Homeschooling and parenting might seem like one and the same, but the truth is, if you treat these two areas of your life as one, you`ll quickly end up in problems. I speak from experience on this, as a homeschooled child!
When I was growing up, my mother was the primary teacher and the frustrations that we ran into during school hours continued after school. It made for a strained relationship between my mother and I for many years, which is why I believe it is very important to separate these two areas of life.
The Teacher
First, you need to determine what your role as a teacher is. Each person will have their own definition of this, but it`s important to make sure that you know what you are as a teacher. Here`s an example:
- Nurture a love of learning
- Ensure that your students are learning what they need to
- Teach your students HOW to find information, not just to repeat it back from memory
- Teach discipline and diligence
You may have drastically different ideas as to what a teacher needs to be and do, but just write it down so you can refer back.
During school, you are a teacher and you`ll find that things run far smoother if you leave aside the issues that you have outside of school and focus only on the actual learning during this period.
The Parent
A parent has much the same responsibilities as a teacher, but there is more focus on nurturing the child (not the student) and the non-school time can be different. What does this mean? It means leaving school in the school time.
For example, let`s say Jane has acted out during school time and refuses to do her math. She has quite the tantrum and disrupts her brother`s school time, as well. The discipline should take place during the school hours. It was a problem with school and any repercussions can take place during that time. If, say, Jane`s mother decides that the punishment will be doing sums for the rest of the afternoon and evening, there`s no separation between family time and school time and the resentment will pass over, as well.
This doesn`t mean that you should have these two areas completely separated, but it really is important to make sure your children have time to enjoy life outside of the stricter guidelines of school. Having to write an extra report because he stayed out after curfew will only serve to confuse issues, not just for your children, but also for the parents!
Separating the parent from the teacher will help you relate better to your children as well. The teacher might be strict, but the parent can afford to be a little more lenient. And it`s important to switch out of teacher role at the end of the school day. Your children will appreciate having a mom or dad rather than a strict professor all the time, trust me.