by Larraine Bishop

Created on: September 21, 2008

I find that many misconceptions exist about homeschools. Many opinions are based on how traditional schooling works. Many parents teach homeschool without a degree with great success.

The question before us is: "Should parents without a degree teach homeschool?" My first question is what type of degree is this question talking about? For the sake of this article I will address it from the perspective that it is talking about a teaching degree.

1. The first misconception is that a child can not obtain an excellent education from a teacher who does not have a teaching degree.

Keep in mind that a teaching degree is built around traditional school. One only needs to talk to parents who homeschool that have a teaching degree. I homeschooled for ten years in three different states in the United States. I homeschooled in Florida, Kentucky, and Michigan. During this period of time I worked directly with people who headed up homeschooling groups. Most of the leaders of these groups were and are certified teachers. Within these homeschooling groups are not only a good amount of certified teachers but also college professors. I was shocked that over the years every single certified teacher related to me that when they chose to homeschool, they had to throw out most of the concepts of education and relearn how to work with children. A person without a degree does not have to "unlearn" areas that do not work for homeschooling. Teaching at home can not go forward until the student goes forward. The teacher must stop when a student struggles instead of moving ahead with the lesson plan. This forces the educator to sometimes dig deep to learn and then teach a concept. Sometimes books need to be changed, teaching aids must be added, or a tutor brought in. This is not to say that a teaching degree does not fill a need, it just means that homeschooling approaches learning from a different perspective than what is taught in college to teachers.

2. The second misconception is that there is no monitoring of the homeschooled child's educational progression.

a. Many states have laws governing homeschooling. Some states require that a child must fulfill the grade requirements each year to continue to be homeschooled. In other states you may find a truant officer on your doorstep if there is even a hint that the child is not on grade level or someone reports that your child is not in regular school. In these states a homeschooler needs to have a clear alliance with a backup school. Even

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