( Or… 10 reasons you might NOT want to homeschool your kids: )
As a homeschool mama and evaluator, I’m sometimes asked whether homeschooling would be a good choice for my friends. Sometimes they are surprised when I do not give them an unqualified “Yes!” I love the experience of teaching my own kids. I love encouraging other brave parents, and yet, I feel a desire to help these friends consider carefully…..
- No one will help you organize your hours. No school buses, no packing lunches, no car lines will help you organize your day into neat, orderly segments. It will give you far too much freedom to be good for you. You might become tempted to structure learning during times when your child and you are most focused. If you do this, it may cause a disturbing amount of free time in your day!
- Your kids won’t be very “normal.” Homeschooled kids don’t get the message that they need to fit in with their peers. They often think it’s ok to build with LEGOs into their teen years, listen to music that’s been “old” for a really long time, and create imaginary worlds with unique languages and cultures. Their clothing may or may not match up to current fashion trends. They might quote lines from really old movies or tv shows, or even books that their peers don’t understand. Maybe the truth is they will not be ordinary. They may just become extraordinary individuals!
- Homeschooled kids might not socialize with their peers better than they do with other generations. You may just find your homeschooled kid having a deep, meaningful conversation with a senior at the local assisted living facility or playing imaginary games with their preschool aged sibling. This can be a problem when they hear other teens complain about having no one to hang out with. They won’t understand the struggle.
- Your child is likely to make people uncomfortable with their direct communication. Being with parents and siblings for hours daily tends to distract teens from the important tasks of messaging and viewing posts on their electronic devices. When they give eye contact and answer adults in straightforward language, it might lead to startling levels of respect and understanding.
- Your homeschooled child might not understand his or her limits. This child might actually think becoming an astronaut, a rock star or a wild animal park ranger are achievable goals. Your children may also think they can find solutions to current world problems. If this happens, please make sure you don’t lead them to information making these goals possible! We are all better off with small, normal plans for our futures.
- You might get asked questions by your kid for which you do not know the answer. Then you will be forced to show them how to do research and find information. This might just lead to habits of learning outlasting the school day. Who needs that sort of behavior from their kids?
- You might learn subjects that either you didn’t learn well or never were taught such as Latin, Algebra or even Computer Programming. Worse yet, at some point your child might be the one explaining some of these subjects to you!
- Beware the community of independent thinkers called homeschool families. They have all sorts of unusual perspectives. Just when you think you have figured out what homeschool parents are all about, think again. A new family will join your park day, co-op or online forum, sharing ideas you never considered. If you are not careful, they might even influence you to consider new points of view.
- The flexible schedule of homeschooling is extremely disruptive to normal activity patterns. If you take off a week to hike through mountains in the spring, you might just need to do some schoolwork in the summer, missing the nicest, densest beach crowds. If you visit the theme parks in the fall, cooler temperatures and shorter lines will tempt you to throw out the nine month school schedule for good. Then how can anyone plan a visit with your family during regular visiting days?
- Finally, arguments between siblings and challenges to your authority are the biggest reasons to avoid homeschooling if at all possible! If your children argue, you will be compelled to teach them communication skills. If they tell you they hate science, you will have to teach them how to meet challenging tasks with a good attitude. This aspect leaves far too many character development opportunities for any sane parent to desire.
My friend, if all of this does not discourage you, we may have a thing or two in common! Homeschooling is an adventure for the brave, the different and the hopeful! If I can help you begin or continue this endeavor, reach out to me mrsgibson@me.com
