Home schooling: We made it to the finish line!

I wanted to punch the air with a “Yes! We made it!” A stint of home schooling will do that to a parent who is not a natural-born teacher, writes Leesa Maher.

JUBILANT I was, dropping off my youngest to his first day back at school. To be honest I couldn’t get there fast enough, though my son seemed less enthused. The end of weekday Lego marathons, anytime access to Sonic Mania on the Xbox and the return of no-nonsense routine might have had something to do with it.

Six weeks had passed since we’d hit the drop-off zone and we arrived to discover the school gates laced with giant bunches of ‘Welcome Back’ balloons, gifts of hermetically-sealed celebratory cookies and fun group photos to commemorate the return to classroom teaching.
I don’t know about the kids, but I wanted to punch the air with a “Yes! We made it!”

A stint of home schooling will do that to a parent who is not a natural-born teacher.

Parents pictured dropping off their kids to Milton State School, Brisbane 11th of May 2020. Milton State School's first day back after Coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions have been eased. Picture: AAP Image/Josh Woning

I did my best, we all did I’m sure, but trying to hold down a job while working one’s way through Year 3 maths, spelling and science experiments was a true test of will. And stamina. Thank goodness my eldest is the self-starting type so I only had one to worry about.

I soon discovered that nothing comes close to the attentions of a trained professional who is 100 per cent focused on the task. Someone who is endlessly patient. Who can spot a fake “Yes, I finished that!” at a thousand paces. Who knows how to gently encourage a child to practise writing the letter S without looming over them like Shrek in a mood. On that last one, I failed miserably. But surely I’m right in saying it’s the easiest of all the letters?

We did fine, my boy and I, but on several occasions (mostly related to the letter S) I had to steel myself to keep calm and carry on. At those times I flashbacked to 17-year-old me in a driving lesson with my father. Patience eluded that dear man, though no doubt I was to blame, and I distinctly recall being told to “Pull over!” so he could get out, stand on the footpath and regroup. Not surprisingly I wound up being a professional driving instructor’s problem and a mere 20 lessons later, hey presto, licence issued. Yes, patience is a virtue.

To those of you who took to homeschooling like ducks to water, hats off to you. To those who struggled a bit, like me, just be proud you gave it a go. I am.

And to all the teachers out there who make it look so easy day in, day out – thank you. Turns out, it’s not.