As the
school year is set in motion, many parents are questioning the public school
system for their children. Is “teaching to the test” working? Is society too
secular? Is this the best education we can offer our children? There is a trend
to homeschool. But how do you know if homeschooling is the answer? We recently
asked Adam Lockridge, the Director of the St. Raphael School, an Orthodox and
classic Good and Great Books online school, to get an insight to the homeschool
experience.
Why are
many Orthodox families turning towards homeschooling their children?
As the Director of an online school for homeschooling
families, I talk with many parents of homeschoolers, and I also work directly
with their children, so I have a unique window into the lives of these
families.
It’s important to recognize that families across the
nation and the world choose homeschooling for a multitude of reasons.
Military families that regularly move may desire more
consistency in their children’s schooling, and homeschooling offers an
attractive way to stabilize their educational program.
Parents with children who have special needs often
find that school districts simply can’t or won’t accommodate their unique
needs.
Children who are gifted in a particular way–musically,
academically, artistically, or athletically–may need a more flexible
educational schedule in order to advance to their highest potential.
Some schools are unsafe of feel threatening to the
child. Students who can’t escape a threatening situation at school, such as
bullying, may find escape by learning in the peace and quiet of their own home.
Religious families–and this is an increasingly common
reason–often feel that the public schools have broken their trust by training
their children in ways that overtly contradict the core values of the family.
There are probably some homeschool families who reject
the idea of institutionalized schooling altogether, but I’ve never heard that
cited as a reason to homeschool. The common denominator in the homeschooling
movement, as I see it, seems to be a highly responsible, independent,
do-it-yourself attitude. Abuses exists, as they do in schools. The overwhelming
majority of families, however, seek customization, choice, and quality which
can only be obtained by setting upon the task themselves. Most do not see this
arrangement as ideal, but it is often the only acceptable choice that families
have available.
As an
Orthodox school, you probably see many families who are choosing homeschooling
for religious reasons. Can you tell me more about what motivates them in
particular?
I do hear from many Orthodox families who feel that
public schools are no longer a viable option. Although I can’t speak for all of
them, I do observe patterns.
From the perspective of many religious families,
public schools have become functionally atheistic. While parents may not use
this language to describe their dilemma, I think the phrase gives a name to a
specific and widespread concern. Schools may not openly advocate for atheism as
a philosophy (although many do exactly that), but it is undeniable that the
adults who spend the most time with our children–teachers, coaches, and other
school faculty–engage in a systematic omission by neglecting the everyday
spiritual and moral needs of children. Under the banner of inclusiveness and
pluralism, this unbreakable code of silence in moral and spiritual matters
amounts to child neglect in the core facets of their being.
Children learn by imitation. In public schools,
students daily observe and imitate adults who are required by the state to act
as if God does not exist. Public school teachers may “love” children with a
kind of natural affection, but functionally they are forced to neglect them.
Teachers and faculty must refrain from prayer, eliminate all displays of
religious piety, and strictly avoid advocating moral or spiritual principles.
This is particularly unacceptable in the humanities, such as history and
literature, but this functional atheism extends into science, art, music, and
even athletics.
Children spend vast amounts of time at school. Longer
school hours, demanding extracurricular activities, huge homework loads, and
the looming threat of competitive college admissions, have conspired to
pressure parents to relinquish opportunities to meet the spiritual and moral
needs of their own children.
The overextension on the part of schools, combined
with pervasive functional atheism, forces many religious families, including
Orthodox Christians, to opt out of the system entirely.
What do
parents need to homeschool their children?
The resources available for homeschooling are vast,
and parents will find no lack of options for creating a plan that works for
their kids. Free online resources abound, and many high quality products–online
courses, curricula, and books–can be purchased at a tiny fraction of the price
of private school.
The largest obstacle for most families is making
choices within the vast arena of options. Connecting with other families who
are homeschooling through friendships, churches, and co-ops can be an important
source of experience and encouragement.
