No Child Left Behind?

Why would you want to homeschool your children? Would they not grow up to be odd because of that? They wouldn't have any friends or be able to play sports! I don't think they would be as successful in life.

As a new mom, in the world of 2024, I have strongly considered homeschooling my daughter and any other children I have when it becomes time for structured learning. No, I do not have a teaching certificate and I was not homeschooled as a child. I went to public school for all grade levels and I think it was a decent experience. I do not, however, think that it was great or all that helpful for my future (my now present). This is not because of the teachers that I had, or the school district I was in, but more so because of the unrealistic expectations put onto schools. They are expected to provide unending help/attention/etc. to so many students but are severely outnumbered when comparing the student count to instructor count.

The school system is not completely broken but it is pretty outdated and fractured. The addition of more charter schools and private schools has taken some of the load off of the public schools. It's possible that things could've improved a lot after some time prior to 2020 and the pandemic but, if we're honest, things just haven't been the same since Covid. Some students and parents and educators may think that total online learning is great and making learning better. That may be true-- for some students. From my point of view, it seems to cater to some and leave the rest in the shadows. I have a background in working with children, including working within a charter school post-Covid. I spent time in a physical school for this charter as well as with their 100% online school. While the physical school didn't seem to necessarily be thriving, it was doing better than the online option by a long shot. Sadly, I was exposed to a large number of students who were testing multiple grade levels below where they should be (by state/country standards). One example was a 14-year-old student still in the 4th grade. That is a whopping 4-5 grade level gap!! Someone dropped the ball with that student and the student will have to deal with the repercussions later in life.

Another thing I came to notice while in these environments was the astonishing amount of 504s. It seemed that if any child was struggling in a subject they automatically went to this option instead of coming up with a plan to make a change for the better. My niece has been in this situation in her public school recently, causing my sister and brother-in-law to consider transitioning her into homeschool through her middle school years and possibly high school. The biggest issue there is testing.

This is a hill I will die on - NOT EVERY PERSON TESTS WELL.

One of the biggest qualms I have with education is the way in which learning is measured. Who decide that passing this multiple choice question test determines if I understand something? Memorizing information versus retaining and genuinely understanding a topic are two significantly different things. I say this from a place of concern. Would you prefer someone working in a hospital decide something about your loved one because they memorized it from their textbook or because they learned and know the WHY behind the decision they are making as a professional? As a working adult, I have witnessed many coworkers carry out a task or make a decision about something out of repetition rather than from a place of understanding. I couldn't bring myself to even blame them for that behavior simply because that is what the foundation of education has been in the U.S. for probably the duration of education's existence. When you are expected to regurgitate information rather than digest and discern, the why behind learning anything becomes an afterthought if a thought at all.

Climbing down from the hill I have been yelling from now...

I cannot express this strongly enough - these are my experiences, viewpoints and opinions and you should take them as such.

Having a child has significantly altered the lens in which I view things, especially when it comes to choices that will effect her directly. One of the things I have acknowledged is that she will be her own person. My husband and I do not try to project ourselves onto her nor do we allow those around us to try and do that to her.

As a child of the 90s, I remember parents trying to live vicariously through their children or grandparents doing the same. There was also a lot of blind direction. Meaning, we were often told to do things but never explained the why behind the order. We were also meant to be seen and not heard basically at all times. In MY humble opinion, that is extremely rude to any human and makes me wonder why in the world did some people even have children. Personally, I chose to become a mother because my husband and I are very loving people and wanted to not only have a family together but to have an extension of our love for one another. I am very thankful to be a mom and understand that it is such a privilege. I couldn't imagine making my child feel unimportant or not taking the time to explain to her the reason I expect something from her. Behavior like that doesn't come from a place of love or caring, therefore it has no place in your home or your family's life. Furthermore, it has zero place in educating our children.

The experience I had within the school system as an adult made it very easy for me to choose, or at least strongly consider, homeschooling my children. And this was before I even had a child, which I think speaks volumes. Not only was I seeing the 'do as I say because I said so' mentality from administration to teaching staff, but I was seeing that trickle down from teacher to student as well. This is ignorant and should be deemed unacceptable across the board. I refuse to do my child(ren) the disservice of giving blind orders or having them learn something just to pass a standardized test.

I have done and will continue to do research on teaching at home with many different tools and resources to ensure that I raise an independent, creative and confident human. So many of my fellow Millennials have felt lost or as if they had no guidance in their formative years and that has led to delayed or lack of success in life. I do not want that for my children or any other children. We have to break the chains and cycles of generations before us so that we can do better and make change in our society. One way I feel that I can take a step in that direction is rejecting the outdated format of "learning" and introduce a type of education that will be a breath of fresh air in a sense and help my child not only be successful in life but help her to be happy, even while learning!