The author of this short article barely delves into the benefits of having grandparents involved with homeschooling their grandchildren. This could be incentive for me to elaborate further how grandparents can be beneficial to their grandchild's homeschooling in a future post. Let me think on that awhile.
"For the grandparent, dwelling schooling their grandchildren is typically a opportunity for interaction. Being in a position to spend endless hours in the company of a grandchild will be the principal incentive for many grandparents, though you will discover other benefits."
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4 comments:
caveat: whether or not you can even do this depends on the state laws. in tennessee (where we live) it is illegal for anyone other than a parent to be the primary homeschooling instructor, unless that person has legal, full custody of the child(ren).
Good point, Rowena. On paper it may be illegal but millions of grandparents are homeschooling their grandchildren whenever in their presence. So are the aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, neighbors, librarian, shopkeepers, postmaster and others. Yes, a parent is listed as the 'primary' instructor but children learn from everyone they have contact with. Learning does not stop beyond the parent who is listed on the paperwork. The states pile on the documentation only to cover their butts and gain money from the taxpayers. They are not concerned with the education of the children beyond making them obedient worker bees. Education does not happen in a vacuum. Homeschooling/unschooling is more a lifestyle than a way of teaching. Whether we want to be or not we are ALL teachers, either by the knowledge we impart to others or by the examples we set. As a grandparent don't ever be afraid to step up and share your life experience. You've lived in the real world and that is what children need to know about more than the artificial one the public schools have created.
i totally agree, my main point is that in tennessee a huge number of children are actually in the permanent custody of the grandparents and because of the way our dumb laws are written, they are not legally allowed to homeschool because they are not "parents". our homeschool group sees a number of such families each year and has worked very hard to help them navigate the system (usually it means helping them find legal representation that will lead to terminating the parental rights so the grandparents can adopt. only once has it lead to a waiver for the grandparents). it is a messed up system in so many ways, as it also only legally allows for christian homeschooling options (thus a few de facto secular and other-faith organizations have founded "churches" to get around this short-sighted language).
Rowena, that's interesting about the Tennessee law that forbids grandparents from homeschooling even if they have custody. Sounds like adoption would be the only way. I haven't checked into our Vermont laws to see if the same would apply here. What about other states? Anyone know what their laws are concerning grandparents homeschooling their grandchildren?
My original point is that grandparents are natural teachers, even if the parents still maintain custody. Children will learn from whomever they are with, so if my grandchild stops by for a visit he/she is bound to learn something from me. I can show them how to garden, read to them, take them fishing or just tell them stories about their ancestors. The learning never stops no matter who has custody. The main thing I guess is whether the custodial parent is forced to send the child to public school. Now that would be the tragedy.
Part of the problem is our uneducated populace that allows the legislators to get away with such laws. I fear it will take several generations of educated homeschoolers to finally get us to a point where Americans are highly educated and know their constitutional rights inside and out. With our economy headed south and a police state taking hold I fear we may have run out of time for homeschooling to save us. I, for one, refuse to give up!
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