Teaching kindergarten? Fine. Teaching elementary and middle school? Not easy, but doable. But teaching high school? Let’s be real. You probably think you’ve basically forgotten everything from your own high school years, right? How could you ever teach this level to your own children?
If these questions are swirling around in your head, this homeschool mom has good news for you—the job of a homeschool parent is not so much about providing your high-school students with information; it’s about teaching them how to learn.
Insights:
- It’s about tools over content.
- Often, you’ll learn right alongside your children.
It’s about tools over content.
Regardless of grade level, your responsibility as a homeschool parent is to equip your children with the tools to learn, rather than simply provide them with information. Think back to your own high-school years. How much do you actually remember? Over time, without repetition, we forget things. Such is often the case with high-school content. Sure, it’s valuable to learn the locations and dates of important historical events and to learn the taxonomy to classify species, but the reality is that most students will forget this information after high school.
Take Latin as an example. Do you really think it’s possible for students to remember all those declensions and conjugations? Or all that vocabulary? No way! Rather, Latin students learn and use skills like how to learn a language, how to memorize, and how to spot errors in the details. And unlike simple facts, they won’t forget these tools but will continuously apply them in their college or career pursuits.
Often, you’ll learn right alongside your children.
At Classical Conversations, we often say that homeschooling educates the student and parent. Since it’s impossible for you to learn all the high school content prior to teaching it to your children, you’ll learn alongside them, figuring things out together. This is a great opportunity to model for your children how to solve a problem. Remember, it’s about providing the tools to learn, rather than the content itself.
How can I apply this to my life?
Quit worrying about homeschooling through high school. Just give it a go. Remember that your task is to equip your children with the tools to learn. Obviously, you’ll encounter obstacles, content you don’t understand, but you’ll figure it out together. As you do, seize the opportunity to demonstrate to your children how to go about solving problems.
