I thought about the misconceptions of homeschooling your kids.
1. Only really religious parents home school and they do it because they want to brainwash their kids into their cult.
Nope. I am neither really religious nor really anti religious. I am very fence. And I believe that my kids should have the freedom to decide what they believe. So... Not all homeschooling parents are even religious at all. Not to say that there aren't any of those cult varieties out there, growing up the next crop of followers who don't know anything BUT the cult... But I haven't met any. You can (and some do) expound upon the lessons offered and supplement with religious content but you still have to learn state required information. Anything religious you want to add... That is all on you...
On the same token, there was only a brief passage on Sojourner Truth when my 'adopted' daughter and youngest son went through that portion of history... and I really liked her. So we went over it all. We were finding video and I read the 'Ain't I A Woman' speech to them... because of the kind of school it was, I was able to make sure they understood WHY I thought she was cool. I enjoy that freedom. :)
2. All homeschooling kids are learning off archaic books/supercomputers/a piece of slate.
Again, nuh uh. My kids are using the same books by the same publisher that our local brick and mortar school are using. And I am 'homeschooling' by having my kids attend a charter school that happens to be based online. It is good stuff. Same books as public but we are doing school in the comfort of our home and wearing pjs. Fun. :)
3. Homeschooling is a lot of work.
It is quite a bit of work. I have to help them and make sure they understand what they are learning... but I did that when they were in public school. I have them around the house, so I get to spend more time with them... but that DOES mean that they are doing the not-touching-me game ALL the time and not just after 4pm. But a lot of work... Not really. The school creates the curriculum. There is an teacher with a cyberclassroom that meets with my kid and teaches them lessons (just like public but one-on-one.) The school plans the field trips and homework... I just see that it gets done and they don't plagiarize.
4. You have to be really smart to home school.
No, you don't. You have to not be a rock with a pulse, yes. But I have met just as many stupid parents and brilliant ones on the cyber school trips as I did at the public school ones. People are people. Don't ever assume anyone is smarter than you or not as smart. It will exclude you from too many cool things and really... the who and whats of people never changes. Only the view behind them.
5. You have to be really patient to work with your kids every day.
I think they would disagree.
6. But you are a writer. You have all kinds of time to do this. I work.
Yup. I am a writer. That means I spend gargantuan amounts of time clicking away at my computer. That means, some nights while you are sleeping, I am clicking away at a computer until my eyes scream. That doesn't mean there are more than 24 hours in my day, either. We all have the same allotment of hours in a day. I just feel that their education is something I have to take some time out for. If that is not what you feel you want to do, fine. But the illusion that I have more time to potter about the house and was so bored that I am using this to fill my day... yeah, I think my friends and family can attest to the fact that I am booked A LOT and that I am usually running around like a headless chicken trying to get everything squashed into today... just like you.
7. Homeschooled kids lack the important socialization they get in a brick and mortar school.
Maybe this was true when people lived a two day cart ride from civilization. But today, yeah. I can't become a hermit if I TRIED (and I have...it didn't work.) My kids have friends and they hang out with them. My kids go on a couple of group trips a month. They have things they are involved with. But their school is online so during the school day, they only talk to people online and each other and me. This does not mean that they are cut off from society. 6-8 hours does not a day make. The rest of the time, they are around people. I don't worry that they will lack important peer-to-peer relations at some later age. And my kids probably travel more than the average kid. So they experience lots of stuff. Because that is what I feel is important. Sometimes I WISH they were less social... It would certainly clear up quite a bit of the time that I spend driving them here or there...
8. Homeschooled kids aren't ready for the college experience when the time comes...
Since charter schools offer the same PSEO (Post Secondary Education) as public, this is a flat out lie. Kids going to online schools go at their own pace. They don't have to wait for the whole classroom to get a topic. If they get it, they can move on. If they don't, they can spend however much time is needed to get it. Online school kids have just as much chance of finishing their highschool required education and then taking two years of college for free as public... if not more.
And since most colleges now offer online classes, if anything, they may be more prepared for the educational experience of today's college than your public schooled kid. Seriously.
9. But Sally would miss her friends.
Do you think that by online schooling your child, they fall off the map or something? If they are her friends now, why would homeschooling stop that? Today we have facebook, cars, email... Why on earth does everyone assume that by pulling their child out of public school, they stop existing? I was frustrated with the public school and the education that my kids were getting. I am with Fredrick Douglas insofar as I feel knowledge gives you the keys to freedom. If my kids are given enough ammo in the world of booksmarts, they can do ANYTHING. So, yeah, maybe I am spending more of my time working with them, but to me--WORTH IT. If it isn't a big deal to you or if you really like your kids school... great!! But there isn't a magical, impenetrable fortress that springs up around your house to keep the outside world from your kids if you decide that learning at home is good.
They do, however, have less of the garbled nonsense that kids were filling their heads with on the bus and other free times in the public school. I can't say this is a negative and keep a straight face, though.
10. Well, you can afford the school and books and internet. We can't.
Any family can afford any THING they choose to put the money into. Maybe you have a big screen HDTV. I don't. Good for you.
The online schools provide your books, some of your science/gym/art supplies, and a computer. They also give you an internet subsidy to help pay for the computer. There are still expenses. However, your public school kid needs supply fees. They need special 'school clothes' rather than just the ones you bought because they grew. They need a backpack. They need supplies...
Yours isn't free either, you are just accustomed to paying for it. So if charter schooling your kid and having them at home all sounds swell to you, don't let the idea that only rich people can afford to do it stop you. It is the same as everything else. If you want it, you will make it happen.
Now, all this being said, am I telling you to pull your kid out of public schools and bring them home?
NOPE.
My middle kid is still IN public schools. He likes the band. He likes his friends. He is happy there. My other two kids weren't doing well. I pulled them out. That was my very personal decision. But I still think there are a lot of people who don't understand what we are doing and then question us. This was just a clearing up of a lot of the misconceptions I have heard and I am not sure where they all started...
But they are pretty funny from my point of view...
Great post! I don't know much about home schooling so I admit that I had some of these misconceptions.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I wasn't slamming anyone for not knowing. Just attempting to clear up a lot of the questions that I hear. Glad you enjoyed it :)
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