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What type of homeschooler am I and do I need to know?

                    Answers from William, Michelle and Kate.

From William

I think it would be a good visual to show a homeschooling philosophy spectrum, something like this:

1          2           3           4                 5   
<------------------------------------------------------>
Parent led                                    Child led               
Parent centered                               Child centered
Structured                                    Unstructured

and then have them think about where they fall within that spectrum. Maybe break it up into 5 or 6 different blends of the two extremes with examples of what you might do if you were in one of those categories.

1. Parent led.-- Set schedule, curriculum purchased for the grade level, traditional values stressed. See Bob Jones University, your local school district or religious institution.

2. Parent led with child input.-- Set schedule, curriculum purchased, child decides what to do after requirements are met. See Bob Jones University, local school or religious institution and City parks and rec class schedule.

3. Parent led, relaxed.-- Curriculum purchased as needed, schedule can be negotiated, but there is a general year long plan. See Charlotte Mason, Homeschooling charter schools or academies, local HS groups.

4. Child led, parent support. -- No prepared curriculum, parent ascertains the child's strengths and weaknesses and follows the curiosity, desires and learning strengths of the child. See John Holt, unschooling on the web, local HS groups, La Leche League, attachment parenting.

5. Unschooling.-- No set schedule, curriculum or goals. The child is always learning, so the education is child centered. Parent supports what the child desires to learn (because that is the only time authentic and lasting learning takes place.) and does not force the child to learn parent selected information.

I read an excellent book on the state of homeschooling in the U.S. today, it's called Kingdom of Children by Mitchell Stevens. I think it's a sociology PhD. thesis turned into book form, but it paints an interesting picture. It confirmed my observation that the vast majority of homeschoolers are conservative, Christian and very structured in their homeschooling philosophy, maybe by 3 to 1 or more compared with less structured homeschoolers. You might observe that most homeschoolers prefer structured curriculum, and that most, but not all, homeschool for religious reasons.

I think if you had a page to explain how to deal with the decision to homeschool, you could put at the top of the page that homeschooling challenges you to create at least a partially thought out philosophy of life and education. That's something that's outside of many people's life experience, because before having and educating children, life may not require you to define and apply a particular philosophy. That can take a while, and it's more of a journey than a destination, so it's going to take some footwork of talking, reading, attending lectures and conferences, chewing on memories of your own childhood, debating and discussing matters with your spouse, wondering, dreaming, thinking about how the inlaws will respond. You know, thinking.

that's my 2 cents

william

From Michelle

I'd rather not encourage people to label themselves by giving them a spectrum of homeschooling philosophies to choose from. A lot of unnecessary anxiety is caused by trying to define the type of homeschooler you are. I'd rather encourage parents to just enjoy their time with their families and find the rhythm that feels right for their individual family in the moment. Homeschooling affords us the freedom to do what we choose based on what feels right today and to rest in the knowledge that it's all temporary and can be changed to accommodate the needs of everyone in our families at any time. After all, most of us bounce around the spectrum quite a bit! I know I do. Although the Organic/Unschooling approach resonates deeply with me, I am open to adopting a structured curriculum if one or both of my children feels they would benefit from it at some point. Heck, I'm even open to them trying on school! I'm concerned that parents judge themselves so harshly when they fall away from any given label.

Life's journey doesn't require that we fit in a box labeled xyz, although, much about life's structures encourage division in terms of belief and philosophy. Let's encourage parents to explore all the wonderful options that are available to them and give them permission to trust their intuition and just be.

Michelle

From Kate

I have a severely retarded brother, so my Mom has things like this lying around the house: a yellow postcard with a black outline in the shape of a jar and the black lettering filling it up said: “Label Jars, Not People.” I must say that while this is sage advice, homeschooling wasn’t something I ‘knew about,’ indeed, the idea hit me - SMACK! - like the veritable ton of bricks. So, pigeonholing and labeling and sorting IS useful when just starting out. It is a springboard, a coping mechanism, a scaffold, a starting point from which to flesh out, to uncover your own meaning, to discover your own truths. William’s spectrum, above, is effective in this regard, and, I must say, quite accurate from my reading and experiences.

Michelle’s piece, also above, is also quite useful. Her notion (if she may permit me: “to think and work through things yourself”), is of course rooted in our own process, our own ways of unraveling meaning, our own drum beats. An example may help illustrate this point: about 15 years ago (I’m 36 now) I ran across the idea of “open systems” (like a wild coyote, a pin, an ocean, or traditional schooling) and “closed systems” (like a pet dog, a pin prick, a fish bowl, or conventional school). One is flexible, dynamic, free. The other is rigid, static, dependent. One exists to sustain itself, the other only with maintenance. This idea became a seed that I’ve remembered, then a seedling that I began to hang my meaning onto, now a sapling I’m beginning to own as a truth. What are yours? Michelle’s reflection speaks to this way affectively.

Do you need to know? Only you know that. The old saying, “We make the road by walking,” rings true here. “Homeschooling?”, be prepared for a journey. Experiencing our angsts causes growth, the joy we cultivate defines us. Walk the road, stop to smell the roses - spectrums and reflections alike - and, walk the road. Know that it's okay: a lot of time *is* spent storing up potential energy: soak in those times, they’re roses, too!

Kate