How Smart Does a Homeschooling Parent Need to Be?
Many States have laws specifying a minimum education standards for homeschooling parents. The more stringent states say parents need to have a Bachelors Degree or higher, or hire a tutor who does. Many states, like Virginia, most recently have lowered this requirement to only high school diploma. Other states believe a GED is sufficient. States with few requirements make no distinction.
So how smart does a Homeschooling parent really need to be?
Well to teach a child how to read, write and do math, the mom needs to be able to do the same. To teach science and social studies, they need to be able to read, and grasp new concepts, i.e. to learn themselves. If and when a child’s level surpasses a parent’s ability or willingness to surpass a subject, the parent needs to be smart enough to find a tutor or class that will suffice.
Does a homeschooling parent need to be smart at all?
Not really, to homeschool a child, a parent needs only to be literate and resourceful. They need to know how to get information on different curriculums that are hands on, and hands off. Homeschooling parents need to be able to find classes in subject areas where they do not feel equipped to teach, or that they do not desire to teach. In short, homeschooling parents need to know when to teach, and when to hand it over to someone else. Personally, although I excelled in math through Algebra and Geometry, when my child got to pre-algebra, I looked for outside sources, as I had not retained all of the information I had learned and was slowing down my child’s progress in trying to re-learn it.
What kind of knowledge is needed to hire a tutor or find a class?
To find a homeschool tutor or class, the parent, once again needs to be literate. They must also be a good judge of character so that they will choose a good and effective teacher. They also, need to be able to negotiate a fair price that will make the teacher want to teach but also not break the bank.
If a parent does not feel smart equipped to teach, what is the most important thing they need to have?
If a homeschooling parent feels ill equipped to teach their children then they need to have money to hire someone to do it. The amount of money needed varies based on the creativity of the parent to find free and near free resources.
