Five reasons for homeschooling from an educator’s perspective

I have yet to delve into the world of homeschooling; However, the more I do research, the more I realize that homeschooling my daughters can be in the best interest for them in the long run. I have been a part of the public education community in various capacities for the past fourteen years, and I can honestly say that the public school system continues to leave me searching for alternatives, and quickly.

There are a myriad of reasons why parents choose to homeschool their children, and many public school educators are distancing their children from the public system to an extremely private one: homeschooling. If you are looking for reasons to homeschool, please turn in your homework (yes, pun intended) and make sure this is something you can handle. An education is nothing to mess with.

There are several factors to consider when choosing to venture into unfamiliar territory. The first and foremost being can you bear to be with your children literally twenty-four seven? If in doubt for any reason, do not homeschool. At least your child would get an education, albeit not a very good one, if he continues within the public school system.

Here is a list of my top five reasons why homeschooling may be our next step.

Bullying in schools has become more common than in years past. With the advent of social media sites and texting / cell phones, cyberbullying has displaced face-to-face confrontations and this, in turn, has caused more unlikely bullies to raise their ugly heads above society. And since the old-fashioned bullying still takes place, some children in school are not safe, whether in the school building or at home. While many schools say they are taking a tough stance on bullying, our Senate leaders think the bullying stance is too tough on bullies. In accordance with a recent amendment to SB 3004, school officials may no longer use suspension or expulsion as a form of punishment until physical harm occurs, and; then, the bully can only receive three days of absence and cannot suffer academically due to their bullying. I’m starting to think that this should be my number one reason.

Socialization is often a strong argument by idiots against homeschooling your child. However, with all the work that schools are cramming into a school day, socialization is frowned upon in schools. It is so bad that many schools do not allow students to socialize or talk during lunch. The school claims kids won’t eat if they talk, but hey, isn’t that their decision? A couple of skipped meals and then struggling throughout the day may be just what a child needs to learn to combine eating and socializing. And what socialization skills do schools really teach beyond kindergarten? Students cannot speak in class. In fact, every time my high school daughter got into trouble at school it was for talking and / or socializing. There, there are certain socialization lessons that need to be taught that did not exist twenty years ago. How to teach students how to carry on a conversation without having a cell phone glued to their fingertips. Oh wait, I forgot that cell phones are banned in most schools.

The curriculum in America’s schools is being revised at an alarming rate, and in a way, I think it will do a lot more harm than it will help. Many schools across the country, for whatever reason, are buying Common Core. Yes, the common core will help schools meet or exceed their numbers on standardized tests, maybe. But the most important thing is to take creativity away from good teachers and create little drones that do not think, cannot and will not think or do for themselves. I was recently in a seventh grade classroom where the students were really expecting me to read the story to them so they could answer the questions in the study guide. Humina what? I am a former English teacher who loves the classics. However, we are not students of this advanced technological age who can read or understand Shakespeare, Dickens, and all the other ancient authors that are still being taught in school. Yes, there are valuable lessons in your works. Yes, teachers should use examples of these works when teaching concepts or writing. But forcing a child to read Romeo and Juliet just because the two main characters are roughly the same age is ridiculous. There are cool things that can teach the same lessons and be more relatable with today’s youth.

Money is another big issue when it comes to homeschooling your children, and I wish this reason was really as simple as saving some money. Let’s face it, education has become a question of money. More money is being injected to feed the children. More money is being spent on discipline matters. More money is being stopped, suspended or cut. Money is the only reason the school cares if your child is absent or not. Students know that they will get their homework and have time to complete it if they are absent, and how much would they really lose if they were absent for a day or two? Why should the school make sure your child is there and why are there attendance rules? The school needs to fill its maximum number of students daily to receive the maximum number of funds daily, which many schools do not get in a timely manner to begin with. Now get away from all that drama and you may be able to do some amazing things with your finances once you have studied at home. No more registration fees. No more fundraising expenses. No more sports fees. No more money for lunch. Not after school or before daycare. No more summer daycare.

Common Core is teaching students to think alike so they can pass a useless test. And that is if they are taught to think at all. I was in the ACT prep sessions and I taught them. Our main goal was to teach you tricks to add a point or two to your test. The tricks became the center of attention. For example, we teach them which answer to choose based on the statistics. Like most of the time, the correct choice is the third option. Students are discouraged from adding their opinions or sharing their beliefs because it is not relevant to the lesson in question, which was designed by the people at ACT and taught by their schools with no room for independent thinking and creativity.

The decision to homeschool is entirely up to you, but I seriously hope that you will do the work necessary to ensure that your child receives a quality education from you. But most of all, if your child continues through the journey of the public school system, be sure to teach him how to think, solve problems, make educational decisions, and be successful, independent, and without burdens on society.