How much time is actually spent learningarticle

[mamacat]

https://raisingwildflowerkids.com/2018/05/08/you-can-homeschool-in-less-than-two-hours-per-day/

[Virginia]

Great article!

If the author is going to argue that homeschoolers don't differentiate between learning and living, though, then the author also has to acknowledge that learning takes place during non-instructional time in public schools ;) Yes, we waste a lot of time in public school, and it's not efficient. I completely acknowledge that. But those "transition times" and "getting everyone organized" times are also teaching skills-- social skills, time management skills, etc.

I know the article was meant to be encouraging to homeschoolers :yes I was homeschooled, and I also attended public high school. I taught public high school. I plan to homeschool my daughter. There are pros and cons to each choice, and I agree with the author that you can homeschool for a shorter period of time daily and your kids will still learn tons :tu

[mamacat]

Yes! Good points.As a homeschool advisor ,one question that comes up so often is that their kids get finished with formal academics so quickly,compared to the length of a school day. It is concentrated. It is one on one. Or can be. Even at high school level my kids were so different. Son loves all things academic and happly spent hours each day with his books. Daugther spent 3ish hours in the mornings and then the rest of the day did not feel like school but looked like foreign language app. Reading. PE type activities. For elective credit kinds of activities. Done at various times that she chose.

[Aerynne]

Interesting. I tried to look for a scientific article about how much time is spent learning in school but couldn’t find one. She’s probably fairly right, but I’d love to see some hard numbers.

[Virginia]

Interesting. I tried to look for a scientific article about how much time is spent learning in school but couldn’t find one. She’s probably fairly right, but I’d love to see some hard numbers.

There are lots of articles from educational journals about time spent in school but not time spent learning.


Is it "learning" when the teacher is lecturing and kids are taking notes?
What about when kids are given time in class to work cooperatively on a project?
What about when I take them to the library to check out independent books?
What about when they take a quiz or test in class?
What about when they're at recess or lunch? They're learning social skills, but does that count as "learning"?

I don't know that there is a definitive way to collect data on when kids are learning. You can collect data on seat time or amount of time spent in class or on educational activities, I suppose.

If such data does exist, I'd love to see it!

[Aerynne]

That’s true. It depends on your purposes for the research. It depends on if you want to know what a homeschooler would have to do to do the equivalent of ps or whether you’re an educational researcher trying to figure out if and when time is wasted. I don’t think any of that time you mentioned is wasted, but it’s not something homeschoolers need to plan because it happens anyway. Like I don’t count lunch as school, but obviously it is useful (though don’t get me started on the toxic food environment that is a public school lunchroom or how some of the things the kids learn about socializing, I would rather they not learn).

[ECingMama]

The issue for me is *what* they are learning and *why*. Agreed, both kids are learning all day. I just don't want my children learning everything I learned because of being in a public school away from my parents! I'm thinking about middle school and below.

[mamacat]

Most importantly it depends on if they have a teacher as motivated to provide those kinds of outside of the box learning opp.s or if it is just the minimal instruction time/worksheet/fidget around waiting for the next thing

[Soliloquy]

The take-away for me is when I meet new homeschooling moms. I actually had one friend who had her kids sitting at the kitchen table for 7 straight hours (doing conventional academics) for the first few weeks because she thought that was necessary. I used to teach PS so I know how much of a 55 minute period is spent on logistical and "housekeeping" type things vs academic content. So, for new homeschooling moms who think they need to keep up with what kids are learning in PS, they need to be reassured that 7 hours of conventional academics is a total overload. Not only is that not what is happening in schools, I think there are extremely few brains that can retain that much content day in and day out when learned in that format.

My younger kids get 15-60 minutes a day of conventional, focused academics. My high schooler gets quite a bit more. And it won't be the same for every family or child.

It can also be important when people, organizations, or agencies get the idea in their heads that homeschoolers aren't actually educating their kids if they see them out and about during typical school hours. It doesn't happen where I live now but we used to get, "why aren't you in school?" as if there's something really wrong about a child playing outside or being in a grocery store Sept-May during the hours of 8-3.

[mamacat]

I knew a lady who stopped homeschooling and one factor was she just could not get around the idea that she did not have to keep him working for as much time as he spent in school and did not feel like she could keep up with that regimen :(

[bananacake]

Virginia, I look forward to your additions to the homeschooling discussion threads in 3-6 years :giggle I didn't realize you planned to homeschool!

[mamacat]

Teachers who homeschool are the best! I know several .

[Virginia]

Thank you! Yes, I definitely do. As amazing as many public school teachers are, I know I can do a better job for KO here at home ;)


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[bananacake]

Teachers who homeschool are the best! I know several .

I teach music lessons and taught keyboard harmony, Solfege, and advanced aural training in college. I don't think that counts :P~

[Virginia]

The issue for me is *what* they are learning and *why*. Agreed, both kids are learning all day. I just don't want my children learning everything I learned because of being in a public school away from my parents! I'm thinking about middle school and below.



This is a fair point. What and why varies greatly from school to school and even teacher to teacher. At least when you homeschool you have complete control over those two things.

Off topic, but your post reminded me of last year when I had to write my what, why, and how of my lesson plans on the board daily... so tedious...


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[Aerynne]

This is a fair point. What and why varies greatly from school to school and even teacher to teacher. At least when you homeschool you have complete control over those two things.

Off topic, but your post reminded me of last year when I had to write my what, why, and how of my lesson plans on the board daily... so tedious...


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I find modern lesson plans extremely tedious! I am glad I can just choose not to do them.

[ViolaMum]

I teach music lessons and taught keyboard harmony, Solfege, and advanced aural training in college. I don't think that counts :P~

NO! It absolutely does!

I've taught violin lessons since my sophomore year of college. I've also conducted youth orchestra, taught Suzuki Group classes, and coached sectionals and chamber music. This semester I'm teaching music appreciation. The skills you need - pacing lessons, tailoring the material to your students' needs and skills, covering the major skills and refining details - all transfer. The way a Suzuki violin lesson is structured parallels the Charlotte Mason approach. Sure, music is a different animal in terms of being something that you physically DO, but the skills required to teach it and pass along that knowledge are identical. Not all virtuosos can teach (some are AWFUL!) in the same way that not all great writers or theoretical mathematicians can explain what they do to people that don't have the same instinctual abilities.