OUR BLOG
Posted 2 May 2022
Tag-Teaming for the Home-school WIN!
Dad-Schoolers
By Sam Oh
I honestly never thought I’d home-school my daughter. I grew up accustomed to the negative connotation that home-schoolers were “weird” and lacked all social skills. But yes, you guessed it.
Never say never!
I am not just a proud father of my home-schooled kid, but my wife, Hsulynn, and I are home-school teachers to our little Harper! God definitely has a good sense of humour, but I suppose the onus is on me as a home-school teacher, together with my amazing wife, to decide whether Harper turns out “weird” or not.
And that’s the true beauty of being able to impart knowledge, intellect, wisdom and practical life skills to your child, and not solely leaving it to the hands of an institution or third party.
Saying ‘YES’ to the adventure of home-schooling Harper has definitely been eye-opening on all fronts to say the least – from knowing exactly what it takes to educating her, to finding out precisely how much of the content she’s learning is understood and applied.
When the parent becomes the teacher, it’s hard to treat lessons merely as a task or ticking off a checkbox, which I can imagine is how traditional schools must’ve done it, especially in a big classroom setting teaching multiple students all at once.
It’s a much greater challenge to zero in on a child with this much intention in a big classroom, as opposed to home-schooling your child, one-on-one, and being able to explore their study patterns, needs and behaviours that form the most conducive learning environment!
I must admit though, my wife does most of the home-school teaching, and I should not take any credit whatsoever for Harper’s growth curve. To put it simply, my role is to be Hsulynn’s “tap out” partner!
When Hsulynn feels like she’s at her wit’s end with Harper (which happens more often than we care to confess), that’s usually when I arrive at the scene to hit the reset button for both the teacher and the student.
I am, undoubtedly, still learning how to appreciate and enjoy the process, because I can see how rewarding it is to be able to take pride in the milestones your little one achieves whilst witnessing the part you play in sowing the seeds of their education! I guess if you’re a parent thinking of more ways to get involved in your child’s life, home-schooling is a great way to start. You get to invest in their life more than you could even understand! And I, for one, am so thankful for the opportunity that Kingdomcity School has given us as a family.
