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I think that children tend to thrive in a homeschool environment for the same reason that a young child will thrive with a nanny as opposed to daycare. One-on-one attention and care can take a child from average (or behind) to superior - in many ways. Tailoring the entire day to the needs of a child works. Our 2 1/2 year old was with his teacher/nanny and me (I work part-time) for the first two years and the child is on the verge of reading. Yes, really. And I don't mean memorizing words. I'm talking phonics-based reading. He has also started addition, loves 24 piece jigsaw puzzles, going to the history museums, speaks two languages, etc. This is just about actually teaching your kid something. We did it all through play-based learning (creative curriculum), at-home montessori "toys" and common sense but the point is, for people who say kids just need to play, well, that's how they LEARN. Through play.
Biology tells the story. A child learns less fast as he ages. It is hard for me to believe that G-D put these brains that can pick up this type of information at their young ages into their heads for them to play with only e-z bake ovens all day? Come on. I think people are just being lazy and want to use the "let my kid play all day and do nothing else" as an excuse.
The creative curriculum is an awesome "play experience" for any child - art, music, kitchen, reading, science, fine motor skill centers. They love it. It is play. But guess what, they are getting ready for kidnergarten at the same time.
My husband is a teacher in the U.S. and I will tell you the hard truth that I was disgusted to learn from him a few years ago. Day one, when your kid gets to kidnergarten, the kids will be evaluated by what they know COMING IN THE DOOR. If your kid has been playing for five years and does not know what the other kids know, they are already behind and will be placed in a group accordingly. Play with your kid's education if you want to.... Up to you but ask any kidnergarten teacher what happens and they will confirm it for you. It is called "differentiated learning" but that really means your kid does not know what everyone else knows and needs a group of other kids that also do not know so that they can be taught...meanwhile the kids that already know are in the other group learning stuff your kid is not learning. I was absolutely disgusted to find this out but it is reality. It is no longer called "tracking" bc that is a dirty word but, to me, for all intents and purposes, it is tracking bc how can the behind kid ever catch up with the advanced kids? It is nearly impossible. And year after year the advanced kids finish far ahead of your kid all bc you wanted them to do nothing but play in the mud all day. Better find out what is going to happen when they get to school.... Don't do them a disservice. Let them play but teach them also. Other people are.
No, an education degree is not required but I think to homeschool an elementary school student, one had to be a good student, even if one only went up to highschool. I honestly shudder to think that a person who barely graduated high school and was probably lackluster the entire K-12 is trying to actually homeschool a child. Now that I think is ludicrous. So I don't think college is necessary at the elementary school level but I do think the person should have been a good student and understand all of the fundamentals of grammar (e.g., diagramming sentences), math (e.g., keen grasp of geometry, pre-algebra, fractions, etc.). Otherwise, how will one explain the lessons? It is not enough to have the materials if the person administering them does not have a true understanding of what the child is being asked to do/learn. That is a disservice to a child. Sorry to be a prude but letting a kid take latin and dance and having the kid do community service is great but it really has nothing to do with the fundamental question of whether a person without an education degree is qualified to homeschool. That really sounds more like your daughter is a good parent (any good parent would involve their kids in activities) but the question is really, what is the quality of the homeschooling?
Actually this isn't true everywhere. My kid's kindergarten class - last year - was given a short "test" by the teacher before school started so she knew where they stood and what they knew, not because she was going to sort them. They all learned together. At that age there is a wide disparity. My kid had such a meltdown at her meeting - she was not having this kindergarten thing - that she didn't test her at all, so as not to stress her out further.
There were a couple of kids that had never been in any kind of classroom setting. The teachers expected that and just helped them out a little with getting familiar, they didn't stick them into some kind of "advanced" and "slow" classes. They all moved on to first grade pretty even in their abilities.
And, BTW, a lot of day care workers do not have a college education
At my kids daycare, her teacher is a licensed educator for K-8 education in my state. She used to teach gradeschool at public school, but wanted to do something a bit different.
This has become a thread of its own so I'll answer the question- I don't think a degree is strictly necessary but you do need to be intelligent, a lot of dedication and patience, and some kind of outside help e.g. curriculum and materials or other homeschooling parents who have advanced knowledge (degrees/qualifications/experience) in subject areas to really successfully homeschool the average child (a very intelligent self-motivated child could most likely teach themselves most things but they aren't average).
I know personally that I do not have what it takes to homeschool my child (her father wanted to homeschool and we discussed it) even though I am fairly intelligent (feel so big headed saying that but for the purposes of this discussion I will say it). I never finished my degree but even if I had I know that I could not do better than the state education here.
I'm sure I could find someone who could do my job with a HS degree even though it requires a bachelors to be hired. The question becomes how many who didn't pursue higher education will be doing all the things they didn't do for themselves?
