Читать книгу Homeschooling For Dummies - Jennifer Kaufeld - Страница 11

Stunned, you look up one morning over your cup of coffee. How did you get from being a perfectly happy public or private school parent to someone contemplating homeschooling? When did the feeling begin to dawn on you that you weren’t ready to send your bundle of preschool joy out into the school world, and you also aren’t entirely sure he’s ready to go, either?

You may be tired of spending four hours on homework after your child returns from a full day at school. Reteaching the skills at night to a child who passed the daytime hours at school is exhausting and frustrating for both you and your child. You’re both tired, you want to get the work done and out of the way, and you may even quietly resent the intrusion into what used to be your family time.

Maybe the escalated violence in elementary, middle, and high schools worries you. You hear reports of guns and knives in school, police patrolling the halls, and you want to ensure (as best as you can) that your children remain safe. Or violence may have already touched your community, and you feel the need to react in a positive way while you still have time.

Perhaps you see your family values, traditions, or religious beliefs lessening as your child spends more and more time in an institutional setting, and this bothers you. Children function best from a strong foundation, which is hard to build when they spend six to eight hours per day outside a parent’s care while they’re still young. Parents see amazing changes even after bringing high school students into homeschooling from a troubled school setting, but building the foundation when they’re young is easiest. In this case, homeschooling builds (or rebuilds) strong families, which in turn provides balanced adults for society.

Your child’s lack of academic progress may concern you. As every parent knows, each child develops in her own time and in her own way. School materials are designed for the mythical middle-of-the-road child who learns certain skills at certain times. If your child fits outside the mold, she may fall behind in classes or show signs of stress. Pulling this child out of public or private school and teaching her at home takes the pressure off and allows you to spend as much time as necessary working through specific subjects or skills.

Perhaps family work or activity schedules clash irreparably with school schedules. Although not the most common reason for homeschooling, this is certainly as valid as any of the others. If one parent travels several months of the year or a family business or passion, such as stage or athletic performing skews your weekly schedule, then homeschooling may prove to be the optimal solution for your family. It allows you to be together, do what you need to do, and still meet your state’s educational requirements.

No matter what your reasons are for wanting to homeschool your children, if they center around what’s best for your family right now, then your reasons are valid and worth pursuing. Home education is all about meeting your child’s needs. If the school no longer meets those needs, and you’re willing to take the plunge and give it a try, then you may find homeschooling a perfect fit.