My children did fine attending public school, but, as a volunteer there and being aware of how they were doing, I could tell they needed something different. Sure, they might come home grumpy or exhausted, as kids do, but it was more than that. They weren’t being inspired to love learning.

So we decided to homeschool all three. Teaching them at home has allowed me to pinpoint various differences and needs for each child, and I have had the flexibility to adjust curriculum or approaches to learning as the need arises. Individualized education is incredibly important to me, because all three children are very different from each other and have different learning styles. 

This has not been easy, but sometimes we do the important things because they are hard. We have had to make financial sacrifices for our children’s education, but we believe in homeschooling so strongly that we will make those sacrifices when necessary. Sometimes we’ve lacked the funds to purchase the complete curriculum that we wanted, and so had to make do. This is how I’d like to see the funding designated for my child’s education spent.

We are not alone in this. In my opinion, it is absolutely the parents’ role to ensure their child is receiving the best education, and it is their discretion to decide where and how that education takes place. They should not be vilified for wanting a different educational environment for their children.

– Kate Huskey
Cord, May 2024