Home Based Education

We received a very nice comment which pointed out that "home based education" is a better term than "homeschooling."

The people here seem to forget that "homeschooling" is a misnomer. It is "home-based education". As a homeschooling parent myself, I handle the math and science instruction (math major) and English reading and writing (I work as a translator). My wife teaches her Japanese. We both teach her how to cook. My mother (former secretary) teaches handwriting. My father (avid artist as a hobby) does arts and crafts. A piano teacher at the local university provides piano instruction. She also participates in other art and gymnastics classes.

She has an avid interest in nature. This week, she will catch and tag butterflies at a local park with their homeschooling program.

We find the best learning opportunties for our kids.
This is "homeschooling" today.

JapanDude

This got me thinking about our "homeschool" experience.

Henry's father teaches the kids chess at our homeschool co-op. Henry's sister teaches our girls horse back riding. We hire a piano teacher and soon will be adding violin and clarinet instructors. Henry handles the "enrichment" topics and anything involving pets. (Any time one of the kids asks for a new pet, I tell them, "I am not on that committee. Go talk to your father.") We utilize the local sports leagues and Parks and Recreation classes for much of our PE instruction.

Once our children learn to read, many subjects are self taught. I pick out or help them pick out good books and other materials, and they "teach" themselves. For example, I make math assignments. The older girls read the chapter in the book themselves and do the sample problems. I check the problems and they correct them, usually without any help from me. Then they do the assignment and we repeat the process. The few exceptions to this process are are creative writing and hand writing instruction.

I don't prepare lectures like a teacher in a class room. We talk spontaneously about the information they are reading. (The hard part is trying to get them to stop talking about what they are reading.) I try to guide the process, but when they show initiative, I step back and let them "run with the ball" where ever that may lead. And, of course, we travel.

Instructional DVDs are useful for things like Latin and typing. In addition, my oldest daughter watches classroom style lectures on DVD from a private school to supplement her history and science reading.


Many mistakenly envision homeschooling as a parent at home imitating the typical classroom instruction. I don't know any homeschoolers who educate their children in that "school" model. At the first homeschooling conference we attended 8 years ago, the presenter made the point that homeschooling was NOT school at home. With the passing of years I better understand what that means. I am not limited by the constraints of a classroom setting. I am not burdened with a rigid curriculum. I am not the sole source of instruction to a classroom of students with varying needs and abilities.

With home based education, instead of a 20+ students per teacher, I have 20+ teachers per student.

---------------------------
Related Tags: home education, home based education, homeschooling, school, student teacher ratio