This is another common and interesting question. We are so familiar (or brainwashed) to the fact that to teach, need to be taught to teach -have paper and a certificate from college.  We received an email overly concerned about not being properly trained or have the right skills to homeschool.  Here is our reply.

As far as I know, there are no academic qualifications required of homeschooling parents other than the love of their children, and the wish to help them get a good education. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, so focus on the strengths in you and in your children, and the weaker ones can be outsourced to those who can teach those areas (if you feel there is a need). Homeschooling is not just having the children learn stuff. It is parents getting involved and living the inspired life! Of course it is not all smooth sailing (that’s the real life, isn’t it?) but basically when we have embraced this natural, holistic and engaging way of life, there is no turning back because we would not want it any other way!

Good values come from us, the way we look at life, taking what is important to us and giving back what we can offer, practising what we preach and never compromising on honesty and integrity. There is one thing that I am very firm with my children and that is that they treat one another with love and respect. I do not tolerate bickering and being mean to one another within the family. I see so much of that in other families (including my aunts!) that I want to make sure that ours will not be like that. Because if we cannot respect our own siblings, what is the meaning of family then? Children need that from us – they need to see their parents live and practise the values that are important to them. Otherwise they will learn different kinds of values from elsewhere which may contradict our own. The first 12 years of your child’s life is very important. If we do not foster a close relationship with them within this period, we may never get to do it after they pass that age. And that would be very sad indeed.

Personally I think if parents want to homeschool, they should really do it themselves. Sending them to centres is no different from sending them to school (that’s my opinion). So if you truly want to embark on a journey of self discovery, you would have to choose to make some drastic changes in the way you and your family live your daily lives and plan for the future now!

With best wishes,
waileng