Homeschool: The Good, the Bad, and the Awesome

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The Backstory:

If you had mentioned homeschooling to me ten years ago, I guarantee I was not thinking positive thoughts. I believed every stereotype, and every judgment, and likely would have laughed at the suggestion of pulling my kids out of public school to educate them at home. I am all about public schooling. Our kids have had fantastic teachers and, in general, a great experience through our local schools. Then the pandemic hit. I don't think that I need to explain how awful it was to have 4 kids in public school during that time. The teachers did the very best they could, but I could not handle keeping up with 3-5 teachers per child sending me multiple emails a day, zoom calls, and assignments. It was mass chaos! After only a couple of weeks, and nearly having a nervous breakdown, I pulled each of the kids out. We homeschooled for 1 1/2 years. There were ups and downs, but overall it was a great experience. Once schools were fully opened, the kids were eager to get back to friends. I enrolled them back into public school, with the understanding that if they ever wanted to homeschool again, that door was always open.

Home educating may look different for each family. Some focus on a sit-and-learn method, while others do more explorative learning or hands-on experience. The teaching style is catered to the child's needs.

How it's going now:

Fast-forward a couple of years. At this point, our youngest child was in the 1st grade. He was struggling with reading and writing. We weren't overly concerned, but aware of the delay. By the end of the year, I had met with his teacher where we discussed his progress. Here was the situation: he was behind, but not behind enough to warrant intervention. If he could only drop below the bar a little bit more, then we could get him extra help through the school. With that analyses, and other executive functioning skills we wanted to work on with him, we decided together that he would attend 2nd grade at home. At the beginning of his school year at home, I gave him a Language Arts evaluation to determine his proficiency and discovered that he was not quite at a 1st-grade reading level. We put him in a weekly tutoring program, I worked with him on Language Arts for an hour+ five days a week 1on1. We wanted to give him the best chance at success before falling below the bar. We also studied astronomy, space, plants, math, and so much more. We had fun! By the end of the year, we discussed it together and he wanted to continue homeschooling, so that's what we've been doing. While he still has a ways to go before he is fully caught up with his peers in public school, he has progressed by leaps and bounds. He is growing in confidence and hopeful to be on track by the end of this school year. (Note: The audience I suspect is most likely to read this will be public schooling families, so I use terms they'll be familiar with. "On track" isn't a thing for most homeschooling families. There is no "track" in homeschool, just a metaphorical playground of learning.)

Meanwhile, another one of our boys was struggling in some areas socially. At the time, he was being taught in a small classroom with 30+ other kiddos. We could see the daily breakdowns the moment he got home from school and knew he was overly stimulated and overwhelmed. The friend situation was not ideal and he seemed to complain about school more than giving any positive feedback. We sat him down and talked, asking him how he would feel about homeschooling again. He could see the fun I had with our youngest and was excited about giving it another go. The first few weeks of school were an adjustment, but he fit right into the routine with time. Amazingly, we noticed within a couple of months at home that his demeanor and attitude shifted for the better.

Considering the different opinions of education, I believe I have a unique viewpoint, being part of both the public school and homeschool communities. I observe the perspectives of two, often conflicting, groups of parents. With this experience, I aim to start a dialogue on the topic of homeschooling within the education discussion. Typically, public schools encounter less stigma, judgment, and misrepresentation compared to homeschooling, which is why I have decided to concentrate on the latter.

"Oh, So You Homeschool" Debunking Misconceptions

"Homeschooled Kids are Socially Awkward" Diving into the Fact

Homeschool & Government Aid

Homeschool vs. Public School