Homeschooling in the Philippines became even more common this academic year because of the pandemic. While we’re still relatively new to it, I thought I’d share why we made the decision to transition from a regular school to our current set-up. I wrote this a year or so ago, but our reasons for homeschooling in the Philippines are the same — and I don’t think we’ll transfer to a regular school even after the pandemic has been contained (when that would be, who knows?).
My husband and I had always toyed with the idea of homeschooling our daughter. We sent her to a “real” school when she started first grade, and although she did like her time there, we felt it was better if we finally give the whole homeschooling a whirl. After reading countless accounts of other families and numerous family talks, we finally did it. We’re now a family who’s homeschooling in the Philippines.
I share why we decided to take the reins when it comes to our daughter’s education in the video below.
But read on if you want the gist in written form.
Why we chose homeschooling in the Philippines
Freedom
We still follow the DepEd’s curriculum but we have the freedom to choose how to teach the lessons to our kid and tailor them according to her interests and what she’s good at. We also have the freedom to teach her wherever.
On learning
We can also focus on just allowing her to learn. Without the pressure of being on top or having sky-high grades just to prove that she’s bright, she can zoom in on what really matters: learning for the sake of learning. When I was younger, of course, I felt the pressure of having to be on top of the class. That’s just how most Filipinos are reared. But now that I have a kid of my own, I realize that it’s not healthy. So I don’t really want to impose any type of pressure on her when it comes to school and learning.
Our daughter is free to explore other topics that are not covered by her curriculum, too. She gets to just discover and learn — at her own guided pace — which is what schooling should be about.
While I don’t think we’ve already have everything down pat, I can say we’re on the right track. It works for us right now, and hopefully we can sustain it. How about you? Are you ready for homeschooling in the Philippines?
