3 rules of responsibility for homeschooling

Often when considering homeschooling, the focus is on finding the best curriculum. While the curriculum is important, an even more important factor needs to be considered before deciding to jump on both feet.

Responsibility

While homeschooling offers the allure of flexible learning materials, delivery, and time, these advantages can turn negative if you assume no responsibility is necessary.

3 liability rules

1. Parent to school / government board

We are particularly fortunate that we have several school boards that serve solely the homeschooling population in our province of Alberta. This is a great help as we are assigned a social worker who travels to our home twice a year to consult with us about our goals, curriculum, activities, expenses, etc.

It helps to know that although we have chosen homeschooling, we are not completely alone. The social worker is also available year-round free of charge for questions or advice when difficult situations arise. They also offer great insights into what is working for other families in similar circumstances.

Another added benefit of this is that our children’s education is documented with a public school board recognized by the Alberta government. This makes the transition to high school and college much easier than doing it alone. Part of this is that our school board conducts provincial standard tests annually, which are kept on file, to help ensure that our children are ahead of or ahead of children in the public school system.

2. Children to parents

Homeschooled children can quickly fall into the trap of thinking that no one is watching whether or not they are completing their lessons and work. We all know that children will test limits when opportunities arise. They may be relying on the fact that their parents are busy working or doing housework and are relying on them to do the work on their own.

Therefore, precautions must be taken to ensure that accountability is strong in this area. Children should be given a deadline or goals for each study area on a daily basis. As an example, many curricula are divided into lessons, so as parents, we can tell our children that they are expected to finish lesson 101 of each subject today.

Some curricula may encourage more than one lesson per day. What you decide is fine as long as you express your expectations and provide all the materials and assistance necessary to successfully complete the job.

Although children may seem to dislike and vehemently oppose responsibility, in reality, most children take a bit of comfort in knowing that their parents care enough about them to have rules or guidelines.

We also suggest that accountability be based not only on the quantity of work done, but also on quality. It is completely reasonable to not only expect a lesson to be completed, but also to expect a certain level of proficiency. Simply filling in the blanks with wrong answers does nothing.

This responsibility also requires that there be consequences when work is not done correctly. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as an inability to understand or illness, children should know that not being accountable comes at a cost. We found that removing electronic privileges works quite well in this regard.

3. From parents to children

Although from parents to children it is number three, that does not mean that it is the least important. In fact, we believe that it is the most important of the three. With the first two, you will get minimal results, but when parents are also responsible to their children, homeschooling comes together.

In time, our children will reach the age to move and attend college or start life on their own. What type of education and how well we provide it will be critical to their achievement of their goals in life.

Homeschooling is not an excuse or an easy response to a busy or transitory lifestyle. In fact, if done right, homeschooling can be much more time consuming for parents than if their child went to public school. As parents, we now replace teachers and support staff to some degree, based on the chosen curriculum. We are the ones who must correct, verify, explain and encourage our children.

The easiest way to do this is by correcting your children’s work on a daily basis. By doing this, you can detect potential problems before they become bigger problems. This is a huge advantage of homeschooling!

If you can explain or even reteach an area of ​​interest right away, you will avoid further frustration and confusion in the future. Remember, most courses, like English, Math, and Science, involve building-based learning. What children learn this week is used to develop next week and so on.

Another important aspect of parental responsibility is that when we show that we are involved and care deeply about our children’s education, usually in return, they will be more accountable to us. Instead of a potentially conflictual relationship, we are building a more symbiotic one. Yes, we are still in charge, but we can do it with love and respect at the same time.

These 3 Rules of Homeschooling Responsibility are your starting point for a great homeschooling environment.