I've been around homeschoolers for twenty-three years and can remember when it was unusual, unheard-of, and absurd. Back then, no one asked, "How do you socialize?" They hadn't had time to come up with dumb questions like that. And forget about support groups or co-ops: there weren't enough homeschoolers in the state to fill up a conference room! (OK, that might be a slight exaggeration...)
Gradually, homeschooling became more and more popular, with parents pulling their children out of public and private schools in droves. Now, everywhere you turn, you run into these unsocialized homeschoolers. If they aren't winning the National Spelling Bee or playing quarterback at the University of Florida, then they're lawyers, doctors, or worse; they're Moms raising the next generation of homeschoolers!!!
Yep. That would be me. I know my parents weren't perfect, but I will forever bless them for their decision to homeschool before it was cool. And it is my delight to be homeschooling their grandchildren in an age when homeschooling is rampant and homeschoolers are thriving.
As a homeschooled child, the only thing I regretted was not being able to do Drama. Today, it is my delight to teach Drama to homeschooled children, through our local co-op. Most of them realize what a blessing it is to have this available to them and they throw themselves whole-heartedly into the productions.
But I worry about some families. It seems they've forgotten that the first word in homeschool is HOME. Driving here and there for volleyball games, piano lessons, 4-H, Algebra lessons, etc, etc, etc... the poor mothers are run ragged by the crazy demands of their children. Personally, I don't know how they can afford it, and it definitely boggles my mind that anyone would assume responsibility for their child's education and then shift it to untold teachers and groups! How can you call that homeschool? It seems that we have become so busy with extra-curriculars that we have forgotten what is truly important: shaping the lives and the characters of our children-- at home.
I do love our co-op. The opportunity to get together once a week with like-minded families and to share our talents with each other is such a blessing. And I love to teach Drama! That's hard to do with a classroom of three. But I believe we should all keep things in perspective and remember that homeschooling is just that-- schooling done at home.
Gradually, homeschooling became more and more popular, with parents pulling their children out of public and private schools in droves. Now, everywhere you turn, you run into these unsocialized homeschoolers. If they aren't winning the National Spelling Bee or playing quarterback at the University of Florida, then they're lawyers, doctors, or worse; they're Moms raising the next generation of homeschoolers!!!
Yep. That would be me. I know my parents weren't perfect, but I will forever bless them for their decision to homeschool before it was cool. And it is my delight to be homeschooling their grandchildren in an age when homeschooling is rampant and homeschoolers are thriving.
As a homeschooled child, the only thing I regretted was not being able to do Drama. Today, it is my delight to teach Drama to homeschooled children, through our local co-op. Most of them realize what a blessing it is to have this available to them and they throw themselves whole-heartedly into the productions.
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| (Some of my students in our "Lightning Larry" performance) |
But I worry about some families. It seems they've forgotten that the first word in homeschool is HOME. Driving here and there for volleyball games, piano lessons, 4-H, Algebra lessons, etc, etc, etc... the poor mothers are run ragged by the crazy demands of their children. Personally, I don't know how they can afford it, and it definitely boggles my mind that anyone would assume responsibility for their child's education and then shift it to untold teachers and groups! How can you call that homeschool? It seems that we have become so busy with extra-curriculars that we have forgotten what is truly important: shaping the lives and the characters of our children-- at home.
I do love our co-op. The opportunity to get together once a week with like-minded families and to share our talents with each other is such a blessing. And I love to teach Drama! That's hard to do with a classroom of three. But I believe we should all keep things in perspective and remember that homeschooling is just that-- schooling done at home.
Fantastic post! I'm always thrilled to hear from second generation homeschoolers, especially normal ones. ;-P
ReplyDeleteRight now our homeschool is entirely at home. I'd been feeling guilty about not doing more outside stuff, but I just can't find time to do other things without taking away from our real lives! Thanks for posting this. I'll sleep a little bit better now.
Thanks, Cindy! Don't know about the "normal" part-- but I love being a second-generation homeschooler!
ReplyDeleteI would never criticize all extra curriculars, but it is disturbing how many of us get carried away with them! I think it's kind of like starvation: homeschoolers didn't have so many opportunities 20 years ago, and now that there are all these co-ops, debate clubs, etc... we're going crazy with them!
I satisfied my need to teach drama by getting Nathanael to do monologues, video book reviews, and things like that, but I do know how you feel.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading your Homeschooling mistakes series.
True, Carol. You can teach Drama to one student, and I am more than willing to do just that-- (believe me, there is plenty of drama in this household!) but I also enjoy the group productions and am so thankful for the opportunity to work with such wonderful children.
ReplyDeleteI'm already working on my next post. Stay tuned... =)
I don't know why I always catch my mistakes after I publish my blog posts, but I did not mean to indicate that my parents were horrible parents.
ReplyDeleteThey made mistakes because they're human and they didn't have godly role models. But they knew enough to recognize the need for educating their children for Christ, and for that, I bless them.
In a time when homeschooling was as foreign as Mars, they saw a need and took a leap of faith-- I am so glad they did!