Your Choice Whether to Homeschool

This is the 6th in my series of articles on homeschooling of why I decided to homeschool my son, my experiences as a child and a secondary school teacher, tutor and trainer in the public school system. Please read my other articles in this series of why I decided to homeschool. The articles in order are:

ARTICLE 1 - My Reasons I Started Homeschooling
ARTICLE 2 - My Nursery School Experience
ARTICLE 3 - My Primary School Experience
ARTICLE 4 - My Junior School Experience
ARTICLE 5 - My Grammar School Experience

YOUR CHOICE WHETHER TO HOMESCHOOL

There are advantages of homeschooling your child. It is usually more convenient for your child, as he will receive 1-to-1 individual tuition and attention in a loving and caring environment and will not involve long journeys to school or any other negative aspects of public schooling, he can still see his friends from the local neighbourhood and play with them and also meet other homeschooled children, if you effectively network and establish contacts with other homeschoolers within your area or district.

The LEA or School Board will want you to organize your child's education and teach your child in line with the curriculum subjects offered within mainstream schools and this may involve an Education Visit. What will this visitor be looking for? You may be contacted by your LEA or School Board for a visit to your home to take place. That first phone call will create a vital impression of the homeschool environment. Be prepared to welcome a visit at any time and do not attempt under any circumstances to dissuade them from visiting. When or if a LEA/School Board visitor does come around, ensure that your child is with you when they are to visit and when you are in discussion with them, ensuring that you have set your child to do to keep them occupied within the same room. Give helpful directions to the Visitor as to how to get to your home. Devise subject and individual lesson plans with performance critera for each lesson and the attainment level you are planning your child to reach and achieve in a specified time frame.

So what kind of questions might the LEA/School Board visitor ask you about your plans to homeschool and what are they looking for?

OUTSIDE YOUR HOME

- Is your home well cared for generally
- Do the gardens and surrounding grounds look tidy
- Is there graffiti on or around your home?
- How your child behaves when moving in and out of your home
- If your visitor speaks to local people, what would they say
about the behaviour of your child
- Is there a welcome and friendly atmosphere upon entering your
home?

INSIDE YOUR HOME

- Their first impression? Is the place in which you are going
to teach your child bright and clean with interesting
collections of your child's work on display?
- Are they welcomed in a friendly way and are they
made to feel at home
- Have you introduced yourself by name?
- Not being kept waiting, if it does happen, the temporary host
of the house providing an explanation.

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF YOUR HOMESCHOOLING CHOICE

- You having a clear idea of the educational aims of
Homeschooling
- Being given some explanation by you on the range of
Subjects you will teach your child and how this will alter
as your child progresses
- To feel that the homeschool is part of a wider community
with you providing a wide range of activities for your child
- Been made to feel that you can make a positive
contribution to the education of your child by homeschooling
- A clear but simple set of rules for your child whilst
Homeschooling them.

AROUND THE AREA YOU WILL TEACH YOUR CHILD

- Been given the opportunity to see around the area in your
home that you have allocated for the formal teaching of your
child
- Seeing examples of your child’s work, showing high standards
and whether it is marked or not by you
- The home study area of your child being clean, tidy
and well organized
- What they can tell about the relationship between you and
your child and (if you are already homeschooling) between
your child and their other brother/s and sister/s
- Being shown a whole range of subjects that you will teach
and if there are any obvious omissions
- Your policy on the child doing homework and project work
outside the formal teaching area
- How your child will move around the formal teaching area
and the inside of your home. Whether your home is fit for
the purpose of homeschooling and orderly.

It is important to say something about public examinations because these are the measures and indicates the educational progress and achievements of each child to set public education standards. It is important to enter your child for public educational exams as this will show to potential Colleges, Universities and potential employers your child's educational achievements. Examination results are important and you will want to feel confident that your choice to homeschool is likely to provide your child with a reasonable chance of success.

One of the most important aspects of homeschooling is the atmosphere. This is very difficult to describe, as it is about feeling. Ultimately, you and your child need to make a decision that takes into consideration all the relevant factors. It is a vital decision and it deserves serious time and effort even if you do or don't eventually decide or continue to homeschool.


My blog will continue on issues related to education and home schooling.

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