While I hadn’t intended to make a series of Covid-related posts, this is indeed related.
It’s time for us to be thinking about the whole back-to-school thing. What’s the plan this year?
Everyone will surely be making decisions they feel are best for their families. In my household, that will mean getting back into homeschooling. Not that I don’t feel our school district has our kids’ best interests at heart. It’s more the nature of the virus (how it spreads, its danger level, the potential added risk of my son’s heart condition, etc), my worry that precaution measures won’t do enough to prevent the spread in such closed-in environments, and the fact that our gov’t is fixing to force schools to re-open, ready or not, under the threat of losing their funding entirely.
Maybe it’s just me, but that feels a bit like extortion…
Add to that the fact that the woman in charge of our Dept. of Education has been itching to de-fund/dismantle our public school system since before she took on that role. It’s the reason she was put into that role, if you want my personal opinion.
Furthermore, it feels like they’re using a forced back to school mandate as free childcare so homebound parents with younger kids can more easily be forced to “get back to work”. Unfortunately, many don’t have jobs to go back to (businesses got their PPP money and still laid-off/fired workers). Others simply aren’t wiling to put their families at risk and are awaiting a viable vaccine to get back into the job market (with the hopes they can find one then). The whole thing’s a hot mess.
But I digress…
Way back in 2016, I homeschooled my youngest through the end of 1st grade and the beginning of 2nd. It was an experience, lemme tell you! He was much more hyper back then. It was the reason he was kicked off the bus that year, necessitating homeschool, but it was as fun as it was aggravating. We discovered he’s at least partially a kinesthetic learner…he’d do his spelling tests verbally, as he spun in circles on the living room floor. Liberty’s Kids and Horrible Histories were on our Social Studies/History curriculum, which was fun. Homeschooling also forced me to become more organized (to manage meal plans, create lesson plans, and keep up with my freelance work). In short, we made it work.
This time around, it’ll be both boys and we’re yeeting the lesson plans right out the window (did you see them? they just caught serious air!).
They will, instead, be…un-schooled.
If you’re not familiar with unschooling, it basically means the kids guide their own education, rather than having a structured plan forced on them. I think we’re finally done with compulsory education. It counters my kids’ learning styles and takes the fun out of the discovery/learning process. Plus…I trust them to decide for themselves. They’ve proven to me many times that, given the opportunity, they learn quite well on their own and enjoy the process much more.
Looking back on my adolescence, I would say I was unofficially un-schooled. Dad worked, a single parent, and couldn’t always keep track of where I was during the day. So, I skipped school all the time and went to the library. Yes, the library (it surprised my caseworker too, LOL).
I also hung out with friends when they skipped too, but I’m a huge bookworm, so the library was like a second home. My school was one where the administrators would openly admit to students: “we don’t care if you learn anything or not, you just have to show up every day”. Real incentive to learn, that (it was truly a horrendous school and still is).
Even after being sent off for it a few times, and Dad walking me to the principal’s office each day before he went to work, I kept skipping. Until my probation officer decided I wasn’t enough of a problem child to keep sending off. Our governor at the time started a teen GED program and I qualified, so I got my GED sophmore year and started my first round of college that fall.
But, again, I digress…
Un-schooling is something I considered the first time around, but was worried it would leave me without a way to assess them for approval the next year. I’m no longer worried about that. There are un-school friendly assessors now, and things like journals, photos, projects, etc. count. Also, there are now groups that parents/kids can join. If they aren’t specifically for un-schoolers, many are un-schooler friendly. That’s refreshing!
When I started this website, it was my intent to include homeschool information for the parents doing it (even though I wasn’t anymore). I never got around to compiling my info and resources. Seeing as I’m about to be ass-deep in it again, I’ll just about have to, right? Not to mention, the info and resources will be updated, so more’s the benefit.
If you’re concerned about physically sending your kids back to school this fall, with everything going on, definitely look into your options. There are online public schools available, if you and your child/ren prefer a structured environment or curricula. Many do! And, of course, there’s the homeschool/un-school options as well. If choosing one of these, be sure to find out your state’s requirements, deadlines, forms, etc. so you can get set up and started off on the right foot!
Whatever you decide for your family, trust yourself to choose wisely. These are dicey times and we’re all just navigating the best we can. Stay safe & healthy…be well!
*Cover Photo by Feliphe Schiarolli on Unsplash
A Doe in the Foothills 