Homeschooling

Homeschooling may sound like a simple concept, but it is not for every student if I have learned anything about Homeschooling.

 Every educational system offers excellent opportunities for children to learn new information and skills and harness their unique qualities and interests. Homeschooling is no different than public school, private school, charter school, and other models in that there are pros and cons.

But in recent years, Homeschooling has caught the attention of parents and teachers all across the United States; The simple reason is that Homeschooling is on the rise and becoming more accepted as an alternative to traditional public and private schools.

So what is Homeschooling exactly, many of us still believe that Homeschooling is where all the learning is done at home, which would not be the practical reality of the concept.

In Homeschooling, parents have complete control over the direction of what their children should learn, how often and when.

In many ways, Homeschooling is a more organic form of education that focuses on getting out of traditional classrooms that focus on a one-to-many, generalist education.

A homeschool-styled learning environment is more personalized to the student, with individual attention. If your son is struggling in reading or writing, parents can take the time necessary to make sure he/she masters the concepts. In fact, unlike a traditional classroom where curriculum and resources are predetermined, a homeschool program can change curriculum and tactics to ensure a successful outcome. Likewise, if your daughter excels in math or science, there is no need to proceed at a slow pace or continue using a curriculum that may not be challenging enough..

To put in simply, Homeschooling is one on one education. For most homeschoolers, the decision to leave a traditional public school is made to provide a broader exposure to the world. Though a common stereotype of homeschoolers is that they are sheltered because many of their peers do not always support them, the truth is that most homeschooled students have a lot of exposure to other children.

Homeschooled children often have more lessons outside of the home. While most, if not all, learning in a traditional public school takes place in the classroom, homeschool students often get outside of the house and travel to museums, art galleries, parks, science centers, and more as part of their learning.

Many Americans think that Homeschooling is for religious families. Homeschooling takes away from public schools or that only wealthy, and highly educated parents homeschool their children.

One of the most prominent and recurring myths is that homeschooled children do not socialize with others and cannot function in the real world.

But before we discuss what people think of Homeschooling, let's talk about the pros and cons first.

Homeschooling is a lifestyle change:

Depending on how you look at it, One of the first things to consider is that Homeschooling represents a significant lifestyle change.

When you decide to homeschool, you will take on both a teacher and administrator's duties and responsibilities. You will need to implement lessons, organize field trips, coordinate activities with other parents, and make sure you are compliant with state and local homeschool requirements. These responsibilities get added to your usual role as a parent.

You also have the added financial costs of Homeschooling. While there are many free resources available, homeschool supplies such as textbooks, paper, art supplies, computers, software, and other homeschool tools cost money. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize the financial costs associated with Homeschooling.

There are some programs available that help with minimizing the unnecessary costs involved with Homeschooling. They include classroom-tested materials, step-by-step lesson manuals, textbooks, reading books, math manipulatives, science kits, and online tools designed to empower parents to be successful teachers.

However, if you consider homeschooling your child, you can not escape the fact by dedicating more time to teaching your children at home, your family may suffer a loss in income. The challenge is more significant if you are a single-parent. Careful budgeting and time management skills will be essential if you are going to homeschool.

Since your child will no longer be in a public school environment and all learning will occur in the home, the family's lifestyle and pace will change. More time will be dedicated to Homeschooling. Daily chores, errands, doctor's appointments, and typical household routines will need to be scheduled in coordination with your homeschooling plan.

Another significant change is that while parents usually spend a lot of time with their children, homeschooling parents spend even more time with their kids.

The amount of time you need to spend Homeschooling is a significant lifestyle change that influences many parents' decision on whether or not to homeschool. Though there are many ways for parents to secure time for themselves, it is essential to recognize that you will spend more time with your children than you do currently.

Another thing that concerns people when considering Homeschooling is their child's socialization. People have believed that homeschoolers do not socialize at all; they fail to develop interpersonal skills and can not make conversations with strangers.

The truth is no matter what if a kid is in home school or a public school, the social experiences always differ, and the fairest way to characterize socializing in a home based school is that it's different.

