What
Is Homeschooling And How Do I know If It's Right For My Family? by:
Anita
York
Do you know what these famous people
have in common?
-
Alexander Graham Bell
-
George Patton
-
Albert Einstein
-
Benjamin Franklin
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Winston Churchill
-
Agatha Christie
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George Bernard Shaw
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Will Rogers
If you guessed that they were all homeschoolers,
you'd be correct. This is a very short list of famous and successful people
who were educated at home. If you would like to expand this list, do a
search on the Internet for ?famous homeschoolers.? There are many websites
that list these people and some provide detailed biographies. There is
even a book called, aptly, ?Famous Homeschoolers,? by Nancy and Malcolm
Plant. (http://www.fun-books.com/specials.htm)
The point here is to get into the
mindset that people can be educated and become successful adults without
attending public school. And because I can almost ?hear? what you are thinking,
no, it is not necessary to have a high school diploma to go to college.
So what is homeschooling? In the
broadest sense, homeschooling is educating your children at home. You,
as parent, become teacher. Parents homeschool for more reasons than you
can imagine. Some want to avoid having their children exposed to violence
and peer pressure. Some homeschool so that they can make sure their children's
education adheres to their religious beliefs. Some live a different lifestyle?perhaps
they travel a lot?and want their children's schooling to be flexible enough
to fit around that life style. And some, like me, simply enjoy being with
their children. They don't want the public school to interrupt and weaken
the parent/child bond that they have been working hard to create for the
first five years of their child's life.
Just as there are many reasons to
homeschool, there are many methods of homeschooling. All the way from ?un-schooling?
(learning by doing, learning from life, not using textbook type materials)
to ?school at home? (using textbooks at desks set up in a schoolroom at
home) and everything in between. It's very easy to find hundreds of homeschool
Websites by using a search engine, but just to get you started, try:
Jon's Homeschool Resource Page http://www.midnightbeach.com/hs/
When I decided to write this article,
I thought hard about what I could offer that wasn't being displayed on
thousands of Websites on the Internet. I realized that the only thing I
have to offer anyone interested in homeschooling is?my experience. So everything
in the article below comes from my fifteen years of experience homeschooling
my four youngest children. I hope it is of some use to you.
Deciding to homeschool your child
may be one of the most important decisions you ever make as a parent, and
it will take a lot of thought and soul searching. To the newcomer, it may
seem impossible, overwhelming and very, very lonely. But like most huge
obstacles, once it's broken down into smaller pieces, it becomes manageable.
We'll take it one step at a time, in small enough chunks to get a hold
of. So, if you're game, roll up your sleeves and let's get to work figuring
out if homeschooling is for you and your child.
First things first. Organization
is the key. Get a three-ring binder (homeschooling parent's LOVE three-ring
binders) and put a label on the front. (If you've made the transition to
digital record keeping, you can just start a folder on the computer. But
it's not as much fun.) Label it something serious, like ? My Homeschooling
Plans? or ?Homeschooling Thoughts.? Put some paper in the binder, find
a really comfortable ink pen, and sit down somewhere quiet.
Ready? Good. Now, let's get started.
What are your reasons for considering
homeschooling? Even if you haven't actually made the decision to homeschool,
the fact that you are here reading this article says you are curious. Perhaps
you honestly don't know the answer yet?and that's ok. The remainder of
this article is going to try to help you start to find those answers.
Homeschooling is legal in all 50
states, but each state has it's own set of laws that must be followed.
Compulsory (how I hate that word) education here in Washington State starts
at the age of 8. Even though I had been homeschooling him from birth, to
stay legal once my son reached 8-years old, I was required to become ?certified.?
That meant I either had to have two years of college education, or take
a ?certification class.? I met this requirement by taking an independent
correspondence class, during which I was asked to put on paper my goals,
philosophies and reasons for wanting to homeschool. I'd like to help you
do the same right now.
Start a page--either the ?tree? kind
or a file on the computer?and title it ?My Educational Beliefs.? List what
personal beliefs you have about education?especially the education of your
own children. Get as detailed as you can here--the value is in the thinking
process behind the list. Take your time, I'm in no hurry.
As an example to get you started,
I'm going to share with you what I wrote on my list nine years ago.
