The Home Educating Journey

    Five years ago, things got strange for my oldest daughter as she attended school.  Suddenly, my child who had always loved learning and enjoyed school, was focused on things that had nothing to do with learning.  She was instead becoming increasingly uninterested in attending school, and building up anxieties.  It would be a while before I learned that she was being relentlessly bullied by another student.  

    I always knew it could happen.  After all, I had been teaching for many years at that point and had seen things like this over and over again.  But it's different when it happens to your own child.  That isn't to say that I never took it seriously before.  I did.  I always wanted what was best for my students and did what I could to help them.  This time, however, it became personal, in a more flesh-and-blood way.  I began to understand what some of those parents before had tried to get me to understand.  You don't always truly know until it happens to you.

    It broke my heart to send her to school not knowing what would happen, and although I did report it once I learned what was happening, I understood as a teacher, that the teacher can't always make big changes.  It's hard to catch a sneaky bully.  They are very good at what they do.  But we did make it through the year the best we could.

    In fourth grade, things picked up right where they left off.  But in addition to the same bully causing problems,  there was a new one to add on to the torture.  And in addition to that, my daughter started to get into trouble as well when she began to defend herself.  I wasn't always happy with the way things were handled, but I knew as a teacher that those in charge often have their hands tied.  

    By the end of that year, we were in the midst of COVID 19 and at home full time.  Other than the frustration of having to deal with virtual learning with three elementary aged students, I loved it.  I was home with all of my children and although I had no idea what homeschooling looked like, I was beginning to see the potential. 

    Once I got the idea in my head, I couldn't let it go.  Homeschooling had never been on my radar before, but now that it was, I knew I had work ahead of me.  I do sometimes have a tendency to jump into things, but with this, I knew it was best to learn as much as I could.  I knew several homeschooling families, and so I began by just asking questions.  Then, I started reading books.  And once I had learned some overwhelming information, I also began looking into curriculums.  

    This did not happen overnight, for we had begun the next schoolyear, which was on an alternate schedule.  My oldest son only lasted three days at school wearing a mask, before we opted out to be virtual.  That didn't work well for him at all, and it was beyond frustrating for me, as I was still having to work and teach as well.  Meanwhile, my daughter was going to school, while wearing a mask, but dealing with the same nonsense she had been for the past two years.  

    During all of my reading and research about homeschooling, I began to feel convicted that I had even subjected my children to public school at all.  Sometimes, you don't know what you don't know.  Even as a teacher in the middle of the chaos that ensues, it was hard for me to see what was going on.  Public school can be such a toxic place, not only for students, but for the adults involved as well.  Public education has likely never been ideal, but it definitely wasn't what it used to be.  I had seen tremendous changes just since I had started teaching, and it would take a district job where I was able to be in and observe multiple school settings for me to realize it wasn't a place that I wanted my children to be. Education is important to me, but so is discipleship.  And I knew my children would never get that in public school.  In fact, the longer they stayed in public school, the more I'd be fighting against all the things I didn't want them to know and be involved in.  

    Looking back, I wish I had pulled them from public school during the school year, but instead, I let them finish the year, and then I did it.  I honestly didn't even know what I was doing, but I was doing it, and knew I could figure it out as I went.  And I did.  

    We've now been homeschooling for three years.  All of my children who have had the public school experience, prefer homeschooling.  They love the freedom they get, and that "school" only takes a couple of hours, and the rest of the time, they just get to be kids.  They like that they work at their own pace and aren't forced to learn at a faster pace in an effort to keep up.  

    The past three years have been difficult, if I'm being honest.  Even when we started homeschooling, I continued working full time.  I would go to work each day at my teaching job, and then come home to teach my children.  As much as I loved being able to homeschool, it has been exhausting.  It was so exhausting at one point that I realized if I kept doing it, things would need to change before I wore out.  I even contemplated putting one or more of them back in school.  But don't worry, that lasted no more than a few hours!  It's amazing what exhaustion will do to your mind and will.

    Thankfully, this year, my husband and I decided that this will be my last year teaching.  I can't predict the future, and can't say for certain that I'll never go back to teaching, but I do know that for now, I will be spending my time at home, with my family, where I belong.  What I can predict, however, is that home education year number four will be the best one yet!  Welcome to our schoolhouse.