Why You Should Homeschool Your Child : A Public Schoolteacher’s Confession

Transcription

Why You Should
Homeschool Your Child :
A Public Schoolteacher’s Confession
Brought to you by http://www.homeschoolhelper.com
Copyright © 2007 Lisa Preston
1 http://www.homeschoolhelper.com
Why You Should Homeschool Your Child :
© 2007, Lisa Preston
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be used in other publications, digital or print,
without express written permission from the author. To contact the
author, please visit http://www.homeschoolhelper.com
Why You Should Homeschool Your Child :
Warning!
I am NOT by nature a person of controversy. In fact, I strongly
admire peacekeepers who work to make life run smoothly and
harmoniously. I don’t routinely rock the boat. Honestly, I prayed long
and hard about even putting my real name on this book.
But sometimes a truth hits so hard, you wake up from a narcotic
slumber and reality stares you smack dab in the face. You’re moved
from complacency and the comfort zone to a battlefield of sorts. You
must appeal to change.
Please dock.
The boat is about to explode.
I hope what I share will make you sick enough and angry enough that
you will seek change. Not just demand a better education for your
children, but to make any sacrifice necessary to see that they receive
it.
Why Homeschool?
Volumes abound on the topic of why parents should home school
their children. Reasons include poor discipline, disruptive students,
inadequate curricula, little one-on-one attention, etc.
I’m approaching the topic from a unique perspective. As a public
school teacher who has researched brain strategies and the absolute
most effective ways to learn, I can tell you wholeheartedly that one of
the last places on earth that can provide an effective atmosphere for
optimal learning is the public school classroom. Indeed, “ineffective”
is one of the best words I can think of to define Public Education.
First of all, I want to say that I taught elementary school for seventeen
years- in two top schools, with the highest caliber of colleagues, with
caring administrators. My fellow teachers sacrificed time, money, and
tears for their children. They championed the frustrated learners,
came to work an hour early, left two hours late, and took home three
hours of work a night. Some even swung from the chandeliers
alongside some of the kids with ADHD. These were dedicated
individuals with whom I am proud to have worked.
And the town in which I taught - well, we’re talking Bible belt all the
way. A semi-rural area that was touted to have one of the highest
level of college graduates in the United States.
But even in this supposed “educational utopia”, life wasn’t Mayberry.
Not even close. In fact, the longer I taught, the more worried I
became for my own family to have to endure a “public education”.
One of my most eye-opening moments occurred when I started
hanging out more with my home schooling friends. Their children
acted totally different than 95% of the children I was teaching. These
home-educated kids conversed in an articulate manner with folks of
all ages. Their eyeballs stayed in one position most of the time
instead of being dramatically rolled every time a parent spoke.
They knew about exciting periods of history that none of my children
had heard of. They enjoyed hands-on learning experiences daily and
seemed to slurp up every ounce of learning available in every
situation. Being around these friends and their children exhilarated
me!
Plus, their children were raking in the scholarships right and left. I’m
talking full-ride scholarships to great colleges!
Well, I’d return to my classroom, where we were chained to
worksheets and forced to teach to the test at the end of the year so
we could improve scores. I envied my home school friends. What I
would have given to have been able to take my kids to the
supermarket to learn math, to have been able to cook alongside
them, teach them marketable hands-on skills. But our district had no
money for that sort of teaching. (Not that it could be done adequately
with one adult for every 25 children anyway!)
As the heat from our state capital cranked up, we were forced to
teach questions that could be on the test at the end of the year. In
fact, we spent hours each week teaching for that final test. Much of
the educational monies we received were spent on increasing test
scores.
Shocking Confession!
Just because it’s being “covered” in the public school doesn’t mean
it’s being learned. At one education seminar given right smack dab in
our school library, the presenter shared a quote I found fascinating
and startling. She stated that one-third of the children in your typical
classroom will understand the information presented. One-third will
NOT understand at all, and the other third will NOT understand in the
amount of time allotted.
Two-thirds of children in public classrooms
aren’t going to comprehend the information
taught.
Please let that sink in. This is research done by and for the public
school. Educational leadership flat out states that only one third of
the children in their public school classrooms is going to learn what
they need –period.
Part of the reason is that teachers can’t spend much individual time