I smiled when I saw this.
Kibbiekat, the reality is, no, most day care workers do not have a college degree.
However, most private preschool teachers do. I personally interviewed numerous preschools in which every teacher was an actually teacher with a college degree. You have to pay them more bc they have the education but yes, it exists. The teachers actually have lesson plans, curriculums, etc. Some are play-based, some are not. But yes, college educated preschool teachers are alive and well apparently.
Well, the topic keeps changing. Yes, my kids' preschool teachers were college grads. I also deal with a lot of day care providers in infant and toddler rooms, and I can tell you they are not (many at least).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatornation
Daycare you are right. Preschool that depends how much you pay.
In the other thread, where most of the posts here came from, you basically said a mom without an education degree should go to work so her child can go to daycare. We were not talking about home schooling high schoolers. We were talking about a mom choosing to stay home and you wondered if she was "qualified." I'm telling you the mother of an infant, going to work and putting her child in day care because she isn't "qualified" is most likely going to be leaving that infant with someone who also isn't "qualified" in your opinion either.
It is disingenuous to change the topic from day care to preschool to home schooling all under the same umbrella of "is the parent qualified." They are all completely different circumstances.
A mom choosing to stay home with her baby may not still be home when the baby gets to preschool age. Or she may be, and she may choose to send the kid to preschool. Staying home doesn't mean forever, and it doesn't mean you can't afford preschool. This whole argument is ridiculous as it relates to the other thread.
Last edited by Kibbiekat; 09-23-2013 at 06:37 PM..
Reason: typo
At my kids daycare, her teacher is a licensed educator for K-8 education in my state. She used to teach gradeschool at public school, but wanted to do something a bit different.
That's nice. Not the case in a lot of infant rooms, and also not required in most places. It still doesn't mean a parent needs a teaching credential to stay home with their own kids.
Well, the topic keeps changing. Yes, my kids' preschool teachers were college grads. I also deal with a lot of cay care providers in infant and toddler rooms, and I can tell you they are not (many at least).
In the other thread, where most of the posts here came from, you basically said a mom without an education degree should go to work so her child can go to daycare. We were not talking about home schooling high schoolers. We were talking about a mom choosing to stay home and you wondered if she was "qualified." I'm telling you the mother of an infant, going to work and putting her child in day care because she isn't "qualified" is most likely going to be leaving that infant with someone who also isn't "qualified" in your opinion either.
It is disingenuous to change the topic from day care to preschool to home schooling all under the same umbrella of "is the parent qualified." They are all completely different circumstances.
A mom choosing to stay home with her baby may not still be home when the baby gets to preschool age. Or she may be, and she may choose to send the kid to preschool. Staying home doesn't mean forever, and it doesn't mean you can't afford preschool. This whole argument is ridiculous as it relates to the other thread.
I've focused on ages 3-5 from the start until the discussion changed a bit. The main point was if money is tight for a one income family there would not be money to send a child to preschool when they are 3-5 years of age. There is a reason private schools start at age 3 or so. The standard in the US is to have a college educated professional teach your child starting at age 5/6. It is a pretty obvious choice to choose to start that a couple years earlier.
I homeschool my children and I never finished my degree. My kids are doing online school, so officially they also have teachers to help them, but we don't have much contact with the teachers.
So far, my kids haven't learned anything that I don't already know. Most things that they learn, we talk about in a greater depth than their textbooks cover. I generally look through their lessons in advance, and if there's anything I'm a little rusty on, a little googling usually brings me up to speed before their lesson. My mother is a college math professor, and if she visits on a school day, she teaches my kids' math lessons that day, not because we need her to, but because she enjoys it.
I didn't feel like I had the background to choose a curriculum for them and be sure of covering everything they needed to know, so I was glad that online school was an option. I still consider it homeschooling, and so do the other parents I know at the school, because we're the ones who actually teach the kids all their lessons.
I do know some other homeschool moms who were homeschooled themselves, and who did not go to college, but who feel comfortable offering classes (for money) for other people's homeschooled children. I don't think that's such a good idea. I think if you're teaching for pay, you should have a degree.
I've focused on ages 3-5 from the start until the discussion changed a bit. The main point was if money is tight for a one income family there would not be money to send a child to preschool when they are 3-5 years of age. There is a reason private schools start at age 3 or so. The standard in the US is to have a college educated professional teach your child starting at age 5/6. It is a pretty obvious choice to choose to start that a couple years earlier.
No, you changed the subject to homeschooling and said a parent shouldn't stay home unless they have a degree in education. If you had said this^ no one would be arguing with you.
No, you changed the subject to homeschooling and said a parent shouldn't stay home unless they have a degree in education. If you had said this^ no one would be arguing with you.
Well that is also true. Like I said teachers aren't hired who don't have a degree. Most people lacking one are not qualified to do so.
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