Are you a parent or a teacher?  This is a question many parents have faced as school at home has become the norm over the past few months.  It seems that, of these accidental homeschoolers, a small minority enjoy it, others find it to be ‘not too bad, but not ideal’, and still others are truly struggling.

It’s important to note that public school can be a great option.  Students can thrive in that environment.  They can also thrive as homeschoolers.  But the two require different approaches.

My thoughts on school at home during coronavirus:

  • Public school is not designed to be implemented at-home.
  • Homeschooling doesn’t work if you’re trying to be a public school teacher.

The New York Times published an article a few weeks ago titled, “How to get your kids to treat you like a teacher.”  The article outlined guidelines for helping parents who are struggling with the whole transition from public school to homeschool.  I maintain that you’re NOT a public school teacher.  You’re a parent trying to teach your kids.  It’s an important distinction.

For those of us who choose to homeschool, it’s a chance to do things differently from public school.  To take what we consider the good parts and expand on them and to avoid some of the pitfalls.  To explore other ways for our children to learn and grow.

We might start homeschooling with structure similar to public school…

 “We’ll do history from 9 to 9:45 a.m. and then we’ll work on writing for 30 minutes, and then we’ll take a 15 minute break, and then….”

…but our schedules evolve as the days, months, and years pass. Some families stay pretty structured, others less so.  In short, everyone finds what works for them.  

I don’t consider myself a Teacher.  Yes, I teach my kids.  But I’m doing it as their parent.  When they were younger I provided more structure, but the goal was always for me to move into the role of a supportive partner in learning.  To make it a collaborative effort.  

Somewhere around middle school, I feel that the student should be coming into their own – realizing that they need to be independent learners.  Not that they need to be able to learn without my help or guidance.  But that they need to take responsibility for their learning.  

At least, that’s our goal.  We want our kids to learn for the sake of learning and not just go for the grade. You can read more about my student evaluation process here. Once our kids realize they can learn just about anything, then they’ll know they can DO just about anything.

That’s how I think homeschooling is supposed to work. I’m not a public school teacher in my house.  I’m a parent leading my child down a path, then walking beside them, and finally providing backup as needed when they venture off on their own.