The question isn’t which educational setting is better. It’s which one a child needs right now.
Homeschool Versus Brick-and-Mortar Does Not Have to Be a Debate
I’m sure you’ve heard the unspoken debate about homeschool versus brick-and-mortar school once or twice in your lifetime. If the discussion isn’t coming from parents, it’s being whispered among teachers and counselors in schools.
And you know what? I understand this debate firsthand.
At first, I wondered why we concern ourselves so much with which type of school a child attends. Isn’t the point simply to make sure children are receiving the education they need to become successful adults? I mean, wouldn’t that be the ultimate mission?
Two years ago, I tutored a third grader who was bright, curious, and needed a little extra guidance with reading comprehension. From what I could tell, he was doing pretty well.
We all thought he would move on to the next grade.
Then came the reading assessments. You know, the infamous Florida Assessment of Student Thinking, that every student dreads.
Well, maybe not every student.
This young kid ended up just a few points shy of meeting the requirement to move on to the next grade level.
I was shocked. Missing it by only a few points was difficult to swallow, even for his parents.
His parents ultimately decided to homeschool him.
Here is where things became interesting.
I noticed when the parents transitioned him to homeschool, they had more freedom in the way they helped him learn.
Throughout his fourth-grade year, his parents kept me updated.
He was doing amazingly well.
By the end of the school year, he had all A’s.
No, literally. All A’s.
They sent me a copy of the transcript, and I was so proud of him.
In that moment, I started wondering whether homeschool was simply better for him than brick-and-mortar school. I had officially started the entire debate in my own head.
If I had made my decision based only on that transcript, I probably would have concluded that homeschool was the way to go.
But then his parents put a funny twist in my thinking.
They sent him back to brick-and-mortar school for fifth grade.
And guess what?
Their reasoning made perfect sense.
Homeschooling had helped him improve academically, but it had also given his parents the opportunity to notice things about the way he learned.
Yes.
The way he learned.
They noticed that during tests, he would work far too quickly and get answers wrong, but they knew he understood the question.
His parents asked him why he wouldn’t simply slow down when he already knew the material.
His answer had nothing to do with academics.
He told them the other children at school were much faster test takers. He felt like he had to finish before them or they might think he wasn’t smart enough.
That’s exhibit A.
Stay with me.
His parents realized that working in smaller groups, or around other children who also took more time during tests, might work better for him.
And guess what?
His brick-and-mortar school was willing to accommodate him.
There were more of these little gems that ultimately helped his parents decide he could return to the classroom, but that one stayed with me.
It changed my thinking about whether homeschool might have been the better option.
More importantly, it made me realize that choosing a side may not benefit the child at all.
In some cases, choosing a side could actually prevent us from recognizing what the child needs.
You see, while the child was being homeschooled, the family was able to observe behavior that they were previously unaware of.
Not bad behavior, but learning behavior.
The child had some strengths they were able to use while being homeschooled, and for any weaknesses, they adjusted around them so that he could continue to progress.
By the end of the school year, they took all of their assessments and shared it with his classroom teacher when he transitioned back. His school was happy to support him!
Whether his parents realized it at the time or not, homeschool became a bridge back into brick-and-mortar school.
One need in a child’s life changed the plan.
Then the plan changed again.
There were no sides to choose for this family because the side they chose was the child’s.
A child does not have to be permanently homeschooled or permanently educated in a brick-and-mortar school. Their educational environment can change depending on what they need during a particular season of their life.
Homeschool and the traditional classroom can work together.
They do not have to be rivals.
Dr. Mimi Smith, Founder, CEO, & Publisher, Books for Little Hearts™. Dr. Mimi Smith is the Founder, CEO and Publisher of Books for Little Hearts™, a children’s publishing brand and youth authorship development platform centered on creating opportunities for young authors to write books for children. She also founded its fully funded Young Author Publishing Program, which provides selected young writers with professional publishing support at no cost to their families.
By Dr. Mimi Smith. Originally published at https://news.featured.com/homeschooling-and-the-classroom-don-t-have-to-be-rivals