I'm a co-op in Williamsburg Va. (which, by the way, is a great place to homeschool in!) so that can color how I feel about co-ops, but I'm not just a member, I'm also the president, or principal to be exact.
It takes a grand amount of time to make it work, but no matter how many hours I spend on the computer that week, I'm happy when Tuesday comes and I roll into the church parking lot. My kids help me unpack my car and set up tables and begin another day of what we do- homeschooling in community. We only go to the co-op once a week (for now, but we're thinking about expanding to two days a week, as AP classes can take far more time than 1 day a week can effectively cover material. That will be in our future if we can get a second day at a nearby church. Who knows :).
A couple of years ago, I had a friend come back from a seminar, and she was beaming with all the encouragement she had gotten. She a was a little shy about specifics at first and I prodded her until she said, "Well, (the speaker) said you don't need co-ops at all." Her kids have never been to co-ops- mine or anybody else's. And it works for them. That's great. I, for one, love my co-ops. A woman once responded back to my email that she felt "bad" for me that I felt that I could not teach my own children Spanish. I replied back, "It's not bad to have limitations. It's bad to ignore them!" I would like to convince myself that I excel at a few things, but not for one minute can I fool myself into thinking I am even good enough at ALL subjects to teach them. Languages, (and anyone reading this blog for more than 2 posts will soon realize) editing & typing are my worst subjects. I get by with history, thanks to great curriculum, and please don't anyone ask me to lead a botany class because it will be all by the book I'm using and not one page more than I've read. I do happen to have a penchant to teaching art, and I've recently added Lego robotics to the list of things I feel proud to tell others I teach.
At my co-op, my 9th grader took chemistry from a mom who had her Masters in Chemical Engineering. Her biology teacher last year holds a Master in Occupational Therapy. Our preschool teacher has Master of Education and ran a large preschool before her life as a homeschooler and now teacher at our co-op. Our new Latin & Italian teacher is working on his PHD in ancient history, and our drama teacher holds a Masters in education and Economics. Basically, we teach what we love & what we're good at. I do believe that is the definition of the world's greatest job. I don't have to be great at everything as long as I'm start enough to get great people to work with me.
I believe that this co-op has allowed me to continue homeschooling my high schooler. I couldn't imagine this journey without all the support and knowledge that my co-teachers provide. I couldn't imagine her transcript without them!
Next year is her unschooling year, after all these years of classical homeschooling where I picked what she learned, she gets to be master of her sophomore year. So far she's picked guitar, AP psychology, Italian and, I am requiring math despite the other subjects being her choice, Pre-calculus. All from our co-op. I am thankful for my community. Thankful that it allows me to offer my children the best education, which, after all, isn't that what homeschooling is about?
It takes a grand amount of time to make it work, but no matter how many hours I spend on the computer that week, I'm happy when Tuesday comes and I roll into the church parking lot. My kids help me unpack my car and set up tables and begin another day of what we do- homeschooling in community. We only go to the co-op once a week (for now, but we're thinking about expanding to two days a week, as AP classes can take far more time than 1 day a week can effectively cover material. That will be in our future if we can get a second day at a nearby church. Who knows :).
A couple of years ago, I had a friend come back from a seminar, and she was beaming with all the encouragement she had gotten. She a was a little shy about specifics at first and I prodded her until she said, "Well, (the speaker) said you don't need co-ops at all." Her kids have never been to co-ops- mine or anybody else's. And it works for them. That's great. I, for one, love my co-ops. A woman once responded back to my email that she felt "bad" for me that I felt that I could not teach my own children Spanish. I replied back, "It's not bad to have limitations. It's bad to ignore them!" I would like to convince myself that I excel at a few things, but not for one minute can I fool myself into thinking I am even good enough at ALL subjects to teach them. Languages, (and anyone reading this blog for more than 2 posts will soon realize) editing & typing are my worst subjects. I get by with history, thanks to great curriculum, and please don't anyone ask me to lead a botany class because it will be all by the book I'm using and not one page more than I've read. I do happen to have a penchant to teaching art, and I've recently added Lego robotics to the list of things I feel proud to tell others I teach.
At my co-op, my 9th grader took chemistry from a mom who had her Masters in Chemical Engineering. Her biology teacher last year holds a Master in Occupational Therapy. Our preschool teacher has Master of Education and ran a large preschool before her life as a homeschooler and now teacher at our co-op. Our new Latin & Italian teacher is working on his PHD in ancient history, and our drama teacher holds a Masters in education and Economics. Basically, we teach what we love & what we're good at. I do believe that is the definition of the world's greatest job. I don't have to be great at everything as long as I'm start enough to get great people to work with me.
I believe that this co-op has allowed me to continue homeschooling my high schooler. I couldn't imagine this journey without all the support and knowledge that my co-teachers provide. I couldn't imagine her transcript without them!
I am so glad that I have the coop for recommendations and transcripts. It has been invaluable for my daughter when applying to summer programs and dual-enrollment.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post!