by Denise Willms
I always knew I wanted to homeschool our children. When I was in high school, I babysat for a homeschooling family, and they had such exciting projects going on. Later, when I was student teaching in university, I discovered a more important reason to homeschool. It simply wasn’t possible to meet every child’s needs in a classroom setting.
My husband, however, took some convincing. He hadn’t had any exposure to homeschooling families, and thought homeschooling our two kids would put too much responsibility on me.
We ended up putting our eldest child in a public school, but three years later, he was so unhappy, we were ready to try anything. We took him and his younger sister out of public school and tried homeschooling. It’s made such a positive difference in our lives, we plan to homeschool both our children all the way through high school.
After homeschooling for five years, my husband has become one of the strongest homeschooling advocates I know. In fact, when I feel frustrated and suggest that we consider public school again, he completely shuts me down. He sees what a difference homeschooling has made in the lives of our children and our family.
Now, none of this is to say that I believe public education is not as good as homeschooling. Homeschooling is not the answer for everyone. However, homeschooling is the right choice for my family.
If you believe homeschooling is the right choice for your family, but your husband doesn’t agree, there is no magic pill that can make him change his mind. I do, though, have some suggestions that may help.
1. Pray. One of my favorite Christian authors, Stormie Omartian, says in her book, Power of a Praying Wife, that before talking to your husband about anything, you should talk to God about your husband.
If you believe that God wants you to homeschool, spend time with God and ask Him to reveal that to your husband as well.
2. Get involved in your child’s school right now. I had always been involved in our children’s education, but when our son’s problems became more serious, I volunteered in his classroom every week. I got along well with his teacher, and she was concerned about him too, so this arrangement worked very well.
I was able to see the classroom environment first-hand, and see how my son’s behavior compared to the other students. Because I was in the classroom so frequently, I was able to explain to my husband what was happening, and where the problems lay. This helped him understand my desire to homeschool our children, and why I believed our son would do better in a homeschool environment.
Volunteering in a classroom isn’t always possible, but if you can, I recommend it. If you’re thinking of homeschooling, seeing how your child functions in a classroom can help prepare you for what’s ahead. And, if you’re ultimately not able to homeschool, you’re building important relationships with your children’s teachers and showing your children how much you value their education.
3. Explain to your husband why you want to homeschool. Does your husband know why you want to homeschool? Or does he think your desire to homeschool is a passing whim? Present your reasons and see if you can explain what’s on your mind.
This is where I found volunteering in my son’s classroom so helpful. I could explain to my husband what I observed in the classroom, and how homeschooling could make a difference in our son’s learning.
4. Explore other educational options. No matter how much you want to omeschool, it’s important to remember that homeschooling is not for everyone. I’ve met several moms who insisted on homeschooling their children, and a year later, realized it was the wrong choice for their family.
Homeschooling is hard. Being unhappy with your current schooling arrangement is not a good enough reason to homeschool. Explore your other options as well before deciding homeschooling is the only alternative that will work for you.
Consider private schools, online schools, or maybe even an afterschool tutoring program. If your husband doesn’t agree to homeschool, perhaps he’ll be more open to one of these options.
5. Find current research about homeschooling. Gather facts about homeschooling to show your husband. Not to shove in his face and prove your point, but so you can be prepared when he does ask questions about homeschooling.
Find out how local homeschoolers perform on standardized tests; learn if homeschoolers are admitted to your city’s university (usually they are); look for homeschool groups you can join to meet other homeschooling families, and for your children to meet homeschooling friends. Then, when your husband does ask questions about homeschooling, you’ll have all the answers you need at hand.
None of these suggestions will guarantee your husband will change his mind about homeschooling. But they will help you communicate with your husband about both your desires for your children’s education, and help you make educational choices that will work for your entire family.
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Would you like to learn more about homeschooling? Visit http://www.WAHM-Articles.com to read articles written by real homeschooling parents about their own homeschool experiences.
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