Part II

Podcast Transcript: Part I

Today on the Homeschool Express it’s time to pull off on a side track and talk for a few moments about the benefits, the advantages, and the fun of homeschooling. A few days ago, Carli and I were talking about her incredible homeschool experience. And, I told her that I wanted to come up with a podcast that described five, six, or maybe seven of the best things about going to school at home . So we sat down with Angela and began listing some of the great things about our family’s homeschool experience.

Now, as you might be able to tell from the title of this podcast, I couldn’t stop at five great things, or six great things, or seven, eight or nine great things about homeschooling. But when I got to sixteen great things, I knew that I couldn’t include them all in one single six-or-seven minute podcast, so today’s Homeschool Express is Part I of our list of sixteen great things about homeschooling. Today, we’ll talk about numbers one through eight, and in the next podcast, we’ll finish the list.

Now, if you’ve been homeschooling for long, you may have a list of your own that even includes a few things we’ve left out. And that’s okay, because your homeschool experience won’t be exactly like ours but we did want to spend at least two complete podcasts reminding you, the homeschooler, how fortunate you are that your parent, or grandparent, or whoever your homeschool teacher happens to be, has made the sacrifice to give you an education that’s specially designed for you.

So with no further ado, here are our first eight reasons that homeschooling is great.

Reason #1: Homeschool Allows You to Learn at Your Own Pace: If you’re having trouble understanding a topic, you can slow down and keep working on it until you do understand it. And if you understand it quickly, you don’t have to wait for the rest of the class to catch up. In Carli’s case, she moved ahead much more quickly in math and English, which allowed her to get ahead in school. And that turned out to be a great thing for her because she was actually able to skip a year of high school and head off to college a year early, which she wouldn’t have done in a more traditional school setting.

Reason #2: Homeschool Lets You Set Your Own Schedule: In traditional school, you’re in class when they tell you to be in class, but in homeschool, you can set up a schedule that works better for you and your family. In our own case, we liked learning in our favorite coffee shop, so one or two days a week, we’d treat ourselves to an affordable breakfast and a class discussion at the neighborhood bagel emporium. And I don’t mind telling you that those days made our homeschool experience special. 

Reason #3: Homeschool Gives You Time to Focus on Things You’re Passionate About: In addition to her normal studies, Carli wanted to dig deeper into astronomy, math, writing fiction and writing musicals. Homeschool gave her the flexibility and the extra time to dig deeper into those things that she was passionate about.

Reason #4: Generally Speaking, You Have Fewer Distractions in a Homeschool Environment: If you’re sharing the classroom with twenty other kids, things can get rowdy. But at home, you have the option of creating a distraction-free learning environment, which makes learning easier.

Reason #5: Homeschooling Can Bring Your Family Closer Together: Because I worked at home in my trusty basement office while Angela was teaching Carli upstairs, we had lunch every day as a family. And whenever I needed to stretch my legs, I could go upstairs and visit our family’s schoolroom. Spending so much time together made a tight family bond even tighter. And even if your circumstances are different than ours, I still believe that homeschooling is a family-friendly way to learn.

Reason #6: You Don’t Have to Spend as Much Time Studying for the Test: In a traditional school environment, you’re constantly studying for the next test. But we found that homeschooling can be more self-directed. Sure, there are some homeschool curriculula that are extremely test-focused, and Carli had a few of those, but generally speaking, we certainly didn’t spend time preparing for standardized state-mandated tests, or for a daily string of pop quizzes about material that we knew Carli already understood. And shei wasn’t regularly exposed to the frustrating exercise of learning things that she could promptly forget as soon as the test was over.

Reason #7: Homeschooling Curriculum Can Be Flexible: In most homeschool settings, the parent determines the curriculum. And if one curriculum isn’t a good fit for the student, the parent gets to decide whether or not to change it. That advantage, the ability to pick a curriculum that’s best for you, simply doesn’t happen in traditional school settings. 

Reason #8: You Can Avoid Negative Peer Pressure: Now, as you may know, in the world of homeschooling, there’s lots of talk about socialization. And the burning question is this: do homeschoolers get enough daily contact with other kids their own age. But, it’s worth remembering that not all socialization is positive, and not all peer pressure is positive pressure. In our own case, we found plenty of opportunities to network with other kids in our community, and you will, too. And because you can be picky about your peers, you won’t have to deal with negative peer pressure that can occur naturally in traditional school environment.

