Soapbox Saturday–Homeschooling

I don’t remember who shared this on Facebook, but I read this article, 18 Reasons Why Doctors and Lawyers Homeschool Their Children. It’s really great, be sure to read the whole thing yourself. It’s written by a doctor who after many years of public and private school, finally turned to homeschooling to meet her family’s educational needs.

Here are a few of the highlights:

1) “We spend less time homeschooling each day than we used to spend driving.”

Oh boy, I can only imagine. I have several friends who have their kids in different magnet schools here in Las Vegas. I can definitely see how this could add up and I personally wouldn’t choose this, but even then sometimes it just happens with kids of different ages. Then all the time spent waiting in a pickup line, running the car in summer, and getting home to have to do homework and other activities. Phew, makes me tired just thinking about it.

3) “Our kids are excelling academically as homeschoolers.”

The author says that by homeschooling they are able to “enrich our children’s strengths and supplement their weaknesses.” That’s so important to teach to your kid’s understanding and not to go too fast or too slow for them. I imagine a lot of behavior issues in the classroom stem from this, a child frustrated with the fast pace or bored with the material being covered.

7) “Our family spends our best hours of each day together.”

I thought this was interesting because I hadn’t considered this when thinking of homeschooling, but you get to spend the best hours of the day with your kids, not just the tired cranky hours.

10) “We are able to work on the kids’ behavior and work ethic throughout the day.”

With the size of classes ever growing, teachers don’t always have time to focus on one student and help them work to their full potential. Through homeschooling, you’re able to bring the best out of your child and show them how to work to their best everyday.

13)   “Younger children learn from older siblings.”

That’s a great bonus and I think a very valuable one. Often children listen better to siblings than parents and at the same time the older sibling has the opportunity to learn to be patient and to learn to be a teacher. A very practical skill that will benefit them throughout their lives.

18)   “Teach kids your own values.”

The author states that 36% of homeschoolers choose this route to teach their own morals and values.  I think that’s great in this ever changing world, kids are taught untrue and unkind things from peers. Especially girls and the things that media, society, and peers teach about body image and ‘beauty’. The author also points out that you get to control how holidays are celebrated and the minor holidays can stay minor. (Like I talked about last week) She’s able to do a small Halloween celebration and then focus on Easter for a week to suit her family’s beliefs.

Overall I really liked this article and it got me thinking. Since becoming a mom I had always written homeschooling off as something other moms with an educational background can do. I’ve always thought how my kid needs structure and a patient teacher. I never thought I could be those things. Now – I don’t know. Maybe I could. I guess it comes down to what is best for our family and our kids.

Only time will tell.

What are your thoughts? Do you/are you going to homeschool? What benefits do you see in homeschooling/public school?

Have a great weekend!!