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2017 EDUCATION MAGAZINE
LINCOLN DAILY NEWS MARCH 1, 2017 Page 35
There’s a stereotype that home-school kids are
isolated and do not experience socialization.
Again, quite the opposite is true. There can be too
many opportunities to socialize. While they were
in the elementary grades, my kids participated
in programs with other home-school, public and
private school students such as Parks and Rec
programs, scouts, church groups, swim lessons and
home-school activities. At the high school level my
daughter attended home-school prom and went
to a teen group for home-school students. They
all interacted with neighborhood kids and private
and public school friends as well. So, while they
weren’t as exposed to the large number of same-
age students for extended time periods in confined
spaces, they still socialized with other kids.
They also socialized with adults more than I’d
think public school students do. When home-
schoolers meet in co-ops, parents get to know each
other’s kids and vice versa. Whenever home-school
kids meet for activities, classes, prom and the like,
there tend to be home-school parents somewhere
in the vicinity, either chaperoning, dropping off/
picking up, and parents will ask how you’re doing,
how’s your family, etc. It can be a small world.
Michael: I don’t think so. I have been in public
school for just about as long as I have been home-
schooled, so I have some experience to draw from.
Q: Do you think you are a good teacher?
Alice:
Actually, yes I do, but that really has
nothing to do with home-school! I am great at
getting them excited for learning. My role is more
facilitator than teacher. With the stage my kids are
at, I simply provide the resources for them to learn
on their own.
Teresa:
Of course, I was fabulous… just ask my
kids! All kidding aside, there were some things
I was really good at and some that I wasn’t as
good at. Not too much different than the public
school experience in my mind. Still, a lot of the
home-schooling experience, especially at the
higher grade levels, isn’t as focused on the direct
transfer of knowledge from teacher to student, but
teacher facilitated learning. Discussion of what
they read and learned from their reading was a
key component to our lessons. I had more of an
instructional role in some subjects, like math, and
in other subjects my role was more of monitoring
progress and co-processing information. Oh, and
yes… they had to read their books. It’s harder to
get away with skipping out on reading assignments
when your class size is one or three.
Q: Who did the teaching: mom or dad or both?
Michael:
Both my parents taught me. I, however,
was the main teacher. My parents taught me how to
teach myself. If I struggled with a problem, I could
ask for help. And on those occasions where my
parents couldn’t find the answer, there is always
the Internet to help.
Q: Did you have a lot of homework?
Michael:
Well, since I am HOME-schooled, all
of it is homework. But on average, it takes me 4
hours to complete all my work. 6 hours at the most.
Continued
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