Is home schooling the right thing?

Question

I recently took up a job with my husband which is a great job but it involves constant traveling. My boss' wife home schools her children, and i have a 3 year old. I dont have any SPECIAL skills i graduated from high school and thats about it.
Am I actually capable of homeschooling my daughter? What are the ups and downs?

Answer 1

Yes, you are capable, if you are able to take on the task. Homeschooling was done well before government interrrupted and thought they knew what was best for our children.

Homeschooling, by today's standards, does present challenges. The major one I experience is having to be both mom and teacher, which can cause some grief in your household. You are always the boss and depending on your child's "attitude" it can make for long days.

First, you need to check with your local school board to find out what requirements they demand. Some school systems are more relaxed than others. This may mean special training with some, periodic reviews, or sometimes just notice that you are withdrawing your child from the school system. You can get this information directly from the school board or you can quietly investigate through local homeschool support groups on the web or homeschool legal defense.

After you decide you can accept the school boards requirements, you need to pick out curriculum. There are so many styles and types. I school in the style of traditional schooling as my son will attend high school. There are a variety of styles. Curriculum can be pieced together or you can get boxed curriculum which often comes with a day by day manual of what to accomplish. There are homeschool curriculums from Pre-K through high school. Research to make sure the curriculum reflects your beliefs as there are many secular and nonsecular studies.

You will also get a lot of feedback, often negative. The most common is perhaps the one when people tell you your child will not be socialized unless they go to school. There are socially awkward children in public school AND homeschool. Instead of being in an unnatural environment with 25 children their same age (are you ever in a group of so many the same when you are an adult?) your child, hopefully, will be involved in activities that puts them in different situations. They will interact with children and adults as YOU, not their misled peers, guide them in correct behaviors. Luckily, homeschooling, has been gaining popularilty and better accepted than it was just ten years ago.

However, your best bet is to research. Go on Yahoo! or any other serach engine and start reading about homeschool. Read the good AND the bad. It isn't always roses, but I do not regret pulling my son out of public school. He is getting a much better education...AND he is well adjusted.

Answer 2

You have several choices- you can do homeschooling where you learn at home on your own or with a curriculum, you can go thru a Charter School, you can do independent study or you can even wait and go to an Adult School and get your Diploma or take your GED. Yes there is no reason why you can't go to college. I say take some courses at your local community college to get you up to par. Build up some skills, your grades, and just get that joy of learning back again. Don't feel it is the end of the world. I say if your Parents will- have some time to just destress and deschool. Meaning take time off from cracking the books and do some fun things and things you are interested in for atleast 6 months and then start making some decisions from there.

Answer 3

You are qualified to teach your daughter. Right now she's three years old so you can mostly teach her through games. Play Monopoly and she'll learn math, there's computer games like Reader Rabbit, et cetera.

If you're constantly traveling, homeschooling will be easier than settling in to a new school and leaving all the time. She will still have friends -if you take her to a playground, she'll make friends. If you take her anywhere, she'll make friends- and you get to spend more time with her.

When she gets older, she can start doing more on her own. When she's around ten, you might try cyberschooling. If you want to continue homeschooling through high school, that's no problem. Nobody sits down with their 17-year old and gives her a calculus lesson. At that point, you're probably entirely -or almost entirely- independently doing everything. She can take classes at community college or you can hire tutors.

Only real downside I've ever encountered is other people not understanding and making all these nasty assumptions about you. Such is life.

Answer 4

Yes, you are definitely capable of homeschooling your daughter if you are dedicated to learning and dedicated to your daughter.

Research has shown that whether parents have a high school diploma or higher level education doesn't affect the children's results much.

If you are travelling a lot, homeschooling would actually be ideal. She won't miss any school, you get to travel as a family, you can incorporate where you travel to into her studies... The one tricky thing would be to make sure that she does have contact with other kids (they don't need to be EXACTLY the same age).

There are lots of ups: tailored education, less exposure to negative stuff at school that they end up adopting, closeness as a family (just search in Yahoo Answers for homeschooling pros and you'll find more detailed answers). For downs, people's reactions is the big one.

Answer 5

As has already been said, the problem with homeschooling is that the child does not get the social life like in school.

Although that's not always a bad thing, considering the environment a lotta schools have.

Once you are past that, there's the amount of time involved. It requires dedication and a lot of it.

However, the upside is that not only will you and your daughter be spending a lot of time together (BIG plus), but, if you let her grow and simply give direction, she WILL learn more than many public-school-taught children will and in a more loving environment.

As for teaching ability, the only things you need are patience, love and dedication to your daughter's education. I would advise the Robinson Curriculum, the one I was taught on, as it teaches that you should simply give your child the basics (reading, writing and arithmetic) and let them learn what they are most interested in from there.

Answer 6

If you feel that you are more capble of educating your child in EVERY subject. (not just your favorite) all the way from 1+1 to pre-calculus, abc to the fall of facisim in the 20th century, then be my guest.

The point is that teachers go through 4-7 years of collegete training and continual training after they start teaching to be trained in their specific area. I have been teaching elementary education for 3 years, and there is no way that I would feel compitent teaching high school subjects.

It may seem that you are doing fine and that your student is doing well, but there are so many pieces of information that students miss out on with homeschooling that I would sincerely recommend you staying away from it.

The analogy that I always make is that you would not build your house up from the ground floor and do every aspect yourself. Yes you may be capable in some areas, but you don't want to just "work your way" through the electrical or plumbing or the siding. It wouldn't be a complete house. SO why do that with your child? Let the experts who are trained in education do their work and teach your child.

Answer 7

If you are a mom then you are qualified. If you have taught your child whats right and whats wrong, that is home schooling. If you have taught your child ABC's and 123's then that is home schooling as well. If you are concerned about the laws in your state or wondering where to start, go to www.hslda.org. There are lots of links on their site for home schooling. You might not realize but you are more than likely already "home schooling". Good luck to you and your family! Stephanie B

p.s One of the ups is freedom of life. You wont be tied down to the "school" schedule and you can leave when you want. Home schooling can follow you all over the world.

One of the downs, is the labeling and the political aspect of it. You will get a lot of negative responses, but lots of positive as well when you join the home schooling world. Be strong and just believe in yourself and your ability to do what is right for your children!!

Answer 8

home schooling is good. i was home schooled for 2 years. my mom didnt have any special skills or anything either but when i went back to public school i was actually smarter than the rest of my grade level. now if you dont have the time then defently dont do it!!! you should also make sure you have the right stuff to school on or you could actually be damaging your childs education. but i did it and loved it. it also gives you personal time as mother and daughter which is usually needed in a home.

Answer 9

You bet you are. Your daughter/son is just a baby. You can start teaching her/him to read and write, to use the computer. When your daughter/son gets to the point that she/he is getting to good then this is when you either send her/him somewhere she/he can keep learning, or you learn the material first then teach her/him.
You have years to go before worrying if your child will be beyond your teaching.
Just make sure your child gets the socialization a child needs with there own age group.

Answer 10

I'm not in favour of it because I feel that there are things that children can only learn at school, ie how to cope with being teased and how to make friends.

But, that is just my opinion.

However, on the plus side, the bond between mother and child would be amazing.

If you are organised, you can do anything.