Anyone here homeschool their children? If so, how are you making that work, and do you plan to continue once you are in medical school and residency?
I’m not a homeschooler (I don’t even have kids), but I am a product of homeschooling - my mom homeschooled me through the end of 5th grade. It was a wonderful experience, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. She was a SAHM (didn’t work outside the home at all during that time, although she returned to work after my siblings and I went to public school).
Looking back on that time, the amount of time and effort my mother put into homeschooling (not only the actual teaching time, but curriculum selection/planning, field trips, etc.), I don’t know how doing that while in medical school / residency would be possible. First of all, you are going to be in class (and/or at work) a LOT. And studying a LOT. From the medical students I know who have kids, it’s challenging enough to make quality time for your kids; I can’t imagine trying to teach them as well.
But as I said, I don’t have kids … this is just my perspective as someone who was homeschooled, and saw how much goes into that. It is something I completely respect and admire, and I look at it as a full-time job, essentially. Medical school is also a full-time job (to say the least). Trying to do both … that just sounds incredibly stressful and exhausting, to put it lightly.
Regardless of what you decide to do, I wish you the best! 
IMHO, there’s absolutely NO way homeschooling can be balanced with either med school or residency.
I made the decision to put med school off until my kid was nearing high school graduation and now that she’s less than a year from that goal, I’m so very glad I did!!! If you feel this strongly about your child(s) education, you should seriously consider doing the same.
- rachelb782 Said:
Anyone here homeschool their children? If so, how are you making that work, and do you plan to continue once you are in medical school and residency?
SLAP! SLAP! Snap out of it!
Homeschool your kids while in med school? Your lucky if you will SEE your kids while in med school. By the time you are thru med school and residency, the image that your have of your children will be ten years younger than they really are because that's the last time you saw them without your mind filled with medical stuff.
Maybe I should have stated that my husband would be doing the homeschooling once medical school started. I’d just be doing it during the pre-reqs. That might have been important info to include…
I still think it would be a stretch as you both will effectively have more than full time jobs occupations.
With medical school, you have class all day and evenings of studying with weekends full of studying as well. Your husband will have the kids all day in homeschooling then the kids most evenings as you will be engrossed in books. when do either of you get a break?
- gonnif Said:
I still think it would be a stretch as you both will effectively have more than full time jobs occupations.
With medical school, you have class all day and evenings of studying with weekends full of studying as well. Your husband will have the kids all day in homeschooling then the kids most evenings as you will be engrossed in books. when do either of you get a break?
With medical school, you have class all day and evenings of studying with weekends full of studying as well. Your husband will have the kids all day in homeschooling then the kids most evenings as you will be engrossed in books. when do either of you get a break?
I concur with this post. Sure it's disconcerting, but without some "people support" outside yourself and your husband, it's right on point.
As an aside, I'm certain that if the OP posts this on that premed site for women, she'll get a VERY different response, one which is about as realistic as the tooth fairy.
- pathdr2b Said:
As an aside, I'm certain that if the OP posts this on that premed site for women, she'll get a VERY different response, one which is about as realistic as the tooth fairy.
What?!? You mean there isn't a tooth fairy? Next thing you're gonna tell me that there is no Santa Claus and Easter Bunny neither!
Kidding aside, logistics of life while going to medical school is often overlooked yet it is, in many ways, the key to success. Planning the impacts of your lifestyle and how you and your spouse both can get breaks before burn out is very important
Hm. You make good points. I never thought about how that might impact my husband’s free time… We’ve talked about it, and I don’t think he considered it either. Also, I have no idea what premed site for women exists.
one of my classmates has 6 children ( 12, 10, 9, 6, 3, 1) and his wife is homeschooling them all. he just helps sometime with math part. I really admire the and hope the we will be able to do it to in the future.
- andrzej Said:
one of my classmates has 6 children ( 12, 10, 9, 6, 3, 1) and his wife is homeschooling them all. he just helps sometime with math part. I really admire the and hope the we will be able to do it to in the future.
With all due respect, comparing a man in med school to a wife in med school is like comparing apples and alligators.
