How to Take Responsibility of Your Child's Education

In a recent article entitled, Think Like a Homeschooler, I discussed the steps a parent should take to give a public schooled child homeschooled success. In this article, I will go into depth on how to take responsibility of your child's education; the first step of thinking like a homeschooler.

In taking responsibility of your child's education, you are removing the public school from their usurped role of being in charge of your child, and putting them back in the secondary role they were meant to take. This does not mean that you need to fight against the school system, but you do need to put your own agenda before theirs. This may occasionally cause friction at school, but that is to be expected when you presume to act as if you are the parent of your child.

With that said, here are some tips on taking responsibility of your child's education:

Become familiar with the scope and sequence of curriculum for your child's grade level. You can find this information by going to the school districts website. It will be difficult to read at first, but over time it will begin to make sense. If you have an educator in your family, you can ask them to help you decipher it.

Check the scope an sequence of your child's grade level to what they are actually learning in school. Keep track of your child's scope and sequence and syllabi from the school. Place them in a binder or on a bulletin board. Keep track of what your child is learning, what he has learned, and what he will learn in the future.

Ask questions if the child is not learning everything required for the year, especially if it is on the syllabus, but then skipped. The teacher may have decided to re-arrange order, but they will most likely have run out of teaching time due to testing.

Whether the child has homework or not, review what was learned during the day. If they have mastered the material, give them a head start on what they will be learning next in school.

Never blame the teacher or school (especially in the child's earshot) for short-comings in your child's education. As the parent, you are responsible to make sure your child has been taught and to fill in the gaps. Understand that if the child is not successful, if will not affect the teacher's future, but the future of the child, and possibly your entire family.