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Homeschool Isn't the Answer. It Isn't the Enemy Either. · Making Everyday Magic: The Podcast

• 0:00
  I think we've gotten really bad at talking about homeschool.
• 0:04
  Welcome back to Making Everyday Magic.
• 0:05
  My name is Shanna and if you are new, here we are homeschooling family of four.
• 0:09
  We are in our 10th year of homeschooling.
• 0:11
  I have a ninth grader and a fifth grader for the 2026 2027 homeschool year.
• 0:15
  Today I want to talk with you about homeschool.
• 0:20
  How it is neither something to be deified
• 0:25
  and also not something to be vilified.
• 0:32
  Before we go any further,
• 0:33
  we scroll down and hit the big red subscribe button
• 0:34
  and turn on the bell for notifications and give this video a thumbs up.
• 0:37
  As always, you can find me right on down in the comments.
• 0:41
  Homeschool is neither a thing that should be deified,
• 0:44
  and it is also not a thing that should be vilified.
• 0:48
  I come here and I share what is working for us.
• 0:51
  I come here and I share the approaches that we are taking.
• 0:54
  I come here and I share very loudly that there is such a thing
• 0:59
  as secular homeschool in the homeschool space,
• 1:02
  but I feel like I try really hard to always say
• 1:07
  that homeschool is not for everyone, and that everyone is not for homeschool.
• 1:13
  Okay.
• 1:14
  There are times and situations, of course, where this could be
• 1:17
  the best path forward for you, for your family, for your learner.
• 1:20
  But there are also a lot of circumstances where this is not for everyone.
• 1:25
  This isn't for you.
• 1:27
  There are a million and a half different ways to homeschool
• 1:30
  in the same way that you can get, you know, every public school is different.
• 1:34
  Every public school classroom is different.
• 1:35
  There are tons of ways to educate and to learn, but that doesn't mean
• 1:40
  that one particular way is good for everyone.
• 1:45
  And so I think especially in the homeschool space,
• 1:48
  we come here and we do a disservice
• 1:51
  to both the homeschool world, the educational world,
• 1:56
  and to the broader world as a whole.
• 2:00
  There are a lot of reasons
• 2:02
  to vilify homeschool, and honestly, I agree with quite a few of them.
• 2:07
  Okay, the fact that there is minimal oversight,
• 2:10
  I honestly believe leads to more educational neglect.
• 2:14
  The fact that there are not, you know, across the board standards.
• 2:18
  So it is quite possible that while my kids get a great education, many other kids
• 2:23
  aren't getting access to that.
• 2:24
  There's a lot to complain about when it comes to homeschool.
• 2:27
  There's a lot of.
• 2:31
  Kerfuffle.
• 2:32
  There's a lot of situations where it is completely reasonable
• 2:36
  to complain about homeschool,
• 2:38
  and there are a lot of times when it is really on point
• 2:41
  to praise the wonders and the amazingness that is homeschool.
• 2:45
  And I come here and I do that a lot.
• 2:47
  But what I don't want to do is deify homeschool.
• 2:52
  So homeschool is wonderful.
• 2:53
  It works for us and it is a really great path for my family.
• 2:57
  But it is not the best path for every family.
• 3:00
  And it is also a situation that truly, truly not only doesn't serve
• 3:07
  some learners in the homeschool community, it actively harms them
• 3:12
  for a number of circumstances, whether that is educational gaps,
• 3:15
  whether that is straight educational neglect, whether that is abuse
• 3:18
  and neglect that is hidden by the fact that those children are homeschooled.
• 3:22
  I want you to know that homeschool is neither the answer to every question,
• 3:27
  but also not the answer to no questions.
• 3:31
  What it is is exactly what the individual,
• 3:35
  home and educational model make it.
• 3:39
  So my homeschool is serving my children well, and I feel really confident in that.
• 3:42
  I know that I can send them into the world, and I have.
• 3:45
  I know that they are getting their social needs met.
• 3:47
  I know that they are getting their educational needs met.
