“I’m NOT a Teacher"(What Does It Mean?)

“I’m NOT a teacher.”

Perhaps YOU have made that statement before when speaking to someone.

If you’re a teacher, I KNOW you’ve heard it before (people usually say how there’s NO WAY they could do that job).  As a teacher, whenever someone made the statement to me, I would just reply that there are some jobs that I feel like I could never do (usually medical field jobs). Different strokes for different folks.

But, LATELY, as homeschooling has been in the spotlight the last few years, I’ve heard parents make the statement about themselves. 

Parents sometimes don’t feel like they could EVER teach their child and homeschool. 

 While it’s true that some parents may not have an education degree, it is NOT true that they can’t teach their own children. They’re teaching them something every single day they live together! As I always say, “You are your child’s most influential teacher.” (Whether you realize it or not). 

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. There is no stopping a parent who wants the best for their child. That is why we have inspirational stories of parents who didn’t even finish high school who raised their  children to become influential citizens and well-trained in their careers. If there is an area in which the parent needs help, outside help can be sought. (I’ve done this with my own child when seeking services for speech). Do you know who taught me how to read? Someone without a teaching degree. In fact, it was someone without any college degree. It was my mom. :)

Let me speak to you plainly. YOU are your child’s most influential teacher. 

I have been on ALMOST all sides of the teacher/student scenario (all but being a public school parent myself). 

I’ve been the daughter of a teacher. 

I’ve been a teacher at private schools. 

I’ve been a teacher at public schools. 

I’ve been an elementary teacher. 

I’ve been a middle school teacher. 

I’ve taught city kids and country kids. 

I’ve taught rich kids and poor kids.

 I’ve tutored children who are still in the system.

I’ve been the parent of a child in preschool.

 I’ve homeschooled my own children, and I’ve taught classes to other homeschooled children.

 I truly can speak from experience here, so please listen once more:

YOU are your child’s most influential teacher.

That means that you are the constant in their life. You will continue to teach them long after their senior year. You were teaching them before they entered kindergarten. You have the most vested interest in them. Your child will have other influential adults in their life. These people might  be relatives, a Sunday school teacher, a neighbor, a coach or someone else. (I like to share my child with other adults that I personally know and trust). It’s true that those people can spark an interest in a child for some area of study, skill, or hobby. I appreciate those people. HOWEVER, I do not believe those people should in any way have more of a say over what my child does and learns than I have. Parents, you are your children’s FIRST teacher, and you do have a say so over what your children learn. You’re the ones held responsible for raising the children.

So, what does, “I am NOT a teacher,” mean?

1. When some people say, “I am NOT a teacher,” they might be referring to managing 25 children in a classroom and imagining something like a scene out of Kindergarten Cop–chaos!  That’s classroom management or crowd control. As a homeschool parent, you would only need to manage your own children–not someone else’s. 

2. When some people say, “I am NOT a teacher,” they might be referring to their lack of an education degree. Perhaps they feel inadequate and might not know common education words or “jargon.” The parent might have met with a teacher who uses educational jargon instead of speaking plainly and to the point with understanding. Before I was employed by the public schools there were certain terms used in teacher training that I had no idea about. It was the pendulum swinging. You know, this idea is the particular hot topic of the day–the next “new” thing. Therefore, it MUST work, right?  Next year it will be some other “big idea.” 

Experienced teachers will tell you that the popular ideas in education sometimes work and sometimes don’t. So, don’t feel inadequate if you don’t know the latest idea in how to teach addition and subtraction, for example. Experienced and successful teachers will also be able to share what has worked best for them in teaching children (even if it’s NOT the newest and hottest strategy) while at the same time being humble enough to realize there are different ways of teaching and learning besides their own.

Just because something is the newest idea does not mean it’s the best. 

 If you feel nervous that you don’t know enough of the latest and greatest education ideas, please also realize that great leaders, inventors and influencers throughout history likely didn’t have the hot education strategy of 2021 or 2022. Yet, they still were successful and made an impact.

3. When some people  say, “I am NOT a teacher,” they might be conveying that they’d best like a hands-off approach to their child’s education. They don’t like the push-back their children might give them. They don’t want to rearrange their life circumstances or conveniences just to be around their children more. It could be that they feel like they’d have to give up a particular career to homeschool or that they need to fit into some sort of homeschool mold (imagine whatever stereotypical image you can here). To that person, I would encourage them to count up the quality time they spend with their children on a daily basis. This does not count rushed time hopping from one extracurricular to the next during the after school hours and on weekends.

The key word here is QUALITY [time]. To raise a child, you need to be with them. For my own parents, who did not homeschool, quality time spent together happened anyway because we stayed home in the evenings and weekends AND my parents had the summers off. That is atypical for most families. At the time it seemed normal to me. I realize now that it is not. Many of our nation’s children aren’t getting to be with their parents much. You are the parent and can make the choice to spend more time with your child—whether you choose to homeschool or pare down the amount of extracurricular activities outside of school time. 

What school lockdowns showed parents:

Eyes were opened in many ways.

–Parents sometimes realized that managing their children during the school day was not always easy (and therefore walked away with a deeper appreciation for teachers). 

–Other parents realized just how much their child DIDN’T know about the basics of reading, writing and math. They had simply trusted report cards or brief comments during parent conferences (if they went to them at all). When more time was spent doing some school work together, the parents noticed deficits in their child’s academic skills. Many were ready to get to work to close the gaps and do whatever was necessary. It was that parent love and determination kicking in.

–There were even parents who realized the curriculum the schools were using had drastically changed since their years in school, and they could no longer assume their child would have the same school experience they had.

Are YOU considering homeschooling, but you know you’re “not a teacher?”

Perhaps you are considering homeschooling. Let me encourage you that you can. It won’t always be easy, but it will be worth it. Connect with parents who have been where you are. They will happily share their opinion of what to do and what not to do. Then, you can happily choose to accept or reject the advice. It is your parental right and choice. You’ve been teaching your child since birth, after all.

Are you against homeschooling?

You might be a parent that is dead set against homeschooling your own child. I can’t change your mind. Be warned, though, as there are countless stories from others who were in your shoes and were practically forced into the decision of homeschooling. They never looked back.

Do you want to homeschool, but feel you can’t yet?

Finally, you could be someone who truly feels like you are in between a rock and hard place because you want to homeschool (and feel you can’t). Your child needs academic help. Your child is getting bullied. You live in an area that is teaching questionable things in school that do not fit with what you believe. You might feel like you are unable to homeschool.

Take heart. You are your child’s most influential teacher. Keep the communication lines open not only with your child but with their teachers. Be the “weird parent” that still reaches out to middle school and high school teachers. Find out who the teachers are as people. They are with your child and still hold an influence. Cut out time in the evenings and weekends to speak with your child and listen to your child.

If you want to try homeschooling, start opening lines of communication with other homeschool parents. They are out there. Try asking churches if they know of homeschool families or homeschool groups. Ask libraries. Search social media online.

There is no single way to homeschool, so get any and all homeschool stereotypes out of your head.

There are single parents who homeschool. There are parents with careers who homeschool. There are parents with one child who homeschool and parents with seven children who homeschool. There are dads who homeschool. There are grandparents who homeschool. When you get to know the homeschool community at large, you will see just how diverse it is.

If you’d like a free Homeschool Survival Guide, you can download one here.

I have a playlist of Homeschool videos on my YouTube channel you view here.