It’s possible that homeschooling has never faced this much inquiry on a global scale. As parents begin to consider the possibility of sending their little angels to school in the fall, with the possibility of children in masks, sitting several feet from their peers, eating lunch at their desks, and possibly going without recess, they are beginning to consider a more nurturing alternative. For some, they have been considering homeschooling for years. Thanks to Corona, homeschooling is looking more like a necessity. I live in Washington State where everything seems as if it will be shut down for the foreseeable future. The likelihood of school starting back in the fall is slim. More than likely the students and teachers will have to continue with distance learning.
This is the last time I am going to say this. . . . . I know that some parents are left without a choice. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. You can’t have a conversation these days without someone feeling the need to remind you that not everyone can do it. That being said………….moving on.
“You have to have a bachelors degree to homeschool,” was someone’s response when someone else suggested that parents simply unenroll their kids, thinking that the governor would take a hint and open the schools again. Another individual said, “ by law they have to be enrolled in something else if you pull them.” I was blown away by this misinformation. In our state you have around three options. You have to have 45 college quarter credits, attend a parent qualifying course, or be under the supervision of a teacher(“Homeschool Laws,” n.d.). If you use one of the many charter-like alternative school options you are considered “under the supervision of a teacher”.
Would a bachelors degree help you with homeschooling? I have heard MANY homeschool moms with teaching degrees confess that their degrees have been completely useless in their world of homeschooling. In fact, many will tell you that their teaching degree has more to do with “classroom management”. According to the National Home Education Research Institute, “Homeschool students score above average on achievement tests regardless of their parents’ level of formal education or their family’s household income” (Ray, 2020). The NHERI also states that having a certified teacher for a homeschool parent is not related to a child’s academic achievement.
There isn’t anything that I am going to say that you couldn’t find 1,000+ other places on the internet. However, I have come to learn that some people are just more connected to what they hear or read from friends.
Can you homeschool? Yes! Should we even call it “school”? Maybe not. From time to time I come across people who inadvertently imply that I am not a teacher. Duh. I am not a teacher (the type you are thinking of), but I AM a LEARNER. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” I am not a teacher (in a government school sense), but I am interested in partnering with my child in learning. This is 2020. The world is at our fingertips, LITERALLY. It is my job to lead by example.
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than Christ.” Colossians 2:6-8
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