Homeschooling…what a wonderful option in our ever-changing educational landscape. Especially now, with a new government program now firmly in place across our nation, it is nice to have options. Talk to any professional educator and you will discover that the jury is still ‘out’ on whether or not this new program will improve national test results in our country. It is really too early to get a ‘level-headed’ response from these educators who have seen their work ‘world’ turned upside down with new reporting, new performance measurements, new teaching techniques. Private and charter schools have developed missions and provided nice alternatives. But what parents don’t often consider is the possibility of homeschooling their child in high school. Many see this as the ‘line drawn in the sand’ and don’t believe they are capable enough or patient enough to even consider crossing over to try it out.
I’d like to be so bold to say that we have it a bit mixed up. We pursue homeschooling when our kids are little and still somewhat cute. The material is easier so we don’t have to work so hard. The formation of the heart, soul, and brain is also a bit easier as they generally listen, if not to words, then to some sort of punishment. The clay is more malleable and formable. However, I did send my youngest to a couple years of elementary school, a little rural school and honestly, it was a delightful time. I was able to volunteer in the classroom, so I was able to observe the education and structure. There were many good things about this education. So, let me get back to the ‘mixed up’ I mentioned before. Many people homeschool in middle school…understandable and really not much to rebut there! But in high school, it becomes hard, our children have attitudes, the material requires us to actually read and learn. And that is when we send them off for someone else to educate because that person or persons can do a better job. Or, we want them to have that ‘chance’ to be ‘discovered’ in their athletic ability. This is where I think we are mixed up. We should be considering bringing our children home in high school. This is our LAST ditch effort to form the heart, to discuss works of literature, to discuss the plight of the world, to form the world view. Now this is where some of you are going to argue that you ‘survived’ high school, that it really isn’t so bad. I went to a little country school for high school, and honestly, I experienced more sexual discussion, saw more perverted pictures, saw more bullying, watched students cheat, saw more fights break out than I have in my subsequent 35 years. And we didn’t have a big drug problem…add that into the mix today. Add onto that the 32-35 students in each classroom, the average 150 students to each teacher each day and the 1-2 ms. that a teacher has to spend on a child’s assignment and some concern should begin to creep in. These figures are reality. Even at 1 minute per paper, a teacher must spend close to 3 hours grading each evening. Forget feedback, forget spelling and grammatical correction. It IS NOT going to happen even if you have the most wonderful teacher in the world.
Now I anticipate ‘push back’ on this sort of writing and I can’t pretend to be God’s voice to each family. I know that homeschooling just isn’t possible for every family. There are so many variables that come into play. That said, though, I believe that more people should consider homeschooling high school because they do have what it takes to get the job done! We also live in an age where technology brings classrooms into our homes and co-ops are plentiful. Support is necessary and is SO available.
So think about it. You have a young man or young woman in your home and time is ticking. They will leave. I have experienced it. Off to college, off to the mission field, a move to an apartment. It is inevitable. You have just a few more short years, months and days to have an influence. So, just think about it! And look for more blogs on this site about how we do high school at Christiana Homeschool Academy. Our Great Books tutors will be running a series for the next several weeks, highlighting some of their experiences!
I’d like to be so bold to say that we have it a bit mixed up. We pursue homeschooling when our kids are little and still somewhat cute. The material is easier so we don’t have to work so hard. The formation of the heart, soul, and brain is also a bit easier as they generally listen, if not to words, then to some sort of punishment. The clay is more malleable and formable. However, I did send my youngest to a couple years of elementary school, a little rural school and honestly, it was a delightful time. I was able to volunteer in the classroom, so I was able to observe the education and structure. There were many good things about this education. So, let me get back to the ‘mixed up’ I mentioned before. Many people homeschool in middle school…understandable and really not much to rebut there! But in high school, it becomes hard, our children have attitudes, the material requires us to actually read and learn. And that is when we send them off for someone else to educate because that person or persons can do a better job. Or, we want them to have that ‘chance’ to be ‘discovered’ in their athletic ability. This is where I think we are mixed up. We should be considering bringing our children home in high school. This is our LAST ditch effort to form the heart, to discuss works of literature, to discuss the plight of the world, to form the world view. Now this is where some of you are going to argue that you ‘survived’ high school, that it really isn’t so bad. I went to a little country school for high school, and honestly, I experienced more sexual discussion, saw more perverted pictures, saw more bullying, watched students cheat, saw more fights break out than I have in my subsequent 35 years. And we didn’t have a big drug problem…add that into the mix today. Add onto that the 32-35 students in each classroom, the average 150 students to each teacher each day and the 1-2 ms. that a teacher has to spend on a child’s assignment and some concern should begin to creep in. These figures are reality. Even at 1 minute per paper, a teacher must spend close to 3 hours grading each evening. Forget feedback, forget spelling and grammatical correction. It IS NOT going to happen even if you have the most wonderful teacher in the world.
Now I anticipate ‘push back’ on this sort of writing and I can’t pretend to be God’s voice to each family. I know that homeschooling just isn’t possible for every family. There are so many variables that come into play. That said, though, I believe that more people should consider homeschooling high school because they do have what it takes to get the job done! We also live in an age where technology brings classrooms into our homes and co-ops are plentiful. Support is necessary and is SO available.
So think about it. You have a young man or young woman in your home and time is ticking. They will leave. I have experienced it. Off to college, off to the mission field, a move to an apartment. It is inevitable. You have just a few more short years, months and days to have an influence. So, just think about it! And look for more blogs on this site about how we do high school at Christiana Homeschool Academy. Our Great Books tutors will be running a series for the next several weeks, highlighting some of their experiences!
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