While most education articles center on the mental health challenges and learning deficits students have faced recently, my homeschooled students seem unaffected - even surpassing expectations and grade levels. What is it about homeschooling that helps them succeed? I have noticed four key elements that could easily translate to schools.
Individual attention. Lessons are targeted to the individual or a small group (I generally teach writing to groups of 6-8 children). Students readily get questions answered or extra help if they need it.
Schools should consider the class size and its effect on time. Many things waste time in the classroom, but the main reason is class size. It takes time to line everyone up and get everyone to lunch, not to mention the discipline issues that arise when one adult tries teaching thirty students. If class sizes were lowered drastically (no more than 10-12), the practical aspects of school would be so much easier, allowing time for actual learning and more individualized attention.
Play. Our brains often get overloaded when there is too much new information and insufficient time to process it. Play helps children relax, process emotions, and clear their minds for future learning. Plus, we all know the benefits of exercise!
Play and outdoor time need to be increased in schools. It’s okay that structured activities are available. Still, students should be allowed to play imaginative games, invent ball games, or even have some materials to build with (stick forts, things to stack up and make temporary structures with, etc. - one school I saw had a bunch of old tires.) Students’ time should include plenty of available choices and unique equipment.
Focus on interests. Depending on their parents' philosophy, students can choose what they study to some extent. Schoolwork can be completed in a shorter time, allowing for more extracurricular activities, and families can still be together at dinner time. Outings and field trips are also far more common, happening at least once a month.
If schools made class sizes smaller, having students working on different interests & projects would be more manageable for a teacher to facilitate. (I have done it with ten upper elementary students). Transporting everyone to a field trip would also be simpler so that small, local ones could happen as needed to enhance studies.
Love and compassion. Parents love their children more than anyone else. My homeschooled students are treated with dignity and respect and allowed to develop at their own pace. Even with the pandemic, families could take walks in nature or socialize with one other family so children did not feel as isolated. For teachers like me, I can get to know a student well by working with them for years. I now have 6th-grade students who started with me in first or second grade. I know what helps them learn and what suits their personalities and learning differences.
School can be a very isolating environment. The focus is on pitting students against each other with grades, testing, and a high-stress environment. Six-year-olds can see through star charts on the walls which students are “better than” them at various activities. By the time they’re in high school, there is extreme pressure to take the highest-level competitive classes and get into the “best” college.
In many schools, the whole paradigm needs to change. Children will experience enough of the world’s harsh standards when they are adults. Childhood is the time to help them be successful, learn how to learn, and come to love learning. The more we squeeze the joy out of education, the more students will disengage. Once they have done this, it’s hard to get them back.
Imagine if we made all the changes above. What would your local school look like?