2020 has not been “normal”.
That is not fake news. It’s just a fact.
As a homeschooling parent, however, I contend my family had much more normalcy than the non-homeschooling family down the street. We had a huge layer of normal that so many weren’t as fortunate to have. I totally get that.
2020 was the year homeschoolers didn’t look quite so weird anymore.
(It’s about time.)
Please understand: I don’t wish a year like 2020 on any of us ever again. I pray 2020 brings health, peace, and safety to our world. I pray all of the children in this world who have been so disrupted by 2020 will have the chance to return to routine and safety in 2021.
As I look back on the year, however, I see a big victory: As a long-time home educating parent, I feel just a tiny bit (well maybe more than a tiny bit) vindicated by the educational events of 2020.
Let’s just proclaim 2020 “The Year of the Homeschooler”.
Hopefully, the world has learned something about homeschooling in 2020 - notice I did not say “Public School at Home” or “Virtual School”.
In March I asked people to please stop homeschooling their children. So many parents tried to jump right into schooling at home and this change was hard on kids. I encouraged parents to love their children, read to them, and take time to form connections and have fun. Homeschooling doesn’t happen overnight.
Here we are at the end of the year, and I want to review some things we learned about Home Education in 2020.
Maybe decision-makers for public education can take some of the lessons learned from homeschoolers and apply them to improving the state of education in the coming years.
Before we start - a disclaimer: there are GOOD BAD EXAMPLES everywhere - in every kind of schooling model. I’m sure you can pick apart each of these 10 things based on a homeschooler “you used to know”. Well, I want you to know my homeschool tribe. They would change your mind in a heartbeat!.
10 Things We Learned About Homeschooling in 2020
Homeschooling Saves Time
Consider all of the time children spending getting to and from school. Then, once at school, consider all of the time spent waiting in line moving to and from classes, the bathroom, and various other places.
School teaches children how to WAIT. And, it’s not a valuable kind of waiting, either. It’s just waiting for no good reason.
When children are schooled at home all of that wait time is eliminated, meaning school is done in a much shorter period of time - leaving so much time for other more creative pursuits!
Homeschooling Is Safer
This is self-explanatory. At home, children are at less risk of getting sick. They are less vulnerable to school violence. There aren’t bullies in homeschool.
Homeschooling Means You Have CONTROL Over Your Children’s Education
This is a BIG ONE. I have been hearing multiple news stories about what schools are going to do to get children “up to speed” again because they have fallen so far behind because of the virus.
Who really defines what is ahead and behind? It’s different for each child.
And, when you homeschool you can move at your own pace. Some seasons will allow you to accelerate, and other seasons call for a focus on family and life skills. As homeschoolers we get to decide at what pace we move and this gives us CONTROL over our children’s education - not to mention the obvious control we have over the content of their education.
Homeschooling Does NOT Require a Teaching Certificate
I am overjoyed to know many parents who have been empowered to teach their own children!
The qualifications to teach your children at home are desire, love, and a willingness to learn alongside your children - to model learning. In fact, sometimes a teaching degree is a stumbling block to homeschooling because teaching as you would in a public school DOES NOT WORK in a homeschool setting!
Homeschoolers are Well Adjusted
When the virus hit full force in March I believe homeschoolers were more able to handle the change in schooling - but I think there was also the misconception that homeschoolers didn’t miss out on anything because of the virus.
That couldn’t be more false. My homeschooler was missing his activities, his weekly homeschool group - he missed his friends. It was a hard few months.
I contend, however, that because we had been doing life completely together with him that we were able to dialogue about our feelings and adjust more easily to the changes taking place.
Many homeschoolers I know are also happy being more solitary - in a world that is so driven by being busy, homeschoolers have the luxury of being more comfortable with quiet and less activity.
Homeschoolers are Innovators
In addition to being well-adjusted I also noticed that homeschoolers could “bob and weave” quite easily - in fact, the public school was often looking to US for help with education (now isn’t that funny?!?). As people scrambled to figure out Zoom and online classes, many homeschoolers were already there.
Homeschoolers know how to take a chunk of time and fill it without step by step directions from a teacher. Interest Led Learning is the backbone for many homeschoolers, which (when you really think about it) is essentially individual innovation in education.
Homeschoolers are Inclusive
As the virus hit, I witnessed so many homeschoolers reaching out to help others. Our local Facebook groups were a wonderful place for advice and help. People were sharing resources, letting people know about homeschool groups, and so much more.
I’ve found homeschoolers to be a welcoming, supportive group - and what better role models do we need for our children in such a contentious year as 2020?
Homeschooling Requires A LOT!
I wrote a series, Homeschool Requires, a couple of years ago. As I revisited the series I was once again nodding my head in agreement with myself! Check out each of these posts - and there’s an audio component to them, too.
Homeschool Requires Commitment
Homeschooling is a Movement Full of Creative, Dedicated Families
Many homeschool families live on one income so they can homeschool. Many homeschool families run small businesses so they can spend more time with their family.
Homeschool families have to get creative with time and resources to accomplish their goals.
Homeschool families also don’t take NO for an answer and will do whatever it takes to educate their children at home. They’ve most likely had experiences with the public school that taught them they never want to go there again.
Homeschooling WORKS!
I’ve received so many emails from parents telling me they are amazed at how well homeschooling is working for their children. After an initial period of adjustment, they have noticed that all of a sudden their child has learned to read - or maybe their special needs child is happier and learning more.
As people have been forced into homeschooling it doesn’t seem so strange anymore, and they see the many reasons homeschooling is beneficial for children.
I hope we don’t ever have a year of the homeschooler again - well, at least not like 2020.
And, I pray the future of homeschooling will be bright and maybe not quite so weird anymore!
