I refer back to the title I chose for my blog- that of thought, of seriously considering or reflecting upon something. This "something" that has most recently been engaging me in thought is the ever changing culture of Homeschooling.
I am a homeschooler. I have, over the course of many years of questions, probing, and jokes learned to say this with confidence. I have withstood years of being asked questions similar to "Do you have friends?" "Do you think you will be OK in the real world?" And don't get me started on the amount of times I have had to explain what a co-op or tutorial is. When I was younger I would get frustrated with these people. They treated homeschoolers or those "homebound" kids as something that was foreign. I realize now that we were. Their questions were no different than those that I would ask someone from a different country. Homeschooling, in itself, is a culture and one that only homeschoolers can truly understand.
One of my favorite questions came from a fellow freshman student at Lee University my first week of classes. "Do you like...all get together and read books at parties?" The seriousness in his tone made me laugh at his ignorance. It was because of comments like these that I did my best to avoid the topic that first semester of college. My fellow homeschooled peers and I tried our hardest to not bring up the fact that we had been educated at home. In those cases when it was brought up, people would remark, "you were homeschooled? I would have never guessed that!"
Let's face it. When most people hear the word "homeschooler" they get an image in their head and this image isn't always a great one. Smart. Unsocial. Starwars. Ok, so two out of those three aren't bad. I personally am a huge fan of Luke Skywalker and kind of wish he would show up in real life. That, however, is irelevant. The only reason I bring up this social image and label is because as the culture changes- so does the label, and so do the reasons for homeschooling. These are both negative and positive- due to the social environment we live in.
I was brought up in the homeschooling community that actually meant community. Parents chose to school their children for a myriad of reasons, but the most prominant one was simply that they wanted to be hands on and involved in their child's education. A homeschool Co-op in the nineties meant exactly what the name implies. "C0-0p" - cooperative. Every mother/father worked together to provide social opportunities for their children, but more importantly this was a place of community- where mothers could commune with other mothers who were experiencing the same pains and joys that they were experiencing. Pains? You better believe it. Being a homeschooling parent is one of the most difficult and demanding jobs there is...and one that is not paid for. This, however, was the passion of everyone in the community- to enrich their children, their lives, and eachother. It was a family. Highschoolers were friends with elementary students. You might find this odd, but this was something that I personally benefited from greatly. I believe I matured faster than other children might have because I was welcomed in by older students as well as parents. I had numerous sisters, brothers, mothers, and fathers.
I recall visits to pumpkin patches at the age of 12- running around with sixteen year olds, being followed by four year olds. We defended, loved, and cherished one another.
Having graduated from highschool as a homeschool student of 12 years, I am able to look back and reflect upon my own experience and the rapid changes in the Homeschooling culture and community. Homeschooling has gone from hands-on to just another private school setting that meets once or twice a week. Parents who once took an interest in their child's education now have no desire to teach a six week educational course and have no desire to help out with homework at home. They expect the teachers at these unnamed tutorials to be the actual teachers and grow angry and undone with them when their child has an issue with their homework. People see this as a failure on the teacher's part, but let's be real here- what teacher can teach over 200 pages of chemistry homework in an hour on one Monday afternoon? It is entirely impossible and that's perfectly fine! The purpose of this teacher was not to be the sole educator- but rather, a tool for the homeschooling parent to utilize and enhance learning. These tutorials were meant to provide structure, community, and help teach a subject that the parent might not be the most learned in.
For example: My mother is not a scientist. She is what I like to call a "full blooded English major." She thinks in words...not numbers. I suppose the old saying, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree" could be used to describe the way my brain works. It's just a fact. We are not as gifted in this area of learning. When I was taking Advanced Biology: Human physiology and anatomy, however, she did not throw the book at me and count on my wonderful science teacher to explain to me everything that I did not understand. She sat down and studied the text book with me. We learned together. THIS is what I see true homeschooling is.
I do not mean to bash those who choose to homeschool in this new culture and fashion. I still find homeschooling mothers to be the most admirable of human beings. I am only noting the change in the homeschooling culture- how community is slowly turning into more of a bussiness or an enterprise- a structured system of learning...and I'll tell ya what...that is not the culture I grew up in.
My mother has spent many years in leadership in what was once a CO-OP, but is now something very different. I have seen her give up hours of her time writing curriculum, planning events, interviewing families and teachers...and I have seen her pain when she would talk of the changes being made...it hurts her that this generation of mothers do not want the same thing she and my friends' mothers wanted in the nineties.
So these are my thoughts... they are of no real importance. I am a 19 year old homeschooled girl who is simply witnessing a change in society and in the culture I grew up in. I periodically go back to the church that was always dubbed "school" and I often see little ghosts of myself and my friends. I say hi to many people that have been there for many years, but the majority do not know my face- they do not remember the way I would trip when running to the play ground or remember the time I won the state award for my story. I feel sorry that these kids didn't get to experience homeschooling in what I would consider its "prime." But again, that is a very relative term and opinion. But all these changes make me wonder, will I homeschool my kids if the values continue to change?
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