Finally, it is worth noting that parents do not need
to be experts on any given subject to successfully homeschool. Any skillful and
experienced teacher will tell you that the most important skill in teaching is
relational rather than intellectual. Getting to know your child and
intentionally cultivating a good relationship with him or her is the only
required discipline of a homeschool parent. Fortunately, on the job training
will happen naturally with the attentive and engaged adult.
Are kids
isolated when they aren’t in public school?
I speak with homeschooling students every day, and I
am constantly amazed at their ability to engage in thoughtful discussions and
interact with one another and adults. I’ve taught in school environments, and
by and large the students were far less mature and socially adjusted.
One reason for this, I believe, is that homeschool
students often spend significantly more time with a wider variety of
relationships. They learn not only how to be peers, but also how to interact
with children of other ages; they constantly speak one-on-one with adults
(impossible for teachers with twenty, or thirty, or even more students); and
they face fewer pressures to conform to passing fads and fashions.
Isolation can happen in a crowd probably more easily
than in a smaller group of family and friends. In this respect I would say that
social isolation could possibly be a bigger problem in the crowded public
schools than in the more personal and intimate society of family and friends
found in homeschools across the country.
Are
homeschooling students successful?
The most well-documented fact, and the one most often
ignored, is that homeschooling students perform significantly better than their
public school peers in academics, including standardized testing. But
performance and perceived performance are not the same thing. Some schools and
even employers look with skepticism on a homeschool diploma. As homeschooling
becomes more widely accepted and understood, the risk of being denied
opportunities as a result of homeschooling has faded, and now homeschooled
students are sometimes preferred to their public school counterparts.
But academic metrics miss the most important motivator
for many homeschooling families. Families who choose to homeschool almost
always have a different measure of success than economic incentives such as
college admissions and career advancement. Success for these families would
include practical concerns such as getting a good job, but they would also
consider less objective but equally important emotional, moral, and spiritual measures
of success. On this level, it is not even possible to compare the success of
public school and homeschooling as they differ in their aims.
Are there
any drawbacks or common pitfalls of homeschooling?
The most common drawback, which is true of any
counter-cultural do-it-yourself option, is an inevitable periodic crisis of
confidence that homeschool parents face–mothers in particular. Many of us who
were raised in a different educational system face worries that we will fail.
This desire to succeed is a healthy concern, but it needs to be managed by
frequent intentional reminders of the motivation for homeschooling and a
balanced perspective on expected outcomes. This long view of homeschooling is
difficult to maintain, but it is absolutely essential.
Another drawback is the financial sacrifice. Most
homeschooling families must be or become single-income families, as one parent
must stay at home and teach the children. States offer huge incentives to
enroll in public schools by funding tuition through taxes, so families are also
leaving on the table a monetary value of sometimes $10,000 or even $15,000 per
year in schooling expenses. This economic loss could total hundreds of
thousands of dollars over the life of the family, and this is a price many families
are unable or unwilling to pay.
One common mistake I see homeschooling families make
is modeling their homeschool on the curriculum of the public school system. The
public school is structured to treat all students the same, which means that
variety and customization are impossible in most cases. It is the “fast-food”
schooling option. Homeschool families have an opportunity to create a
beautiful, homemade, and fully customized curriculum, but they often resort to
trying to replicate what is being done in the local public schools. Families
who do this are still likely better off than their peers in public schools, but
this pitfall is a lost opportunity for more.
What is
the most common fear of families who are considering homeschooling as an option?
The fear of failure. When it comes to children, none
of us feel like we can afford to fail.
I try to remind parents that the joy of homeschooling
comes through learning alongside the students. The best teachers are the ones
who always want to know more about the topic or improve their own skill. As a
parent, your kids will learn by watching you. Be curious. Be attentive. Show
reverence for classic literature and revel in the beauty of the natural world.
If you do so in sincerity of heart and not in a spirit of control or
manipulation, your love of learning will be contagious, and your kids will
begin to feel that inner compulsion to learn all that they can about God’s
glorious world. This makes learning not only easy, but it becomes a natural
by-product of a healthy sense of wonder and a confidence that understanding is
the true reward of sustained independent learning.
Source: http://myocn.net/orthodox-christian-families-homeschool-children/
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