with students and teach all that is expected of them. Some writers
assert that in an average year the amount of focused individual
attention a child gets is less than one hour. Less than 60 minutes
focused one-on-one attention in nine months. And even then it can’t
be 100% focused on one child –not when you’re responsible for 25
more!
Another reason, in my opinion, is that the most optimal ways we learn
can’t be taught in a public school classroom. One room full of
children subtracts the kind of quality that optimal learning requires.
The good news is that the home is exactly where the strategies for
high-quality learning can take place.
And who can be surprised with all the success home schooling
parents have had?
Problems Caused by Small Teacher – Student Ratio
Lack of attention
It’s impossible for even the best teacher to give adequate attention to
each student while monitoring an entire classroom.
Instruction time limited by interruption
You can have the most entertaining, most gifted teacher at the
chalkboard, and the flow of the lesson be hindered by constant
interruptions from students. When the teacher has to address
discipline issues throughout the lesson, learning decreases.
Yelling out answers give introverted children no time to think
It’s difficult to keep everyone quiet while the introverted children are
thinking. After the answer is yelled out, the processing stops.
Restricted movement
One room, two dozen or more children. Need I say more?
Best learning practices not possible
Due to the number of students and the small spaces, it’s impossible
for even gifted teachers to implement the best learning practices now
hailed by researchers.
Peer pressure
Forget your child walking in his own destiny, her own path that God
designed for her. Nope, cookie cutter education creates cookie cutter
learners. Remember, two-thirds of these children didn’t understand
the info the way it was presented. How prepared can these children
be?
Peer dependence
One teacher and the lack of ability to reach her when I need help
means I’m left with peers as my role models for life.
Teacher stress
Teachers, bombarded with more work than can be humanly
completed in a day’s time, find teaching more and more stressful.
Behavior issues
You’ve taught your little one right from wrong since day one. Good!
But all that will be challenged by peers who never learned there is a
right in the first place.
Little money for real hands on learning
When you’re buying supplies by the dozens, with limited funds, the
hands-on learning is limited seriously.
Fewer field trips
The high cost of gasoline and severely behavior challenged students
make field trips almost impossible.
The actual learning/instructional time in a classroom can be as little
as one hour and a half per day!
More children with serious mental illnesses are mainstreamed into
the classroom, and there’s nothing teachers or parents can do about
this. Many children from institutions have a personal assistant hired
to keep watch so the child doesn’t harm others.
Teachers are sometimes bitten, kicked and clawed. They have to
take courses on how to restrain children.
Tell me your child is going to have an optimal learning experience at
public school. Not even the best public school can come close to the
kind of education a parent can provide at home. Home schooling
trumps all.
Ironically, test scores prove that.
So How Does Homeschooling Make a Difference?
Okay, how different can home schooling really be?
Don’t you just sit around the house all day and do worksheets?
Actually, the goal of home schooling isn’t to recreate the public school
setting in our own homes. It’s not about buying a cute little school
desk at a yard sale and chaining your child to it all day. Learning is
about discovery, exploration, and experience – all which are too
expensive for a poorly funded institution to provide on a regular basis.
I would have loved to take children to the grocery store to shop when
teaching percentages, economics, price comparisons, addition, etc.
That’s the effective way to teach! But going to the store involves
sending out field trip permission slips, taking up money for the trip
(and since busses take lots of gas, even a short trip can cost a small
fortune), calling the store, finding parent volunteers to help chaperone
and teach the mini-lesson… Too much of a headache to do more
than once – IF that.
How fun would it have been to teach children fractions through
cooking! But cooking with 25 children can get wild, especially during
the “wait time” as you try to get around to each group.
Real hands-on learning works at home, because the supplies are
readily available and because you’re not trying to deal with 25
children at once.
Brain Research
More and more information emerged about learning and the brain,
and I devoured it by the volumes.
This simple movement helps children retain information – oh, that’s
awesome! Until I realize that 25 children performing that little
movement in one room is nearly impossible.
Ah – there’s a scent that increases memory? Wow! How awesome!
I could use that with my students if I had the money to buy the scents
for 25 children.
Listening to this kind of music increases test scores?? Cool! Until
