Last month, Nancy Carter wrote the following in The Homeschool Minute.

One question that all homeschool parents will encounter is, "Why do you homeschool?" Your answer to that question will not only reflect on you and your confidence in your decision, but you never know what kind of seeds you may be planting for others. I can still remember when I was the one asking those questions and I'm so thankful for the kindness veteran homeschoolers showed in answering my questions. They definitely planted seeds for me!

I think that sometimes it's hard to answer, "Why?" because there are so many reasons why, but here are a few of my family's answers:

1. To tailor our sons' educations to best meet their needs.

2. To take advantage of everyday hands-on opportunities for learning in the "real world."

3. To spend more time together as a family--learning more about what it means to follow God and how to be a family.

How do you answer people when they ask why your family homeschools?

For a lot of families, their homeschool year has ended. And right after the school year has ended can be a good time to reflect your own “whys.” It helps when people ask if you have a fairly-ready answer. If you haven’t already written an “Educational Philosophy,” Consider writing something for your files. It helps when you hit tough spots in your homeschooling journey to remember exactly why you think homeschooling is the way to go for your family. An educational philosophy will move beyond what kind of homeschooler you are, otherwise one would only have to say “I’m a Relaxed Homeschooler” or “I go with Classical,” or you would only have to mention a name:  Montessori, Charlotte Mason, and so forth. A philosophy is going to be a bit different than the method one uses to homeschool, yet they will go together in the implementation like hand-in-glove.

On HomeschoolingPreschoolRock.com I found this quote: “...your values, convictions, and beliefs about education will ultimately influence all your homeschool decisions. What you believe about how learning happens is vital because education determines how an individual views the world and how s/he approaches life. You already have the basis of an educational philosophy, even if you have not put it into words. These consist of the values, ideas, and convictions that led you to consider homeschooling. “ 

Examples of educational philosophies can be found here:

Homeschooling Aspergers on Blogspot has a well-written first draft. (She was asking for input on hers.)

Bending the Twigs (also on Blogspot) has a well-thought out philosophy.

Marjorie writes about her educational philosophy as an unschooler. She found hers from a simple phrase "Get a Life!" from an anonymous poster on her blog.

At Homeschool Marketplace, read the article, The 10 Rules of Thumb for Choosing Teaching Materials, as it can be beneficial as you form your own philosophy. Even though this article concerns choosing the right curriculum for your situation, it can help you with your philosophy since the materials you buy will be based on a foundation. Your foundation is your educational philosophy.

Here is the Educational Philosophy that my husband and I wrote in 1995:

We believe that life is fulfilling, purposeful, directed by and surrounded by God.

We believe that there is a sin nature that must be overcome (man is not basically good). To overcome  that sin nature, one needs to have a personal relationship established and continued with the Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe that our children belong to God and are loaned to us to equip them for their own unique purpose. That purpose is that they will use their talents and abilities to the glory of God, directed by His purpose for their lives.

We believe that as Christians (believers and disciples of Jesus Christ) we have been called by God to participate in the spiritual battles as they are being played out in this life. It is, therefore, imperative that we equip our children to reason from the /biblical worldview. This means that they would understand the flow of thought through history as seen through the interweaving of art, music, philosophy, science, and government, as well as recognize the significance of the spiritual dimension of reality in which there is great conflict between good and evil.

We believe the culture that we are surrounded by has become and is becoming increasingly hostile towards Christianity. Our children must be able to stand independent of the thoughts and ideas of our age. Christianity (the relationship between God and man solely through God’s only Son, Jesus Christ) is a system of thought that applies to all aspects of life.

We want our children to be educated to be a generation that will vigorously ;resist anti-Godly values and infringement on their rights.

We believe Homeschooling is self-evident in pursuing these goals.

This was written about a month before we actually began our first year of homeschooling (Kindergarten). Our methodology has changed somewhat over the years, always on the eclectic side. It started more traditionally, mutated to a more relaxed style, and finally ended with a mixture of relaxed and classical with a strong emphasis on evaluating world views. But even with the methodology changing, all was firmly based on this foundation—our educational philosophy.

So you see, my family's philosophy doesn’t mention methods at all. There is no one correct way to write an Educational Philosophy; it may include methods (as some of the examples above) or it may not. Remember it is laying a foundation of why you homeschool, something for you to share with others (or not), something that is the foundation for material buying. Something that is very specific to your own family.

So, how do you go about writing such a document? Do what Nancy did above. Write down the basic answer to “Why You Homeschool” and how you see it should be accomplished. Consider your own world view. Think of the “big picture” of homeschooling, beyond the everyday routines. It’s not as hard as you may think. Your Educational Philosophy (as PreSchool Rock.com shared above), “consist(s) of the values, ideas, and convictions that led you to consider homeschooling” in the first place.

Donna Conner lives in Fort Worth, TX with her husband, Glenn, their son, Mike, Donna's mother, Charlotte, and their dog, Lucia. Donna and Glenn have been homeschooling their son since the beginning of his education. Mike completed his homeschooling in the fall of 2008. Donna is an artist and has always enjoyed writing. She wrote Homeschooling Only One in 2003, after discovering that there were many other families homeschooling only one child. Her website is devoted to those with only one student in their homeschool, with listings of online resources. You can visit her website at  http://donnac.com and read her blog at: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/DonnaC

copyright © 2009 Donna Conner ~~ All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced in any form without written permission of author, except in the case of brief passages embodied in critical reviews and articles where the title and author are listed.

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