INTERVIEW: Tips and Tricks From a Homeschool Pro

This back to school season, we’re speaking with parents, teachers, administrators, and others about what’s sure to be a unique academic year. First up? A homeschool pro.

Brian Galvin, Chief Academic Officer at Varsity Tutors: As we head into the craziness of back to school season, I think it's safe to say that one word on everyone's mind is homeschooling. In a traditional year, about 3% of families homeschool. A recent Varsity Tutors survey found that nearly half of families were considering it. Some out of choice, but I think a lot out of a sort of desperation, or just needing to do something with safety, or not really loving the options that their school districts will have for them. 

We're thankful to have—both here at Varsity Tutors and here on this episode—Kellie Bishop with us, who's an expert in homeschooling, has worked with homeschool families across the country, and has even seen a lot of it in her own family. First of all, Kellie, thanks for being here. 

Kellie Bishop, Regional Director at Varsity Tutors: Yes, thank you for having me, Brian. I'm excited.

BG: So you're familiar with homeschooling, for really the by-choice reason. But we have a lot of people who are doing it by necessity. So based on the families you've worked with, your own experience, you know, and especially with people who've done it by choice for those who are thinking about it but nervous about it... what are the greatest benefits of homeschooling? 

KB: Yeah, that's a great question, Brian. I think every homeschool family would probably answer it a little bit differently. For me, the greatest benefit that I've seen from homeschooling families that I've worked with and supported has really been the ability the families had to adapt the teaching methods and the programming to the way that student learns best. Even in a family with multiple students, they can adapt and grow the program based on the individual needs of that student. And in a traditional classroom, we see some of this. But even the greatest teachers have to plan and organize their lessons to the approach that they know is going to resonate with the majority of the students in the classroom. While in a homeschool setting, the parents, the instructors can shape those same lessons, same activity, same content to the student, while offering opportunities to check for understanding, and then differentiate instruction when they need to do so—to ensure that each student has the content knowledge mastery. And students just thrive on instruction geared towards their own needs and their own interests. 

BG: That's a great point. What's the number one cause of misbehavior in kids in school? Generally it’s that they're bored. And, you know, if we need to go at a pace that catches up most people and therefore misses the kids who are ahead, then they're done quickly and they're looking for something to do. So that personalization definitely seems like a really good benefit among many others. 

But every yin has a yang and every silver lining has a touch of gray, as an old Grateful Dead album used to say. So with that, what's, what are some of the downsides of homeschooling you’ve seen, or challenges? Or maybe I shouldn’t say downsides, but what are things that families should be looking out for?

KB: Yes. So just within the academic path that a family chooses for their family, there will be those challenges, those hurdles. Homeschooling has traditionally meant less daily interaction with large groups of peers. So kids their own age, students at their own capacity, they don't get that daily interaction. This doesn't mean that homeschool students have less opportunity to socialize. It just means that the family has to be really intentional about setting up those opportunities for their learners and really plan those out for that individual student. So, you know, some of the things I've seen homeschool families do successfully to ensure that their learners have that ability to socialize is interact in sports teams, art endeavors, art clubs, music clubs, and just participating in community events and community activities in their home community. 

BG: That's a really good point. Yeah, I think that, especially now, resonates with social isolation. That was one that I would think, you know, being in your home and all those of us who work from home now sort of being in the same place all the time. I think, you know, opportunities to get out. Have you heard of anything that the families are doing, in your home school families in particular, are doing with social distancing, with so many of those extracurriculars on hold for a little bit. Have you heard of any creative ways that families are handling socialization that way?

KB: Yeah, I think similar to, you know, to working parents who are interacting virtually through virtual platforms, live audio, video feeds, etc., we're seeing that in the homeschool community as well. Even right here at Varsity Tutors, Brian, with our Virtual Summer Camps and Virtual School Day, we're seeing homeschool families jump in and use that as small group and large group opportunities for children to participate in learning activities and to have that ability to socialize with their peers. 

BG: That's been one of my favorite things about this summer at Varsity. One of the tutors coined the phrase “little celebrities,” seeing all these kids out of webcams like, you know it, looking at their friends from around the country and just sort of, you know, feeling like they're celebrities, it’s been really cool to see, so definitely families should be taking advantage of some of those things. 

