By Marisa Pullan People the world over question whether or not homeschooling is the right thing to do when it comes to educating their children. What's the right answer? Ah. There is no right answer because each time a child is homeschooled, it is a result of a personal choice based in any number of possibilities. Whatever the reason, there is an incredible variety to homeschooling. Here are just a few stories from homeschoolers from across the country. Faces of Homeschooling According to an article published over at ABC news, "people are now actually homeschooling for academic reasons, and that wasn't true before," as per Dr. Murphy of Vanderbilt University. It's overwhelmingly true. You have eclectic homeschoolers like the Dillon family over in North Carolina, that pull a little of this and a little of that from all over the place. While different, they are successful in their own right. Then you have the Hyson family out of Massachusetts. They have a different approach, one that is more about self-direction on behalf of their kids. Their focus is on encouraging internal motivation as their children learn and grow at their own pace. Last, but not least, you have the White family out of Ohio. They are what some would consider unschoolers. As a single-parent family, their approach is a team-effort where the parent and child work together in planning and workings towards their individual bests in education. Homeschooling is Growing As we continue forward in our own individual homeschooling journeys, we can see even locally that homeschooling has grown far beyond the religious reasons that were once at the core. In our own family, we wanted something greater for our children. We aren't necessarily in a bad school district. In fact, many people in our area rave about the teachers, but it's still not what we wanted. Still, we wanted the flexibility that comes with homeschooling. We also wanted to be able to allow our children the opportunity to explore topics that interested them without the time constraints of public schooling. Eight years later and we're still going strong! Many of the families that are a part of the co-op have similar stories, and some have very different stories. The point is that as homeschooling continues to grow, everyone has their own set of unique reasons behind their choice. Opportunities Abound Homeschoolers are becoming far more mainstream than they were looking back 30-40 years ago. Because of this, there are so many opportunities available for homeschoolers all over the place. Earlier this month, the Times Gazette ran an article about the Fly Arts Center in Bedford County, Tennessee. They hosted a Home School Youth Art Exhibit reception to provide homeschool artists a place to put their work on display until April 28, 2018 in celebration of Youth Art Month. Events like this are not uncommon and are in place to give homeschoolers the chance to participate in activities that will enrich their lives. If you tap into your local communities, you'll find things like this almost everywhere. There is even a mantra among homeschoolers, understood although unofficial, "if you see a need, don't be afraid to fill it" because so many others will jump on board with you. Together, we all make up the different sides of homeschooling. Together, as a homeschooling community, we can do great things, not only for our children, but other children as well. That's all for this time around. Until next time, happy homeschooling!
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By Marisa Pullan
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AuthorsWe are the parents behind the Hutto Homeschool Co-op. Archives
January 2021
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