Homeschooling...And The Cost Of Education

Almost twenty years ago our little family made a decision--we decided to homeschool our only child. That child turned twenty-three earlier this year. After him, we had three other children, four in all. This summer our third child graduated leaving only one who we're homeschooling. He's got a few years to go.

A couple of things happened this week that made me think about the costs of eduction. My friend Rebekah, who also homeschools her children but in California, commented on a viral video that's been going around. The video deals with frustrated teachers. It's almost eight minutes in length. You can access the video: HERE. The video lists their frustrations, current conditions they've experienced, and (spoiler alert...) how they have all quit teaching to take other jobs.

Because we've not had our children in the public education system, the only first-hand experience my wife and I have comes from when we were in school. Based on what our friends have told us, things have definitely changed.

The second thing that got me thinking about education costs was a purchase we made for our youngest. We spend a couple of hundred dollars for his upcoming school year. I began doing a little math. And because we've kept our kids home, we've saved the taxpayers of Utah--using date from an article published earlier this year and which you can access: HERE--over a third of a million dollars.

The schools in our country have problems, serious problems. The stories of the individuals in the video are heartbreaking. And because the stakes are so high, there are no easy answers. Everyone has opinions--even us. I'm sure some will help and others will not. Unfortunately, I think it's going to get worse before it gets better. 

I don't mention homeschooling much on this blog. Anything about education (or other topics...) can be a trigger. We've tried as best we can to teach our kids with the resources we have. The same can be said for the teachers out there. Ours is not a perfect system--those don't exist, but we've tried and our family will have to live with the consequences. I guess that can be said for the rest of the country, too.