Why homeschooling is like making chili

I love a hot bowl of chili on a cold fall day. Topped with cheese and sour cream, it warms me up like nothing else can. I like my chili with lots of hamburger and onions, chili beans, mushrooms, and a good dose of cayenne pepper.

A friend of mine thinks it is strange that I put mushrooms in my chili. Another friend of mine thinks it is strange that I don't put macaroni in my chili.

Attend any chili cook-off and you will discover more varieties of chili than you knew existed! I know one man that puts coffee in his chili and boasts about how many contests he's won with his secret ingredient. I know another that puts a warning label on his chili--it is so hot, he calls it "X-rated chili." And of course, there's white chili, which doesn't seem like it should be called "chili" at all!

I read a story a long time ago about a mother who was making chili for her family. Each family member made a special request to leave out a certain ingredient. One child didn't like beans. Another didn't like onions, and so on. At the end of the day, the mother served up a hot, steaming pot of water to her family, because there were no ingredients left that her family could agree on.

There are a lot of similarities to chili and homeschooling. There are as many "recipes" to a successful homeschool as there are recipes for chili. Sometimes when people try to define what a homeschooling family is, they think of a stay-at-home mother (in a denim jumper, of course) with five or six children sitting around the kitchen table together, or maybe at desks in the family room. Depending on the level of contact that people have with actual homeschoolers, their views of homeschooling can be fuzzy and vague ("Do they have any friends?") or at best, limited.

So what do homeschools have in common? Well, they usually have at least one teacher. Many times it's the mother, and many times she does stay at home. Other mothers (like me) work a job and homeschool. In those cases, the fathers are often involved. Homeschool teachers can also be grandparents, siblings, friends, tutors, and more. Some students, especially older ones, are self-taught.

Most homeschools do the bulk of their schooling at home (which would make sense given that it's called "homeschooling"), but not all meet at home. Some meet in churches or buildings with other homeschoolers, either daily or weekly. Some do their work at a parent's place of employment. Some prominent politicians have homeschooled their children while on the campaign trail in order to keep their family together.

Some kids do their work at desks or the kitchen table, others while sitting on the couch or lying on the floor. Some stay in their room and do their school while others (like mine) are not allowed to. When I was a kid being homeschooled, I liked to do my schoolwork while sitting up high in the  maple tree in our backyard.

Some families use a boxed curriculum. Others use no curriculum at all. Some are involved in sports and other extra-curricular activities. Others prefer to stay at home. Some homeschool for religious reasons. Others homeschool for academic or practical reasons. Some are partially involved in the public schools. Others stay as far away from the public schools as possible. Some buy computers for all their children. Others do not own a computer or even a TV.

Even amongst homeschoolers, sometimes we quibble over the definition of homeschooling. Recently, public schools have begun to offer "cyber schooling," which is public schooling at home, through the computer. Is that homeschooling or public schooling? People disagree. Maybe cyber schooling is like white chili--it just seems out of place somehow.

My recipe for homeschooling has changed slightly over the years, and will probably continue to change as my kids get older. On the other hand, my recipe for chili is likely to stay the same, because it's perfect the way it is!

Chili

Brown one pound of hamburger with onions. Drain. Add one can of tomato juice, one can diced tomatoes, one can of mushrooms, and two cans of chili beans. Add chili powder, garlic powder, salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper to taste. Simmer for as long as you want. Serve hot with sour cream, cheese, tortilla chips, and green onions.