Will I need a tutor?

The very short and succinct answer to this is: "No!"

Let us try to explain why not, or at least why this does not fit with our educational philosophy and our understanding of what homeschooling is.

Homeschooling, by the legal definition that all states understand and adhere to, is the parent 'taking responsibility' for the education of their child, and this is what HomeLearn fully supports.

To some extent most parents already do this, or think they are, by 'choosing' which school to send their children to. However, after that 'choice', they are giving away the education of their child to some 'expert'.

Homeschooling is, or should be, different.

To use an analogy: with a young baby they are "your responsibility" to bring up and look after as best you can. You love them, care for them, and do your best to bring them up in the way that you think is right. So ... would you give away your baby to someone else, just because they have a certified university degree in pediatrics? Do you say ... "Well they know more than me and are more qualified ... they are the 'expert' and can look after my child better than me!" ? Of course not! You do use and need a babysitter some times ... but you still consider the child as 'your responsibilty', and give the babysitter instructions on how you want your baby cared for.

So why is that we all seem to fall for the myth that, when they get a little older they are no longer "our responsibility" and we hand that over to some 'more qualified' person?

It does not matter which school you send your child to ... the state school down the road or that shiny and ridiculously expensive private school on the hill ... you are still giving them away to some 'expert' who has their own ideas of how things should be and will happily put your precious and individual child into the same "box" as all the others ... to be another 'number' on the roll.

Homeschooling should be different; with homeschooling you are not 'choosing a different box', you are, in our view, taking them out of the 'box' altogether!

The reason we fall for this myth of handing them over to the 'expert' is because Education Departments, Teachers, Schools, and everyone related to that 'industry' has a vested interest in telling you that education is 'hard' and only really smart qualified people can do that. We are sure Governments and Pediatricians would get together and tell you that looking after babies is 'hard' too, and would get you to hand over your children at birth ... if they could get away with it. (See our Blog post about Whose children are they? for more about this.)

Real education is about children 'learning' and, if you have watched your baby grow into a young child, you will know that they learn all sorts of things ... by observing, by doing, by trying things. Children actually do not generally need someone to 'open their head and shovel in facts' ... they actually can do a pretty good job of learning themselves, given the right guidance and opportunities.

At HomeLean we believe that, with the right opportunities and guidance and at the right level, children will learn for themselves. Our programs are tailored to the individual educational needs of each child and should be at the right level, so they are not needing to be 'force fed' things that they can't and won't naturally learn for themselves.

So ... with all that said: Do you need a tutor? No, not to 'do it for you' and not because it is 'too hard'!

You may need some 'help' (like having Mum to change a few nappies), and if you are working part time then you do need to have someone else to supervise and help them along ... a babysitter; but they do not need to be an education 'expert' - just someone who knows and cares for the child. You might also need some help with educational ideas, and a program to make sure the main things are covered ... and that is where a program like HomeLearn can come in. We are a 'resource provider' to help 'you' do a great job of guiding the education of your child.

But a tutor? No, not really. HomeLearn is not 'that' kind of program.