Does it work?
Once you announce you are going to home educate your kids, you may be asked if homeschooling really works. Many people out there have never met a homeschooling family; They have never spent time with young children who are thriving in a homeschool environment; they have never met a teenager who has spent his whole life being educated at home. The folks who are questioning your decision, then, may be simply asking out of curiosity or ignorance, but sometimes out of fear or suspicion.
I used to cringe when asked this question when the kids were really young. I remember being questioned by my husband's family; all of them asking me if we really knew what we were doing, and if it was going to work out, and weren't we sheltering our kids too much? I knew that they were motivated by love and concern; my husband's family is a close knit Italian clan that values family ties dearly. I knew they meant no harm, but I still couldn't help feeling stupid and unsure about homeschooling. All I could say was that we would have to let time tell whether or not it was a good idea. I wish back then I had been armed with some useful statistics, but that was about 15 years ago, and while there was some data out there, there wasn't as much as there is now, nor was it as readily available. Now, you can search the web and come up with all sorts of studies and statistics that show, indeed, homeschooling works. If I had had a smart phone then, I could have addressed their questions and concerns rather well!
My advice to you is to do a thorough search, and have information handy should you find yourself on the defensive. Become familiar with some of the data so that you can use it when you find yourself in a conversation with a curious neighbor or relative. This will also greatly encourage you as you see evidence and data that confirms homeschooling works. Not that we have something to prove to the world, or that we must defend ourselves, but rather, we can do a lot to clear up misunderstandings, misinformation and simple ignorance.
In addition, you need to be aware that there are, unfortunately, people who would like to see home education placed under severe restrictions, only administered by parents who are certified teachers, or outlawed altogether. So, when being confronted or questioned, look at it as an opportunity to educate and enlighten and maybe even encourage someone who doesn't know a thing about homeschooling. One of the things I have done is to make sure all my neighbors meet and get to know my kids. My 4 older kids have been hired by neighbors for yard work, walking dogs, babysitting, shoveling snow, washing cars and helping move heavy items for people. My neighbors love my kids. For many of them, we were the first homeschooling family they had ever met, and any doubts they had about it have mostly cleared up. They may not agree that it's the best, or they may feel it's not for them, but they do see it working, and are much more open to it than before.
So, yeah, it works. Not one hundred percent of the time; but what does? It works, but in a different way that brick and mortar schools do. It's a huge commitment. It's not for everyone. Some families try it and realize it's not for them, or they do it temporarily because it's what works best for them for a time. But for many of the families that do try it, it works and works well.
I used to cringe when asked this question when the kids were really young. I remember being questioned by my husband's family; all of them asking me if we really knew what we were doing, and if it was going to work out, and weren't we sheltering our kids too much? I knew that they were motivated by love and concern; my husband's family is a close knit Italian clan that values family ties dearly. I knew they meant no harm, but I still couldn't help feeling stupid and unsure about homeschooling. All I could say was that we would have to let time tell whether or not it was a good idea. I wish back then I had been armed with some useful statistics, but that was about 15 years ago, and while there was some data out there, there wasn't as much as there is now, nor was it as readily available. Now, you can search the web and come up with all sorts of studies and statistics that show, indeed, homeschooling works. If I had had a smart phone then, I could have addressed their questions and concerns rather well!
My advice to you is to do a thorough search, and have information handy should you find yourself on the defensive. Become familiar with some of the data so that you can use it when you find yourself in a conversation with a curious neighbor or relative. This will also greatly encourage you as you see evidence and data that confirms homeschooling works. Not that we have something to prove to the world, or that we must defend ourselves, but rather, we can do a lot to clear up misunderstandings, misinformation and simple ignorance.
In addition, you need to be aware that there are, unfortunately, people who would like to see home education placed under severe restrictions, only administered by parents who are certified teachers, or outlawed altogether. So, when being confronted or questioned, look at it as an opportunity to educate and enlighten and maybe even encourage someone who doesn't know a thing about homeschooling. One of the things I have done is to make sure all my neighbors meet and get to know my kids. My 4 older kids have been hired by neighbors for yard work, walking dogs, babysitting, shoveling snow, washing cars and helping move heavy items for people. My neighbors love my kids. For many of them, we were the first homeschooling family they had ever met, and any doubts they had about it have mostly cleared up. They may not agree that it's the best, or they may feel it's not for them, but they do see it working, and are much more open to it than before.
So, yeah, it works. Not one hundred percent of the time; but what does? It works, but in a different way that brick and mortar schools do. It's a huge commitment. It's not for everyone. Some families try it and realize it's not for them, or they do it temporarily because it's what works best for them for a time. But for many of the families that do try it, it works and works well.
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