you realize that the state won’t let you play the music while kids are
taking the test.
The list goes on and on and on.
At first I was transfixed by these new learning techniques based on
the latest brain research. I attempted to use them in my classroom
immediately. The trouble was, I was handcuffed. I couldn’t fully
implement these ideas because they didn’t fit into a four-walled
classroom in which children sat all day long. These activities did fit
like a glove in the home school setting, though.
Cutting Edge Techniques – from the 18th Century!
Increasing my research on home schooling, I discovered Charlotte
Mason - eighteenth century educator from Britain who – shocker of all
shockers – wrote about the same “just discovered” brain techniques
and secrets. After reading her book Home Education, I wrote in my
journal…
“There’s an agony in my spirit of having missed out on 38 years of
life.
I feel I’ve been educated on cream puffs. I’ve missed out on the
crunchiness of a carrot, the “squirt” of the tomato, the sweetness of
freshly picked corn on the cob, the tart flavor of a juicy green apple.
No, I’ve been educated on pockets of air. Shrouded by ignorance of
what education can really be.”
Then I penned this article…
“It was a temper tantrum extraordinaire.
Feet were stomping, arms flailing. Furrowed eyebrows and a bottom
lip that hung over the chin. “Humph! Humph! Not fair!!” Stomp!
Stomp!
No, it wasn’t my child throwing the fit from you-know-where.
It was me.
I had just finished Charlotte Mason’s Home Education and felt literally
cheated in life. Glaring out the window into my flower garden, I
complained, “I could have been out there drawing and painting those
wild flowers. I could know all about nature and have tremendous
descriptive talents if,,, IF,,, IF ONLY I had been home schooled in the
Charlotte Mason method!
Truth be told, I didn’t get over the whole thing for a good week. Just
walked around sulking, pensive and brooding over my lost childhood.
Heck, I love to learn. I’d have gone so much further in my education,
understood so many more things if I’d been home schooled the
Charlotte Mason way. I literally felt a deep loss over having had to go
to public school.
While Charlotte Mason kids were learning about geography and
science through nature, I sat with textbooks that didn’t make any
sense. That was okay. All the questions over the chapter were in
order, so if you just followed along each page, you could figure out
what the teacher wanted.
While Charlotte Mason kids learned how to read and write in short
lessons designed to teach, not bore, I wrote my spelling words 25
times each. It wasn’t so bad, though. I mean, if your spelling word is
weather, all you have to do is write 25 w’s going straight down the
page. Then 25 e’s next to them. Etc. Tremendous learning
experience.
While Charlotte Mason children enjoyed the great outdoors each day,
honing their senses through discovery of nature, I sat dutifully
chained to a desk for hours.
Yes, I was angry. I could have learned so much more, been so much
more, if only I had had the opportunity to be home schooled the
Charlotte Mason way.
Sigh.
Oh, well. What’s done is done. I can only tell my story and hope to
save some other child from the same fate.”
Important Note
First off, and I must admit I feel coerced into saying this too many
times; I am not against the public school. I have no vendetta. No
ulterior motive. Public school teachers are my friends.
But we’re not in Kansas anymore. Things are different. Frighteningly
so.
Bottom line, I wouldn’t want my own child in public school.
One of my school teacher friends shared her exasperation with me.
“So, what’s the deal, Lisa? Don’t you think we do a good job??”
I know teachers do a fantastic job. They work in a high-stress, highadrenaline job with little respect and littler pay. When I taught school,
I gave 110% until I totally burned out. Nearly every single teacher in
our county did the same thing.
So, let it be known, loud and clear. I shout it from the roof tops.
“Elementary school teachers are some of the best human beings on
the planet! They work tirelessly and sacrifice their own time and
money to make a difference for their students. Three cheers for
elementary teachers in the public schools!”
I mean that.
However…
Things are different now. We don’t have small classrooms like Laura
Ingalls Wilder, where the meanest boys in the class pull pigtails and
stick frogs atop the McGuffey Readers.
In one of my third grade classes (in rural America – Bible Belt through
and through) I dealt with homicidal threats, marijuana, and some of
the worst sexual talk you can imagine. And that was just the children.
You should have met the parents.
I have as much empathy as you can get. I want everyone to love
each other and hold hands and live happily ever after. I believe the
best about everyone. But the bottom line is, some children don’t
need to be in a public school setting.
Some children suffer serious mental illness and throwing them into a
regular classroom with a teacher’s aide to follow them around all day
and make sure they don’t kill anyone – that’s not conducive to
learning for anyone.
I’ve seen teachers bitten and bruised, cursed and threatened. I’ve
seen chairs fly across the room. One girl in our school was so