Homeschoolers do not have the same exposure to peer pressure and bullying, both of which are tied to more unsatisfactory academic performance and lower self-esteem.

Parents often decide to homeschool because they do not want their child's values to be defined by their peers or for their children to face social ridicule or bullying. In private or public schools, the pressure to fit in or achieve a perceived social status level among classmates can be quite significant.

Homeschooling also means less daily interaction with large numbers of kids in a child's age group. And homeschoolers can end up spending less time each day participating in organized sports and activities with their peers.

However, this does not mean that homeschoolers have no access to their peers or cannot play sports or socially interact with others outside their family.

On average, homeschoolers participate more in their community, are less passive, and socialize with a broader mix of adults, especially professionals, than their public school counterparts.

This leads us to the another bright side of Homeschooling,

It provides Greater Educational Freedom:

The aspect of Homeschooling to consider is the academic freedom you can gain and what impact that will have on you and your child.

If your child struggles with a subject or a specific concept, you do not need to skip it and move on. Instead, you can work with your child until they have mastered the material. Homeschooling allows you to take all the time you need to ensure learning is taking place. Likewise, if your child is ready to move on, you do not need to waste time on redundant or repetitive lessons. Homeschooling children can move through educational materials at a faster pace than their peers.

In a public or private school, with 20 - 30 kids in a class, a teacher must address everyone's learning style and everyone's pace. When the majority are ready to move on, other children get left behind. Of course, if your child is prepared to advance to other material, she or he often must wait until a sufficient number of students are ready. In both cases, many children often end up feeling bored and frustrated.

Another benefit of homeschooling education is that it exposes children to more unique experiences. Parents and kids often cite how the homeschool curriculum encouraged them to get out of the home and learn about science, art, math, and history in the real world. Experiencing things outside of a classroom is often more engaging and leads to better absorption of knowledge and skills.

Now that we have learned about the main aspects of Homeschooling, let us explore some of the most common myths related to Homeschooling that keeps people at bay from accepting Homeschooling as an option for their kids.

Number 1: Homeschoolers Are All Gifted Or Naturally Intelligent.

The idea that homeschoolers are gifted or naturally intelligent is one of the newer myths we have seen, sometimes to explain away high academic achievement when compared to public schools. However, many parents seek out Homeschooling because their kids need more one on one attention. Homeschooling is often an excellent solution for kids who are advanced learners and kids who feel disengaged in school, bored by the curriculum, or struggling with a learning disability.

Number 2: Homeschoolers Do Not Go To College

Homeschoolers are more likely to attend college than traditionally schooled students, and once enrolled, are more likely to stay and graduate. Other data suggests that homeschooled students routinely perform better on standardized tests, including the SAT and ACT.

While it may be more difficult to quantify a homeschooler's GPA than public school counterparts, colleges are looking less at standardized tests and GPAs. Instead, they are looking at a student's resume. In this area, homeschoolers have a distinct advantage because they have more experiences to share with colleges and universities.

 Number 3: Homeschooling Is Not An Accepted Form Of Education

Homeschooling has been around for over one hundred years. In many ways, it predates our current public education system.

Depending on the source you look at, the number of children Homeschooling is estimated to be between 1.8 million and 2.5 million.

To put it merely, everyday parents see declining school budgets, low academic ratings of schools, crime, bullying, and fewer resources. They want a change that will benefit their children, and Homeschooling is well-established, with curriculum options and support groups. What's more, Homeschooling is recognized by all 50 states.

Number 4: Homeschoolers Do Not Learn As Much As Public School Students

Personalized learning is shown to improve understanding because it allows the curriculum to be taught in a way that aligns with a student's learning style. In public schools, students are all taught the same way. If they learn too quickly, they have to wait for the others to catch up. Conversely, if the material is not taught in a way a student understands, they fall behind their peers. In both cases, public school students are more likely to become disengaged and frustrated by their learning experience. At the same time, a homeschool student is in a more flexible learning environment.

