Why We Homeschool

Homeschooling never entered my mind as a reasonable education alternative before Jack was about 2. My best friend in elementary school was homeschooled and their family was the stereotypical 80's homeschoolers. Ultra-conservative and religious, they eschewed all things secular. TV, public school, music, books - all existed with the purpose of leading their children astray. Halloween was right out.

That was the view I had of homeschooling - extremists on the fringe of society. After we moved to our current town, though, I was dissatisfied with some things about the local school district. Since we don't live in Finland though, there's not a whole lot of other choices. Ether you spend the money and time (driving into the city) on a private school or you homeschool. Matt was the one who suggested it and I totally blew it off at first. I was not going to be one of those people, subjecting my poor kids to such an isolated and low level education. But Matt told me to at least research it, since I do that ad nauseam with most everything. The more I read, the more I liked it. And now I can't imagine not doing it.

Every homeschooling blog I've ever read has a post on why they homeschool. Because I know you were just burning up with desire to know why, I will tell you. In fact, I will list them. It's more schoolish that way.

Time

This is probably the biggest reason. I get time with my kids. My mom has a saying about raising kids - the days are long but the years are short. Every parent who has been a parent for more than a month will nod their head. I try to keep that in mind when the days are an endless cycle of schoolwork and housework, diaper changes and grocery trips. It's like Groundhog Day but with more laundry. And less Bill Murray.

I have time to really know them, to know how they think and what makes them sad and what makes them happy and what makes them worry. Every time they have a question, whether it's about the size of the sun or  why people die, I'm here to figure it out with them.

In regards to school, it can take as long or as short as they need. Finished with math in 10 minutes - understand it well? It's done for the day. Move on to something else. Enjoying your math (yes, it happens - I am not making this up), go ahead to the next lesson. And the next if you'd like. There are no bells to follow, no schedule to keep (well, there's a loose one), no waiting on other people to finish up. What's the statistic? Out of every 60 minutes in school, only 10 is actually spent on actual teaching/learning. The rest is lost in class change, roll call, classroom discipline (I know, it's called management), etc. This way we can get lessons done and spend time doing other things. Whether it's swimming or building a fort or making pizza or playing Uno or reading about Mozart, we have the time.

It's like staying home when your kids are little (except homeschooling is like staying at home on steroids).  It's tough. It can be a sacrifice of money, of sanity. But I remember what my mom says and store up memories of this time, the enjoyable and the stressful, the mundane and the thrilling because I know it will be over much too soon.

Individualized Education

One of the reasons homeschoolers do so well on tests and such is simply because of the nature of homeschooling. All of it is tailored to suit a family or a child's needs/interests. Homeschoolers do well regardless of the parent's level of education or if the parent is a certified teacher or not. Anytime you have a 1:1 (or possibly two if you have siblings similar in age), it's going to be better. 

When Jack was a toddler, I actually had 2 or 3 incidences of public school elementary teachers tell me to homeschool him.  My oldest just has unusual interests for a 7 year old and homeschooling allows him the freedom to pursue those. He loves human anatomy (especially the heart) and physics. He's seen just about every open heart surgery to be found on youtube. He can be who he is and do what he loves without fear of being teased for not liking Pokemon or Star Wars or something. Kate would probably do just fine in public school. But there is something to be said for pursuing your passion, whether it is heart surgery or Winnie the Pooh stories. I want my kids to love learning, to figure out who they are, even if it goes against the current of what is popular (on that note, I would be happy if they went against the current in most cases). If a reading program doesn't work, let's figure out what does. Or shelve it for awhile. If they want to learn Greek or sewing or chart constellations, I will happily oblige.


Academics

I would call our homeschool philosophy classical eclectic. I have done quite literally years of research on homeschooling, the whys of it (and why nots) and the different methods and curriculum. One of the best things about homeschooling is the flexibility to choose. I like the classical method (ala Well Trained Mind) and will implement a 4 year history cycle. There are so many, many resources out there. Math can be done with worksheets, textbooks, online courses, dvds, manipulatives or any combination that can be made whenever it's needed. It will be a rigorous curriculum that requires mastery. Classical literature, chronological history, foreign language and logic and debate will be part of daily routine. To be reasonable and thoughtful in pursuit of knowledge is the goal.

Rage Against the Machine (or Stick it to the Man)

I can't decide which phrase I like best for this. I simply don't like the public school bureaucracy. When we lived in Kodiak, I taught preschool and really enjoyed it. I was (and am) fascinated with education. But not the system of it, the process of it. I love how people learn and process information. I got my AA and began my Bachelor's for elementary ed. Somewhere along the way, though, I became disenchanted with the whole thing. A big reason was probably that I took my classes with adults who were already teachers and just needed continuing education credits. Most of them loved the teaching kids part but everything else that went along with it burned them out. We spent a lot of time in class debating certain funding issues or government policies or griping about red tape and school district big wigs. The shine was coming off my love of learning. There are lots of fabulous teachers that simply take that stuff in stride and love what they do no matter what or how long they've been doing it. And perhaps I just got a few overly bitter batches of peers. But I remember sitting in class one evening, listening to such a conversation, and thinking "This could be me in 30 years." And it was sobering. Homeschooling, in a lot of ways, is learning plain and simple. Of course, parents can make it like a mini-school and that's ok but for me, I just want them to learn. Simple. Without all the fuss and stress of testing a 5 year old, without the pressure to make the perfect cursive Q over and over for months on end (which I never made after third grade, thank you very much). Education just doesn't need to be bogged down with so much stuff.  Here's an article that illustrates some problems with a government run education system:

http://www.schoolchoices.org/roo/harris1.htm


Faith

As you can see from above, I don't really homeschool for religious reasons. Sure, I sometimes bake my own bread and we don't have cable but we're just not that kind of homeschooling family. A lot of people in our area do homeschool for religious reasons and that's ok. But I don't view public school as evil or trying to brainwash my kids. Sure, it makes it easier in some ways as the curriculum goes through me and there's very little peer pressure issues but that's not the big picture. Following God is not as cut and dried as choosing to homeschool or not watching tv or choosing Chronicles of Narnia over Harry Potter (that's its own post). Faith is part of who were are as a family, regardless of how we educate. Homeschooling does give us the opportunity to weave what we believe into everyday life. Every book, every textbook, every video is a chance to discuss the information. Sometimes the views coincide with what we believe, sometimes they don't. We're able to talk about it, to debate, to work through ideas and compare them. In this way, the foundation of our lives is continually reinforced. 

Finally, I homeschool for selfish reasons. Not only to I want to be around my kids a lot, I am enjoying this process for my own education. I went to fairly good public schools and learned all the usual things. But there were so many things I was interested in but didn't have the time to spend on them.  World War II, the Great Depression, Roman History, Elizabethan England, anorexia, and Japanese samurai are all things I remember learning about on my own, in little chunks of time spent at the school library during breaks. When I got older and was a college student and a married adult, I truly enjoyed just being able to learn on my own. No tests, no time restraint and moving on to the next subject in two weeks, just learning. I've learned so many interesting things in the past 12 years since graduation. I'm all aflutter with anticipation for what can be discovered next. And then next. And on and on.




For a better written list of reasons, here's the link to an article written by homeschooling dad Greg Sherman (he and his wife were public school teachers):

http://www.homeeducator.com/FamilyTimes/articles/10-3article1.htm