If we are truly honest with ourselves, I think everyone can point to a time in their homeschooling career in which the question, “Am I doing enough?” is asked. Perhaps this treacherous thought crept in your mind after your child could not remember the product of six times seven, or after your first grader who had been reading a word perfectly for a week and then cannot seem to recognize that same word in a sentence. Parental guilt is always there, but homeschool has a way of magnifying it. Few are the homeschool educators that do not feel its insidious pang from time-to-time.
Am I doing enough?
To answer this question, one must first define it. What do you mean by “enough?” Enough academically? Enough emotionally? Enough socially? Throughout the duration of your day, there are many different things that are being taught. Academics is only one small part of the role that you play.
So, how do you know if what you are doing is “enough”? The good news is that as a home educator, you are not alone in asking this question. School officials in both the public and private sectors are also asking themselves this same question. The problem is that as technology continues to constantly change, leaders in the educational fields need to try to guess what type of employees future businesses will need, including businesses that have not even been invented yet. How do you properly prepare students for a future that might be vastly different from our present?
Before you start to feel completely hopeless, let’s take a moment to describe things that can and should be fostered in our children now, regardless of the jobs and opportunities that will be available in the future. There are at least seven basic skills that we can make sure we cover in our home classrooms that will help our children, regardless of what the future might hold.
SEVEN BASIC SKILLS THAT PROMOTE FUTURE SUCCESS
1. Social. I know, I know. This is always the first concern that most people have about homeschooled children. It is always the first question you have to answer from strangers at the store, “What about socialization?” Even though this question might be obnoxious, it still is a valid concern. Our children do need to be able to express themselves clearly and be able to listen to others when others speak. Understanding how to interact and work in a group is important, especially when thinking about future job skills.
2. Emotional. Unfortunately, we have seen too much evidence of children lately in the news that do not have enough emotional support. As the parent and the teacher of your child, you have the opportunity to allow your child to try material that might be difficult for your child in a safe, supportive environment.
3. Grit. This is a tough one to teach, but oh-so-important to learn. Children not only need to learn that failure is part of the learning process, but that they also need to keep going after struggling. This skill goes along with emotional health. If struggles are seen as normal and not insurmountable, this promotes better emotional health for your child.
4. Problem solving. This skill goes along with grit, and it is the ability to look at a problem critically and find solutions to the problem. Children should discover that there are many ways to look at and solve every problem.
5. Basic skills and facts. Certain skills and facts are fundamental. Children do need a solid foundation of reading, writing, and math skills.
6. Study skills. Regardless of whether or not a child goes to college, good study skills are still necessary to obtain licenses and degrees as adults.
7. Time management/ responsibility. We all know the pitfalls of not using our time wisely. Our children need to learn time management early, and practice it often. In our house, work always precedes playtime.