5 Problems with Homeschool Co-ops

You don't need a co-op in order to homeschool well! In fact, not being a part of a co-op might even contribute to your homeschooling success!

Out of my 18 years of homeschooling, we have only been a part of co-ops for 6 years. The rest of the time we have homeschooled "on our own," and I (mostly) love it! Historically, we have joined a co-op either when we have moved to a new city in order to build community or when a student wanted to take a class which I could or would not teach at home (art and piano). Once we found friends and finished those unique classes, we didn't continue with the co-ops.

Most homeschooling parents seem to think participating in a co-op of some sort is necessary. It's just not. And it is key for parents to do what works for your unique family!

Since it's homeschool co-op sign-up season, here are five ways co-ops might actually have a negative influence on your homeschooling, so you can take these into consideration when you feel all that peer pressure to sign up!

Stay tuned for how to prayerfully discern if a co-op is a good fit for your family if you do decide to go that route and then how to build community if you don't join co-ops!

1. It's a classroom setting.

Some families homeschool, in part, because we don't think classroom settings are the best for our children, and co-ops are essentially classroom settings. Ideally, co-op classes are smaller, which can help with some of the typical classroom issues, but students and teachers still face many of the same challenges.

A classroom teacher has to teach to the average student and is often not able to challenge an advanced student or reach a struggling student, especially in a homeschool co-op that only meets once a week or once every other week.

2. There are unwanted influences.

Another reason many of us homeschool is to protect our children's innocence and virtue until they are well-prepared to resist the sinful temptations of the world. As in any classroom environment, there are behavioral issues which crop up. You can never know which other children will be in class with yours and what influence they will have on your children.

The teachers and leaders can also sometimes be negative influences, depending on their standards of discipline and worldliness. If your child struggles with academics and/or behavior, how they are treated by others can have a lifelong impact, and co-ops don't tend to support these types of learners.

3. Co-ops take time away from homeschooling.

Especially in the elementary years, co-ops often duplicate things we are doing at home and rarely take the place of those things. Therefore, we are just really adding on one more thing to do that we wouldn't be doing if we weren't in the co-op.

Our time is precious, and spending a full day a week tending to non-essential academics or enrichment activities gives us less time to complete the essentials at home. Most importantly, the lack of time can rob us of the margin that brings peace to homeschooling.

4. Co-ops always require parents to give.

Whether through volunteer hours, teaching classes, and/or financial contributions, being a part of a co-op means dedicating some of our resources outside of our family. Being a part of a co-op can be exhausting and draining, leaving mom not as loving at home that day (and/or the day before and/or the day after).

While sometimes this is a worthwhile sacrifice, it's important to weigh the cost. Furthermore, some of the more worthwhile co-op classes are actually much more expensive than other options for teaching the same material at home.

5. The content of the classes might not be worthy of your time.

Let's be honest. Most homeschool co-op teachers are moms without much training, doing the best they can to teach a class that may or may not be a skill or interest they possess. As homeschoolers, we have the opportunity to choose the best content for our children, and often in a co-op setting, they get the luck of the draw.

And even in the upper grades, when we seek the help of a co-op, because the material seems too challenging for us to teach at home, it's common for families to not limit themselves to those few classes which would most be helpful but to fill up their schedule with unnecessary courses just because it's easier, rather than what's best.

 

If you've read this far and are arguing with me in your head, justifying your co-op participation, that's totally fine! Some families should do co-ops some years. But not every family should do a co-op every year. Discern your registration carefully, rather than assuming that it's a requirement to homeschool, and you'll be fine!

Next post . . . 5 Questions to Ask Before Joining a Co-op