I’m a homeschool mom, but that’s not where this story begins.
Nearly thirty years ago as I was about to enter the second grade, the guidance counselor met with my mother to discuss my attitude.
You see, I was reading at a level several grades above my peers, and I was bored. Very bored. And frustrated. I hated listening to the other kids struggle to read. I could already spell words that students several grades higher couldn’t spell. The counselor suggested moving me from my current grade level to the next for the following school year. My mom knew that I had a birthday on the later side compared to my peers. I wasn’t quite emotionally mature enough to move ahead a year, not to mention that I was a bit introverted.
I didn’t love public school
She decided to keep me in that class, but I spent the entirety of that school year bored and frustrated. I begged to stay home and dreaded going to school every day. I knew I’d learn more at home with my mom than I would at school! I didn’t know it then, but I definitely would have loved being homeschooled! The freedom to work at my own pace would have been just what I needed.
Unfortunately, homeschooling wasn’t really something people did at that time. The internet wasn’t even readily accessible at libraries and businesses, let alone in people’s homes.
Now we have the internet
Times surely have changed! In thirty years’ time, homeschooling has exploded as a viable option for children across the country. With the advent of the internet, families are able to connect with resources and information that didn’t exist when I was a child. Now, over 2 million children receive their education at home. I get to be a homeschool mom, and it is amazing!
Parents today have instant access to homeschooling resources and materials. Local groups of homeschool families and online forums and groups have popped up all over the country. They provide a network of support and companionship that would have been much more difficult to create when I was a child. Now, parents have a plethora of options when it comes to educating their children. Homeschooling is a choice more and more families are choosing each year.
Choices. That’s one of the great things about the good ole U.S. of A. We have choices and options. Today it is easier than ever to homeschool your children. The internet has paved the way for sharing ideas and information in such a way that didn’t exist when I was a child.
Why I didn’t go back to the PS classroom
And that brings me to the present: I worked diligently to become a teacher and spent countless hours prepping and planning for my own classes each year. It was a rat race. High school language arts classes became high school test prep academies. With my heart set on staying home with my children, I walked out of the profession and never looked back.
The parts of teaching I loved and dreamed of made up less than 20 percent of my time spent at school. My performance wasn’t based on inspiring critical thinking in my students or nurturing creativity; it was based on test scores that weren’t even fair for all of my students. Not exactly the career I envisioned.
I taught test-taking techniques instead of reading great literature with my students, and it soured me very quickly on the idea of working in public education any longer than I already had. And I don’t even need to discuss some of the other challenges, because it became very clear to me when my first child was born that I was called to serve my family at home, and I have accepted that my career is being a homeschool mom.
My final thoughts
So to sum it up, I’m a defunct teacher with two overpriced, fancy-schmancy college degrees who homeschools her children after working for public schools for the better part of a decade. The irony isn’t lost on me! However, as I get to know our local homeschool community, I’ve found countless other parents with similar backgrounds. Education degrees are being put to use every day within the four walls of their homes, and that’s an amazing gift to our children.
I’ve also met many other parents with a variety of education and work experiences who simply care deeply about what their children are learning, how they’re learning it, and who’s teaching it to them. And so this group of parents from all walks of life shares the common thread of choice: they’re all exercising educational choice for their children based on what they think is best for their family. This, dear reader, is the beauty of home education and America!
What do you think about homeschooling your children?