dangerous, she couldn’t be out of sight of an adult for fear she’d
abuse another child.
Reading , writing, and ‘rithmetic? Are you kidding? How about
survival skills and hand-to-hand combat?
And then there’s the emphasis on test scores. Used to be, teachers
would rather walk over a bed of hot coals than to “teach to the test”.
Of all the underhanded, low-belly things. Scoundrel-ish!
The last year I taught, our school spent three hours a week starting in
September teaching how to take the test in April. State mandates
were so skewed that schools had to show test score gains every
single year or be in danger of having the state take them over. The
top dogs could come in, fire everyone down to the lunch ladies and
start from scratch.
So administrators did what they had to do to survive. Teach how to
take the test at the end of the year.
Now, no school can improve every single year. Let’s face it, even if a
school scored 100%, they couldn’t improve on that the next year.
What’s gonna happen? The state educator cops come in and
remove everyone due to a school maintaining a 100% average two
years in a row? Sheesh!
But logic doesn’t prevail among state legislators and folks who make
school laws. After all, they were educated in public school. It’s not
their fault they don’t know how to think. (J I just had to throw that in.)
So we end up with an educational system that’s trapped the very
ones they’re paid to educate. Who suffers the most? Administrators
are stressed to the limit, teachers about to fall over from exhaustion.
But who really suffers the most?
You’ve got it. Our children. They’re the ones being robbed of an
education. Thank God for every child who escapes public school with
a love for learning. And thank their moms and dads. They probably
learned it from home.
Learned it from home? What a novel thought! Let’s pursue that idea
further!
So, Should Everyone Homeschool?
I am a firm believer that a child can be best educated at home if…
• there is no abuse of any kind in the home
• parents really want their children to develop a life-long love for
learning
It doesn’t matter if the parents can read and write. Doesn’t matter if
they graduated high school. It sure doesn’t matter if they went to
college or have a degree in teaching.
A parent with a sixth grade education who wants her child to learn
can educate her child better at home than a teacher with a master’s
degree and 30 children in her classroom. I’ll go you one further. I
say that the parent can spend one hour a day home schooling and
her child learn more at the end of a year than the average child in the
average public school classroom.
Check out who’s getting the scholarships to colleges these days
based on SAT scores. Home schooled children. And I’m not talking
children whose parents are teachers, either!
The Time Issue
The last year I taught in a classroom, I started counting the amount of
time children actually spent learning. With so much of my time being
spent addressing serious discipline issues, I felt more like a prison
guard than an educator. What was the seven hours a day really
comprised of when you added it all up?
I was shocked at the results. Take away the time wasted waiting on
five of the children to finish their work so we could move on to the
next topic. Take away the time needed for classroom discussions
about what was appropriate and what was not. And what was left?
What was the actual time spent in half-way effective learning
activities?
From one hour to an hour and a half a day.
That’s it! An hour and a half of learning per school day.
And beyond that - at least 20% of the time s pent in class was spent
“waiting”. Waiting on other students to quiet down. Waiting on other
children to get their supplies out and catch up. Waiting on the few
stragglers who never finished a paper. Waiting, waiting, waiting.
Children who actually followed directions and finished their work in a
feasible amount of time were rewarded by sitting in the chair, able to
do extra worksheets for fun while they… waited.
Did God not give us 24 hours in a day? Is that time not His gift to us?
We can’t get it back once it’s wasted, right? Time is more valuable
than money.
No one enjoys having his time wasted. Who appreciates having to sit
for three hours in a doctor’s office, coughing your head off, with two
children who are on each others’ last nerve? Who could tolerate
being at a job in which you could never move ahead on your work
until everyone in the whole building was done with their job?
Wouldn’t that drive you insane?
So why are we so nonchalant and content to let our children’s time be
wasted on irrelevant busy work disguised as “learning”? Why isn’t
their 24 hours as much of a gift as our own?
If one of your work goals was to learn how to make a Power Point
Presentation, would you want to click your mouse 25 times a day just
to make sure you remember how to do it? Why ask a child to write a
spelling word 25 times if he already knows it? Further, why have
anyone write a word 25 times when there are ten dozen other
shortcut ways to learn how to spell it correctly?
Busy work is the name of the game. And let me tell you, it’s all about
survival. I can complain and judge now. But put the two of us in a
