Am I qualified to home school my kids?

I have had a bunch of people ask me this question. 

First, check your home school laws.  In my state and surrounding states the home school laws are pretty flexible with regards to parents education levels.

A great place to start for a legal analysis for your state is the Home school Legal Defense Association.

http://www.hslda.org/

Most of the time when people ask the question “Am I qualified?”   They just haven’t done their homework yet.  But, sometimes this question comes up when we are not feeling adequate enough to do the home schooling job. 

Now, I am not going to bash the public school system here, I am simply going to help illustrate my answer a bit with a story about one of my sons friends who recently graduated from our local state run high school. 

This young man is a very intelligent person who never learned how to read very well.  Instead of teaching this guy how to read well, so that he could learn things from books throughout his life, the public school system which consisted of at least 2 principals, and five teachers each year of high school (for a total of 20 teachers, 2 principals, at least 1 guidance counselor), pushed this kid along through subjects that (who really gives a crap if you can’t read) allowed him to graduate with a basic diploma. 

Maybe the question we should be asking ourselves is “Are the people that we trust with our kids Monday through Friday for 8 hours a day QUALIFIED? 

Now, I am not saying that every parent or grandparent is suitable for homeschooling, or that we should get rid of the whole state school system.

All I am asking parents to think about is this.  Would you allow your child to graduate from your home school, where you were responsible for the outcome of this child's education, without knowing how to read?  Of course you wouldn’t.

Go find out what your state laws are regarding home schooling.  If you don’t understand what it means, talk to other homeschooling parents in your neighborhood, or you can email me. 

Happy Homeschooling!

www.freedomchurchschool.com