Homeschooling: Is it the new normal? Why that may be a good thing.

Home schooling has long been debated as a better alternative to conventional schooling. In recent years, however, more and more evidence has come to light that, in fact, homeschooling is a better path of education. Given the COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the world into quarantine, schools shut down across America (and the world, fyi). So, families were forced to turn to homeschooling. As much as COVID sucks, it has helped change the, often negative, view on schooling from home.

When we think of homeschooling, we often thing of two groups of people: super crunchy liberal moms, and super religious people who don't want their children to learn about evolution (no shade, seriously, whatever floats your boat). However, as the world strays away from the Baby Boomer generation, we are tending to see things differently.

Fig 1. Growth of Homeschooling in the U.S From 1970-2020, Study by National Home Education Research Institute

The above figure shows the rise of home schooling since the 70's. Obviously, there has been a huge increase in families choosing to home-school their children. The last bar is from 2016: Basically, this means we know there was another huge rise in 2020 due to corona virus. The article that comes with the graph can be accessed here: https://www.nheri.org/big-growth-in-homeschooling-indicated-this-school-year/ . I recommend giving it a light skim, they do a great job of outlining the benefits of homeschooling.

There has always been a weird stigma around homeschooling. That kids who don't go the conventional route are weird, or don't have socialization opportunities, or won't turn out 'normal' (Whatever that means, I went to public school. News flash: Those people are definitely not 'normal', and neither are you or I). However, this is entirely misconceived by the general population. There are a million and one ways to socialize kids of all ages whom school unconventionally. Co-oping, especially is a great way to socialize kids, provide some childcare when needed, and keep learning free and fun. There are different groups for every family: older kids, younger kids, religious groups, secular groups, groups for special needs kids, the list goes on indefinitely. Melissa Morgan, a co-op homeschooler and author, provides great details on this here: link.gale.com/apps/doc/A216178701/ITOF?u=udel_main&sid=ITOF&xid=5d67afdb.

Obviously, switching to homeschooling from conventional schooling, or deciding to home school from the get-go can be a challenging decision. Going against the grain is a little bit difficult for everyone. Many people struggle with how to homeschool and continue working. The great thing about home-schooling, is that you can completely format everything for your schedule, anddd, there is a giant network of other people, just like your family, ready to offer up their help. Liz Deacle, a full-time working, successful homeschooling mom provides some great advice. If you choose to ignore the other links provided, read this one: https://itsadrama.com/homeschooling-and-working-full-time/. This article breaks down everything you need to know, from some one just like you who has actually done it already.

Basically, you dont have to feel like this

Instead, you can feel like ~this~

My ultimate and most important message: Home-schooling is often a better alternative than conventional schooling. Public and private schools are understaffed, underfunded, and are often too busy trying to teach 40 kids in 60 minutes, then focus on the educational needs of every single child all the time. It is simply a better option. Homeschooling today's kids will put us on track for a generation of well-rounded, independent, free-thinking individuals. Which we obviously need, given the state of the world.