Reluctant Beginnings

Every year, right as September is right around the corner, I set in to a mild, persistent mode of panic. I wonder if I've made the right choices and plans for each child's school year. I wonder if I've properly prepared to face the challenges of schooling so many different ages. I worry that I am holding one child back on a subject or maybe pushing another child too hard in a different subject.

Oh, and I don't mean to imply that there are NO good things about the start of a new school year. I get very excited when my children take a lesson they've learned and motivate themselves to study and do research and then present more information about it to me. I get excited for their futures when they show excitement about a subject in which I previously thought they had no interest.

I've never been a school teacher (outside of my own home), but I imagine that they might go through similar feelings at the start of every school year. Maybe they go through some of the same worries about their class plans for the year or the mix of students and their attitudes and abilities? This year, one of our children will be going to public high school full time. I am happy that our district is very good at having the teachers post daily grades online so I can stay on top of his daily work and we joke that he is a homeschooler who just happens to go to public school. Not that grades are the only indicator of how he's doing in school, but I do take interest in his grades because his grades are a reflection of how much he respects his instructors. It's important to me that he never take his education for granted or treat his instructors with anything less than utmost respect.

One thing I've learned from MY experience in the high school and with young people around me, is that a lot of students haven't learned to respect their teachers or sass the teachers and have a bad attitude (I speak from experience...I was one of those students at times!). It wasn't until I started teaching my own children that it occurred to me that I had treated some teachers VERY poorly. Even if it was never intended, I think I might have added to the stress of more than one teacher over the years ("She just doesn't APPLY herself!" could have been tattooed on my forehead.) So, in an effort to make amends, I have tried, with all my might, to make respect of elders and outside teachers a top priority in the schooling of my children. I hope that my children will never take their education for granted and that they always appreciate the efforts of every teacher (even the not-so-great ones) to shove some good lessons into their young brains.

It's like standing on top of a teeter-totter on the playground, having one foot in both worlds (homeschooling and public schooling) and trying to stay balanced. If I lean to heavily on the homeschooling side, I miss out on opportunities to show my kids that the world can be a good place and that a lot of the people in it are great. If I press too hard on the public school foot, I miss some of the opportunities to spend time with my kids and learn who they are, and help them to process the world around them, and keep them innocent for a few more moments.

I don't speak for anyone other than my family when I explain things about our path to education. I just want my friends, family and people in my community to know the truth about what we go through as homeschoolers who live in a very good school district (with excellent charter school and private school options as well). It's not always easy but it is ALWAYS very rewarding when we build each other up and talk about ways in which we can improve in a gracious manner, always understanding the ultimate goal for the education of our children is to raise up life-long learners who carry on the legacy of good citizenship and respect for others.

What are some worries or reflections you have at the start of the new school year?