classroom of 28 children, some of whom are bouncing off the walls
and tell us to teach? We’d be assigning busy work like it was going
out of style, just to get by.
Ya gotta do what ya gotta do to make it through the day in the
classroom. And it’s not all about the best and most efficient ways of
learning. Sometimes you assign a chapter and the questions at the
end just so you have a moment to breathe and get done work that the
principal needs by 2:35.
Real Learning – What Is It?
Learning is so much more than any public or private classroom could
ever offer. Real learning involves relationship. And the best learning
involves a relationship with a loving mom and dad.
Why miss out on the best hours of your child’s days? Why wait to
relate to your children when they’re spent from a school day?
Chances are they’ve been bullied or ridiculed in some way, or they’ve
worried about some discipline issue in class, so they’re emotionally
exhausted as well.
I long to see parents giving the very best of who they are to their
children. Not only for their children’s sakes, but for the blessing to
themselves as well.
I will never ever forget a young fellow in our community named
Jarrett. He met cancer at age two, and as a result, couldn’t come to
school as often. Jarrett spent much time being instructed at home.
At the ripe old age of 13, this precious son went to meet God.
I just keep thinking - his parents have not one more day to touch his
face. There’s not another day that they can hold him close -that they
hear his laughter and the sound of “I love you,” Tell me they wish he’d
been in public school seven hours a day.
No. They will never ever regret having him home for those extra
hours. Life is so short. We don’t know when our children will go, we
don’t know when we will go.
And so to be home in that lovely ministry of sharing God’s Word as
our children rise, as they go about their day, as they go to bed at
night – helping these precious, precious gifts store up God’s Word in
their hearts and walk in the way that leads to freedom. What a
ministry!
What a joy that is to a parent’s heart as well as to the child’s!
It’s All About Connection
In this day of fast-this, convenience-that, even church loses intimate
fellowship. What we call small group, “intimate” fellowship often
ends up with everyone sitting around sharing problems, somebody
prays and we all go home. There’s little real connection made with
people –little real love that is shared. We are a society absent from
community. America’s culture doesn’t recognize the benefits of
spending lots of time with and nurturing our own children.
What a message of strength and hope that a parent would say, “You
know, I want my children with me. I want them holding my hand
along this journey of life –not their peers’ hands.”
One friend told me, “Well, I don’t know if I’d want to home school,
because it wouldn’t leave me any time for ministry.”
While Paul says… some plant, some water, and some reap the
harvest, our usual interpretation of ministry is one person preaching
to a congregation and people going to the altar. I have been
ministered to a million times in that way. But rarely has a person
taken me by the hand and said, “I’m not letting go until we reach the
next step. I am holding on to you. I believe in you, I will listen to you,
and I will love you no matter what.” That’s powerful ministry. And
you can’t offer it to a hundred people at once!
What greater blessing to be able to give all of that listening,
mentoring, love, challenge, –holding the hand and never letting go–
to our children. How devastating not to give them that. Time is so
important. And if “all you do” is raise your children to be godly, to
love Christ with all their hearts, souls, minds and strength, YOU have
had an awesome ministry. What greater blessing for a mother or
father than to have the time to gently instruct her children in the ways
of God.
You can’t hurry that. True discipleship and commitment aren’t
“convenient”. They take time to develop.
The beauty of home schooling is that it allows time for that
commitment in a less-stressed, slower paced atmosphere. The
awesome sense of connection we’ll have with our children will be
worth any sacrifice we make.
And the blessings will last a lifetime.
Home Schooling – The Best Educational Option
Bottom line, home schooling allows parents to utilize the best
teaching and learning practices (such as one-on-one learning
instruction) and to implement unique brain strategies. And since you
don’t have a classroom of 25 children to manage, you can allow your
child to pursue areas of his own interest. This freedom skyrockets
motivation!
A home schooled child can have a customized, tailor-made
education. How freeing to learn at his own pace, not hurried and
frustrated or twiddling thumbs while waiting for others to listen or
catch up.
Home schooling also allows for a breadth and depth of curriculum
that isn’t available in the public school. For instance, recent studies
show that listening to a foreign language before the age of two gives
a child the ability to later learn and speak that language like a native.
You don’t have to wait until age 14 to begin Spanish! Many home
schooled children learn real-life skills – they can cook, grow their own
