Homeschooling for Working Parents
When people think of homeschooling, they often picture a mother and her children sitting at a kitchen table surrounded by textbooks, worksheets, and colorful school supplies. This recreation of “school at home” with a parent as teacher is one option, but it is far from the only possibility. Homeschooling need not be a parent’s full-time job! There are several models for homeschooling your children with support of others. Today I’ll share these three options that can be used alone or in combination: collaborating with other homeschooling parents to share teaching responsibilities, hiring homeschooling mentors and tutors, and enrolling your children in online schools.
Cooperative Homeschooling With Other Parents
Parents can cooperate to create shared schedules in which each family is responsible for one or more subject areas. Parents then teach topics they know to small groups of children.
Meetings can be weekly or daily.
Studies can be traditionally organized or interdisciplinary.
Parents can purchase curriculum or design what they will teach and how.
Co-ops work well for families who want a shared social structure with regular attendance, and for those who feel it is helpful to pool resources and expertise. Parents and children alike benefit from multi-generational learning communities.
Homeschooling With Mentors
Parents may need to hire other people to help supervise their children.
A parent must be the homeschool director; in this scenario, that parent fills the role of a principal rather than only that of a classroom teacher.
A homeschooling mentor can oversee the students’ participation in and completion of their coursework. This person can fill the role of a homeroom or primary teacher.
Tutors can be hired to teach particular subjects, just as some teachers in a school are subject specialists.
This model is especially helpful for parents who work full time and whose children require supervision and/or organizational assistance.
Online Schooling
There are a range of online options that existed before 2020’s crisis schooling occurred. You can choose a complete online school, such as a virtual high school, or select a combination of online courses from multiple sources to create a more personalized curriculum.
There are private courses that have been designed and taught by experienced homeschooling parents using video conferencing systems.
Community colleges and online high schools often offer online-only courses.
Massive Open Online Course sites such as Khan Academy, edX and Duolingo offer a wide variety of online courses.
The online model works particularly well for students who learn well through computer-based classes. It also is suited for those students who are self-motivated and old enough to be home without supervision while their parents are working.
Choosing Your Path
Each of the models above has advantages and challenges. The best option for you may be to select one or combine them to provide a personalized education for your family. For example, for one student you may want a cooperative experience for science labs and electives, a mentor or tutor for literature & composition, and an online class for math. Another may learn better when working with a tutor for math and an online course for writing. You have options!
An educational consultant who specializes in homeschooling can be hired to help parents set up an initial plan. The consultant may also be retained to be of assistance through the year to be sure that the students’ planned program of studies works over time, and that they will meet the standards that will allow them to enter and have success in their next desired educational institution.
Michele Evard is a veteran homeschooling parent and an independent educational consultant who specializes in working with homeschoolers. She can be contacted by email to michele@evardconsulting.com or through Evard Educational Consulting.