Number 5: Homeschoolers Just Play Video Games All Day

Parents do not withdraw their kids from public or private school to play video games all day. Because Homeschooling is a lifestyle choice and requires substantial planning, homeschooled children are more likely to be more active, engaged, and involved in their learning.

Number 6: Parents Are Not Qualified To Teach

We do not often think about it, but the knowledge we pass on to our children from the day they are born throughout their life is substantial and significant. It goes well beyond the ability to read, write, understand numbers, or appreciate art and culture. We teach our children an infinite number of things, including manners, empathy, how to walk, how to get dressed, how to reason, how to learn, and more.

Number 7: Homeschooled Kids Cannot Participate In Extracurricular Activities

Many parents do not know that many local school boards allow homeschoolers to play in public school sports or participate in after-school activities. Many homeschooled kids play in recreational leagues outside of school, participate in Tae Kwon Do programs and several other extracurricular activities and community service projects.

Number 8: Homeschooling Is Only Done In The United States

With so much discussion about Homeschooling in the U.S., it might seem like an educational option reserved for Americans. While there are many Americans who homeschool, both in the U.S. and abroad, other countries allow Homeschooling and have growing homeschool communities.

In Europe, virtually every country, except Germany, allows Homeschooling, with the United Kingdom and France very popular for homeschoolers.

Addressing the Needs of Gifted Students

Being a teacher is hard enough on its own. Still, when you have a bright-minded or a gifted student in your class, it becomes more  of a challenge and not in a discouraging way; teachers often enjoy more when they have a gifted individual in their class, and if you have never had a chance to teach a gifted child let us understand the concept first.

The Term Gifted is used to identify students who prove capable of completing intellectual, creative, artistic, and leadership capacities. 

But the critical aspect to understand is that not every gifted student is capable in the same way. You can rarely predict the first session's proficiency since most students do not know what they are good at something unless they can experience it. 

Gifted individuals showcase exceptional intellect levels; they can solve problems with ease where others may struggle, have the natural ability to process information quickly, and understand complex concepts. They have a good memory and can remember more detailed information. And they can maintain concentration for extended periods. These traits can be seen across all gifted individuals, more or less, but this gives them an advantage academically, socially, and professionally over others. 

Still, this is not enough to assume that every gifted one will be a high achiever; in fact, their academic achievements can only be realized if they are appropriately mentored.

And the question arises by many primary teachers, How can we address the needs of gifted students? 

So just hang in there with me, you are about to find out, and towards the end, we will discuss the differences between high achievers and gifted and what happens when a kid knows he has an advantage over his peers. 

Let's talk about the 6 tips I find extremely useful in every gifted student's case despite their interests, strong points, and weaknesses.

Number 1: Make yourself familiar with gifted students:

It is very typical among teachers to take a gifted student for just an average paced individual since not every kid is either aware of their abilities or are just shy and would not want to get any attention. 

And it is very likely for new teachers to get the wrong impression of a student that is not that capable, now this should not mean teachers should be giving any less attention to the student, the reason of highlighting this possibility is that a kid that may need an extra hand with his academic progression might not get it since the teacher may think he is progressing well. 

However, gifted individuals need attention; they have a very different set of needs; if you want to have a visual idea, think if you have watched the movie “Good Will Hunting” and know how difficult it can be to deal with the smart ones.

Like I explained earlier, the gifted ones show a very peculiar set of characteristics like the precocious ability to think critically and abstractly, they have an extreme need for constant mental stimulation since the brain activity is too high all the time they might experience a hard time sleeping; they have an exceptional ability to learn and process complex information very rapidly and to explore subjects in depth. And they have unique academic needs. 

Imagine a situation where you graduate college, and someone asks you how would you feel about going back to high school; how would that make you feel? Robust and more in control, you will feel like you already know everything, and this is not even surface-level information for you; this is how some of the gifted might feel, some naturally take advantage of the school setting to learn and excel, and some rebel because they understand they are better than the competition however this is not beneficial for their academic growth and minor changes in their academic routines can make their lives marginally better and yours as a teacher too. 

