Homeschooling & Afterschooling
"Discover Your Child's Learning Style"
by Mariaemma Willis, M.S. & Victoria Kindle Hodson, M.A.
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Joe:
As you know the homeschooling movement has grown considerably over the past few years and has in many circles achieved an unprecedented mainstream status. In contrast, school systems are spending ever increasing budgets without necessarily reaping the rewards in terms of test scores and student/parent satisfaction. In your opinion to what do you attribute this trend? Also, what advice would you give to a parent who chooses not to homeschool in the strict sense, but wants to develop a good "afterschool" program that can be compatible with traditional school systems.

Mariaemma:
This is an interesting question - especially since many parents who help kids with homework after school realize that they might as well be homeschooling, and eventually decide to do it in the day time!

Homeschooling
continues to increase because more and more parents think that they can do a better job than the school system. Of course, there are other issues that come into play - many families choose to homeschool for religious reasons or concern over safety, for example - but, basically, I think that families are deciding that their children's learning needs are better served at home where they can get more individual attention and be free of peer pressure. However, as mentioned previously, homeschoolers who are caught in the "school mentality" trap try to educate for test scores just as the schools do.

School systems are becoming
more and more obsessed with testing.
As long as this is the goal, student / parent satisfaction will continue to drop. You see, the effect to the opposite of what is intended. Why? Because when standardized test scores become the most important aspect of education, individual learning needs are ignored.

Real learning isn't about test scores.
It's about students making a meaningful connection with new information, concepts, and ideas. If we concentrate on teaching each student the way he or she learns best, drawing out talents and skills, developing confidence and motivation, test scores will actually come up on their own. But if we concentrate on raising test scores, using what I call the "cram and drill" approach, there is no way that real learning can take place. Consequently, the few who are good at cram and drill get the high scores; but the majority of students fall into that unfortunate category called "average" - the great de-motivator and dream killer.

Our message to parents is:

You are in charge of your child's education. You are your child's Learning-SuccessT Coach.

• Whether you are homeschooling or afterschooling, it is up to you to bring out the star in your child.
• You can do this by encouraging natural talents and interests, and you can do it by teaching strategies that make something that is difficult easier to learn.
• It could be as simple as encouraging a child to take picture notes instead of linear word notes, or pointing out that reading the directions out loud could help with understanding, or tossing a bean bag to help a child memorize math facts.

The goal is success.
Success leads to confidence and confidence leads to positive attitudes and making good choices. We can all help kids achieve this by coaching for Learning-SuccessT!

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"Discover Your Child’s Learning Style"
The five distinct dispositions

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