The overwhelming majority of the
children in our community go to school; it is an expected part of life. But Baltimore
also has a strong contingent of homeschoolers. A large part of the
homeschooling community transfers to regular school for high school, so I
thought it would be interesting to hear about that transition from the
perspective of some former homeschoolers. This article is about three girls who
are all now attending traditional schools.
Naami
Naami* just started going to school
this year. As more of her homeschooling friends have started to go to school
she wanted to go too, and her main reason is for the social life. Here are her
words comparing regular school to homeschool:
“In school, you follow a curriculum,
and there is a lot of pressure to stay at the same pace as your classmates. Homeschool
lets you go at your own pace and learn pretty much whatever you want.
“There are many, many more social
opportunities in school, as opposed to homeschool, where you have a small
social life. With school, you get home late, and you also must study a lot. I
sometimes feel like I don’t have enough time to myself, and I really wish
the school day was a little shorter. In homeschool, I never had to study, but I
still learned.”
When Naami was asked if she would
homeschool her own children, she answered, “I personally don’t feel like I had
the best experience homeschooling, but that was really toward the end, after my
siblings and friends started going to school. I think it’s important to
consider this if you are planning on homeschooling. Your child will probably
have a much better experience if she/he is homeschooled with siblings or other
children. I don’t think I will homeschool my own children, because I want them
to have the experience I didn’t have. However, it depends very much on the
needs of the child.”
Chana
Chana* was homeschooled for most of
her life but is now attending regular school. Although she is quite critical of
the school system, she still has chosen to go to school for the last few years
and is happy she is there.
“I think the biggest difference
between homeschooling and school is quality vs. quantity,” says Chana. “Schools
are very focused on quantity: Learn Chumash x number of times, start Navi in this
grade, arrive and leave school the same time every day, etc. Additionally, the 36-hour
week spent in school doesn’t match the amount of knowledge we gain.
“Yes, you have to pass most
classes. That means you must study. You must memorize the information
taught and take tests on it to prove that at least one girl in class
was taking notes (which everyone else copied). But after all the tests and
quizzes and finals I took, I don’t remember a lot of what I learned last year.
I can’t rattle off all the facts I learned at home either, so hey! I
guess that means I’m human, and despite the amount of information teachers
are trying to force into me, my brain still has a limited capacity and is usually
filled by 10:00 a.m. on a school day.
“Just because the quantity of desk education in
school is greater than what’s done at home, it doesn’t mean the learning
is more valuable. Also, once you factor in all the classes I don’t like
and don’t pay attention in, and the classes that are boring (and trust me –
there is no shortage of those!), and the time it takes to take attendance
and shmooze – there isn’t actually all that much learning being done for
all the time we spend in the school building each day.
“There isn’t as much freedom in
school: Sit down now, go there then, eat at that time, and please ask for
permission before you go to the bathroom! You learn what you are told; there is
no independence to explore topics you want to delve into more. And there is
very little time if you want to explore it by yourself after school.
“I love the person I became because
of the way I was raised, and even though I somewhat enjoy school, I am so, so,
so thankful I wasn’t forced to go through 12 years of the school system. I
don’t think I would have made it!
“However, there are some advantages
to school – mainly, the other people there. There are a lot of homeschoolers in
Baltimore, and I have a lot of homeschooled friends, but even when there
is a class arranged for homeschoolers, it’s not usually more than five to ten
girls, a few times a week.
“Having so many different girls in
the classroom at school can turn even a boring lecture into a party. I love
hearing the opinions and questions of other girls, and you overall just have
different interactions with fellow students than you do at home. The social
aspect is the biggest reason I am in school.”
Rivka
“The major differences between home
and regular school would be the time spent actively learning,” says
Rivka.* At home, we would learn from about 10 a.m. to noon, whereas in
school we spend 8-plus hours in the classroom.
“In school there is little
learning that the students teach themselves. At home, most of the learning
is done through reading books or by actively seeking information. One of the
biggest pieces to me is the fact that there is no space to be alone at school.
You do your work alongside 20 other girls, and you eat lunch with girls. Finding
an empty classroom is rare. At home, it was very easy to take your work to a
different room or to daven alone.
“Homeschool has the large advantage
of being flexible. If the day is nice, we can take our school and go to a local
park or a museum. In fact, many attractions have homeschool days, when they
charge a lower admission fee for entry in the middle of the day during the school
year. Homeschool is also mostly a one-on-one experience. I’ve found that this helps me learn quicker
and fully understand the material.
“School clearly has the upper hand,
though, when it comes to social life. That is not to say that I did not have
friends at home, but the number of girls I am around has grown tremendously.
There is also an advantage to having multiple teachers for subjects, instead of
one person (normally my mother) teaching me everything.
“Homeschool’s main disadvantage is
commonly seen as a poor social life. I don’t agree with that. I had plenty of
friends – of all ages – instead of being confined to just one age group, which
I think improved my social/communication skills immensely. I think that the
hardest part of homeschool, especially as the kids grow older, is being around your
siblings/family all day. Learning alongside them, being taught by the same teacher,
going on field trips together. Every day, every year, you spend with the same
small group of people for most of the time.
“I would say that one of the
largest disadvantages of school is the amount of time spent there. It’s
practically impossible to ask students to pay attention for the many periods
over the course of a long day, and to repeat that every day.
“I love the idea of homeschooling
my children. I can’t say how long I will homeschool them, but I think it’s
amazing for a child to spend at least the elementary years with his or her
mother at home learning at a fast and lively rate.”
*
* *
I found it fascinating to hear the
opinions of these girls. It gives us a perspective that can only be obtained
from people who have experienced both kinds of learning. Most children go to
school from early childhood so they don’t know there is another alternative. Although the girls spoke honestly about the
pros and cons of homeschooling and traditional schooling, we can see how each
choice has its good points and bad points. Hopefully each family will make the
choice that works best for them. What works well for some families can be
disastrous for others.
* a pseudonym
