PUTTING THE “HOME” IN SCHOOLING

PUTTING THE “HOME” IN SCHOOLING

Guest Post by James (otherwise known as “the huz”)

Why do we homeschool?

My initial answer started out as a long rambling history of our journey into homeschooling eight years ago when we pulled our daughter out of her first term of kindergarten.

But here are the real reasons…

We homeschool because we realize that we are not raising children, we are raising adults-to-be.

Because we want to take responsibility for how our children develop.

Because we want to be an active part of their education.

Because every child is different and needs a different education.

Because none of us remember 5^th grade social science, but we remember that kid that bullied us.

We do not believe that just because it’s “part of growing up” it gives us permission to ignore our children’s behavior.  What part of adulthood are we preparing our children for by letting them get picked on?  Or looking the other way whilst they pick on others? Being a jackass is NOT an essential part of childhood development and is not a part of our family’s homeschool curriculum.  Isn’t it better to give each of your children such a strong sense of self worth that they will not ALLOW themselves to get picked on?

We homeschool because we believe we have a duty as parents to prepare our children for the world that awaits them as they fly the nest. And because Pythagoras theorem will not replace self esteem.  Don’t get me wrong…  I’m strongly into general knowledge, a good vocabulary, good grammar and proper spelling and sound math skills.  But that is the “school” part of it.  I’m talking about the “home” part.

To us, the development of the child is more important than fractions and sentence structure.  When you go to school, you are pretty much associating with people in your own age range.  When is that likely to happen in adulthood?  Are all the people at your office or factory the same age as you?

When you go to school you are encouraged to “fit in”, to look to others as examples of how to act.

We teach our children to police their OWN actions.  We teach them to be their own unique person, and to take responsibility for that person.  We, as parents, are the rock that tethers our children to earth.  They are encouraged to experiment, to succeed and to fail, knowing that we will always be there for them.

And that is the essence of homeschooling.

Our lives revolve not around our careers or social schedule, but around the needs of each of our children.  Sometimes those decisions are hard to make.  Sometimes you really would rather chill out with a glass of wine than go over the events of the day with your spouse and find the lessons to pass on to your child.  We have made, and will continue to make, these choices and the more we see of those children that have experienced a public education, the more resolute we are that we made the right decision eight years ago.

So yes our kids learn math and English, (along with French, fencing, horseback riding, latin, archeology, cooking, Spanish, world geography, sign language, entomology, guitar, world religion, karate, dance, typing, computer graphics and the works of Shakespeare, Agatha Christie and Edgar Allan Poe) oh and did I mention that our 12 year old can read at a 10^th grade level and has a better vocabulary than most adults we know?

They also learn to respect themselves and to be tolerant of others whilst always having enough self esteem to hold their head high even when they have to deal with difficult social situations.  Not only will our children stand up for what they think is right (just try to get my 5 year old to throw an apple core out of the car window) but they actively support and encourage their friends to do the same thing.

So we homeschool.

We do it because we think the best legacy we can pass onto the next generation is that they are good and happy souls.

Because no adult is in therapy right now wishing their parents had “just made more money”.

Because we want each child to be their own person.

Because we want what is best for OUR children, not what is easiest for US.

Our children have a birthright- a promise that we gave each and every one of them the moment they were born, that they would be the focus of our lives.  We promised that we would raise each one of them to adulthood the very best that we were able and would provide them the tools and the opportunity to meet and exceed their own unique definitions of “happy” and “successful”.

That is why we homeschool.

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