High school teacher wants to homeschool kids?

Question

So I am a high school science teacher. Had my 3rd baby at the end of August so I did not teach this past school year. Next school year my oldest will be in Pre-k. I want to homeschool my kids, but I need to work. All I have is a BS in Biology and the teaching certificate. I wanted to find a job that I can do and still homeschool. As of yet, I have not found it. Before all the teaching jobs are taken, I wanted to ask this question. Are there ANY public school teachers that homeschool their kids??

Answer 1

I know a lot of HS parents do have there teaching degrees.

http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/J...

If you can't find one there I would look for a job opportunities at these schools http://www.bestonlinehighschools.com/dir...

Answer 2

I know a lot of ps teachers that homeschool their kids!  It's more common than you think.

As ysn suggested, look into teaching at co ops.  Many co ops are happy to find experienced science teachers, as that's one class that a lot of hs'd high schoolers take in co op.  I'm a paid co op teacher (MS and HS Latin) and I've got to tell you I wouldn't trade it!  You may not make as much money, but the hours won't be as long either.  The co ops in our area range from $200-400 per semester, per student

The kids are an absolute joy to teach, as well...respectful, diligent, and excited to learn.  They're not perfect or anything, but they are a lot of fun to have in class.  My biggest challenge with them has been keeping them challenged!

Hope that helps - and enjoy the ride!

Answer 3

I know quite a few actually. I even know some that have started teaching at online charter schools so they can keep their children home. Some online charter schools will allow a teacher to do most everything from home.

Answer 4

It is a lot more common than many realize.

I am a former teacher.  The first person I spoke to about homeschooling was a teacher colleague whose wife homeschooled their kids.

Many of the teachers in our coop are former teachers.

One thing for you to look into is teaching through a local coop (teaching coop).  Ours charges $250 per semester per student per course (high school level courses).  You won't make as much money but the kids you will be teaching will be there to learn, the parents will be involved and if you love teaching you will really love teaching in the environment of a teaching cooperative.  

Our coop operates on a "university model"   -meaning that classroom time is usually 1.5 - 2 hours twice a week with lots of independent work in-between.  Just like a student will experience in college.

As a science teacher, I imagine you have much to offer your area homeschoolers.

We are fortunate that one of our coop teachers (and a homeschooling dad) is a physiology professor at a local college.  He teaches biology, physiology and chemistry (with labs). Sidenote: I get so irritated when folks make assumptions that homeschool kids cannot possibly get adequate science learning.  I guarantee you that the science education available to us as homeschoolers is way above and beyond what is available to most PSers.

Answer 5

I homeschool both of my children and I am going to school to get my teaching certificate.  I am also considering teaching in the public school system.  I think it is a good option.  I can teach during the day at public school, then in the evening teach my children.  

I complain a lot about the public school system.  I decided that instead of just complain I should actively try to help them.

Answer 6

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is to work for a virtual public school.  I know 5 certified teachers who do this.  If your state allows virtual schools, look into it.  The number of virtual schools just keeps growing.

You could enroll your own children in the school, but they'd most likely have to have a different teacher.  As a teacher, you'd be responsible for about 50 students.  You would work from home, establish "office hours", and possibly need to do some face-to-face meetings.

There are also many private virtual schools, such as Apex or Keystone, that may have positions open.

You'd have flexible hours, could work wearing comfy clothes and slippers, etc.

Answer 7

You mean teachers who are at school working and at the same time homeschool their kids? No, I can't say that I do. You could potentially set up something with another family or private tutoring, but that wouldn't be you doing the homeschooling, if that's okay with you. I do know families where both parents work and the kids homeschooled with another family.

Would it be possible for you to run a daycare in your home, one that might even extend into homeschooling the kids? I know a few moms who run dayhomes/daycares while homeschooling their kids.

Answer 8

Yes, there are lots. If you have someone to leave the kids with, you can work part time or do casual work. Homeschooling can be done anytime of the day or week.

Answer 9

Why not go freelance as a home school online teacher or tutor? It wouldn't be as secure as a paycheck from a public school because it would be a home business, but you would have the advantages of being in charge, setting your own hours, and even teaching from home via an online classroom while still being in your PJs. LOL

There are some great tools out there to teach online including online conferencing (online classroom). We use online conferencing with our program and the kids and teachers love it. With it you have a classroom capable of full duplex audio, text chat, a whiteboard screen capable of handling static slides as well as interactive activities, application sharing, file sharing, web push, webcam, and more.

I will be training in our volunteers this summer. If you want to join in for some free training on how to use the tools we use, you are welcome to join in. We use Elluminate (to meet live) and Moodle (course management system for 24/7 access and assynchronous resources).

If you are interested, drop me an e-mail. [e-mail]. I am a volunteer teacher giving free homeschool classes via Virtual Homeschool Group. We will have two biology classes starting up in just a few weeks. You may want to observe, co-teach, or take over a class session to get your feet wet to see if you like teaching online.

Answer 10

I know of one, but I believe he has a wife at home who works from home and can do quite a bit of the work.

There is another i know of though who has her kids stay at a relative's house durring school hours and then works with them in the late afternoon or at night if they have activities in the afternoon (sports and clubs and such).

Another still who has her kids take half their lessons with another family while she's in school teaching, and then do half at home when she's there in the afternoon.

You could also consider teaching at an alternative school such as a democratic school or a charter school of some kind so your schedule will be different (teaching evenings or only a few days a week or five days a week but for shorter days, etc), or working at a tutoring center such as Sylven, becomming a teacher for an online school, and so on if it suits you. Good luck! And congrats! It's great to hear of public school teachers who do in fact support homeschooling.

Answer 11

Absolutely.  Try reading the book "Homeschooling Our Children, Unschooling Ourselves."  The auther is a public school teacher.

Answer 12

You are a teacher but that doesn't mean you have to teach in a school. You could teach for a supplement type place such as Kaplan or Sylvan where you choose your hours. You could start tutoring.

I have a homeschool friend who earns her money offering different level science classes. She has a dissection class for middle schoolers, a fun "chemistry" class for little ones, and she also tutors. Also as a certified teacher you can test other homeschoolers, or perform the end of the year assessments.

Plenty of HS moms have to work now adays, the beauty of HSing is that you don't have to follow the same day to day time frame as you have been doing, teach your children in the afternoon, or just on weekends and summers. For instance our state requires we get in 900 hours of instruction, so we have from August to Sept. to get those hours in, we can do it when ever we want and count everything from educational vacations to reading a bed time story.