Yesterday
I gave six reasons why parents should consider homeschooling,
or at least getting their children and teens out of the public school system.
But
for most people, this doesn’t seem possible. If you and your spouse both work
or you’re a single parent, you simply cannot stay home and teach the kids. Or
perhaps you don’t feel qualified to teach them.
Private
school is expensive and doesn’t actually solve all the problems with standard schooling models.
Usually,
homeschool conjures images of children sitting around a table, doing
schoolwork, as if transported from public school to a home environment. Maybe
they are wearing Amish-style clothing and referring to their parents as Ma and
Pa.
Let’s
leave that image behind.
The
entire point of removing your offspring from public schools is to benefit them.
So
first off, do they even want to
stop attending public school? If the answer is no, then that is where you need
to start. Forcing them to part with friends and teachers they like, and
activities they enjoy will seem just as oppressive as the public school itself.
It would miss the point of giving them back their freedom to use their own time
as they see fit, and personalize their studies.
But
that’s another whole subject. For this list, let’s assume your child or teen
loves the idea of getting the hell out of that dystopian institution called public school.
Now
the question is, what are they interested in? This will vary wildly. For some
students, it will be obvious where they will channel their interests and
energy. For others, it will require some digging to spark the first interest
that can replace the wasted classroom hours.
You
don’t have to be a genius professor. You just have to be a supportive
facilitator of their own natural quest for knowledge. That knowledge does not
have to come directly from you. But the tools and will to find and explore
their passions might.
Keep
in mind that some states have requirements for testing and other proof that
students are learning enough from homeschool.
But 27 states have minimal or low requirements for
homeschoolers. The stricter requirements of the other 23 states can generally
be completed using online resources in a relatively short amount of time.
These
should be minor obstacles compared to 30 hours per week in school, plus
homework and studying. No matter where you live in the USA, homeschooling can
still increase the student’s freedom to tailor their education better for their
individual needs.
1. “Hey, teacher. Leave them kids alone!”
I use
the term homeschool, but feel free to substitute “unschool.” That means you
aren’t designing a lesson plan so much as allowing them to pursue their own interests.
Let’s
start with the most obvious and simple solution.
Are
these young adults we are dealing with, who could be left home alone?
Obviously,
this won’t work for everyone.
But
there is some percentage of parents out there who have teens that are A)
capable of looking after themselves while you are at work, B) responsible
enough to direct their own studies and, C) won’t get into trouble.
Of
course, you’ll still want to make sure they aren’t lonely or bored.
As I
said, this won’t work for every situation. But there are certain teens who
would be thrilled with and thrive under these circumstances.
The
whole point of exiting the public school system is to tailor the situation to
best fit the individual student.
So if
you think this might work, figure out a plan together.
2. Hire a Tutor with Other Parents
$25
per hour, six hours a day, five days a week is $750 per week. For 36 weeks per
year, that comes to $27,000 per year.
Sounds
like a pretty good part-time gig for the right tutor. But that is way too
expensive for most families to afford (although about the same price as sending
two high schoolers to private school).
But
could you afford that if you split it with another family? What about two or
three other families?
For
three families with three children each, that comes out to just $3,000 per
child, per year. That is far below the cost of tuition at a private school, and
far below the cost for an individual tutor.
Yet
the tutor’s time, divided among 9 students means each child gets 40 minutes of
individual attention each day–over 3 hours per week.
Compare
that to public schools, where class sizes are routinely over 20 students each.
A public school student will be lucky to get any individual
attention from a teacher.
Kids
will be able to pursue their own interests but have a resourceful adult to
guide them when they need help. The tutor could also offer specific lessons if
you aren’t convinced an entirely self-guided education would work.
And
this would solve the age grouping issue we discussed yesterday. It is more
beneficial for children and teens to spend time with people that are not all
the same age as them.
And
this plan has ample room for modification and expansion. Pool money for a van
for field trips. Have the tutor deliver kids to afternoon extracurriculars. Or
rotate with other parents to be home a couple hours earlier to watch the kids.
Not
that you necessarily need to supervise your children 24/7. Maybe that’s a job
better fit for one of the older students–and for less than $25 an hour.
3. Start a Co-Op with Other Parents
A
homeschool cooperative is where multiple homeschool families join together to
trade responsibilities for educating their kids.
This
could mean that each day, sessions are held at a different home. If you have
five families involved, and everyone takes one day of the work week, then you
could work four full days each week, and still perform your homeschool duties.
Maybe
you know a homeschool parent that would be willing to supervise your kids
during the day, in exchange for supervising their children nights and weekends.
Or
perhaps your work is flexible, and you can work out a schedule with other
homeschool parents.
Remember,
homeschooling should not be super labor intensive. The idea is to let the
children and teens free-range, and find what they are interested in. Let them come to you with questions instead of insisting that they
learn specific lessons.
