Homeschooling in Egypt--Part 6

RESULTS

We are so glad we did it. We didn’t know it when we decided but CAC has had multiple school closures especially the first few months of school due to swine flu scare. Egyptians really got some bad information and you couldn’t convince them otherwise. School was closed for nearly a month near the beginning of the school year and parents were getting assignments online. They were having to homeschool their kids. After school was back in session, there were random classroom closures. If someone in a class got the flu they would cancel school for that group to make sure nobody would be spreading it. We were happy that our schedule wasn’t being disrupted.

We have been happy to have a flexible schedule. The culture here is one of late nights. We haven’t figured out how parents keep their children out so late at night but expect them to do well at school the next day. (Personal aside—they don’t. Education doesn’t seem to be as valued here. They want their kids to have the American education but aren’t willing to put in the sacrifice. Rant over.) So when Todd’s work had an event that kept us out later than normal we didn’t have to worry about how we were going to get everybody up and out the next day. We have kept a morning routine that starts at 7:30 a.m. so we’re trying not to get too lazy.

It’s been great when we’ve had visitors we can go site seeing with them without fear of falling behind on school. We can work ahead or catch up on our own time.

All this being said, I am not on the “once you homeschool you never go back” train. While it has its many benefits, traditional school also has many benefits. Since Petey is entering 9th grade next year (and we won’t have to buy as many supplies now) we’ve given her the choice of going to CAC or homeschooling. She has chosen CAC but for a brief time considered staying with homeschooling because of those benefits. While we were in the midst of deciding to stay in Egypt or go back to the States we asked the kids what they’d want if we moved back. None of them could really say for sure if they wanted to go back to regular school or continue with homeschooling. It depended on a lot of things. So that told me that they’re not unhappy with homeschool. Yay!

I sort of feel like a homeschool traitor because I’m not yet convinced homeschool is the only way to educate. I also feel not typical because of our situation here. It would be a completely different situation if I were in the States having to pay for our own curriculum and supplies. We chose a very traditional curriculum (k12.com.) It seems many homeschoolers want to get away from the traditional education which is why they homeschool. After our experiences at ASK and ISC, I wanted to get back to a traditional education.

Homeschool skeptics are worried about the social aspect. We have them involved in church activities, group tennis lessons, group gymnastics, and scouts and things like that so they meet other kids their age. Their “best” friends would be from the church but they’ve made friends in the other places as well. It’s been good for our family. I think they’re interacting more with each other than they would have otherwise. The interaction isn’t always compliments and sweetness but they are very aware of what is happening in each others’ lives. The older ones watch out for the younger ones and help with getting them food, helping with their lessons, playing with them, etc.

So there’s my homeschooling in Egypt novelette. Happy homeschooling!