• 3:50
  I know that they are doing well as far as their growth as humans
• 3:55
  within the framework that is our homeschool, and I know
• 3:58
  that they are getting their learning and the ways that is best suited for them,
• 4:04
  but that doesn't
• 4:05
  mean that I am against other educational models.
• 4:09
  I'm certainly not well.
• 4:11
  This is the right choice for my family and my kids.
• 4:13
  I by no means everyone to convey the message
• 4:15
  that if somebody chooses something else, then I'm completely against that.
• 4:20
  Absolutely not.
• 4:21
  This is a hard way of life.
• 4:22
  This is a way of life that is made possible and made much easier
• 4:25
  and made sustainable because of the structure of our lives.
• 4:30
  And other people's homes are not set up like ours.
• 4:33
  And that's okay.
• 4:34
  I don't want every home to look like ours, okay?
• 4:36
  I want your home to be your home.
• 4:38
  And I want you to choose the path that is best for your kids.
• 4:41
  And while that may be to homeschool, and it may be that homeschool in ways
• 4:44
  that I don't, honestly, I hope everyone school is truly unique
• 4:47
  and that you are homeschooling in ways that I don't.
• 4:49
  But it also doesn't mean that it serves no one, that
• 4:53
  there are no good impacts from homeschool, just like any extreme is too extreme.
• 4:58
  Okay, I think it was patent who said, If I'm in a room
• 5:00
  where everybody agrees with me, that means no one is thinking
• 5:04
  and I want to come here and I want to reinforce to you,
• 5:08
  homeschool is great for those who enjoy it.
• 5:12
  Huntsville is great for those who work at it.
• 5:14
  Homeschool is great for those children who thrive in that model,
• 5:17
  and that can include tons of different models.
• 5:19
  But public school is great for those kids who attend public school.
• 5:24
  Public school is great for those kids who are best served in that model.
• 5:27
  Public school is great for a lot of children out there, is great for society.
• 5:33
  Private school is great for those kids who have the opportunity to go there.
• 5:36
  And same thing with charter schools
• 5:37
  and Montessori schools and preschools and colleges and two year colleges
• 5:41
  and community colleges and undergraduates and postgraduates.
• 5:45
  But each one of those things can also be incredibly
• 5:48
  harmful for some kids in those systems.
• 5:52
  And I am not by any means ever going to negate that fact.
• 5:56
  I am not by any means ever going to argue that that is not the case.
• 6:00
  I am not an absolutist, okay?
• 6:03
  I am smart enough and wise enough to recognize that my lens,
• 6:07
  my perception, my experience is not universal.
• 6:11
  I recognize that.
• 6:13
  So while I will come here and tell you
• 6:14
  how our homeschool is great, that's exactly what I'm doing.
• 6:16
  I'm telling you about my homeschool.
• 6:18
  I'm not telling you about every homeschool because I cannot speak to that.
• 6:23
  Okay?
• 6:24
  There are a lot of things that make my homeschool possible that I know.
• 6:27
  Many people just simply do not have the luxury of my kids, as far
• 6:31
  as I can tell, might be a little active, but I think they're pretty neurotypical.
• 6:35
  I while again, very, very busy.
• 6:38
  I'm neurotypical enough that I do function in a manner
• 6:41
  where I can stay consistent and I can keep things moving along.
• 6:44
  We have one parent who works outside of the home,
• 6:46
  and one parent who is fortunate enough to work inside the home.
• 6:48
  These are things that set us up for success.
• 6:51
  Okay, I'm not having to choose between between going out,
• 6:54
  making a living and making sure there's food on the table and homeschool.
• 6:57
  Okay, that's just not something I am having to whether I don't, I'm
• 7:00
  fortunate enough
• 7:01
  I don't need the public school system or any brick and mortar system
• 7:05
  to be the actual childcare for my children to allow me to make sure we are fed.
• 7:09
  There are many luxuries that come along with this,
• 7:11
  and there are so many drawbacks that come along
• 7:13
  with every single educational choice.
• 7:15
  There are many children in public school who have not been best served.