Now, I could go on talking about what makes homeschool great for another episode, and that’s what I’m going to do in Part II of 16 Things That Make Homeschooling Great. Until then, here’s a message to all you fortunate homeschoolers: Somebody who loves you very much is working very hard to give you a great education. And one of the great ways to say thank you to your teacher is by being a conscientious, cooperative, happy homeschooler. So with that parting thought, thanks for stopping by, have a great homeschool day, and be sure to stay on the right track.  

Podcast Transcript: Part II

Today on the Homeschool Express I’ll be finishing a two-part podcast about the benefits, the advantages, the fun, and the joy of homeschooling. In the first podcast I listed eight reasons that homeschooling can be a terrific learning experience for many students. Today I’ll conclude this discussion with eight more reasons that homeschooling has become the best academic alternative for millions of families around the globe. So with no further ado let’s get back on track with reason number nine which most students can appreciate.

Reason #9: You Are Not Necessarily Overwhelmed with Repetitive Homework:As Carli’s homeschool teacher, my wife Angela always wanted to make sure that Carli understood each day’s lessons. But once Angela was convinced that Carli understood  the concepts neither she nor Carli saw the need for — or the benefit from — hours and hours of homework. Many of Carli’s traditional-school friends were constantly complaining about long hours mindless, late-night, repetitive, de-motivating homework. But as a homeschool family, we were able to avoid that trap.

Reason #10: (That Homeschool Is Great): Homeschooling Is More Time-Efficient: Carli learned this benefit firsthand when she, on occasion, attended courses in traditional school settings. Once there, she was surprised by the long lines, the lengthy wait times, and the let’s-settle-down-the-classroom monologue that teachers seemed to deliver at the beginning of each class. And we even knew children in our neighborhood who rode the bus almost an hour each way to and from school. Taken together, all these time-gobblers seems to cost students hours and hours of learning time each day. But homeschool avoided all that, which made it much more time efficient.

Reason #11: Homeschooling Has a Better Student-Teacher Ratio. Of course, we can’t gloat over the fact that Carli’s student-to-tea cher ratio was two teachers to one student because. We achieved that number because I helped Angela out by teaching a writing class along with a little bit of Latin. But we can’t be too smug about the teacher-student ratio because not every family is in a position to homeschool, and homeschooling isn’t right for every student. However, when it is right, the student-teacher ratio is fantastic. body.≈

Reason #12 You Can Design Your Own Field Trips. When you are a homeschool family, you can plan your own field trips. And you’re not restricted to one or two field trips per year. In our own case, we found ourselves traveling all over middle Tennessee and occasionally to more distant destinations for filed trips where Carli’s parents learned right along with her.

Reason #13: Now, More Than Ever Before, You Have a Limitless Choice of Great Online Professors. During her high school years, Carli began taking courses free online courses from some of the greatest universities on the planet. Schools like MIT and Harvard offered courses that were free and surprisingly understandable. And the list of homeschool-friendly courses continues to grow day by day.

Reason #14: You Can Take Niche Courses Online That You Might Never Be Able to Take in a Traditional School Setting: For example, Carli became interested in the topic of linguistics, and she was able to take a free course on that subject from a great professor at the University of Edinburgh. So if you’re really interested in a niche topic, the possibilities are almost endless.

Reason #15: The School Day Ends When You’re Finished Your Schoolwork: Simply put, you and your homeschool teacher decide when the school day is done. When you finish your work, you’re free to move about the cabin.

And Finally, Reason #16, (Which, in a Way, Sums up the Entire Homeschool Experience): You and Your Parents Are in Control of Your Education. And that’s an important benefit to you the homeschooler. You r education can be tailored to your skills, to your interests, and to your goals for the future. It’s no wonder I’m excited about homeschooling for families and students who willingness and the ability to take that big step.

So there you have it, 16 reasons that homeschooling is is may be the perfect educational solution for you.

And because you’ve listened to very end of this two-part podcast, I assume that you’re either a homeschooler yourself or you’re someone who’s strongly considering it.  If so, I can only say that our homeschool experience — and we had a dozen years of it — was wonderful. And I wish you the best of luck and happy times with your own educational journey So with that parting thought, behalf of my two homeschool heroes, Carli the conscientious student and her terrific teacher, my wife Angela, we’d all like to say thanks for stopping by, have a great homeschool day, and be sure to stay on the right track.