From Our House to Yours
Why should you homeschool?… A Series on Reasons to Homeschool
With so many schooling options, you might wonder why you should homeschool. Or, maybe you are already homeschooling, and you need fresh reasons why you should continue to do so. Well, I’m happy to say, there are many valid reasons to homeschool, and this Heart of Dakota From Our House to Yours series is focused on sharing them. First, we talked about how you get to spend more time with your children. Second, we talked about how you know what your children did for the day. Third, we talked about how you get to run your own schedule. Today, we’ll talk about the fourth reason, which is you can give your children immediate feedback!
I have found it so helpful to give immediate feedback on schoolwork being done incorrectly!
Why is immediate feedback on schoolwork an important reason to homeschool? Well, students have a much better opportunity to form good work habits with immediate feedback. The reverse is also true; students all too easily form bad work habits with delayed feedback – especially if it is delayed by days, weeks, or even months. A child with 20 math problems that is incorrectly working the steps of long division will have a much better habit in place for this skill if the error is corrected with immediate feedback. Likewise, a child that is incorrectly spelling ‘friend’ as ‘frend’ in written work will have a much better chance of spelling it properly if the spelling error is corrected right away rather than weeks later.
I have found it equally helpful to give immediate feedback on schoolwork being done correctly!
Students not only benefit from immediate feedback on schoolwork being done incorrectly, they also benefit from immediate feedback on schoolwork being done correctly! A child who knows they correctly answered the first 5 problems in math will be more likely to confidently work through the remaining problems. Likewise, a child who knows from immediate feedback that he chose a good essay topic, chose good resources, and chose good prewriting ideas will be more likely to successfully and happily write their essay. Children left for days, weeks, or months with no feedback begin to wonder what the purpose of their work is at all. If no one cares to look at their work, why does their work matter? This is a valid question.
I love Charlotte Mason’s thoughts on the formation of habits!
Charlotte Mason had much to say about the formation of habits, and habits are greatly impacted by immediate feedback. I will share a few of my favorites below:
Each of us has in his possession an exceedingly good servant or a very bad master, known as Habit. (Vol. 4, p. 208)
Every day, every hour, the parents are either passively or actively forming those habits in their children upon which, more than upon anything else, future character and conduct depend. (Vol. 1, p. 118)
Every habit has its beginning. The beginning is the idea which comes with a stir and takes possession of us. (Vol. 2, p. 230)
In closing
In closing, it is such a blessing that you can give your children immediate feedback in homeschooling. Whether your feedback is to correct a poor habit or to encourage a good habit, it always has the power to help your children. Providing immediate feedback is one of the powerful tools to positively impact students’ learning and achievement. In homeschooling, you can more effectively provide immediate feedback. Even the best of public school teachers with the best intentions of giving immediate feedback simply can’t match you. Twenty-some students just makes it near to impossible! But, in homeschooling, smaller ‘class sizes’ make immediate feedback easy. So, now you know one more reason why you should homeschool!
In Christ,
Julie
