export_ofoct.com (2)

[00:01.37] Peter: So thinking about your future, would you have your kids home-schooled, would you home-school themselves or do you think that it's better for them to go to a normal school, what would you do?

[00:12.37] Sarah: I used to say that I didn't know. But then I got my undergrad degree and elementary education and I had a chance to teach in public school.

[00:22.37] And that's when I decided, yes, absolutely, I would home-school my own children.

[00:27.62] Peter: What was the main reason coming to that decision?

[00:31.37] Sarah: The main reason was the wasted time that I saw. And also there were so many children in one classroom.

[00:39.12] It was really hard to get them all to focus and pay attention at the same time, it's nearly impossible.

[00:45.37] So if I could provide my child with one-on-one attention, I feel like they would learn more, there'd be less wasted time.

[00:55.87] Peter: Right. So home-schooling helps with using time productively I guess?

[01:00.62] Sarah: I would say so, yes.

[01:01.62] Peter: Right.

[01:02.87] Sarah: And now that I have the degree as well and elementary education I feel like I'm equipped to be able to do it if I needed to.

[01:11.62] Peter: Right. Do you think there are any disadvantages to home-schooling?

[01:15.62] Sarah: Probably the number one disadvantage that most people see with home-schooling is the social aspect.

[01:21.62] And this can be a big deal. It can be very hard, especially with sports, if your child wants to play on a sports team often it's hard to get them in on a team at a regular school.

[01:38.12] Sometimes there's community groups, but definitely the social aspect is the hardest need to meet with home-schooling.

[01:47.37] Peter: For home-schooling, what kind of exams or tests are there to make sure that children pass the grade that they're in?

[01:55.62] Sarah: I'm not sure what it's like in all countries, but I know in the US there's ... you take the end-of-year state testing that everyone does, so it's mailed to your house and your parents give you the test and the results are sent back to you.

[02:13.12] Peter: Okay. So it's all standardized and everybody goes through the same test?

[02:16.37] Sarah: Yes.

[02:17.12] Peter: Right.

[02:17.87] Sarah: And then when it comes time to take the SAT or the end of high school test then you can actually go and take them at a public school with everyone else, they'll allow you to do that.

[02:29.37] Peter: Okay. When you arrived in college did you notice any differences between the education you had and like the education other kids had not having gone through home-schooling?

[02:41.12] Sarah: The main difference I saw the social aspect. There are many things sort of culturally almost that I didn't know, that I was sheltered from, just things and sayings and popular things that happen in school that I had no clue about.

[03:00.12] It's almost a completely different culture than what I was raised in. So that was very different.

[03:06.12] And also I saw a difference then, it was really hard for me to learn with someone lecturing because I was so used to learning everything out of a book, reading it for myself, and so I'd have to listen and take notes, was a big struggle for me.

[03:24.87] Peter: Really?

[03:25.62] Sarah: Yes.

[03:27.12] Peter: But it sounds like you ended up being quite a self-driven and self-disciplined learner if you'd gone through the textbooks yourself.

[03:35.62] Sarah: Yes; I think you really can't help but be if you are home-schooled, so yeah.

[03:42.12] Peter: Right. Thank you very much, it was really interesting.

[03:44.87] Sarah: Absolutely.