A lot of people seem to worry about the academic progress of homeschoolers.
I don’t. I’m not worried about maths, or reading, or writing, or science, or anything else on the list of academic subjects we’re supposed to obsess over. That’s not to say I don’t value those things. Just that I don’t worry about them. Everything on that list can be learned by anyone, at any time, to any depth, and a classroom is not a prerequisite for any of it.
But you know what DOES worry me?
My child being told to push through severe mental stress like separation anxiety or bullying in the name of ‘resilience’.
My child having their sense of self and value tied to a red letter scribbled on the front of a standardised test. Over, and over, and over again.
My child hearing they’ve fallen behind because they couldn’t grasp what they were told in the way they were told it. That maybe they’re just not good enough and never will be.
My child feeling isolated or excluded because their mind or body works differently from what is expected of them. That failure is something to be feared and avoided at all costs.
My child being judged or labelled because they can’t consistently meet an agonisingly narrow definition of success.
Or, even worse, my child internalising that judgement or label until it’s embedded deep within their consciousness.
With all of this on the table, why on earth would I ever worry about maths? That’s about the last thing any of us should be sweating over.
We get WAY too worked up about academic progress.
It’s time we shut off that voice and let our hearts take the lead instead.