Busting Homeschooling Myths #5
Myth: I’m not qualified to homeschool my kids. I don’t have a degree in …
Truth: If you can parent, you are qualified to homeschool.
This is one of my favorite myths to bust. People get so caught up in not having an education degree, but I promise it isn’t necessary in the least bit.
When your kids were born, no one at the hospital demanded you have a degree in child development before letting you take that child home. Yet, you learned how to care for an infant, then a toddler, then a preschooler through on-the-job experience. Homeschooling is not all that different. You’ll figure out what you need, when you need it.
I come from a family of teachers, and the last thing I want to do is sound like I am disrespecting the teaching profession, because I am not. Professional teachers are undervalued in our society for all the hard work they do. They not only learn the content they need to teach, but they also study child development, psychology, and classroom management techniques. It’s a lot! While I’m sure you could draw from these skills while homeschooling, you don’t need all the knowledge and expertise a professional teacher is expected to have. You don’t need to know how to teach lots of types of children or how to manage a room full of kids - you are only teaching YOUR children, and no one knows them better than you do!
People worry about not being able to teach particular subjects in their homeschool, because they don’t feel they have a solid understanding in certain areas. This is a valid concern if you want to make sure your kids are learning correct information. In these situations, it helps to think of yourself as a contractor that is overseeing your kids’ education. You can either choose to learn the material and teach it yourself (more common in the elementary years) or you can enlist someone else to teach your children any subject you don’t feel comfortable teaching (more common in junior high and high school). With the availability of online classes, local co-ops, and library resources, you can make sure your child receives excellent help whenever you aren’t confident in providing the instruction yourself.
Homeschooling your kids is nothing more than guiding them as they learn. You don’t have to be an expert in everything. Even the most seasoned teachers are not! As an added bonus, you’ll often be able to learn right alongside your kids, which will only further reiterate to your kids that learning is a lifelong process.
