There is a lot of uncertainty across the country right now regarding what this next school year will look like, and over these last few months we have fielded a record number of inquiries about why parents should choose Classical Conversations and best homeschooling practices in general.
Parents across the world are facing the realization that they are uncomfortable sending their child back to the public or private school system and asking the question, “In light of this new world, what is the best option for educating my child at home?” And, “Even if the current shutdown only lasts a few months to a year, is the Classical Conversations model still the best way to prepare my child for success in their future education?”
To that question, we would answer a resounding, “Yes!” Here are 14 reasons new homeschoolers will want to choose Classical Conversations, as well as one reason current homeschoolers should help these new ones be successful.
14 Reasons to Choose Classical Conversations
- If you are going to homeschool this year, then start with the program that is set up to support parents with free training on how to homeschool. Not one that will leave you alone without guidance.
- Classical Conversations offers personal help for you as a new homeschooler. There are local, licensed communities with experienced homeschool moms and dads ready to walk alongside you.
- Classical education is the natural way children learn. Yes, it is different than how they teach in public schools, but the classical model will make homeschooling more restful even if you are doing it just for this year.
- It is an opportunity to set your students up for success for the rest of their lives. Letting them experience a classical education for just one year will ignite their love of learning and open their eyes to many new possibilities.
- Classical Conversations makes homeschooling doable. Setting your kid in front of a laptop while it streams content is not the way God designed us to learn. Plus, who will you go to when you have questions? Having an incarnate community instead of a virtual field of flickering pixels makes a world of difference.
- By joining a community, your student will have positive peer engagement that will help them redeem their love of learning that may have been lost in the spring when everything got so wacky.
- Because Classical Conversations is mastery-based, learners will take the knowledge and skills gained back to whatever environment they find themselves in later. The Foundations memory work has some of the most enduring ear worms. Essentials will equip your student (and you) to write more clearly. The skills from each of the Challenge levels are skills of thinking and learning that are applicable to any future learning endeavor.
- The tools that Classical Conversations gives you are invaluable to help you learn to love learning alongside your child and actually have time to discover and learn. Believe me, you will never regret spending more time with your child. You’re not going to hurt your child by keeping him home. You will have time to not only learn but build virtue. You will have more control over your child’s schedule and really have the opportunity to know your child better. As a parent I’ve never regretted the time with my child and the opportunity to learn and grow and have fun with my child in new ways.
- The classical model helps lay the groundwork for lifelong learning in any environment. Don’t just teach your child subjects—teach them how to learn.
- Classical education resonates with and has roots across many different cultures. It’s rooted in the very essence of how people learn, which might be expressed differently in the particulars of different cultures but includes the same elements across the human race because we are all created in the image and likeness of God.
- This is not just about filling in a year for your student, it is about you growing as a parent. You can let go of a fear of teaching, it is also about you learning and growing as an educator of your child. If your child returns to school, you’ll know their strengths and weaknesses from the gift of time with him this year. It offers parents such a unique perspective to be able to step outside of the normal schooling realm and parental dynamic to know their children.
This “one year of homeschooling” has long-lasting effects. Meaning, the student may not learn the exact science her peers in virtual school would learn this year (we will be generous and say it works out well), but they will learn fundamentals that will continue on through high school. All memory work, science and fine arts will set them up for future success. The student may not have 15 filled-in workbooks, but the things unseen (but still able to be shared with Dad and used by the student in connections made) are worth every bit of “just one year of homeschooling.” And, for the record, we do not know our tomorrows. While you are planning for just one year, the Lord may have other plans.- Homeschooling, even for one year, allows parents the time and freedom to focus on character issues that they might not have time for or notice while their kids are in school. Homeschooling also allows parents to return to being the CEO of their own home. When you are doing an online schooling option from the school district in your home, you stop calling the shots for your family time.
- Classical Conversations accommodates different learning styles, so those who struggle with the virtual (visual) learning option can develop techniques to help their children thrive during this time. Flexibility within structure. Classical Conversations provides one day a week with accountability that still allows for flexibility with work schedules.
For those who are already homeschooling and are trying to be helpful, let me ask you a question. If you had an out-of-town guest visit, would you take them to eat at a chain restaurant they already have in their town, or would you take them to the “best kept secret” that you know they’ll love?
Classical Conversations may not match what your friend may be thinking they will return to, but don’t let them spend an entire year, one-twelfth of their child’s education, in a learning environment in which you know that your own child would not thrive. As homeschoolers, it is our duty to help these families have a successful year homeschooling, not a frustrating year doing public school at home.
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