My Why

 

Any time we make big life decisions it's good to reflect and understand the "why" behind what we are doing. This is especially true when these decisions have lasting impacts, have the potential to be difficult, and require discipline and perseverance! 

When I began my homeschooling journey I was TERRIFIED. 

There were a hundred different reasons why I was scared, but at the core I was simply afraid that I wouldn't be enough. I wasn't smart enough, I wasn't educated enough, I wasn't disciplined enough, I definitely wasn't patient enough... the list went on and on. 

In life, sometimes we have to do "it", whatever that is; scared. So, believing it was best for my child; who at the time was finishing third grade in the public school system, I just did it. I submitted all the paperwork to the state of Delaware and "The Poole's Too Cool for School School" was born. Yes, I actually submitted that as my official homeschool name. All of this took place during the 2020/2021 school year, which was also the pandemic year. Living in the North East during the pandemic was awful. There were so many restrictions and harsh mask mandates. Not to mention that distance learning happened for two years. That was the catalyst for our initial decision to homeschool. I never planned on it being our forever plan. I was going to "get through" the pandemic and send my boy back to school. That first year I had my fourth grade son and and my younger son who was a kindergartner. I was convinced I wouldn't be able to teach him to read. It was one of my biggest fears at the time. 

I came across a quote by author; Sarah Mackenzie that changed my life as a homeschooling mother. She wrote; "God isn't going to let us pour out our hearts for our children only to be left choking on the dust of our mistakes." Those words and my faith in God have gotten me through some tough times. 

Fast forward to now; 2025 and I am still homeschooling and LOVING it. Do I love every single day? The honest answer is; NO! There are some really hard days where I feel like a failure. There are days where I don't like my kids and they probably don't like me. BUT, this is where my "why" served me well.

Here are my why's

1. Instill a LOVE of learning

2. Preserve innocence

3. Take back childhood

4. Disciple my kids

I could write so much about each point. However, this isn't a homeschooling blog. With that being said, so many of my beliefs, philosophies, and approaches to learning and education have been shaped by homeschooling so my writing will definitely reflect and touch on homeschooling. 

When it comes to tutoring specifically it is my number one reason listed above that inspires me. I love and have always loved to learn. Of course I want to help students overcome obstacles and improve their grades. More that that I want to see students pursuing knowledge with excitement. Gaining knowledge isn't a burden, it is a gift!