Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

How can I homeschool if I can't teach physics or calculus. Find out on today's Home School Heartbeat, with Michael Farris.

Mike:


Relax. Most people don't need to be able to teach physics or calculus to their 6 or 7 year olds. In fact, very few people study these courses in public high schools or colleges. So don't sweat it. First, consider the kind of classes that you could teach if you simply had a bit of a refresher. That's the way I was when I was teaching algebra to my two oldest daughters. I nearly panicked when on the first day of school I opened the algebra book in the middle and saw quadratic equations. I had no memory of how to do quadratic equations. But I was more than capable of teaching the first several lessons and began to remember the subject as I went through it with my daughters. By the time we got to quadratic equations, I had re-learned what I needed to know in order to correctly impart the material in their lessons each morning.


There's a second kind of class, one that the parent has never learned. For this type of class, which is almost exclusively a high school phenomenon, enrollment at a friendly private school for a single class, at a junior college, or hiring a private tutor have been the standard responses for most families. One final alternative is shared instruction among homeschoolers. In a local support group, you'll often find at least one parent who can teach a foreign language, computers, and, yes, even physics and calculus.


Don't sweat it. Your kids can be taught high school at home. I'm Michael Farris.