Why We Chose To Homeschool

by Sand-dee Rose Waybill

My son was bright, recognized as possibly gifted by a library worker from story time sessions, and starting school. He had encountered much interaction with adults, as well as with children his own age, and spoke in advanced sentences and content. I had talked with him about school, and with the slightest touch of nervousness, mingled with an immense pride and the feeling of adventures ahead, he strode out to experience his first day. I took him to the classroom, and whilst I spoke to the teacher, he informed me that I could leave - a stance of independence and bravery combined. He was ready to learn, make friends, and enjoy this new step in life straight away, no tears or grabbing hold of my hand and begging me to stay, just the reassuring “You can go now.”

I was not pleased that primary schools invented a fourth meal. Since starting regular foods, my child had become used to three meals a day, and only snacked on special occasions such as Christmas or a birthday party. The school however insisted children require a mid-morning snack as well as lunch to be provided. That was my first problem with the system. It was not long before more occurred.

My son thoroughly enjoyed his first year of school. Kindergarten enabled him to make lots of friends his own age, learn a few things that he did not already know along with reinforcement of things he knew exceedingly well, and gave great scope for playing in groups larger than those available at home. I volunteered to assist with math classes, and a few English classes as a relief, for parental assistance was encouraged, and I was happy to oblige and have some participation in my son’s education. My son would skip to school happily each morning, singing songs he had learned and inventing new verses for them. He would chatter about who had been naughty, or how he had done well at a lesson, or how boring the national anthem was to sing. He did not even want vacations. He said he wanted to keep going to school, so great was his enthusiasm for learning. This meant that I had to provide lessons for him on holidays, and I did so by creating pages of puzzles, games, questions and other such activities.

First grade started, and my son no longer skipped or sung on his way to school, he did not seem to be as happy to attend any more, and I thought that maybe the emphasis on neat handwriting was dampening his spirits, or that he was finding the work too boring and limiting for his bright brain. I encouraged him to join a softball team, and take interest in music, and was not at this time overly concerned. We had some difficulties forced upon us by family court which unsettled him dreadfully, and I feared that these might be the cause of his dissatisfaction with school. Second grade commenced, and things got worse instead of better. I began to become worried about his school life, about which he no longer talked happily. I was also personally distanced from the school system now, finding it incompatible with my own beliefs. It appeared to encourage childishness, there did not seem to be a way that my son could remain happy and continue to learn sufficiently, and he was finding the other children annoying rather than friendly. Third grade was no better; I had spoken with the teachers, but had been unable to find a satisfactory result, so I looked into other options.

I felt a need for a complete change, rather than to fight within the system, just crossing my fingers for satisfactory results. Fuelled by the need to keep my son naturally interested in learning, noticing his ability to teach himself from library books, school and university programs on TV, and life itself, in any subject that he found particularly appealing, I checked out a local Montessori school. My son enthusiastically wanted to start directly on the open day. However, the fees were too high for me to afford. What could be a suitable alternative to regular schooling, without heavy yearly fees, I wondered. I had heard of home-schooling. I did not know if it was a viable option in Australia, but I began to make enquiries as to whether or not it was a possibility, and found that indeed it was.

Between third and fourth grades, we went on an overseas vacation to visit relatives in England, as well as some American cities en route. I discussed the options with my son, put much thought into matters, and by the time we flew back home to NSW, I had decided. Choices made, I approached the school to explain that we had decided not to return, but to home-school. I saw it as a way my son would be able to learn at his own pace, unhampered by the trials of attempting to get along with children his own age, who were in comparison less mature in attitude, additionally we would have a much smaller class size. If we excluded such as assemblies, there would be more time to learn in, too. My son would have softball and pen-palling for socializing, and we began to use the library internet, each week for email communications at this time as well.

We are now in the midst of grade ten. We did not look back since starting out in grade four. Our methods and daily routine have altered somewhat since however. At first, I had full five-hour days with my son, sharing every single step of his learning procedure. I also had to plan and mark the work. We took weekly excursions to places connected with our studies, a new shopping mall, an art gallery, the nature reserve or the beach. We enjoyed working with poly-clay and embroidery for art, and I began to teach him guitar. We became members of the Powerhouse, a science and design museum in Sydney, and I arranged for my son to correspond with an entire class of third graders in San Diego for a year. Jumping forwards to grade ten, I now only participate for around five-ten hours a week, for my son is able to learn from textbooks, also to research and create projects alone. He is teaching himself keyboards, web-design and acrylic painting. I am always there to help with a problem, query or suggestion, and for verbal French lessons, but mostly it is a case now of setting the work and just making sure it is done. His free time is filled with hiking local mountains and wandering along the beach reserves, where he participates in extra biology, ecology and geography classes without knowing it. He also creates computer games, watches documentaries, and writes books, which all counts as extra learning.

The fact that he is advanced a few grades in all subjects other than math, means that he is finishing up High School level studies this year, two years ahead of most students his age. Rather than prematurely approaching college, we have decided to participate in two years of college level studies at home, covering subjects of his choice, whilst he agrees to seek a part time job to fund his own college studies post grade twelve. For these last two grades, we are going to be studying legal studies, architectural studies, engineering and English literature, along with a self-made course in how to function post parents in today’s world, which I hope will enable him to cope with his life as well as his career. He is hoping to learn about current areas of interest and possible future options, rather than waste time repeating work that he has already studied just to sit official exams. I am not sure what direction he will eventually take, for his chosen topics are not in line with his strong points, but brand new subjects. I am wondering if perhaps he will revert to his interests in science and cultural geography, or continue with these new interests, but he has a 2-year advantage to regularly schooled teens, in that he can try out a few advanced topics whilst most remain trapped within the basic curriculum. Although many other teenagers do get part-time jobs, my son will also have an advantage here; for being home schooled he will be free during the daytime, not just on weekends and evenings. Looking back, I am pleased that I made the choice to home school, and would recommend it to anyone who has the time and opportunity.