Today on a VT homeschooling online group, a legislative homeschooling advocate posted the following:
I have a senator with a request to homeschoolers. He wants to know what it is that makes homeschooling work. Please give me your thoughts as to why you think it works. Most parents who choose to homeschool do not have a teacher’s license and almost no training in educating children.
So why does it work so well? If you can put your comments in a list format so it is easy for me to compile the comments I would be eternally grateful. I need this information as soon as possible.
So, what makes it work?
This was my response:
Pedagogy and teacher training is mostly about dealing with large
groups of children, which is why a teaching degree is not needed to
homeschool.Homeschooling works because
- Children are not forced to learn things that they are not
cognitively or developmentally able to learn at that time, just
because some bureaucrat decided that it needed to be learned at a
certain time.- Children can get rest, food, bathroom breaks, time off, a hug, fresh
air, or what ever they need, when they need it.- There is no peer pressure about being *too smart* or *too dumb* so
kids can comfortably work at their own pace.- Children do not have to sit at a desk for hours at a time.
- Parents can integrate the subjects into everyday life. Since parent
and teacher are one and the same, discussion is not limited to a 30-45
minute period M-F.- Parents can tailor the material to the child’s learning style.
I’m sure there are more.
What would you add to that list?
12:57 am on February 9th, 2008
Homeschooling works for us because:
- Our boys are allowed to learn at their own pace and according to their learning styles.
- They study together, perform experiments together, etc. At times, the older one “tutors” the younger one in lessons/subjects his little brother might be struggling with. This instills confidence and leadership in the one and trust and gratefulness in the other.
- Our schooling is not done solely at home…there is always something to learn every where we go. Life experiences and lessons are as much a part of our lives as the textbooks and paperwork we use on a daily basis.
- Our boys are around other homeschoolers on a regular basis (co-ops, fields trips, etc.). These are boys and girls of all ages, which allows for a more rounded socialization than being in a classroom with kids the same age day in and day out all throughout their school years.
- Our boys always have the teacher’s undivided attention and can have one-on-one interaction at all times.
Thanks for listening and for your concern.
Sincerely,
Nancy Smith
2:21 am on February 9th, 2008
Hmm…I think the more interesting question is why does public school work. Sometimes it really does. And there are indicators to predict who it will work for. The number one indicator isn’t even race, wealth or any other socio-economic factor. It is parental involvement. Even the NEA recognizes this:
http://www.nea.org/parents/index.html
I think the reason homeschooling works is because parents are involved. Whether they are doing everything right or not isn’t that important. They show their children daily that education is important and they personally are valued. That goes a lot further than we initially give credit for. And I think that is at the root of why someone with a GED can homeschool their children as well as a certified teacher could.
12:48 pm on February 22nd, 2008
Homeschooling works for us because:
-The student knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that the teacher has his best interest at heart
-”School” can be done when the student is most open to learning - my son hits his peak in the day right about 4:30 PM - anything before noon is NOT going to stick. That’s why you’ll sometimes find us playing math games at 8PM
-We can concentrate on one concept for a week if we need to… we don’t move on to division when multiplication is not completely understood
-Students learn HOW TO LEARN - by watching mom or dad study a topic to learn how to teach it.
-Students learn to appreciate the amount of work that goes into teaching a subject… my son has seen me spend hours preparing lapbook information for him to fill out and compile.
-Students learn how to apply what they’re learning to “Real Life”. Adding fractions? Double a recipe. Algebra? Paint a room or buy carpet. History? Teach a child history - and you’ll realize how many references there are to historical events in every day television. Spelling? Write a letter or spend time with the newspaper and find all the misspellings… (I admit, this is one of my favorite activities). Science? Can some tomatoes - observe what happens if you don’t get a good seal. LOL.
-Students learn more when they are comfortable - once you shut down the “internal dialogue” taking place in many Public School classrooms - you have a quiet mind that is receptive to learning. When my son was in public school he had a constant dialogue taking place in his mind, “Why can’t I remember? Did I remember my homework? Is she going to call on me? Why did she have to call me to the front of the room? What are my parents going to think when she calls them later? Why was Jimmy so mean to me this morning? I know that my pants are getting short, but we haven’t been able to get to the store… no, I’m not getting ready for a flood - I grew!” With none of these things to worry about… the mind can concentrate on what is being taught.
-Since we can learn by watching videos, we’re productive even on snow days, sick days, weekends and summers.
-We have not confined our “school” to a building - the world is our school and our playground and we are able to take full advantage of it because the lines are shorter when everyone else is in “school”.