Bryn here; I just wanted to preface the very first guest blog post in the According to Bryn series.
I want to begin by introducing one of my wonderful creative writing friends. Rebekah is from Wyoming in the United States and after meeting through social media, we have become the best of friends. So much so, I now regard Rebekah as my American sister – she means that much to me! So without further ado, I will now hand over to Rebekah, who is going to skim the surface of Home Schooling, a subject which I find deeply interesting, if only because I very nearly went down this route myself.
Hello everyone!
My name is Rebekah. I write a blog called places-in-the-heart.com.
Today, as a guest blogger, I am going to discuss the topic of Home School.
First though, I would like to give a warm thank you to my friend Debra, for allowing me this opportunity to be a guest blogger on her author’s website. It is such an honor and privilege to be able to be a part of her website.
Now, let’s get to it, shall we?
I am a home school Mom in the U.S. my kids have always been home-schooled. Whereas I’m not against public school by no means, as I was a public-school kid myself. We just felt that for our kids and our family, this was the way to go.
What led to this decision were the obstacles we had been seeing and dealing with, with my step kids in public school.
In the public school system, they call it “no kid left behind.” What that means (in a nutshell) is kids were moved onto the next grade before they were ready. These kids were falling through the cracks!
My stepson was in special reading classes as well as tutoring. Again, he fell through the cracks. The teachers/tutors would constantly cancel their lesson or cut them short. They wouldn’t give the help that the child so desperately needed. At age 20, my stepson struggled to read and spell. What a tragedy.
So, the journey of home-schooling our kids we had together began. It’s a hard task at first. Trying to break free of all you know or knew as a public-school kid yourself. Plus, with all the curriculum choices out there… it’s so overwhelming!
Once you find your niche though, it’s worth it!
Now, I’m not saying Home School is for every family or every child, because it’s not. You always need to do what’s right for your family and/or child.
Every state has their requirements for Home School families. For me, I do have to turn in my curriculum to my school district every year.
Home School has so much freedom! You can set up your Home School however you want, whenever you want. Just be sure to get in the required school time.
It’s flexible and gives your children the one on one that they need, plus they can go as fast or as slow as they need to fully understand what they are learning. Your child may excel in a few subjects but lack in others. As common as this is also in public-school, the whole of the curriculum is standardized per grade.
Home School doesn’t recognize grades per se. We let them do different grade levels in different subjects according to their strengths, so they don’t get bored or frustrated. Field trips are more rewarding as well. They get more hands-on time and it’s also family time.
I personally make any opportunity to be a learning opportunity, such as shopping, gardening, cooking cleaning etc.… It allows you to find new ways to help your kids learn what they need to learn, in an everyday environment. Home School essentially teaches for life not on how to pass a test.
Now, the downside of home-schooling IF there is one:
Home-schoolers, while common these days, get a bad rap. So many people claim to “home school” and don’t really as they’re supposed to do, so those parents ruin it for the ones who, like me, put in the work and truly do proper home school.
The biggest question or debate has been the socialization of the kids. If you are doing your due diligence as a home school parent, you get your kids in activities with other home school kids, such as a co-op or extracurricular activities.
Plus, the personality of your children plays a huge role in this as well… even in public-school.
Another issue I have, which is kind of a big one for me, it’s a big pet peeve actually…is people finding out that your child is home-schooled, so they think it’s their job to “quiz” my child on their knowledge.
These said people don’t quiz a kid in public-school, so why do they think it’s ok to quiz my kid? The thing is, they don’t know where we are at in curriculum, or if the child has learning disabilities.
It’s the same for a public-school child. Every Home School or public-school teaches different curriculum at different times and stages. It also puts any kids in an awkward situation. Most people that “quiz” my kids hardly know my kids or have just met them. So of course, my children are going to be awkward and uncomfortable. In that situation, it’s like they forget everything they know because they are uncomfortable and put on the spot by a stranger. This is not ok with me.
Do I personally quiz and test my kids, absolutely! Do I help them in understanding situations of learning in different situations and environments: yes!
But to find out what my kids know because of their own selfish, judgmental, curiosity, to me that’s not only rude and inappropriate, you’re also weaponizing your own personal agenda against my children.
So please, don’t do this, it does more harm than good. I want my kids to flourish and embrace education not be afraid of it.
This is basically the main reasons for home-schooling.
Does it delve deeper: absolutely!
If we had more time, we could continue, but we don’t unfortunately. I just wanted to shed a little bit of light on the subject for all of the readers.
I hope that whatever your thoughts are on this subject, this post has helped you see things from a different perspective.
The bottom line is, public-school or Home School, these children are our future, and we need to give them all the love, understanding, encouragement and support we can.
Thank you for reading.
I hope you continue to follow Debra’s author website and enjoy all her new books and guest bloggers. Until next time….!
All my best, Rebekah
BP
3rd August 2023