A post for all homeschoolers

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While clearing my email inbox I clicked on my weekly CurrClick newsletter that I had not had the time to read. Along with its weekly freebie, there was an accompanying article entitled Not Everyone Should Homeschool by Stephanie Prahl that had me nodding my head in agreement all the way 🙂

So I thought I should share this with all potential and current homeschoolers out there. You can find out more about Stephanie Prahl’s products at her website at 4 Little Penguins.

Not Everyone Should Homeschool

There I said it. Not everyone should homeschool. It is good that as a group we generally whole-heartedly support anyone’s decision to take the plunge into the homeschool pool. We eagerly dispense advice on the best places to find curriculum and our personal favourites in the textbook world. We easily proffer little knowledge nuggets like learning styles and how to use the library to round out our homeschooling efforts. Sometimes we will ask why someone has decided to homeschool. The reasons for homeschooling vary like snowflakes it seems.

However, homeschooling is not a solution to all ills. Homeschooling for the wrong reasons can be like getting married for the wrong reasons and like an ill-conceived marriage; homeschooling for the wrong reasons can lead to disaster for parents and children alike.

The next time someone announces with a joyful voice that they too are homeschooling this year feel free to be brave and ask the following questions.

1.    Do you feel called to homeschool?
2.    Are your husband and you of one accord with regards to homeschooling?
3.    Are you ready to completely jump in and embrace the LIFESTYLE of homeschooling?

When I am asked what I mean by embracing the homeschool lifestyle I’ll often reply thusly:

“Homeschooling involves your whole life. Your day, how it develops, what activities you attend or decline, everything you do will be summarily affected by the fact that you now homeschool. It is like getting married. When you were married your life changed from when you were single. How you approach everything changed to a degree because you are bonded to another person and out of respect and love you share your life with them.

Effective homeschooling is similar. It is a bond you’re creating with your children, that you are promising to prepare them for whatever the future may hold, to the best of your ability. You’re promising to make sure that they are educated at least as well and with as much interest and time as a brick and mortar school. It is not a hobby to be toyed with enthusiastically for a few months a year. There is a sacrifice of time, energy and money.”

As you can imagine this response often gets me “fun” looks. I am not trying to scare anyone away. Homeschooling is a decision that is very scary for some. It is a LOT of responsibility. However, unless all 3 of the above are truly met with a yes then homeschooling can be an albatross tied to you and not the glorious adventure it was meant to be. It should not be a rash decision made when you’re arguing with the school principal over an overdue school library book.

A lot of prayer, thought, care and consideration should go into the decision. The homeschool family should pray over this decision every year. Not Everyone Should Homeschool and Not Everyone Should Homeschool Through High School. Make sure the decision is made for the right reasons each year and even in difficult days your family and you will be happy to be homeschooling.

Stephanie Prahl is a veteran homeschooler who earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from USCS and then went on to obtain her Master’s in Education from Converse University, magna cum laude.  She has been writing and teaching in the homeschool community for several years. For more information about Stephanie visit her company website 4 Little Penguins.

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