vegetables, build a house –and they develop musical and artistic
talents, too. Some even start their own businesses as early as age 8!
Also, when a person is schooled at home, and there is an emphasis
on meaning and understanding. Learning isn’t just a bag of trivial
facts, it becomes an entire dimension when you’re home schooling.
Home schooled children are likely to become independent, creative
thinkers. They feel free to search for truth and question opinions
stated as facts.
Most of a child’s day in the public school is spent trying to fit in, and
that interferes with the learning process. Children who don’t have to
take the time to develop and use survival mechanisms to keep from
being made fun of or bullied, develop strong, confident self-concepts.
Moms and Dads are thrilled at their children’s creativity, and at home
no one is criticized for having a unique idea.
This relaxed atmosphere allows learning to catapult to heights that
just aren’t possible when you have to create ways to survive, and
plan ways to belong.
One of the most profound benefits of home schooling is the strong
family relationships that are forged. Respect and manners can be not
only taught, but modeled again and again. Service to others just
becomes a part of life. Strong families work through their problems
together. The companionship and gift of time with our children takes
precedence over the frantic pace of the treadmill.
Mae Shell, a home schooled young lady, is quoted in The Home
schooling Book of Answers (by Linda Dobson). Her words say it
better than I ever could. When asked what she’d most remember
about being home schooled, Mae replied, “The first thing that comes
to mind is the importance of my family life. And I mean this in every
sense you can imagine, not simply loving, but being friends with my
family, enjoying their company, supporting them and knowing they
support me no matter what happens…More than being just parents,
they are my friends, mentors, teachers, and counselors. I also
cherish the friendship of my three younger sisters and older halfbrother and sister. I know I will always have these rich, wonderful
relationships with my siblings.”
Mae goes on to speak of what her family means to her. “I value being
a part of this intricate living quilt above everything else.” (pg.222)
Can you put a price tag on this type of family strength and love? It’s
worth everything!
Yes, but are They Socialized??
I find that home schooled children tend to be more mature, sensitive
to others, caring and ministry oriented. For people who question the
socialization aspect of home schooling- socialization skills are not
taught at school. Survival skills and street skills? Definitely. But not
socialization. There may be character curriculum in a public school,
but its teaching comprises a tiny part of the child’s week. Character
isn’t integrated into life as it can be in a home setting – it’s just
presented as another lesson.
As a school teacher for 17 years, I depended on parents to teach
kindness self control, caring for others, manners, and appropriate
behavior. In order for my classroom to be effective, those social skills
already needed to be learned at home. Bottom line - moms and dads
are the molders of social skills.
Home schooled children are among the most considerate, sensitive,
mannerly children I have ever come in contact with. Someone asked
me if not sending a child to public school would be detrimental. I
replied, “Imagine never having to deal with being pushed into your
place in the hierarchy based on what clothes you wear, what you look
like, and how much of a clone of your peers you become. Imagine
never having to worry about being bullied, not having to hear
obscenities or witness fist fights. I know many people who have gone
through years of therapy to try to get beyond ways they were treated
as children in public school. Imagine being so free that the whole
“you don’t belong here” worry is totally foreign.
I have to ask - would you have wanted you child socialized in a
classroom with children who had serious psychological issues?
(One parent called to tell me that her child’s psychologist told her to
remove all knives from her home, as he could harm someone. This
was the same child who was writing notes to other children, claiming
he’d kill them.) Then there was the kid who brought marijuana to
school and the children who taught me a few new vocabulary words
related to the birds and the bees. Boys who showed body parts to
class members. Oh, yes, Bible-belt, highly-educated area. Third
graders.
Do I think the public school has a place in educating our children?
Yes, but I believe it is primarily for those children whose home life is
abusive –when horrible things are witnessed at home, and their only
way of escape is coming to school. Many children live in these
situations and, for them, school is a godsend. No, it’s not the very
best educationally and emotionally, but it’s far better than what they
could have at home. So while the public school has its place, I
believe it’s secondary in quality to the type of education that can
occur in the non-abusive home.
Okay, I have stood and vented like a volcano on top of this soapbox.
Normally, I’m not this opinionated. Really. However, when it comes
