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Not everyone is qualified to teach their own child.
Staunch homeschooling advocates will answer the question, "Are you qualified to teach your own child?" with an unequivocable YES.
YES. Simply by being a child's parent gives you the qualifications to educate them yourself at home. Parents do the very best they can, and by the grace of God any educational gaps melt away. Anyone can homeschool their own child.
Flip the coin.
Many homeschool critics will answer that same question with a resounding NO.
NO. You must have QUALIFICATIONS to homeschool your children. You must have a high school/college/teaching degree. You must have prior EXPERIENCE. Some children are just better off in brick and mortar school.
When anyone sits down with me to find out more about homeschooling and to SERIOUSLY talk homeschooling with me, I tell them they CAN DO IT! I tell them my own story, and then I give them my Homegrown Learners business card and encourage them to visit the blog.
My desire is to further the cause of homeschooling through encouragement, ideas, and honest conversations.
Let's have an honest conversation about people being qualified to teach their own child:
* Society has trained most parents to believe they are NOT qualified to teach their own children.
* Many parents don't homeschool because they think there are too many sacrifices involved.
* If you really want to home educate you will figure out a way to bolster your qualifications to give your child the best education possible.
Case in Point
Just last week I was having a conversation with someone I've known for quite a few years now. They were telling me that there was no way they could homeschool their child because they "just won't listen to me. We are too much alike and would butt heads all day long. Homeschool would be a disaster. Besides, I want my child to know what the real world is like."
{Let's not even address the last part of the comment above -- we just know that is false.}
This person is NOT qualified to teach their own child. The desire, heart, and faith in herself and her child is lacking.
My heart breaks for a generation of children who are being raised by parents who don't even think their children will listen to them.
The mom who made this statement is VERY intelligent and capable. She would be a fine teacher for her child.
Our culture, however, leads us to believe we aren't an authority figure for our child. Children place more stock in what their peers and teachers say than what their own parents say. It's alarming when you really stop and think about the gravity of the situation.
Homeschooling is not a Sacrifice
It's funny, because I used to think that homeschooling was some big "sacrifice" on my part. I thought I would really be giving up a lot to keep my children at home.
I was supposedly giving up:
- income
- time
- personal interests and goals
- sanity
Those were the thoughts of a misguided, selfish mom who had a lot of growing up to do. I see now that we have GAINED so very much through homeschooling. Some days it just hits me how much we have gained. Some of the benefits include:
- a bond with my children that is incredibly deep
- TIME for our family
- authority - my children view their dad and I as authority - not peers
- intellectual DEPTH
Equip Yourself to Homeschool
I don't believe you can just set out to homeschool without a plan.
Homeschooling takes a lot of careful research and strategy. You need to know what the different methods are. You need to know what kind of learners you have, and what method best fits your learners.
You need to be committed to lifelong learning and pursuit of excellence.
Resources for Learning
This year I have felt more "qualified" than ever before to teach my children. I believe this directly correlates to the amount of reading and learning I have been doing in my "free" time. It also speaks volumes of the community I live in and the many moms I am so grateful to call friends.
Special thanks to Classical Conversations and its ongoing committment to equip parents to train their children in excellence. The community support and culture of learning is something I greatly treasure.
In addition to our weekly community meetings, I also read a variety of books to keep learning with my children, and learning HOW to best serve their needs. It's also so important to keep yourself EDUCATED - not just one step ahead of what your children are learning, but educated in a broad sense.
My favorite resources right now include:
The Core
The Question
Hold Onto Your Kids
Amusing Ourselves to Death
The History of the Ancient World (and other books in this series)
The Well Trained Mind
Recovering The Lost Tools of Learning
The Great Homeschool Convention
This week I will be attending The Great Homeschool Convention in Greenville, SC. I look forward to this convention each year because I know I will LEARN. I will be in COMMUNITY. Last year I came away feeling equipped to design an education for my children that was rich, challenging, and based on God's word.
I hope to attend many wonderful sessions, and I can't wait to see Dr. Ben Carson speak on Saturday evening! We've been reading Gifted Hands and it is moving and inspirational.
The exciting thing about this year, though, is that I will be in the exhibition hall with my SQUILT Music Appreciation Curriculum. I am being carried by Silver Age Music (my friend Professor Carol). If you have an upper grades student and are looking for a truly wonderful music history course, Professor Carol is your resource! She is the author of Discovering Music: 300 Years of Interaction in Western Music, Arts, History, and Culture and Exploring America’s Musical Heritage.
We are teaming up for this convention because we feel that between the two of us, we can serve the homeschool child from preschool to high school with quality music appreciation materials.
If you're going to be in Greenville, PLEASE leave me a comment or send me a message! I will be sitting with lots of other Classical education folks and soaking up every minute I can -- and I'd love for you to come visit me on the couch with Professor Carol!
How do you keep your skills as a homeschool teacher sharp? What are your favorite ways to keep learning and growing? Are you attending a homeschool convention this year?