I Want to Homeschool, But I'm Not a Teacher!

In talking to some of my mom friends, I’ve heard so many reasons why people think they can’t homeschool. Some of the ones I’ve heard the most include:

I want to homeschool, but I’m too busy!

I want to homeschool, but I’m too scared!

I want to homeschool, but I’m too broke!

I want to homeschool, but I have to work!

And I want to homeschool, but I’m not a teacher!

It’s that last one I want to talk about in this post.

Since I was homeschooled as a child, I already knew that parents didn’t need to be professional teachers in order to homeschool their kids. So it was surprising to me to find out how many parents felt unqualified to homeschool, due to not having a background in the education field.

The short answer to this question is: No, you do not have to be a professional teacher in order to homeschool. Here’s why.

Images c/o: TarasMalyarevich / depositphotos; belchonock / depositphotos; and Stock Unlimited

I Want to Homeschool, But I’m Not a Teacher!

Why would a parent think that they have to be a teacher in order to homeschool their kids? Simple. They’re basing their idea of homeschooling on their experience in public school.

Public school educators do need an extensive amount of training before they can teach a class. They need to learn various teaching strategies for large groups of kids. They need to have an understanding of state objectives and how to meet those standards on each lesson plan. They need to know how to administer classroom discipline for children with varying behavioral issues.

And they need to receive continuing education regularly so that they can keep up with changing state testing requirements and curriculum changes.

As a homeschooler, you truly have to think about two of those things: how to teach according to your child’s learning style and how to meet your state education requirements. That’s it.

You already know how to administer appropriate discipline to your children. You do it everyday.

And you don’t have to keep up with educational curriculum changes. You get to make that decision all on your own.

It’s likely that you already know how your children learn as well. You know which ones of your kids need to learn by seeing, which ones need to learn by listening, and which ones need to learn by doing. All you have to do is adapt your teaching style to fit them – something you already do everyday.

Do you read to your kids? Congratulations! You’re a reading teacher!

Have you taught your children to clean? Then you’re already a home ec teacher!

Have you taught your child to ride a bike? You are totally a P.E. teacher.

How many times have you helped your kids learn to count? Yep, that makes you a math teacher too.

If you’ve ever thought “I want to homeschool, but I’m not a teacher”, take heart. You absolutely do not need to be a professional educator to teach your own children.

You simply need to care about their education and be willing to do what it takes to help them learn. As a loving parent, I suspect that you might even be overqualified.

Have you felt that you were unqualified to homeschool because you’re not a teacher? What helped you to start your homeschooling journey anyway? Share your experiences in the comments!

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