Home Schooling - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Having the option of home schooling is a great blessing that we Americans enjoy. I've been home schooling my children for 15 years. I have 7 children, ranging in age from 8 to 21. So far, I've home schooled them until they reach high school. Many people prefer to home school their children through elementary school. Others prefer to home school them through high school. A rare few actually home school themselves through college. There are good and bad sides to home schooling. In my opinion, the good outweighs the bad.

The first few years of home schooling were a learning experience for me. I gathered various pieces and parts of curriculum from libraries, friends, the public school book warehouse, and books I had at home. In those days, home schooling was not so popular and there were not as many resources or curriculum programs available. I have a friend who actually began writing curriculum for home schooling because there was such a void. She still writes, publishes and sells her curriculum. The standards for schooling were also much lower then. That was the era when American academia was in a downward slope, and we were no longer ranking at the top internationally. Kindergarteners only needed to know numbers to 20, the alphabet, the basic colors, as well as, how to cut and paste. Now kindergarteners are expected to know how to read phonetically, and do some basic adding and subtracting, before they continue on to the first grade.

One important element of home schooling, is finding a support network, especially in the beginning. We joined a local group of home schoolers who met together for monthly meetings, workshops and fellowships. We also went on fieldtrips together. Another great way to network is with home school co ops. We have participated in several co ops over the years. One co op was divided up into classes with different subjects and different ages. The parents taught the various classes, such as, sign language, geography, science labs, or recess. Each hour the children would switch to a different class. We met once a week for 4 hours. Another fun co op was our geography co op. Each week, each family chose a country to research and present to the group at the next meeting. We had "passports" that we stamped as we "visited" each country during the presentations. The presentations could be in any format the family preferred. Some made posters, and gave speeches; some did skits, or made maps. Some families brought in souvenirs or clothing from the country they were presenting. After the presentations, we had a snack break and shared food from each country. Then we broke up into age related classes, and learned more about map skills, or locations of continents, or countries. The children loved hanging with friends and also learned how to do a presentation in front of an audience.

As home schooling has grown, there have been many changes, and it has become more commonplace. Many local school districts have enjoyed incorporating home schoolers into their athletic, music, and art programs. My children have played soccer and track with the local schools. One of my daughters, who has learning disabilities, was allowed to take 4 classes in high school, the first year, to make the transition into public school a little easier. I know others who have participated in only one or two classes, or in the band or choir program. So, families can combine home schooling and public schooling into their educational program. My high school daughter is now dual enrolled at the local community college. Dual enrollment means that she does some schooling at home and some at the college (while she earns college credit for free!). We know of several high school age home schoolers who earned enough college credits in the dual enrollment program to transfer into a university as a college junior.

I still home school my three youngest. They are now enrolled in a Public Virtual School. It is called Florida Virtual Academy. We have a teacher that oversees our program and conferences with us every 2 weeks over the phone. It is a good program for me because it keeps me on task, as well as the children.

Some parents who home school find it difficult to stay on task. That is the bad side of home schooling. At home, there are always interruptions. The phone rings, the fridge calls, the laundry piles beckon, and the doctor and dental appointments seem unending. It is so easy to sit at the computer and read email, and do fun research, and disregard the necessary subjects. I have friends who are very organized and complete their home school programs early in the day. But for me, it is hard to rise early and get right to business. There have been days that we don't start until 11 or 12. Of course, we have the flexibility of working all day, or even all night! I do love the freedom, but I have finally realized that I work best as a home school mom when I am working within a structured program. Each home school family has to find out what works best for them.

All in all, home schooling has been a positive experience for us. I have 2 children who are now in college on scholarships. One has 85% of his expenses paid for with academic and athletic scholarship money at Covenant College, and the other has a full scholarship at Florida State University. They both performed well when they transitioned into high school, and made good friends and good grades. Hopefully, the rest of my children will follow in their footsteps.