to real learning and a pitiful substitute, I must stand and give an
opinion, no matter how unpopular among my former colleagues.
What I’m saying here, is that YOU, Mom and Dad, whether you have
a high school education or not, YOU can teach your child more in one
hour a day than I could in one seven hour day. That’s me, 4.0 grad
student, Master’s Degree in Education, nearly twenty years
experience. Me with twenty-five children offering a whopping 30
minutes of individual time a year. Kids need one-on-one attention
when it comes to learning. Isn’t your child important enough to
warrant one-on-one attention?
Why put your child through one more day of inadequate education,
when in one hour a day you can offer your child more than he could
get in a public school in seven hours?
You can do it!
Insecurities Overcome
You’re going to feel it occasionally – the creeping uncertainty that
you’re not doing it right. That the public school is far ahead of you
and your children are behind. The truth is that all teachers have the
same basic concerns. So let’s address some key issues and dispel
myths that can discourage you in this process.
I don’t have a degree.
You don’t need one.
I’m not smart enough.
Great! Many public school teachers are forced to teach classes in
which they’ve had no training. They just read the book and stay one
chapter ahead of the children. That’s all you have to do, too.
How could I teach physics? I was never any good at math or
science.
There are more ways to supplement your child’s learning than ever
before. From DVDs to Home school Co-ops in your own hometown –
you don’t have to worry about teaching subjects you’re not familiar
with.
I don’t have enough money.
Neither do public school teachers, so you’re in the same boat. They
utilize many free resources for their classroom material, including the
local library.
What if it’s too hard?
What worthwhile activity isn’t at times challenging? You will embark
upon a new adventure that will radically improve your life and your
relationships with your children. From the moment you say yes to
home schooling, you’ll never be the same.
Teachers have the perfect curriculum. They have all the good
learning materials. I can’t afford a curriculum.
Every few years the school system “adopts” new textbooks. Usually
we’d get to look at some free samples the publishing companies sent
us and then vote on the one that looked most user-friendly.
There is no perfect curriculum. If one did exist, it’d put the ParentTeacher stores out of business. Who’d need the extra books to
supplement an already perfect curriculum?
Look at any educator’s bookshelf and you’ll see rows of teacher
resource books designed to include what the publishing companies
left out. During my public school career I searched far and wide
every year for resources to help children learn more easily and
master subjects they struggled with.
So no matter what curriculum you find, you’ll be looking for additional
supplies to help the learning really sink in.
If I just had some training in teacher education, I’d be much
better qualified.
Nope. In Kentucky, teachers are required to get their masters degree
within a certain number of years or they lose their certification. So
here you have loads of teachers with 6 years of “certification” under
their belts, and we’re still struggling to help kids learn effectively.
Mass education stinks!
Remember, just because it’s being covered in the public school
doesn’t mean it’s being learned.
Also, we’re not trying to re-create the public school inside our
households. Home schooling should be very different so that real
learning takes place daily. You don’t need seven hours of instruction.
A loving, literate mom can offer her child more in a one or two hours a
day than a child can get in a seven hour public school day. No
certification required.
One way to de-brainwash yourself from public school dogma is to
consider, “How do I learn? Would I want to learn this topic in this
manner?” Respect your child’s time by not giving her junk work and
busy work. Let’s review some powerful ways to learn quickly so your
children don’t have to do 10 worksheets on adding fractions.
But my child has special needs! If I don’t send him to school, he
won’t get the help he needs.
Squat. That’s all I can say. Did you know that the special education
teachers in our school all worked from the same manual of ideas for
kids with learning disabilities – a manual you can purchase yourself
and use? And I flat out asked the speech teacher one day if she had
in all her special training unique techniques that a parent couldn’t
learn without tons of training. “Of course not,” she replied. What I
have, they can use at home. There’s nothing about what I do with
their children that takes years to learn.”
Mrs. So and So said her child was reading on a 6th grade level,
and he’s in first grade in the public school. My son is eight and
has just started reading the Frog and Toad series! HELP!
This reading issue rears its head within the public schools, too.
I spent the majority of my public school years teaching third grade.
Often, parents would be so upset to see a low grade on the report
card in reading when the child had done so well in first and second
grades.