Start
looking in your area for already existing groups for co-op homeschooling. Check
social media, local churches, or community centers. They may already have a
structure that works for you. Or you might meet the right people to partner
with for a new arrangement.
Do
some networking, make some friends, and you might find that there is a robust
community ready to help liberate you and your child from public schools.
4. Work Remote
It’s
not like homeschooling takes constant attention. It’s not about drilling facts
into your student’s head. And if you have to stand over them and force them to
work, you’re doing it wrong.
This
entire philosophy of learning is that kids and teens should be pursuing
whatever they find most interesting. It’s not about checking off the
boxes–math, social studies, literature.
Maybe
one day they decide to read all day, and another they build ramps for their
skateboard. Even the occasional full day of video games isn’t a big deal.
The
challenge for homeschool parents is setting up the proper environment. You
can’t just sit a kid in an empty room and expect them to learn something.
But
you could work remote and be there for them, without requiring constant
attention.
If
you already work from home, or have that option, problem solved.
5. Start a Family Business
Maybe
this is the perfect time to pursue those crazy dreams you’ve always had
of starting a business, becoming a freelancer, or self-employed.
With
most of these ideas, your kids have to be on board and excited. That’s kind of
the whole point… you are allowing them to pursue their own interests.
And
sometimes those interests will align with yours.
Starting
a physical or remote business requires a broad range of skills. And doing is
the best way of learning.
Check
out our article on the 18 Best Skills for the Gig
Economy and Financial Freedomto get some ideas on what might
interest you or your teens.
More
and more people are becoming self-employed freelancers every year. If this is
something you have considered, see if your kids or teens might be interested in
helping you make the leap.
They
will be able to complement your business with their talents and interests.
That
could mean graphic design, product research, advertising, website maintenance,
or physical maintenance. They might help you with manufacturing, public outreach,
or social media.
You
might need photography or video production to get your business going.
If
you aren’t ready to leave the security of your full-time job behind, maybe your
teen wants to start freelancing or begin a home-based business.
Start
by looking for gigs on Upwork, Freelancer, or Fiver. Whatever interests your
teen, chances are they can find a demand for that skill online.
Millions
of Americans make a living this way, and even a number of young people have
produced enormously successful companies in their teen years.
At
least they will be training for the modern economy, instead of wasting time in
public school.
6. Find an Internship or Part Time Job.
The
best way for kids to learn is to do something productive in the real world.
Young teens can handle the responsibilities of working.
And
despite what the media might portray, they get satisfaction from being useful.
Earning money ain’t so bad either.
Reward
your teen if they can find their own internship. This means it will be more
tailored to their interests, and part of the lesson will be convincing a
business to take them on.
The
trick here is to get around restrictive labor laws. 14 and 15-year-olds are
generally prohibited from working during school hours, or more than 3 hours per
school day, and more than 18 hours per school week.
That
is why an unpaid internship might be necessary.
Or
maybe you are able to find someone who is willing to do some “creative
scheduling.”
The
internship, say, lasts from 12-3, and work from 3-6. Instead of getting paid
$8/hour for 6 hours, they could get paid $16/hour for 3 hours.
Of
course, you could always go under the table–I think civil disobedience is a great lesson itself.
But
you will have to take into account the risk to you, the employer, and the
student. Don’t do anything that would get more than a slap on the wrist if you
got caught.
Or if
you have the right employer, take your kid to work. Let that be their internship.
Let them lighten your load, or fulfill the office odd-jobs. Start a trend–this
could be a great way to connect with your teens, and give them something useful
and fulfilling to do.
It
will certainly lead to overall more productivity for you, and great skills
training for the teen.
And
then you can reward them for their hard work on your own terms.
Mix and Match.
Get
creative. Isn’t that what education is all about anyway?
For
instance, you can throw a tutor into the mix for specific lessons or specialization
for a couple hours each week. Or your student could take a couple classes at a
community college.
Maybe
your teen will work a part-time job or internship but also have some free time
home alone without your supervision.
Maybe
your new home-business involves taking on responsibility for other
homeschoolers in town, leading the co-op.
Perhaps
you have some flexibility with work, could work remote sometimes, or shuffle
hours to better fit a homeschool schedule.
You
could do the co-op, and then hire a tutor to fill in any gaps where no parents
are available to supervise and act as a resource.
There
are too many variables to prescribe the perfect plan. And once again, that is
the entire point of removing your offspring from the factory one-size-fits-all
public school system.
If
your teen wants to get out of public school, task them with coming up with a
plan.
Let
them tailor their education to their own needs. Spend some time planning with
your children and teens, and find out what would really make them thrive.
You
don’t have to play by the rules of the corrupt politicians, manipulative media,
and brainwashed peers.
When
you subscribe to The Daily Bell, you also get a free guide:
How to
Craft a Two Year Plan to Reclaim 3 Specific Freedoms.
This
guide will show you exactly how to plan your next two years to build the free
life of your dreams. It’s not as hard as you think…
Identify.
Plan. Execute.
