Last week we talked about the rise in popularity of homeschooling in recent years. It is a rise that began before Covid but has steadily increased since then for various reasons. That article ended with an allusion, if not an outright assertion, that all homeschooling is not created equal. Some families seem to slip right into homeschooling naturally, never looking back, and their children receive an excellent education. Other families have a different experience. Some find right away that homeschooling is not a fit for them and give it up for the right reasons. Others seem to slip right into homeschooling naturally, reveling in the freedom that comes with being untethered from traditional education, only to find out too late that their homeschooling experience was actually hampered by too much freedom and not enough education.
I want to be clear: homeschooling is being done well by tens of thousands of families all across the country. Their children are thriving academically and their families are thriving because homeschooling is an integral part of the holistic vision they have for their families. They are close to each other and are able to get much accomplished for the glory of God. Homeschooling is a great fit for them! What do these families have in common that allows them to succeed? Lots of things, for sure, but three big ones are the gift of teaching, lots of patience, and a knack for organization.
The Gift of Teaching
Much effort can be expended to improve upon a gift, but where no gift exists, the effort can be in vain because there is no foundation to build on. Schooling at home requires teaching just as schooling at school does. Difficult concepts must be explained in multiple ways, repeatedly. Those ways ought to present themselves readily to a gifted teacher. “But I already told you!” rarely helps a student who is struggling to grasp the idea that seems so simple to the teacher. The gifted teacher will see the struggle coming long before it arrives and already have a plan for it. If the idea of explaining the distributive property of multiplication to your twelve-year-old does not quicken your heart and spark at least three good approaches to the explanation—well, maybe that doesn’t mean you’re not a gifted teacher, but that is the kind of thing gifted teachers geek-out over. Parents who are homeschooling well most often possess the gift of teaching.
“But,” you may say, “We’re homeschooling online. I don’t have to teach.” Fair enough. We can talk more about that another time.
Longsuffering
Longsuffering: this is a word that ought to be true of anyone who plans to teach his twelve-year-old the distributive property of multiplication or how to write a sonnet. Why? Because the stereotypes are often true. Many parents find themselves short of patience when explaining the simplest things to their own children even though they can spend all afternoon teaching the neighbor’s kid to ride a bike without so much as furrowing a brow. Our own children often undermine our patience by crumbling at the slightest notion that dad or mom may be running a bit short on patience. The whole thing can be a vicious circle. The parents who exhibit the patience of Job as they labor alongside their children in pursuit of understanding are the ones who will thrive in homeschooling.
Organization
Are you the parent who rolls out of bed each morning when you are good and ready and has no real plan for how the day is going to go? Are you the parent who is surprised that your toddler climbed out of bed at 5am and has been snuggling with the family dog since then. Are you shocked to find that there is no milk or bread in the house, not to mention eggs, when everyone is looking to you for breakfast? Homeschooling is going to be a stretch for you.
Or, are you organized? I’m not asking if you like things just so. Most of us do. I’m asking if you are the one who always make things just so. Are you the one who plans the family vacation to the minute, color coordinating the activity folders for each day with the itinerary colors, but at the same time leaves plenty of space for spontaneity and doesn’t stress everyone out by enslaving them to the itinerary? In other words, do you keep the metaphorical trains running on time without making an idol of the train schedule? These are good traits for a homeschooling parent.
There are many other important characteristics of successful homeschoolers, and not every successful homeschooler will possess all of the important characteristics perfectly. If, however, you have trouble teaching your five-year-old to tie her shoes, run out of patience waiting for her to sound out words, and can’t find your own shoes half the time, let alone hers, homeschooling may not be for you.