How Will You Home School Your Child?

Questions from an Ex-Home Schooled Student

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Dec 22, 2005 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

No, the public school system isn't perfect - far from it, in fact. But before you decide to pull your kids out of school and start teaching them yourself, you must evaluate your own ability to provide everything they need.

First and foremost, do you have the time to dedicate to your child's education? To be specific, do you have seven hours each day to sit by and instruct your child to the fullest?

If you intend to home school your child, you must do more than simply drop a pile of books in front of him or her and expect the work to get done. Home schooling is about more than just getting your precious child out of the claws of public educators and keeping him or her away from the "bad" influence of other children. You must be willing to give up your days to focus on your child and nothing but your child. Don't expect just because you're at home, you can just help your child out whenever you feel like it.

If you make the decision to home school your child, then your child must become your one and only priority. If you can't or don't want to make that commitment, then do your child a favor and leave him or her in school, where people who can make that commitment will do so.

Now, are you even qualified to teach your child? A high school diploma doesn't carry a lot of weight after ten or fifteen years. You may have graduated, but do you remember any of the work you did? Do you remember the intricacies of government and American history? Do you remember all the names for parts of the human anatomy? Do you remember the advanced rules of English grammar? Do you remember how to solve complex algebraic equations? If not, how do you plan to teach this material?

If you plan to use your child's textbooks to re-learn alongside him or her, think again. Your child has to learn and complete the school year's curriculum in the same time and at the same pace as the children in public school. If his or her education is delayed while you work to remember all the things you forgot ten days after your own high school graduation, you'll only be creating a set-back in your child's progress. Study up before you yank your kid out of school. Take some refresher courses and make sure you know how to do it before you try telling your child what to do.

Arguably the most important consideration is this: How do you plan to socialize your child? School provides children their main source of meeting new people, learning the social ropes, and discovering their own identity in relation to others. And you're planning to take your kids out of that environment.

So how are you going to make up for it? You can't keep your child locked away at home all day every day until graduation. You'll only foster an isolated, socially inept introvert who will have no idea of where to go or what to do upon reaching age 18. Kids need other kids. It's unhealthy to keep them away from social influence.

So, how are you going to do it? Are you going to enroll your child in after-school programs or clubs? Are you going to put your kid in sports? Are you going to sacrifice the rest of your time to chauffer your child around to activities where he or she can interact with other children? If not, you'll be doing your child much more harm than good by removing him or her from public school. Imagine a sheltered outcast with no friends, no knowledge of the outside world, and no capacity for learning how to deal with others. Do you want that to be your child?

Whether you like it or not, your child will become an adult, and he or she will need to know how to interact with the rest of the human race. Are you prepared to give up your life to provide that opportunity?

In short, focus on yourself and your own abilities to take on an extra role as teacher before you make any rash decisions about home schooling your children. If you jump in over your head, your child will be the one to suffer. Take it from someone who was homeschooled for seven years before gladly re-entering the public school system - home schooling must be approached with caution.

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