What happens is this. In first and second grades, the emphasis is on
learning to read orally. To identify letter sounds and put them
together to form words. Many children can read fluently and not fully
comprehend what is going on in the story.
In third grade, we assess reading mostly on comprehension. The
assumption is that by age 8, most children are reading aloud well
enough. Now that children can pronounce words, it’s time to focus on
comprehension skills.
Let’s say Mrs. So and So’s son picked up The Boxcar Children and
actually read the first two pages aloud to his mom. Some editions of
the book say level 1 on the back cover and some say level 3. So
does the child read on the first or third grade level? That’s confusing
enough.
Then there’s the dimension we just discussed. Maybe little Johnny
did pronounce the words on the pages, but was he able to tell mom
what the story was about? I have taught many children who read
aloud as fluently as an adult but couldn’t tell you one thing that went
on in the text. Teachers don’t count that as “reading on the
appropriate level”.
Now, if even the publishers differ on what grade level a book is onhow on earth are teachers and parents supposed to know?
So the next time you hear someone say that their four year old just
finished the Chronicles of Narnia, just smile and say, “Oh, my! She
must be so smart!” and take it with a grain of salt the size of Texas.
If your children can summarize accurately the story they just read,
that’s the key! Research shows that for every 35 books a child reads
on her level, she’ll automatically rise to the next level in reading. So if
you help your child develop a love for learning and reading, you’re
way ahead of the game!
Resources
There are some awesome resources that I personally consider
invaluable in the quest to help your family become lifelong, motivated
learners and keep you sane in the process.
You’ll want to read The Five Love Languages. This book will open
your eyes to ways to show your children you love them and have
them know it in their hearts without a doubt. It’s changed my life
dramatically, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
You know those books you read, close the cover and say, ‘Boy, I
wish someone had told me this 16 years ago. It would have saved
me so much heartache.”? How to Talk so Your Kids Will Listen and
Listen so Your Kids Will Talk is one of those books for me. While not
written from a Christian perspective, the insight offered in this book
will save you many arguments and frustrations in the home schooling
process.
Read a book by Raymond and Dorothy Moore sometime in the next
four months. They’re all top-notch, in my opinion. This couple shares
home schooling helps with such a freedom - I felt a camaraderie with
them as I read. The Moores will give you insight into various home
school methods you may want to explore.
Homeschooling, A Patchwork of Days: Share a Day with 30
Homeschool Families is just the kind of book I like. Thirty different
ways of educating - and all effective. This book will help you feel
more comfortable about making curriculum decisions, see how
different folk schedule their days, etc. A nice eye-opener.
Home Education by Charlotte Mason hit me like a ton of bricks.
Wow! This is what education is supposed to be like! I was honestly
angry for several days after reading this book. I felt cheated out of a
real education, and I determined I was going to home school myself
for the pure enjoyment of it!
Mason’s style of writing takes some time to get used to – it’s from the
1800’s - but once you get going, it gets easier. Don’t let the old timey
style rob you of this gem. It’s a must-read.
Michael Pearl and his wife Debbie write books on child training that
have ministered to many families. Go to nogreaterjoy.org to sign up
for their newsletter. Later you’ll want to buy a couple of their books
like To Train Up a Child and No Greater Joy.
Marilyn Howshall writes about giving God control of your home school
and reaping great benefits! Her booklets will encourage you and
help you keep a steady gaze upward.
Sally Clarkson writes about reaching your child’s heart and growing
as a family that loves each other and God. Her book Educating the
Whole Hearted Child is worth every penny. It’s an investment in the
future of your family.
Oh, also, to make home schooling as fun as can be, check out books
written by Cindy Rushton. I love her Notebooking and Language
manuals!
For more resources and help with home schooling your child the easy
way, including the brain strategies Lisa researched, visit
http://www.homeschoolhelper.com and
http://www.homeschoolevangelist.com .

Why You Should Homeschool Your Child : A Public Schoolteacher’s Confession

Transcription

Similar documents

TFK news story - Schooling For Life

Help the Silly Bus kids get to school!

Redesigning Schooling: What kind of teaching for what kind of

Anne Kursinski Natural Obstacles Clinic and Open Schooling

Castlebrook Farm

Application for Registration for Home Schooling

Map of Grounds - Gold Coast Feed and Supply

Crosswinds Church Kids Camp - Dublin Unified School District

the Flyer (Adobe Reader Format)

warrenton, virginia - Horse Country Saddlery

How to complete the UTAS College Program Form