Okay, the big question on everyone's minds as they're considering homeschooling, we have, I’ll say with a little bit of bias, our school home program where we're offering our class structure to be able to help families outsource some of the homeschooling so they don't, you know, don't have to lesson plan every day for for every opportunity. But they want to know, “How do we make it count?” You know, one thing is, hey, I can read books and do math assignments at home. But the states have their processes. I know you're pretty familiar with this. Can you walk us through the process of making sure that kids get credit with the state for having completed a grade? 

KB: Yes, absolutely, really good question. And the truth to that question, Brian, is that every state has different regulations and different policies. Some make it really easy for homeschooling families and some are more challenging. So my recommendation is always check with your state Board of Education website, see what their policies are. You do normally have to file an intent to homeschool to let the state know that you're making that choice to school. Your students at home in some states will require additional documentation, assessments, curriculum reporting, etc. But it differs and every state has a different policy. So check with your local Board of Education, check with your local school district to see what their standards are, and if you have questions or accreditation concerns around that, working with our school program, reach out to us. We have coordinators here who are experts who can help you figure out what makes sense for your family in your home state. 

BG: Great, that reminds me of something, actually. Within the last few years, I got married. And the process of name changing for my wife—I say that it feels fresh because two and a half, three years and she still every once in a while realizes that her name isn’t changed on something. And there is a service that did a lot of that heavy lifting for all the forms. And that's one of the things we're pretty excited about this year, to be able to help people through that process for homeschooling. We'll know what you need in your state, and we'll be able to help out with that. So a follow up on that, have you heard of any cases, since every state's different, have you heard of any states where the process is too big of a hindrance for people, or in your experience, has it been once you kind of get through the bureaucracy, it's, it's easy to pull off?

KB: Yeah, some states definitely make it more challenging as far as the reporting out piece of it and what you have to maintain. But any family that really makes a selected decision to homeschool should be able to navigate the waters that their state has put in place to ensure their learner gets adequate access to education. You just want to be really familiar with those regulations. Some require certified teachers or instructors. Some require the parents to have certain education or academic backgrounds, maybe a bachelor’s degree, maybe a high school diploma. But you just want to make sure that you're in alignment with that individual state’s requirements. But I think all of them are able to be overcome with the right intentional practices on the front end. 

BG: Perfect, good, yeah. There's hoops to jump through. But from what we've heard from you and from others, it's a few hoops early, but then it's smooth sailing thereafter, so perfect. Like you said, we've got a team here that’s ready and eager to help. 

Hey, a common question we're getting from parents throughout the spring? Almost every family became a homeschool family for at least a few weeks in March and April, if not the remainder of the school year. And I think the most common refrain we heard from parents other than just plain “Help” was that my child really respects and listens to her teacher. And that's not been my experience as the homeschool teacher. I don't feel I get the same respect. I don't feel that, you know, the school day doesn't feel different from the weekend. What advice do you have for parents who are in that situation where they’re just not seen as the teacher and it makes their job that much harder?

KB: Yeah. That's, you know, that's gonna be really important as more and more homeschool families jump off of that bridge this school year and even in the virtual learning space for students that are going to continue to work with their traditional school, but do it virtually. Parents are going to have to overcome this behavior issue in their household. 

“And I think the biggest thing parents can do is establish a routine so that the learner knows what those expectations are each day and stick to that routine.”

You know, that's where you're going to start to see the students adapt and be able to work virtually or at a homeschool environment is when they understand the routine. They know what's going to happen next and are able to accomplish and meet their goals. 

BG: Great, yeah, routine is one we heard from successful families. It was, you know, the blurred lines between the parent and the teacher, but with social distancing, they kind of had to be the best friend too. And kids had a hard time distinguishing it, they wanted you to be the one they wanted you to be at the time, which was generally the friend or the punching bag. And so I think those routines went away. 

So, obviously we're a little bit biased, so we'll be transparent with that. We work for Varsity Tutors. We're pretty thrilled about a lot of our resources, the Learning Lab, our StarCourses, our Virtual Summer Camp and Virtual School Day programs. But there are other resources out there. I don't know what they are necessarily, what other types of resources or even places to find resources. You know, parents that would want to do the homeschool setup themselves may need to find lesson plans, may need to find a peer group and activities and all those kinds of things. Like you said, that the benefit is then it can be personalized. The burden with that is you have to do the work to make it personalized. What recommendations do you have on either specific resources or just finding resources for new homeschooling parents? 

