Practically the second your baby is born you are required to make major, life-altering decisions for your child starting with their name and continuing with almost every aspect of their lives -- where they'll live, what religion they'll participate in, etc... At age five you have to think about school. Private? Public? Charter? Homeschool? All these options have pros and cons and you have to make a decision based upon your values, the needs of your child, and the future you hope to bring about by making the decision you do. It's exhausting!
Each summer as I start receiving the "back to school" ads in the paper I begin questioning the decision to homeschool. I wonder if it's truly working? Do the kids like it? Am I doing this out of a need to control every aspect of my kids' lives or is it for more altruistic reasons? These questions play over and over as the new school year approaches and I have to fill out my affidavit for the state declaring my intentions.
July 24 those questions, and more, were shouting loudly in my head and I needed some answers before I could proceed. That night we went to my in-laws for our annual July 24th celebration and I struck up a conversation with one of my sisters-in-law about, what else, school. Her son is five and I asked her if she had decided which school option (they were considering private or charter) she had chosen? She gave me a funny look and proceeded to tell me she had decided to HOMESCHOOL! My jaw dropped. This was a girl who, while listening politely as I would talk about homeschool, said she would "never do it" and that "it wasn't for her." I was stunned but I tried to maintain a look of calm on my face so I wouldn't frighten her away. When I asked why, again very nonchalantly, she said she had attended her son's kindergarten orientation and, after listening to the presentation, knew she could not send her son to school. She then listed off all the reasons I usually give for why I homeschool reminding me why I made my decision in the first place and, once again, confirming my reasons.
Obviously nobody knows what the future holds, but I am, once more, certain of my path which, at least until next summer, is homeschooling. Thank you universe.
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4 comments:
For anyone who reads this, you should know I was as skeptical as anyone, supportive, but skeptical. I have a lot of trust in Alisha and Bret as parents and I must say that so far so good. The kids are right on track with where I think they should be "education wise" and they are very well adjusted socially--actually pheonominally (sp?) In fact, I should probably start my own blog just so I can write about my feelings of home school hmmmm
I can't give a blanket endorsement to home schooling because not every mother/father is cut out to be a teacher. And, as with public schools, the teacher makes the critical difference. I attribute most of my professional success to one dedicated high-school journalism teacher who was phenomenal; my parents couldn't have given me that specialized training. But as long as Alisha is the teacher, her home school will vastly surpass any public school.
As always, you are the little trail blazer and have moved into an unknown realm and are helping to make it known to those around you. I know you have helped turn me onto homeschooler to be, thankfully, and look forward to my journey ahead.
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