By Donna Baer
Cut any parent of a teenager and they bleed educational frustration: Bullying. Anxiety. Bad curriculum. Remote learning deserts. Dystopian worldviews.
Engaged, responsible parents yearn to provide the finest education available to their teenagers. In their ruminations, they will briefly consider homeschooling middle and high school--and then quickly talk themselves out of the proposition. Why? Because they believe lies. As a parent who homeschooled ten children in high school, I’m here to disassemble the dissembling. And no, I won’t promise to avoid puns.
Lie #1:
I’m not smart enough to homeschool the upper grades.
Wrong. You are smart enough. You graduated from high school, didn’t you? That means you mastered the material once, even back when you were more focused on Homecoming than Homer. Now, with your mature adult brain, you can master subject matter quickly. And trust me, you’ll enjoy it this time. With the perspective of age, Shakespeare’s sonnets or the elegance of the DNA molecule can recharge your soul.
And here’s a veteran homeschool hack: You don’t have to master all secondary school subject matter before you begin teaching your teens; you just need to stay one page ahead of them. Online tutorial programs like Khan Academy and Crash Course can refresh your memory or fill in your blind spots. And often, your kids will figure out material on their own and won’t even need you to explain it to them. You can do this!
Lie #2:
My kids would have no social life.
The truth of the matter is, your teens will have a rich, fulsome social life--replete with peers you endorse. Homeschooling is highly efficient, which means your kids will have abundant discretionary time-- a rare privilege in the teen economy. With that free time your kids can explore sports, join musical groups, perform in plays, join a robotics club, hang out with a chess club, or just forge deep, lasting friendships. As a bonus, you’ll have oversight, and will be able to help your teen steer clear of toxic relationships.
Further, there are AMAZING enrichment groups, extension programs, and hybrid teaching organizations that can supplement your homeschool curriculum and bolster your academic weak spots--all while providing your kids with creative, thoughtful peers. Imagine your teens bonding with friends over The Federalist Papers rather than Fortnite!
Lie #3:
I could never get my kids into college.
Repeat after me: I. Got. This.
Colleges LOVE homeschoolers. They fill their diversity quotas! Seriously, colleges appreciate how homeschooled kids can think outside the box and learn independently. Admissions boards have been evaluating homeschool transcripts for decades now. They know a good thing when they see it.
And if the thought of creating a high school transcript sends terror through your veins--relax. There are online templates. And coaching services. And hybrid programs like Providence Extension Program that will walk you through all the steps involved in creating an impressive, professional transcript.
Your teens can take all the achievement exams including the SAT, ACT, AP, and SAT2 tests, registering as homeschool students. With their rich extra-curricular lives, your kids will have plenty of fodder for the dreaded application essays. And it’s been my observation that, because homeschooled teens spend so much time in thoughtful conversation with adults, they nail their admissions interviews. There’s nothing more attractive than competence with confidence.
Lie #4:
Homeschooling would ruin my relationship with my kids.
This is the biggest lie of all. Rather than ruining your relationship, you and your kids will go on a journey together that will bond you for the rest of your lives. When you learn with your teens, stretching and clawing and grasping to master material, you develop a teammate mentality. You empathize with each other. You each appreciate the other’s strengths. You exult together when you reach the “aha! moment.”
For the rest of your lives you’ll share inside jokes and literary references. You’ll send each other articles and music and witty memes. Instead of a superficial relationship, you’ll enjoy vigorous, fulfilling fraternity.
Homeschooling kids of any age is a commitment. It is also a profound, brief opportunity to set your kids up for success and teach them how to love intensely. If you’ve been sucker-punched by the lies about homeschooling secondary school, take a deep breath and take a fresh look. There’s an army of homeschool veterans ready to help you and to weep with you at the finish line when this brief journey ends. You can do this!
Donna Baer is an author and educator. She homeschooled her 10 children in every traditional subject, including AP classes, from prekindergarten through 12th grade—often using Great Courses. She also taught biology, geometry, and Spanish at Oldfields School in Maryland. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Brown University.
Donna is the author of Strong Happy Family: Unexpected Advice from an Ivy League Mom of Ten and The Bible’s Feasts: The Secrets behind the World’s Oldest Holidays.
She also created the Classical Sunday School series, a comprehensive K–6 religion curriculum that employs the classical method of education.
A frequent speaker at education conventions, Donna has recorded a Teachable course on how to homeschool children from kindergarten through third grade. She also writes a blog that chronicles her passion for creating lifelong learners. All of her books and resources can be found at www.stronghappyfamily.org.
“You can entice kids to embrace their natural curiosity, solve their own problems, and revel in a life of discovery.”