Can anyone homeschool? NO! 3 Reasons to not homeschool.
Reading Time: 6 minutes 3 Reasons a person should not homeschool:
Seriously, not everyone can or should homeschool. This is contrary to almost every article, blog or video I have researched online.
I am trained as a public educator, however, I am not saying this as a “pro public schools” person. In another blog, you will see that right now, homeschooling gets the “win.”
There are a lot of reasons parents become enamored with the idea of homeschooling. Before deciding IF you can homeschool, assess WHY you want to homeschool. For many of us, our children elicit emotional, almost knee jerk responses. You do not want your child’s education to be based on an emotional response to a catalyst that could have been resolved in a different way.
Most articles, blogs even conventions will tell you that yes, anyone can homeschool. I disagree.
1. Do you like someone else to take the lead or be responsible?
This is actually one of the top questions asked in quizzes to determine if you would be good at being an entrepreneur. Do you enjoy having everything succeed because of you and accept responsibility when all fails because of you?
If you choose to homeschool, no matter which format, which I will discuss in other blogs, in the end you are the one who is responsible for the quality of education your child receives. You are responsible for meeting your child’s learning needs. I have always wondered what parents do if they determine that their child learns kinesthetically, however, the parents bought a prepackaged curriculum, which is the easiest method to homeschool. Most of these prepackaged curriculums are either workbook format or watch a video and respond format. Neither of these engage a child who learns through movement or activity.
Can you research? You are taking on an enormous responsibility. You will need to research the homeschooling laws in your state. You will need to research college requirements and what your homeschooler needs to do so they are eligible. You will need to research various curricula to ascertain that they line up not only with your values but with the goals you want your child to reach that year.
*Note: you are not alone in all of this. There are a lot of Facebook groups and local homeschooling groups that can help you. My points are that you will find out how to get the answers you need and that in the end, everything comes down to you.
Take this short, but fun and informative quiz!
Which animal represents your child?What does this say about what your child needs?
- A 5 question quiz
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2. Are you really bad at organization?
The public school, charter and private schools have it all figured out. Whether you think they are doing it well or not, they have a curriculum with academic goals for your child to accomplish each year that are usually published online. This is so that by the time your child graduates from high school, they have learned all the necessary skills and have retained the necessary knowledge to advance to their next stage in life.
The first reason you should not homeschool emphasized that you will now be completely in charge of this. There is a lot of help out there, but it remains a fact that YOU are the one who needs to make certain that not only is your child learning what is necessary but that you are also able to help them grow in that skill.
The skill that I will talk a lot about, simply because this is an area in which I am an expert is teaching your child to write. Not the physical forming of letters, but the way your child puts their ideas into paragraphs. This is a skill that needs to be grown.
Have you considered that you will actually be teaching your children? You will be assessing their work. I have spoken to many homeschool parents and it helps to be knowledgable in the subjects taught, however, what they have communicated to me is that it is more important to know how to research and be organized. As your child gets older and has more difficult subject matter, you can have them attend a local community college.
Knowing what your child should be learning each year, having the goals set aside by year, then by week will help you keep both yourself and your child on track to advance in the skills needed for the final graduation.
*Note: again you can get help. Many homeschoolers think they do not have to do a scope and sequence. I highly advise against this! You should do a scope a sequence year by year, then at the beginning of each year break it down by the week. If you look at many popular homeschooling programs, they do a scope and sequence for you. Even though they teach according to thematic units, your child would be learning specific skills in each unit.
3. Do you LOVE having time away from your children so you can be thrilled to hear all about their day?
This is me. I would love to get up in the morning with my boys. I would get the atomizer going with special essential oils to help them wake up and feel a sense of community. I would make their lunches, happily. I was chipper and positive as they came to a breakfast I had prepared for them; I wanted them to start the day on a good note.
Then I very merrily kissed them goodbye as they got on their relative busses and I restored my energy throughout the day. I was able to not put them first for seven hours. I could engage in phone calls, eat lunch when I wanted, or what I wanted, I could take care of household issues without worrying about their needs, etc.
When they arrived at home, I was delighted to see them. I had missed them. I was interested in what had happened in their lives. I was prepared to put them and their needs first. I did not have any chores I needed to accomplish. It was, literally, their time. This worked very well for me. Little did they know, but it worked very well for them as well. I was able to be an attentive mother who appeared to “live for her children” simply because my children left me each day so I could accomplish other tasks, interests and conversations.
When you homeschool, there is no break. Any of the “home” problems or issues that are occurring, naturally spill into the school environment. There is also no escape for your child. I ran camps for children in my non profit. I always encouraged parents to NOT sign up multiple siblings to the same camp. The reason is that children get used to their “place” in the family. At school they can be whoever they want to be. A younger child who is never the leader at home will get assigned to a group project and take the lead for that group. This break away from home works for both of you.
I am not against homeschooling. I favor children above all else. In our current tumultuous times, I believe that giving your child consistency is the best thing for your child. The public schools cannot offer consistency right now. I do believe, however that not everyone is up to the challenge of homeschooling their child. While public schools may be facing many obstacles, it is very important to put the needs of your child, emotional and academic, first. You many not be the perfect person to meet your child’s academic needs, I am a certified educator and I was not capable of homeschooling. There is no shame, this is just a fact.