What Homeschooling Isn’t
Many people make assumptions about what homeschooling is like. These are people who have never actually done it for themselves, nor have they seen what it is like. A lot of people have asked us questions, or made quite silly statements, that have proven this to us time and time again.
Homeschooling isn’t hard.
At the very least, it is as difficult as you make it. We feel it is an extension of our parenting, and after 15 years, we think we might have a good idea as to what that is all about. Then again, we also have a two year old. As far as the educating part goes, I still remember my abcs and my 1-2-3s just as well as the next person. Anything else, I can find in a book. Which is how I have taught my children to learn things, quite independently from me.
Homeschooling does not require vast amounts of patience.
I am one of the most impatient people I know, just ask my husband. Since we’ve already established in the previous paragraph that the children, at least occasionally, do some learning without me, I’m left wondering what I need the extra patience for. Is it to put up with my kids all day? Maybe that’s it. Actually, I like my kids most days. I like having them around. Sure, we have our days when we are ready to send each other packing, but that would happen if they were home all day or not. If we find the work boring or monotonous, something I think I might need patience for, then we change it. It’s that simple.
Homeschooling does not require a lot of time.
A big assumption a lot of people have is that we have everything just like school, except at home. I hardly know anyone who does. That’s the beauty of homeschooling, it does not have to be like anything else. It is all about working for your family. It is also an attitude shift in thinking that learning happens whether we want it or know it. A trip to the grocery store, comparing prices, reading labels and calculating sales tax is a learning experience. And I might add, it is something far more able to stick in the minds of little people than if they had to do the same sort of questions on a photocopied paper surrounded by their peers.
We do have some workbooks and textbooks, but these things take up a small fraction of the day. After all, there is no waiting for the rest of the class to catch up, we can read ahead when we are done, there are no lines to wait in, no hands to raise to go to the bathroom (we can take our book with us if it is really interesting) and if we have mastered the material, we can skip right over the busy work and “extra†questions. If we want to spend five hours on an interesting science project we can. But if we want to spend as little as fifteen minutes, that’s fine too.
When you are first starting out, there is packaged curriculum you can buy, where they are the ones who have already gone to the trouble of figuring out what your child “should†know at this particular grade level, and all you really have to do is make sure they do the work correctly. Eventually, you may want to alter this to your family and their needs and interests, but even this does not take up as much time as some people do with 2 to 4 hours of homework every night. Until we reached high school, all work is done by lunch time. And even then, on high work load days, it doesn’t take much past lunch anyway.
Homeschooling isn’t something you need a degree for.
A lot of people assume I have a degree in education, or that I have a lot of education under my belt. After all, I must be smart to teach all my kids these things. Well, I won’t argue with the smart part. 
I do a lot of reading myself.
I don’t have a degree of any kind. I got good grades in school when I felt like working for them. When people ask if I am a teacher, I have to pause. I know what they mean, but I don’t think they’d know what I mean if I answered yes.
I have taught my children to read, yes. I’ve taught them to tie their shoes, dress themselves, feed themselves, count to 100 and name all their colours. Doesn’t that make me a teacher anyway?
If there was something they wanted to learn that I didn’t already know (and trust me, I am not an instant bok of knowledge) I taught them how to look up the information, and at first we would do it together.
Now the fact that my son has an intimate and thorough knowledge of the Carthaginians and their battles does not mean I have an equal knowledge of the same subjects. In fact, I haven’t two clues about it. He learned it all on his own, because he was interested and because he had the drive and the freedom to pursue that interest.
Homeschooling isn’t expensive.
Like anything else, you can spend as much and as little money on curriculum and extras as you have. Unlike other goods, the various curriculums and books out there do not always follow the “you get what you pay for” creed. I make extensive use of yard sales, used books stores, the library and the internet. Many people who know me, and some who don’t, have given me old texts and workbooks. We take what we can use and pass on the rest. After all, how much has ancient history (or your times tables) changed since that book from the 50’s was printed?
Remember, information can be free if you know where to look and who to ask.
Homeschooling isn’t final.
Some people think that since we are homeschooling, that our children will never enter the public school system, and certainly never go to college or university. Actually, we did send Addison to public school for grades 6 and 7, for a variety of reasons I’ll get into later. It was a great eye-opener for him, as well as confirming for us that homeschooling was indeed a right choice. We had no problems enrolling him in school, and even less in taking him back out. I doubt our girls will set foot in a public school, unless something drastic happens and one of us can’t stay home with them.
More and more universities are actively seeking home schooled students, and those who aren’t usually have some alternative enrollment options such as attending after you are 21.
My children will also receive a diploma. It will be made up and signed by me, though.
Homeschooling isn’t just for rich white folks or fundamentalists.
When it first started, homeschooling was mainly done by middle class white Christians, but it has never been exclusive. It is still predominately done by white families, but minority groups are slowly coming to the understanding that it is a choice available to them as well. The statistics hold up for themselves. It has been proven that children of any ethnic background can maintain the same high level of achievement on test scores as their white counterparts. Compare that to the public school record, where minorities consistently under-perform on standardized tests, and even make up significant portions of Special Ed classes. Makes me wonder what is really going on.
Across all cultures, all religions (or lack thereof), all family status, all income levels, homeschooling parents have one thing in common: the desire for a better education for their children.
And to finish off, homeschooling isn’t for everyone.
Yes, I really do believe there are some families that should not homeschool. I have seen a lot of families interested for the wrong reasons (it looks good, it’s the “Christian†thing to do etc..), and I have seen families that really shouldn’t spend a lot of time together. Being together all day tends to exacerbate any problems the family may have. Just because you can do something, doesn’t always mean you should. Homeschooling is just one choice in an ever-growing list of options available to today’s parents.
We happen to think it is perfect for our family.
3 Responses to “What Homeschooling Isn’t”
Great article Andrea! I think my mother in law needs to read it:-)
Fantastic article! I’ll be passing this on to the family and friends when the questioning starts soon.
great article!