• 7:18
  There are many children who can't even get their foot
• 7:20
  in a door in a private school.
• 7:22
  And I just want you to know, just like every other path,
• 7:25
  every other thing in the world, there are many great things about it.
• 7:29
  And you're going to hear my take. This is my life.
• 7:30
  This is what we're really doing. And I think it's pretty awesome.
• 7:33
  That's what you're going to hear from me.
• 7:35
  What I hope you never hear from me is what you should do,
• 7:37
  what you should do for yours. You people, I have never laid eyes on you.
• 7:40
  People who right now are about that big of a camera lens.
• 7:43
  I am never going to tell you what you should or shouldn't do.
• 7:45
  I'm going to share with you what I do, what we do, what works, what doesn't work.
• 7:49
  The things I found out about the things I think are awesome.
• 7:51
  The things that I think are not as awesome.
• 7:53
  I'm going to do that from my perspective and my narrow lens only.
• 7:56
  And I want you to know that that is never to say
• 7:58
  that what you're doing, what you're choosing is wrong.
• 8:02
  So I'm never going to tell you that homeschool
• 8:04
  is the absolute best choice for every family out there. It is not.
• 8:07
  And I do not believe that it is the same way
• 8:10
  that I'm not going to tell you that homeschool can never work
• 8:12
  because I improve. My family is proof that it is.
• 8:15
  So while I love homeschool,
• 8:16
  I fully support public schools, brick and mortar schools the opportunity
• 8:20
  to choose your own educational path for you, your family, and your learner.
• 8:24
  So I do not believe that homeschool is the answer.
• 8:27
  Okay. But I also do not believe that it is the enemy.
• 8:30
  So we should neither DFI or vilify homeschool
• 8:35
  or public school charter schools or private schools
• 8:40
  even in school.
• 8:41
  You guys know I have strong feelings about that one.
• 8:43
  Even that can be good and can serve.
• 8:46
  Okay, so let's remember, just like everything else
• 8:49
  in life, you get out of it what you put into it, okay?
• 8:53
  Your motivations really, really do matter.
• 8:55
  Okay?
• 8:56
  What you are willing to do in the pursuit of your children's
• 8:58
  education is really going to determine most likely the success that you have.
• 9:03
  So I hope that you understand.
• 9:05
  I hope that you found me this helpful entertainer. Informative.
• 9:07
  If you did, please scroll down,
• 9:09
  hit that big red subscribe button, turn on the bell for notifications.
• 9:11
  Give this video a thumbs up and while you are down
• 9:14
  there, you can find me down in the comments
• 9:15
  over on Instagram at Making Everyday Magic,
• 9:17
  I just want to remind you,
• 9:18
  there are a lot of homeschoolers who talk about how great it is.
• 9:21
  We're almost like Diet Coke drinkers or marathon runners or vegans, right?
• 9:24
  Like, we want you to know it's so great.
• 9:26
  We feel so awesome.
• 9:27
  It's so wonderful for us.
• 9:30
  But I'm not saying that it would be for you, and I
• 9:32
  certainly, certainly am smart enough to know that it is not for everyone
• 9:35
  in the same way that any other path, any other thing, anything out there,
• 9:40
  is never going to be absolute good and absolute bad for anybody.
• 9:43
  So together, guys, I hope that we can keep having tough conversations.
• 9:46
  I hope that we can keep spreading the message that homeschool can be great,
• 9:50
  but that we also still value and champion
• 9:53
  and educated society in whatever means that needs to take place.
• 9:57
  And that we do believe societally, we owe it to our children
• 10:01
  to get them an education in whatever path that takes us.
• 10:05
  I hope that together we can keep spreading the message
• 10:08
  that secular homeschooling not only is good, but also exists.
• 10:13
  And I hope that we can keep remembering that what is good for me
• 10:17
  may not be good for you. And that's okay.
• 10:20
  We can keep sharing.
• 10:21
  We can keep coexisting.
• 10:22
  We can keep respecting each other even if we don't make the same decisions
• 10:28
  together. Let's keep making everyday magic.