What Homeschooling Taught Me

"Like most Americans, my view of homeschooling was framed through the lens of abnormality. My own public-school education was my only frame of reference. Although my own experience wasn't great, it was familiar. It was the system I knew. As a college professor, I regularly saw the academic gaps my students carried with them from their public-school education. Yet even then, I struggled to imagine an alternative. My instinct was always to fix the existing system, not step outside of it."

"And then there was COVID. COVID shutdowns created a shift in my perspective that surprised me. My children were forced home like so many others. During this time, I got to experience their education up close and personal. I found gaps in their education that I did not know existed. I realized that it was taking significantly less time to cover just as much material with more focus and retention."

Homeschooling initially appeared abnormal due to familiarity with public schooling. An imperfect but familiar public-school experience constrained imagination of alternatives. COVID shutdowns forced children home and revealed previously unseen educational gaps. Home instruction covered as much material in significantly less time with greater focus and retention. A young child's advanced abilities required individualized attention to maintain engagement, prompting a family decision to homeschool. Extensive summer curriculum research and planning followed the initial online completion of the school year. Five years of homeschooling five children produced a sustained transformation in both children's education and understanding of learning, demonstrating that every learner differs and that less can be more.

Read at Psychology Today