KB: Yes. Use your resources and don't be afraid to ask for help. There are tons of homeschool families just like yours who are considering this move for the 2020 school year. Research your local support groups, like community resources that are already in place to help bridge that gap when you need it. Also, our Learning Lab at Varsity Tutors was really designed to meet students where they are in the learning process. And whether you elect to fully replace your student's education with homeschooling or School@Home or whether you just want to supplement their virtual learning process, our Learning Lab is really designed to meet those students’ learning needs in all of the core subjects. 

And then don't be afraid to incorporate enrichment as part of your school day. So, a cooking project, a field trip adventure into your local neighborhood park, or even a walk around the block with your pet can be part of that homeschool curriculum. As long as you're covering core content standards—with cooking, it might be measurement, it might be some science. Walking your pet, it might be learning, you know, the movements of an animal, etc. You can really make an activity part of your curriculum in a homeschool community. 

BG: That's interesting, that actually seems like one of the great benefits of homeschooling. With permission slips and logistics and timing, it's hard to take 30 kids to a park for an hour or, you know, get 30 kids to interact with an animal for a little bit. Whereas if you’ve got, you know, your child or children, you have that many more quick enrichment activities. It doesn't need to be a field trip planned months in advance. It can be kind of spur of the moment or, you know, hey, it's a beautiful day, so we're gonna do this today. That's pretty cool. I like that idea. 

KB: You can make that same park field trip about the weather. You can make that same park field trip a reading activity—read a story, read an online article about how the parks in your community were built or created. You could make that field trip represent all the core content, standards for math, science, reading, and beyond. 

BG: Perfect, I like that creativity that it brings in, and just taking advantage of what's happening in your neighborhood, in the world, so that's great. 

Okay, so we're talking about beautiful days, walks in the park, which is bucolic and wonderful. But at the same time is not every parent's experience with homeschooling. It can be chaotic at times. There's definitely some work that goes into it. Schoolteachers work extremely hard, don't get me wrong, but they get weekends. They get to leave the school building and go home. They get summer vacation and winter break. Parents who homeschool don't really get those breaks when they leave the school building, their home, which is also the school building. What advice do you have for parents who need an opportunity to recharge their batteries, especially those doing this for the first time? How can parents take care of their own mental sanity, mental health?

KB: This part of managing a homeschool program for your family is hugely important. 

“One of the most intriguing things about homeschool is being able to offer flexibility in scheduling when and where you deliver content to your students.”

This can be instrumental in finding homeschool success for a student who's a late riser, who participates in competitive sports and activities, or even has an internship or dual enrollment. But it can also be the downfall to the homeschool educator. To get ahead of this creative school routine, include a start time in the morning, a dedicated homeschooling space, and utilize your learner’s most productive times of the day. That way, no one's spinning their wheels, trying to make sure that their day is productive. Then make sure to leave time for yourself, your planning and your processes in that same school day. I think this will hold true for families who are left to fully homeschool their students, as well as those who attend a virtual homeschool program this fall. 

BG: Great advice. Ultimately, if you're stressed out and aren't able to think ahead for lesson plans or you're just not your best self, then the education will suffer. So, it's important to build that in to take care of yourself. And who doesn't need to be told that you have to treat yourself sometimes. It's for the good of your children, so you don't even have to feel guilty about it because that's exactly what the kids need. 

This has been really helpful. Thanks, Kellie, for sharing your expertise with us. Before we go, is there any other advice, features, benefits, anything you want these first-time homeschoolers to know about homeschooling?

KB: Yeah, Brian, I think, you know, if you're thinking about this as a solution for your family, the academic landscape is changing with COVID-19 and it's going to continue to change. As you're thinking about making this leap for your family, do that research, get online, check out Varsity Tutors’ School@Home program, and do the legwork to really see if this makes sense for your family. And if so, go ahead and get ahead of the curve and start making those decisions early so that your students can be ready for those next steps in their academic career.