Principles verses pocketbook
It probably won't come as any surprise to read that financial life around here operates with a very fine margin. It always seems to work out, but there are times when it is a closer call than is comfortable. When I opened the mail the other day to learn that our property taxes will be raised 15% next year, I will admit to having to take a moment to let my heart start beating again. It also set the hamster who lives in my brain back on his wheel of what I could do to bring in a little more income.
With the sudden rise of people considering homeschooling for the first time, I briefly thought about hanging out my shingle as a homeschooling consultant. You know, helping people find resources, trouble shooting, that kind of thing. I think I'm probably pretty qualified. I loved the idea... until I didn't.
I know there are homeschooling consultants. I know there are people and businesses that provide lesson plans. I know that there are even people who will take your documentation and create a transcript for you. All for a fee, of course. But since I've spent an awful lot of time trying to talk people out of needlessly paying for these services it seemed a wee bit disingenuous to suddenly offer the same type of fee-based services.
Because, you see, the whole point of homeschooling is that it is something a parent can do. They know their children best, and whether they know it or not, they can choose the best way to teach them. It is not rocket science. (Well, it might be if you have a child who is really into aeronautics, but I think hiring a tutor would be fine and dandy in that case. Unless you like rockets, too.) It might take a little effort and research, but it is not difficult.
Do things always go well? No, but what in life does? That's when you call other homeschooling parents and ask their opinion. You read books. Do searches online. Figure out a different way of doing things. It is for these reasons that homeschooling is ultimately empowering, because it changes you, the parent, into an educational expert on your own child(ren). To pay someone to do that for you robs you of a lot of the benefits.
And transcripts? If you already have the records, it is a matter of an hour or so to put a transcript together. It might take a little more than that if you are also digging up all the things that were learned. (Pro-tip from having done it both ways. Keeping some records as you go along is easier.) There is absolutely no need to pay someone to do it for you.
I hate seeing homeschooling turned into a money grab from so many people and businesses. I'm old enough to remember a time before it had become a market ripe for the plundering. I just cannot be a party to that, preying on the fear of messing things up that so many new homeschoolers feel.
So I can add 'homeschooling consultant' to my list of things I have refused to take money for. Things such as refusing to teach too young children piano, explaining to the parents why I think it is a misguided idea and writing for an online magazine that is not totally transparent about who owns it were already on the list.
With the sudden rise of people considering homeschooling for the first time, I briefly thought about hanging out my shingle as a homeschooling consultant. You know, helping people find resources, trouble shooting, that kind of thing. I think I'm probably pretty qualified. I loved the idea... until I didn't.
I know there are homeschooling consultants. I know there are people and businesses that provide lesson plans. I know that there are even people who will take your documentation and create a transcript for you. All for a fee, of course. But since I've spent an awful lot of time trying to talk people out of needlessly paying for these services it seemed a wee bit disingenuous to suddenly offer the same type of fee-based services.
Because, you see, the whole point of homeschooling is that it is something a parent can do. They know their children best, and whether they know it or not, they can choose the best way to teach them. It is not rocket science. (Well, it might be if you have a child who is really into aeronautics, but I think hiring a tutor would be fine and dandy in that case. Unless you like rockets, too.) It might take a little effort and research, but it is not difficult.
Do things always go well? No, but what in life does? That's when you call other homeschooling parents and ask their opinion. You read books. Do searches online. Figure out a different way of doing things. It is for these reasons that homeschooling is ultimately empowering, because it changes you, the parent, into an educational expert on your own child(ren). To pay someone to do that for you robs you of a lot of the benefits.
And transcripts? If you already have the records, it is a matter of an hour or so to put a transcript together. It might take a little more than that if you are also digging up all the things that were learned. (Pro-tip from having done it both ways. Keeping some records as you go along is easier.) There is absolutely no need to pay someone to do it for you.
I hate seeing homeschooling turned into a money grab from so many people and businesses. I'm old enough to remember a time before it had become a market ripe for the plundering. I just cannot be a party to that, preying on the fear of messing things up that so many new homeschoolers feel.
So I can add 'homeschooling consultant' to my list of things I have refused to take money for. Things such as refusing to teach too young children piano, explaining to the parents why I think it is a misguided idea and writing for an online magazine that is not totally transparent about who owns it were already on the list.
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