Carolina Homeschooler
I’m often asked about skipping grades and graduating early.
In my opinion, learning is a journey, not a race. And hopefully, it’s a life-long journey. In my homeschool, grade level is beside the point. My children learned at home until they were of the normal age to graduate and pursue their post-high school goals.
So my advice is to focus on providing more in-depth learning experiences rather than skipping grade levels.
Many new families are interested in homeschooling due to the pandemic, but are confused about what homeschooling really is. I hope this helps to clarify.
Homeschoolers are governed by SC’s homeschool law. We pay for everything ourselves and have the freedom to choose our own curriculum, resources, methods of assessment, and schedule. Our children are not considered public school students, can learn at their own pace, don’t have to answer to outside teachers, and aren’t required to take standardized tests.
If you choose to homeschool, you have to register with a homeschool association. Most families choose an association that operates under Option 3 of the SC homeschool law. (Options 1 and 2 are considered more restrictive, requiring curriculum approval, more documentation, and testing. For more details, see this.)
If you want to enroll your children with one of SC’s public virtual charter schools (Connections, SCVCS/K12, SC Whitmore School, whatever), they will be public school students. The state will pay for their curriculum, but your students will have to follow public school requirements (curriculum, testing, schedules, etc.).
If you choose to enroll in one of these schools, don’t register as a homeschooling family. (You won’t be homeschooling.)
Dear Crisis Homeschooler,
Speaking as an ex-school psychologist and, more importantly, a 25+ year homeschooler, it helps to understand that what the schools do is second best (actually, not even second best). The teachers and principals I worked with would have loved to do what we do (or should do) – tailor education to each child’s interests and abilities and passions.
But they can’t – they don’t have the time or resources to do that. So they have to use textbooks and other resources that have been passed through committee after committee to get approved. Then they have to standardize everything to a class of 25 or so same-age students, and focus on teaching to the test.
Why would we want to duplicate that?
I’m often asked how to do a “trial run” before fully committing to homeschooling, especially during the summer. My advice is not to bring out the textbooks and workbooks.
Instead, do this:
Does music, summer camp, a visit to the zoo, etc., count? This is probably one of my most frequently asked questions (well, that and “What about socialization?”). My answer is almost always, “Yes… it counts.”
It’s important to get out of the mindset that learning only happens when it’s planned, scheduled, directed, or approved by someone else. Children learn the most, and retain what they’ve learned much longer, if they’re the ones who initiate it, take ownership of it, and have input into what they’re learning. I don’t know of any research that doesn’t support this fact.