I've been thinking about writing this post for such a long time. Should I write it? Should I not? What should I include? Well, it's time to do some explaining. Here we go!
My entire life I thought homeschoolers were backwards and weird. What this was based on, I have no idea. I have no recollection of ever meeting someone who was or had been homeschooled. Then I met Richie and liked him immediately. When I found out he had been homeschooled, I was totally surprised! He wasn't ultra-religious, dirty, obsessed with dungeons and dragons....none of the tell-tale signs! Once we were dating seriously and I met his brothers and sister, I was equally floored! Not only were they un-weird, they excelled and were more well-adjusted than most kids their age.
We got married and had a baby. Stuff got real. I actually had to think about this tiny life that we would help form and guide. What would his education be like? "We probably won't homeschool", was my immediate thought. "It's just not for me. I LOVED public school for the most part, I got a degree to teach in a public school. Won't I want a break from my kids when they get older?" And on and on.
It's funny how my perspective changed and how Heavenly Father worked on me. Also, Richie played it so well. He knew that if he insisted on homeschooling our kids, I would flat out refuse. I can be kind of stubborn. I went from thinking, "No way!" to "Well, I can see how some people would like homeschooling." to "I think I might enjoy certain aspects of it." to "We are definitely going to homeschool, and I can't believe I ever thought any differently!" I studied and prayed like you wouldn't believe. Richie let me bounce ideas off him, listen to my questions and rants, and said nothing. (Well played, husband.) Miles turned 4 and I thought, "Ok, I need to be serious about this now. I need to make a choice." Whenever people asked about what our plans were, I tiptoed around the issue and left it up in the air. Once I finally said, "We're planning on homeschooling our kids" out loud, it was like I could feel the peace washing over me. Even though I knew it would be hard and a completely new experience, I felt like I had found out the will of the Lord for our family, and He was going to support us in it.
FAQ's :)
*Are you homeschooling because you feel pressure from your In-Laws?
Nope. I obviously know where they stand on the issue, but they have never once said, "You should do this Rachel, it's so much better" Or anything like that. I kick against the pricks enough that even if they had said they wanted me to homeschool their grandchildren, I probably would have put them in public school...just because. :) This decision had to be made entirely by Richie and I. It's WAY too much work to do, just to please someone else. Nope, this is what WE feel is best for our family right now.
*What do you think about the public school system? Are you against it?
I think the public school system is broken. I really loved going to school, but sometimes I hated certain things that happened. That's going to happen anywhere though, no matter where or how you are schooled. However, I think a lot of things are different in the school system now. In my opinion, it's getting progressively worse. All that being said, I'm not against it. I've confirmed with Richie over and over again, that if I start going crazy or if the kids aren't getting what they need, we will put them in public school, and that's ok. I can either be a great homeschool mom, or a great public school mom. Right now, I'm choosing to do my best to be a great homeschool mom. We'll see what our kids need on a year-to-year basis. At this point, I'd prefer to homeschool all the way through high school. But I don't have a crystal ball and who knows what our family will need in 10 years. That's where praying like crazy and personal revelation comes in.
*Did you choose to homeschool because of common core/religious reasons/you want to control their lives?
1. No, no, and....no. :) I don't particularly like common core, but that didn't really factor into my decision. I'll be honest, I don't really relish the idea that the government is ultimately in control of what my kid is learning, if they go to public school. I don't think I really trust big corporations, government officials, or people that have never taught in a classroom to be in control of what my kid learns. But even with all of that, no, that is not why we chose to homeschool. Yes, it's a factor, but not even the biggest one. 2. I am looking forward to incorporating learning by the spirit and bringing church into school, but that wasn't a deciding factor either. 3.The last one concerns me. I really do not want to control their whole lives. But let's face it, if I'm the primary caregiver/teacher/tutor/etc I will have a lot of control. This scares me on a bunch of levels. With so much seeming to rest on me, I don't want to mess anything up! I also want to raise my children to be independent and capable. Something that will have to be monitored I think.
*What about the social aspect?
I have read so much on this particular question, that now it just makes me laugh. The answer depends on how you define socialization. I was typically socialized in public school. I learned how to stand in lines, to associate only with people my age, and only speak when the time was right. :) Of course, I think I turned out pretty well, but I think I can help my kids be well-adjusted without the aid of public school. Have you noticed that there are tons of weird kids in public school? How come homeschoolers always get the bad rap for being weird then? Have you also noticed that if the parents are weird, the kids tend to be weird, homeschooled or not? I think Richie and I are semi-normal, so I'm hoping that our kids will be also. We have a homeschool group we meet with once a week to learn and play with. Gwen is in our neighborhood joy school. We go to library activities almost once a week. We have regular play dates with other kids. Miles played baseball on a team and we plan on putting our kids in other similar (social) activities. I think they'll be ok.
Feel free to ask me whatever questions pop into your mind. Homeschooling is gaining huge momentum, but it is still an out-of-the-box choice. I realize there are plenty of concerns that other people have. I'm happy to answer any inquiry.
For me, what it came down to is this: I did my student teaching under the direction of a master teacher. We both gave 200% ever day. We still couldn't reach every child. Not even close! There is too big of a difference from the lowest achieving student, to the highest, so you are forced to teach to the middle and hope that everyone catches on somewhere. With my children, the attention is one-on-one. If they excel in reading, I can push them up as many grade levels as I want. If they struggle with math, I can take it as slow as necessary until they really understand things. That can't really happen in a public school setting. Also, I love my kids more than anyone on the face of the planet. No matter how great a teacher they might get in public school, they will never love my children as much as I do, therefore they will never sacrifice as much as I will for my children. So even if I'm still foggy on what the heck I'm actually doing, no one else will put more effort into this venture than me. We feel like Heavenly Father has guided us to this point in our lives and this is what he wants us to do. I'm banking on the fact that because I'm following this personal revelation, He is going to help me along the way. Fingers crossed!
