen relationships, and to share values and ideas. Many families find that learning at home takes less time than learning at school. There are some school activities that take away learning time from children. When you regain that time by schooling at home, this allows your child to learn more and pursue personal interests. Plus, they can move at a quicker pace than in the traditional classroom. Simple but life enriching activities such as reading can be reclaimed and put to educational use. Many children who are publicly schooled sometimes find the noisy, crowded environment in a classroom stressful. Recurring stomachaches, headaches, and anxiety may all improve in a happy, peaceful home environment. Beyond the traditional subjects taught in school, children can obtain life skills, such as managing money, cooking, and carpentry, by participating in real activities required at home. Contrary to what many opponents feel, home schooled children can become better socialized than their peers. They are not confined to the same-age-only relationships of the school setting, so they have more experience in getting along with people of all ages. Finally, and the bottom line for many prospective home schoolers is that home offers a degree of safety that no school system can provide. Drugs, alcohol, violence, peer pressure are all absent in the home setting as opposed to the school setting. Disadvantages: The awesome responsibility for education rests squarely where most home schoolers believe it should: on the family's shoulders. Many people may be unwilling or unable to assume the responsibility, and would prefer that it be left to others. The increased "togetherness" is a bitter pill to swallow for some. Fortunately, many find that home schooling is a positive, relationship-healing process. Over time, both the children and parents change, relax, and come to enjoy being together in a way that is not possible for those families who are able to only spend leftover snippets of time together. Home schooling takes more effort than sending children to school. In addition to basic subjects, energy is required to stay informed about and engaged in activities and opportunities, legislation, and home schooling methods and ideas. Your home will look very different when you home school. Some people find this to be much more difficult than they expect – especially when they are used to “a place for everything and everything in its place” mentality. You could be subject to some intense criticism from family, friends, and society in general. Be prepared for this and arm yourself with information. Remember why you want to home school and remain committed to your decision. So, you’ve decided to go ahead and dive into home schooling. There’s a lot to take care of now and many people wonder just where should they start? |
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