Number 2: You have to let go of the NORMAL:

To be an effective teacher, whether it's your first year or your 30th, the best thing you can do for yourself is to let go of the idea of normal. 

It would be best to offer all students the opportunity to grow from where they stand and not from where your teacher training says they should be. 

You will not harm a student by offering them opportunities to complete more advanced work. Research consistently shows that a curriculum based on development and ability is far more effective than a curriculum based on age. And, research indicates that giftedness occurs along a continuum. 

As a teacher, you will likely encounter moderately gifted students, highly talented, and, perhaps if you're lucky, even a few who are incredibly gifted. 

You must know that strategies that work for one group of gifted students won't necessarily work for all gifted students. Don't be afraid to think outside the box. 

You're in the business of helping students to develop their abilities. Just as athletes are good at athletics, gifted students are good at thinking. We would never dream of holding back a promising athlete, so don't be afraid to encourage your thinkers by providing them with opportunities to soar.

Number 3: Conduct unannounced and informal assessments:

Now that we understand that dealing with gifted students can be a chore on its own. Still, it never has to be a consuming task; there is a positive side to it, you can use their ability to train them to become even better; giftedness is like a skill it has to be polished to keep it bright and shiny, otherwise it gets covered in the dust of time and a student who once was thought to become an astronaut or a lawyer is now working an average 9-5 job, he is good at. Still, it is not the place he should have ended up. 

One of the easiest ways to better understand how to provide challenging material is to conduct informal whole class assessments regularly. For example, before beginning any unit, conduct a diagnosis—let’s say, administer the end of the unit test. Students who score above 80 percent should not be forced to relearn information they already know.

Instead, these students should be given parallel opportunities that are challenging. Consider offering these students the option to complete an independent project on the topic or to substitute another experience that would meet the objectives of the assignment with areas of the curriculum that are chronological, such as mathematics and spelling; you can give them the end of the year test during the first week of school. Suppose you have students who can demonstrate competency at 80 percent or higher. In that case, you will save them an entire year of frustration and boredom if you can determine precisely what their ability level is and then offer them a curriculum that allows them to move forward. Formal assessments can be beneficial. However, they are expensive, and there is generally a backlog of students waiting to be tested. Conducting informal assessments is a useful and inexpensive tool that will offer a lot of information.

Number 4: Involve Parents as Resource Locators

Although a student of yours is exceptional in studies and can take care of tasks without even taking a look at his schoolwork at home, remember that his brain does not stop wandering as they leave school. 

Parents of gifted children are often active advocates for their children. It can be a little too much sometimes, but you have to prepared for this if there is one in your class. What these parents want most is to be heard and to encounter someone willing to think differently. 

You can offer to collaborate with them, rather than resist them, to work together to see that their child's needs are met. 

If they want their child to have more challenging math experiences, enlist their help in finding better curriculum options. An informal assessment can help them determine the best place to start and then encourage them to explore other options adapted to the classroom. Most parents understand that teachers don't have the luxury of creating a customized curriculum for every student. Still, most teachers are willing to make accommodations if parents can do the necessary research. Flexibility and a willingness to think differently can create win-win situations.

Number 5: Try the Acceleration Method:

This simple concept is one of the critical fundamentals when keeping a gifted student interested in studies. 

This example can best understand this idea, imagine Chris, a ten-year-old who is exceptionally good at math. He is ready to learn algebra; he should not be forced to study the curriculum that is too easy for him, this will only keep him a whole frustrating year, and in other words, a year will be wasted. He should be challenged to enhance his learning. 

Often teachers restrict students from learning subjects above their grade because they fear they might run out of new things to learn, while in reality, do we ever run out of new learning to explore? 

If he can understand 5th-grade math when he is in 3^rd grade, Then of course, when he gets to 5th grade, he is going to have to be challenged to keep moving him forward. 

