Parents as Educators

“ Homeschooling” is probably the most common term currently used to describe parents taking direct responsibility for their children’s education instead of sending them to school. Other phrases used include: home-based education, home-based learning, family and community-based learning and home learning. There are a number of different approaches that can be taken by homeschooling parents according to their values, beliefs and personal styles, and also according to what works for their own individual children. On the spectrum between structure and freedom, at one end there is the structured approach of “school-at-home” in which the family follows a grade- based curriculum using textbooks and worksheets, and at the other end of the spectrum there is what is sometimes called “unschooling” or “child-led learning”, which is more informal and integrated into daily life. There are also approaches in-between these two poles that combine structure and natural learning in different measures, and for each of all these approaches there are variations according to the family’s values and beliefs and particular philosophies of life. Academically, the main benefit of homeschooling is that each child receives individual attention that is tailored to his or her own abilities and readiness to progress. Each child can therefore learn at his or her own pace. When a child doesn’t understand what is being presented or is having difficulty retaining the information given, the parent can continue working with the child until the lesson is assimilated before moving on to later lessons that build on it. In this way, homeschooled children are never left behind if they are having difficulties, making homeschooling ideally suited to those with learning differences (“learning disabilities”). By the same token, neither are they held back if they are ready to advance, which makes homeschooling ideal for gifted children as well. The “average” child benefits in a similar way, since there really is no such thing as an “average” child — each child is a unique individual with a unique set of talents and interests that make some things harder for them to learn and others quite easy. (Reading text adapted from Ontario Homeschool)