Why Homeschool? Let Me List the Reasons…
When people find out we home school our older daughter, I get some version of the following:
“Oh.” “Oh?” or “Oh!”
Then there’s The Pause. It’s not so long as to be terribly uncomfortable, but I can tell the person is regrouping; trying to mesh this new information with what they think about homeschool and what they know about me. Believe it or not, I interact with people through situations where the conversation doesn’t revolve around kids. Amazing, I know!
“Really?” they say. “I could ****NEVER**** do that,” they say. “I have no patience! I have no skills! I need time to myself! My kids need to be in school to be socialized with other kids!” They say, “I’m not capable! I have twelve kids! I have one arm! My eye twitches, for crying-out-loud!” Well, maybe not the last two, but you get where I’m going with this, right…?
Why Do I Homeschool?
Sometimes I even get: “So, why do you home school? What do you do? How do you do it?” And I think they mean both psychologically and technically.
This is when people probably decide that I am actually crazy; not just because I homeschool my kids, but because I really do get excited about it. Enthusiastic even. And soap-boxy. And if you listen long enough I’ll try to convince you that you, too, should homeschool your twelve kids even though you have only one arm and a twitchy eye. I’m downright evangelical when it comes to spreading the Homeschool Word.
“If you listen long enough I’ll try to convince you that you, too, should homeschool your twelve kids even though you have only one arm and a twitchy eye.”
When people ask me questions about homeschooling, I’d like to think it’s because I’m such a great role model and so inspirational (heh). Seriously, though, what I think really goes on is people are thinking some combination of the following: homeschooling your kids is, for some, the Great Unknown and out of the norm, so they’re genuinely curious. They were probably brought up in the system and that’s what they know and it’s hard to think there’s any other way. They may feel something is fundamentally wrong with education as it is today and they want to hear about alternatives. (The problem isn’t with teachers, mind you. Their hands are tied.)
But, we feel our local schools and the state and local administrations that run them are bankrupt and in debt in more ways than monetarily. As for the actual learning environment – there are the bullies and the other social issues that kids even in Kindergarten have to deal with. We want our kids to learn in a safe environment. And we want them to love learning. And we’re not sure that what we’re given in public school is the answer.
Possible Reasons to Homeschool Your Kids
- To get a better quality education than the one you’re zoned for
- To spend more time studying personal religion
- To spend less time studying other’s personal religion
- To escape classroom bullying
- To better support a learning disability
- To better support a learning ability
- To spend more quality time as a family
- To help transition a child from a major life change
- To provide a safer learning environment
- To pursue a child’s athletic talents
- To better support a sensitive child
- To travel the country/world (roadschooling)
- About a hundred more…
Parents choose to homeschool for a variety of reasons: opposition to what the schools are teaching; opposition to what the schools are not teaching; learning style of the child(ren); political, religious, or cultural reasons. It’s as varied and personal as the number of people who do it. And taking your child’s education into your own hands is scary and exciting.
But, seriously… If *I* can do it, anyone can.
In the next article, I’ll tell how we started out and where we are now.
Looking for more topics about homeschooling, specifically in Huntsville & Madison County? See all the posts in the Homeschooling in Huntsville series HERE.
You Might Also Like…
- Advice From Homeschooling Moms to Parents Now Schooling From Home
- Resources for Entertaining & Educating Kids at Home
- Kindergarten Readiness: 12 Ways to Prepare Your Child
Advertisement
Love it! That’s so me!! I love people’s responses to us homeschooling…and the most famouse response-I could never do that!!
I get the same response when I tell them we have adopted three kids on top of our one (4 total) and that somedays we have 6 cause we do foster care.
It is amazing what we can do and why we do it!!
Wonderful post! Thanks for sharing!
I will be following this new writer more closely as we are choosing the homeschooling route. Our ‘pre-school’ begins this fall at the house for both the kids (very very close in age so they will be based on the same level almost) and we are so excited about it! However we do get a lot of disapproving attitudes from family members, which is rather disheartening to say the least.
Thanks for helping to make homeschoolers more ‘normal’
I have been homeschooling my kids for five years. I got those response initially. However, very recently I have noticed the tide turning. People I meet seem to be more open to it now more than ever. I have my own reasons as to why I think that is. I am NOT anti-school, but I think people need to know there are options out there, and homeschooling, for us, has been a beautiful option.
I’m definitely interested in this series as well. I’m actually a strong advocate for improving public schools, but I have friends who homeschool and it’s always beneficial to increase knowledge and understanding of the flip side of a coin. Thanks, RCM, for another great article series 🙂
That is awesome I will be homeschooling my two and most people think I am crazy for doing it I too get the I could never do that and the socialization issues but probably more then that I hear that I am trying to put them in a bubble by not sending them to school and they have to get out in the real world someday but my kids have friends they play at the park and make friends there to play with if we aren’t meeting someone my daughter is in dance/gymnastics and they were both in gymnastics at one point and my son will be in another activity soon they are exposed to the real world everyday
I’ll be looking forward to reading more of this series! I’m almost certain I’ll be homeschooling my kids, at least through 2nd/3rd grade. The main comments I’ve gotten from people have involved the ‘socialization issue’. I’m really not worried about that, as I’m looking forward to dedicating a good portion of our time and budget to field trips. Not to mention that I’m not a hermit…I do have friends (and so do my kids).
Honestly, I’m not entirely convinced I’ve got what it takes, but the more I read, the more I’m convinced that it’s the best option for our family at this time.
I’m so excited to read the next installment. I have a child in 1st and one starting Kdg next school year and I’m seriously considering homeschooling, but I’m still a little scared. I can’t wait to read how you got started!
Thank you for sharing this series! As a first year homeschooler I have heard many of these same comments. I look forward to reading the other posts!!
Thanks for sharing. Even if I am not there yet, homeschooling sounds like a smart option these days.