This is the thing I wonder about homeschooling. I realize this doesn't apply so much in the younger grades, but as a kid gets older, what about being taught a subject by a teacher who really KNOWS that subject inside and out, versus a parent who may be one chapter ahead of the child in the textbook?
This would obviously apply in scientific areas like chemistry, biology, math-- where when the kid asks, "why do we do this or that?" the teacher who thoroughly knows the subject can call upon their background knowledge and answer from their own personal "data bank."
Sure the homeschooling parent and child can look it up on the internet, but I've always looked to teachers to give me the big picture. This could even apply in softer subjects like literature and history. The child asks something about the Civil War, and the teacher-- who has a thorough knowledge of European history as well as American history-- can say, "Well, this is similar to a situation that existed in Outer Slobovia in 1492 so let's talk about that for a moment and see the connections." Or in literature: "Hawthorne is quoting a line from one of Shakespeare's plays, and Shakespeare was in turn quoting an obscure Hindu legend..." Stuff like that.
Maybe you don't even get that kind of stuff in school anymore. I feel that I was extremely fortunate in my elementary and high school education. I attended seven schools all together (AF brat) and loved school. I have always loved being taught-- I love to be with someone who really knows a subject and wants to transfer that knowledge to me. It feels like the best kind of nurturing. (It's relevant that my home was an emotional wasteland and teachers loved me, God bless them.) I know other people who prefer to make all the discoveries themselves. It's important to them to feel like pioneers. I like standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before me.
So how do homeschoolers deal with the "expert" versus the "amateur seat of the pants one chapter ahead of the class" mentality?
