Why More than Homeschooling?
When I homeschooled my children, I worked with other moms to better teach our children. The first year, I taught reading to some girls down the street, I sent one of my children to the neighbors for science and art, and I hosted several families for PE at my house. The next year, we started a school in the church my husband was pastoring, with all of my children and 27 other children. I was teased about having the biggest homeschool in the area. There were two other teachers, one teacher taught grades 1-2, and two of us co-taught grades 3-5 and grades 6-7 in separate classrooms.
Why should you consider growing your homeschool into a one-room or two-room school? First, a one-room school answers some of the traditional criticisms of homeschooling, such as a need for social interaction with other children. Not only do the students socialize during recess, but their interaction during class crosses age boundaries as they work together on class projects. Second, building a school means that parents meet with other parents to have social events such as music programs, drama productions, and fundraising events. Field trips and outdoor classes enlarge the classroom to more than the four walls.
Third, in many families both parents must work to support their family. Homeschooling is not an option. But they would be able to pay a small amount towards a quality education for their children. And you could use the extra income.
Do you love to teach? Do you get excited when students discover the joy of learning? Then prayerfully consider the possibility of increasing your homeschool to include others. Do you know a parent who struggles with homeschooling? Invite them to your house for 1-2 subjects during the week. Use the opportunity to begin a community of parents who have the same passion for their beliefs as you do, but maybe need to work. Grow your one-room school slowly, but deliberately.
If you wonder where to start, we have free learning resources and a free community for people who are starting their own one-room schools. Or you can sign up for our 3 week lecture series on how to start a one-room school.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Dr. Diane Davis
I am currently in the One Room School House intensive. It is exciting to be a part of this program and work with great mentors and instructors. My background includes degrees in Comparative Literature, Plant Science, teaching Therapeutic Horseback Riding; and years of homeschooling, tutoring, and teaching classes in a very large home school co-op. This program at Alethia allows me to pull these skills and training all together to become a confident teacher of a one-room school. Through this program I will be ready to open my own micro-school the Fall of 2021 – Meadow Ridge Academy in West Jordan, Utah.
I have taken multiple courses from Aletheia and am working toward my teaching certificate. I have home schooled my children for many years and the last two years I taught at Precepts Christian Academy. I am excited to be part of this group of people and have wonderful mentors.
I am very excited that Precepts Christian Academy will become a true One Room School in the fall of 2020. I see this as part of a nation-wide transitional movement towards more creative educational solutions for America’s children. Given what is happening on the political scene, we really need to consider what kind of an outcome we are aiming at for our children. The beauty of the One Room School, as taught and reproduced on a national scale by Aletheia Christian College , is that each school is going to be governed according to the dictates of individual consciences, the unifying factor being an educational method that teaches children to reason rather than react.
I have been going to Aletheia Christian College for about a year. I am pursuing an education degree and have been learning a lot in a short amount of time. I have gone to public school all my life, so everything I’m learning about private education is brand new. I hope to learn more about teaching in a one-room school setting, and then pursue the plans God has for me in that. I am very thankful for my teachers and mentors, they have helped me grow a lot!
Is the One Room School House tax exempt like other church-sponsored schools?
Dwayne,
The One Room School Method works with many different legal and tax structures within the US and other countries around the world. Aletheia Christian College, INC. is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.