Famous last words. Never say never, right? But I genuinely felt that way. We were accidental homeschoolers, anyway. I would get my two sons through the most transitional, difficult parts of the educational process, and then I would hand them over to the publics schools to prepare them for college.
But two years ago, my oldest son was finishing up middle school, and the time had almost arrived. I knew there was a problem when every time I would drive by the school he was supposed to be attending in the coming year, I had a sneer of disgust on my face. I watched the herds of kids moving across the campus to their next class, and realized he would be part of that herd very soon. Just one of the crowd. Part of the gang.
YIIIIIIIIIIKES!!!!
Individuality. Diversity. Thinking for yourself.
Those have always been the cornerstones of our homeschool philosophy. No matter what we have studied, or what homeschool curriculum we used, I never let my two boys get through a lesson without asking them their opinion on what they were learning. The book, the lesson, the curriculum might say something was definitive, but I always opened it up to discussion.
These discussions have been the highlight of our homeschool adventure. In fact, I think I have learned far more from the insights of my boys, that they ever learned from any instruction I ever gave.
Sadly, I don’t remember a whole lot of discussion and open-mindedness in high school. There was a lot of “this is the way it is”, and “you need to know this”, and “I’m sorry, but I don’t have time for more explanation.” But not much discussion. In high school, like any organized function, the good of the whole takes precedence over the needs of the individual. In fact, if I remember correctly, it wasn’t until my first year of college that I even experienced a truly open discussion of a topic in a classroom.
So of course I had to eat my words. “I will never homeschool high school” turned into “I will gladly homeschool high school because my sons deserve to continue to think for themselves - - especially as they prepare for college.”
Does the thought of homeschooling your children through high school seem as daunting to you as it did to me? What are your plans? What do your kids think about it? Are you open to homeschooling all the way to graduation?
Weigh in!
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I'm actually more excited about homeschooling high school. My big concern was, "Can I teach my kids to read?" Everyone made it sound like something only professionals could do.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, high school is the really interesting stuff. And I really think it's when your kids need you the most. Not in the same way as when they were babies - but they need your guidance, support, and oversight.
My friends who have homeschooled until high school and then put their kids in public school have not had the best results. Academically their kids are fine, but they've had a lot of other problems. In my opinion, it's just not worth the risk. But hey, that's me - I started out as an activist homeschooler and now would say I'm half activist/half just plain homeschooler.