Many parents during the COVID-19 pandemic think that homeschooling is the same as online or distance learning. But that is not true.
I’m writing this blog post to help clarify what homeschooling or home education really is and how different it is to online learning.
HOMESCHOOLING: WHAT IT IS
In homeschooling or home education, the parent is the one in charge of setting the direction and calling the shots. The parent is the one who chooses the curriculum to be used, the books and educational materials of the student/child, how long his lessons will be per day and what days the child will have lessons.
The parent is the one who decides on what the student will be taught, how the student will be taught, and when the student will be taught.
The student may or may not have online classes or in-person classes with other teachers and other students. The parent decides on this. Many homeschoolers were using the blended learning delivery approach (a combination of various learning delivery options like studying at home, having online classes, or attending classes outside the home) before the pandemic happened.
I choose what curriculums to use for each child that I home educate. I had been using the following: US English curriculum, Singapore Math, and ABRSM for music. I used a few local K-12 approved textbooks for Araling Panlipunan and Filipino. We used Chesskid.com to introduce chess as one of the sports we included in our P.E. or physical education lessons.
I have enrolled my kids in classes where there are other students and there is a different teacher who is an expert in that field. Some examples of this are musical theater, karate, swimming, and robotics. I have also hired private coaches and teachers to give them one-on-one customized instruction. We have done this for piano, music and chess lessons.
Some of their outside classes were done during the summer while some were continued or done throughout the year.
But what is important for us is that these classes fit our family schedule or our availability. I also wanted to get the best teachers or mentors for them. So, their teachers or mentors are mostly experienced practitioners in their field or nationally or globally-recognized individuals in their field of expertise. Their current chess coach does not have a title in chess but he has trained kids and youth who have earned titles already and are dominating at the national level.
In homeschooling or home education, the parent is the main teacher. But the parent can also delegate teaching of other subjects to other adults or teachers who may reside in the same house or not as the parent and child who is being homeschooled.
In homeschooling, the parent may or may not use the regular subjects in school in teaching or educating his/her child. The parent may combine lessons in one task or activity that covers several subjects.
In homeschooling or home education, the parent can opt to use whatever materials the parent sees fit to educate his/her child. This may or may not include a computer.
In homeschooling, lessons are not dependent on a computer or an internet connection. Lessons can be done with or without the use of a computer. Books, whiteboards, blackboards, notebooks, pad papers, or whatever materials may be used other than screens.
The homeschooling or home educating parent may or may not give grades to the student/child.
The parent may or may not choose to give awards also.
In homeschooling, the parent may be the teacher or a facilitator of learning. Homeschooled kids may learn on their own. They may be given the freedom to choose what they want to learn and how they want to learn it and when. They may decide how much of something they want to learn. They can choose to dive deep into a particular topic or not.
In homeschooling or home education, the parent may or may not seek accreditation for their homeschool lessons. Some parents let their children take standardized tests in their country or state, or abroad to get accreditation. Some don’t. It depends on the family or the child if he or she wants to study in a regular school or university in the future.
Homeschooling or home educating parents may or may not choose to enroll with a homeschool provider.
There were many years when we were not enrolled with a homeschool provider. Actually, it was only last school year that we got a homeschool provider. One reason for this is we are preparing the school records of my eldest child so that in case we decide he will no longer be homeschooled for high school, he has school records. Also, we wanted to make sure that he will have the school records or requirements needed to study in a conservatory or university in the future. When we were independent homeschoolers (without a homeschool provider), I did not give my kids any grades. So, it was my first time to give them grades this past school year.
You may read from one of my previous blog posts how we got accreditation for the many years we were independent homeschoolers through the PEPT. Click here.
Homeschooling, in most cases, even when you are enrolled with a homeschool provider, is more affordable or less costly than enrolling with a regular school that offers online or distance learning.
Homeschooling allows a lot of flexibility for families and students. The parents and the student/child has a say on how the child will be educated.
Homeschooling or home education seeks a more holistic approach in educating the child. The focus is not only on academics. In fact, a lot of families do not prioritize academics in their homeschooling. Instead, they prioritize character and values formation and passing on their faith to their children.
HOMESCHOOLING: WHAT IT IS NOT
It is not school at home. You don’t need to bring the entire school set-up at home to home educate your child. It is not purely academics.
ONLINE LEARNING
In online learning, the one or ones in charge are the school or the teacher offering the online class.
The school or the teacher decides what topic to cover or teach, what curriculum to follow or use, when it is taught and how it is taught. The teacher decides also how long the class will be and how frequent the online classes will be.
In online classes, mostly, the teacher gives grades to their students and gives a test that becomes the basis for the grade of the student and to determine if the student will pass or not.
The teacher of an online class may or may not ask the student to do activities or tasks offline outside of their online class.
In online learning, the schools offering this may or may not be DepEd accredited also or affiliated with a specific school or university.
Most schools that offer online learning are more focused on academics. Thus, more time is spent on academic subjects. These subjects have longer and more frequent online class schedules.
Online learning may or may not be modular depending on who is offering the online classes. Again, the design is dependent on the teacher or the school offering the online classes.
Online classes may or may not require the supervision of the parent.
Last but not least, lessons in online learning are dependent on a computer and an internet connection to be delivered. Otherwise, learning will not happen.
I hope that somehow, I have helped remove the confusion in your minds about homeschooling or home education versus online learning or distance learning.
We have homeschooled for many years without any online classes or lessons.
Recently, because there were many teachers and platforms offering free online classes because of school closures, I let my kids join some of these online classes. They joined several art and drawing classes. They also have online Filipino classes with The Learning Library this summer.
I do not recommend continuous online classes or education, especially for young learners or students. Children are supposed to have plenty of time to move around and exercise. They need to move a lot. They are not supposed to sit down in front of a screen for long periods of time. This kind of set-up is not developmentally-appropriate. Kids should have lots of opportunities to play (I mean real play and not play video games) during the day and to take their minds off screens.
Even adults experience fatigue when working on a computer for half a day or the whole day. That’s why companies encourage their employees to also work on their offline tasks to limit prolonged use of the computer.
If you will enroll your child in an online class, you also need to find out what activities will be done during the online class. Will it be purely lecture? That would be boring even in a classroom set-up. Children with short attention spans will most likely tune out of long online classes that are purely lecture-type.
I had been teaching adults as a corporate trainer for at least two decades now. Even trainers like myself are taught and encouraged to vary our methods in teaching or learning delivery to help ensure optimum learning and retention. If we do this for adult learners, how much more should we do it for young learners who have shorter attention spans and who have a usually lesser commitment to learning due to their level of emotional maturity?
So, before you enroll your child in online learning, I hope to think twice and make a thorough study of how this kind of set-up will impact your child and your family both in the short term and in the long term.
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