Another reason that many teachers are afraid to try acceleration is that they are concerned about their social maturity level. Research has demonstrated time and time again that acceleration is adequate for many reasons and that social maturity is rarely an issue. Several studies have shown that social age is correlated with mental age, not chronological age. So, not only is it generally in the student's best interest academically to accelerate, it is in his/her best social part as well.

 Number 6: Learning from the Experiences of Others:

While dealing with a gifted student, many seasoned teachers innocently commit mistakes, but they can be amended early on, and there is no shame if you did something similar. 

A: They ask their gifted students to become tutors of struggling students. 

Gifted children think and learn differently than other students. Asking them to serve as tutors can be a frustrating experience for all parties involved. This should also be remembered when putting together learning teams or group projects. Putting your strongest student with your struggling students is likely to be a painful experience for everyone. Imagine developing a cycling team with someone like Lance Armstrong as one member and then selecting other members who have either just learned to ride their bikes or are still relying on training wheels to help them gain their balance. It is unlikely that anyone in this group is going to have a positive experience.

B: Giving your gifted student extra assignments if they finish early.

It is common practice to give students more work if they complete their assignments early. This is counterintuitive if you consider that if the student is efficiently completing his/her work, it is likely that the work is too easy. 

Let's consider the cyclist who finishes a race first place. Would you have the cyclist continue to ride on a stationary bike until all other cyclists finished the race? What if that cyclist was allowed to participate in more challenging races or had the opportunity to develop his talents in related areas? Wouldn't that be a better use of his time?

C: Only Allowing Gifted Students To Move Ahead When They Complete The Grade Designed Work Assignments With 100% Accuracy.

It is important to remember that gifted students think and learn differently and can be rebellious. No one, not adults, not children, and surely not gifted children, likes to be bored! Thanks to their ability to reason, talented students will purposely choose not to do something merely because they must do it, mainly if it seems pointless to them. 

They would rather spend their time thinking or reading than completing worksheets that are too easy. Focus on your students' strengths, not their shortcomings. 

Offer them opportunities that are consistent with their abilities lead them from where they are. Depending on how long they have been in the system, it may take them a while to trust you. So, don't be surprised if there isn't a miraculous overnight change. 

Be consistent and positive and remember, you may be the first teacher who has offered them an opportunity to learn rather than regurgitate information. They may not know how to handle your responsiveness. Don't fall into the trap of saying, See, I told you he wasn't gifted, I gave him one tough assignment, and he failed. 

Gifted students generally haven't had to work to succeed. Give them time to build for them to excel in a safe environment.

With little knowledge and constant research, teachers can ensure that the potentially gifted students utilize their abilities to the fullest. 

Now that we are running towards the end, I would like to highlight some of the significant drawbacks of making a student realize he is better than others.

Again, to understand this better, I will refer to a theory generally used in executive training called the “Four Competence Stages.”

It is a model based on the premise that learners are unaware of what or how much they know before a learning experience begins. As they learn, they move through four psychological states until they reach a stage of unconscious competence.

1. Unconscious Incompetence:

The learner is unconsciously incompetent. He does not know that he lacks a particular set of skills or an ability others might have. It does not affect his performance since, according to him, it does not exist. Like when a student is promoted to the next grade, he does not know the advanced subjects, and he also unaware that he might struggle with learning. 

2. Conscious Incompetence:

 In conscious incompetence, the learner is aware of a skill or knowledge gap and understands the importance of acquiring the new skill. It's in this stage that learning can begin. He understands that he does not have a grasp on the subjects and he must learn what he does not know.

3: Conscious Competence:

In conscious competence, the learner knows how to use the skill or perform the task, and this is the stage that I want to emphasis to the  new teacher what you might face teaching a gifted student.

Such students who are aware of their abilities are always mindful that they can perform better; this develops overconfidence and they may tend to become rebellious.

4. Unconscious Competence:

In unconscious competence, the individual has enough experience to perform it so quickly they do it unconsciously.

This is again an added advantage when dealing with a gifted student; you can allow him to perform exceptionally without making him the star of the class and making him aware of his abilities. This leads to conscious competence and overconfidence, which can push them towards the first stage, unconscious incompetence.