My Educational Beliefs
1. I believe my child's attitude
about learning should be:
One of continual curiosity and seeking
of knowledge.
2. I believe my child's learning
should lead towards a lifestyle that is:
Rural, physically active, creative.
3. I believe these basic values should
be part of my child's learning:
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Respect for others
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Loyalty to family and friends
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Honesty
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Generosity
4. I believe children learn best:
Through hands-on learning experience,
reading, workbooks.
5. I believe a teacher should:
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Provide side-by-side assistance and
direction.
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Interact with the child.
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Provide the structure within which the
child may explore, experiment, study and achieve.
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Provide a good example of excitement
in learning.
6. Other beliefs:
I believe my child should grow up
to be self-reliant and occupationally secure in a field of high interest
to them.
Now, that wasn't too bad, was it?
Don't give up on this until you have at least something written down, but
don't agonize over it either. You can come back to it later if need be.
Next, start a paper or file titled ?Life Goals For My Child.?
I want you to write down what kind
of person you envision your child being as an adult. What are your hopes
and dreams for him/her? What educational gifts do you hope to be able to
help them find that will serve them their entire lives?
I'll share mine from 9 years ago,
just to get you started.
?Life Goals for My Child?
7. Be literate.
8. Be self-reliant.
9. Compete well in their chosen field
of occupation.
10. Appreciate art, music, and literature.
11. Be creative.
12. Be inventive and resourceful.
13. Be healthy, mentally and physically.
14. Co-operate with others.
15. Maintain a strong sense of self-worth.
16. Maintain a life-long curiosity,
seeking knowledge as a way of life.
17. Look to the future with a sense
of excitement and adventure.
For the last exercise, start a third
paper titled: Why We (I) Am Going To Homeschool Our (My) Child? (Yes, single
parents can successfully homeschool their children.) You may not have all
the answers for this one yet either, but just get something down. All of
these ideas and beliefs can start getting mixed in with other people's
opinions once we start educating ourselves in depth about homeschooling,
and you'll be glad you have these lists tucked away.
Okay, here's my old list:
Why We Are Going To Homeschool Our
Children
Our family consists of myself, my
husband, a 21-year-old daughter, a 19-year-old daughter, an 8-year-old
son, a 7-year-old daughter, a 4-½ year old daughter, and an unborn
son due in 6 months. My two oldest daughters (from my first marriage) were
in the public school system for the whole of their educational years. It
is largely a dissatisfaction with the public schools and all it's attendant
problems (academic, social, and moral) that has caused us to make the decision
to homeschool our youngest children. We decided, even before our 8-year-old
son (the oldest of the younger set) was born, that somehow we would find
an alternative to the public schools.
We want to homeschool for some additional
reasons. We want added closeness with our children. We want more independence,
greater control over our family's moral and philosophical values, and better
awareness of our children's interests.
We dislike the thought of any government
agency--no matter how well meaning--directing the raising of our children.
We intend to homeschool because we
do not want our children's academic, social, and moral education taken
out of our hands.
We believe these areas of a child's
education are a parent's responsibility, right, and pleasure.
I'd like you to spend some time going
over these lists until you feel they accurately reflect your feelings about
homeschooling your children. When I did these exercises, I had only a vague
idea about why I wanted to homeschool and what kind of education I wanted
to help my children acquire. These simple exercises helped me to ?solidify?
my ideas and provided the basis for our future homeschooling methods. I
hope they help you to do the same. Keep these lists in a safe place and
add to them as you explore the possibility of homeschooling your child.
About The Author
Anita York has been homeschooling
her four youngest children for the past 15 years. In addition, she teaches
other homeschoolers at two resource centers, and is a contracted Senior
Editor, Editor, Copyeditor and Manuscript Screener for three publishers.
Her book "You CAN Homeschool Your
Child" is available from One-At-A-Time Enterprises, the business she started
with her homeschoolers. Available at: http://www.L7S.net/Item.php?ID=YC000.
Her home business, EagleMountain
Reading, Writing, and Research Services http://www.L7s.net/eaglemountain
provides a variety of services geared towards helping beginning as well
as established authors with various aspects of the writing process.
support@L7S.net
Courtesy of http://www.ArticleCity.com/