The med school wife will STILL need a "wife" in med school.
- pathdr2b Said:
- andrzej Said:
one of my classmates has 6 children ( 12, 10, 9, 6, 3, 1) and his wife is homeschooling them all. he just helps sometime with math part. I really admire the and hope the we will be able to do it to in the future.
With all due respect, comparing a man in med school to a wife in med school is like comparing apples and alligators.
The med school wife will STILL need a "wife" in med school.
I am shocked, I tell you, shocked to think that sexism and role expectations still exist!
I think I believe in the tooth fairy too!
I am currently homeschooling my oldest son (13 years old). It will be about 3 years before I’m ready for medical school, so he will be a sophomore/junior in high school. If he wants to continue homeschooling I will most likely allow him to do so, but only because he pretty much teaches himself. I couldn’t do it with my younger two.
You will not have time to homeschool your child in med school. I think many of us have unrealistic ideas of the all consuming committment med school requires. As a long-time RN and NP and now a 4th yr med student you have to change your life radically to do this. You must also have a solid support system to do this as a non-trad “older” student. I agree with waiting till your kids are older. Mine is 13 now, very independent and fully supportive of me finishing school. It doesnt help though with those guilt feelings when I am not there for school events and available to help with homework etc. Thank God for a great husband to help get us through
I homeschooled my kids through 6th for my eldest, 3rd grade for my 2nd kid, 1st grade for 3rd kid, and kindergarten for the youngest. I am glad that I did so.
It was pretty easy for K-1st [easier than bringing kids to/from school and jumping through all the hoops that schools require], but became increasingly demanding after that. Add more than one kid and that also adds a lot more stress.
We stopped homeschooling in my husband’s second year of law school. A year of my working full time (12 hr shifts, so 3 weekdays/week home) and homeschooling the 4 of them was way more than enough. And med school is more demanding than law school.
Another point is that not everyone is made out to be a teacher, especially at the grade school and middle school level. Yes, I can teach elementary grammar, but after the 2nd kid it becomes sheer drudgery. Some people can homeschool multiple kids and do it well - once I stopped being a stay at home mom, I lost any chance I had of doing that.
Bottom line, I would not recommend it during medical school unless you have finances to pay for your spouse to stay home the whole time. Even then, med school alone is said to be a pretty intense stress for spouses and families - do you really want to add another significant responsibility to your spouse’s load while you are in school?
I homeschooled for a year and 1/4, as a single mom, working full time as a nurse-midwife, my 6th grader, 8th grader, and 11th grader.
I was in very rural Tennessee, and they were going back with me to Virginia in a year into the VA school system, which was about a year ahead in content. Also, there was a lot of “makework” homework that they were getting no content out of. (write 10 sentences with the spelling words for my 8th grader, who had tested as reading as a 14th grade level (2nd yr college) and spelling at a 12th grade level. Writing sentences with the 8th grade spelling words taught him nothing AND was laborious due to a learning disability that affected his processing stuff into writing.
So, set up lessons with work to do during the day for the younger two (put the oldest in charge), and spent 3 hours instructional time with them in the evening. The oldest one I used a lovely correspondance school which had teachers and was excellent -and helped him with it in the evenings.
I could never have done it during med school. Simply not enough time - the joke is "what is med school like? It’s like “eat, study, sleep…Pick 2”
Kate
I think you can do it. I’m planning on homeschooling my daughter when she gets older (she’s 1 now). There are single women who work full time and homeschool. I know med school is more than full time work, but with your husband’s help and the proper time management I think it is possible. You could look into homeschool co-ops or maybe your mother or other family members can help?
Homeschooling is very time efficient and if you have kids who are self motivated you could get away with about 3 hours of active homeschooling (your husband) a day.
If you figure out a way to make this work, please let me know. I REALLY want to homeschool my daughter. There are several websites for single working mothers who homeschool. And since you are not single but will be in med school I guess it kind of evens out. I feel bad putting my goals in front of what I know is best for my daughter but in the end this is all for her. I live in the Bronx and I figure whatever type of homeschooling I can give her is way better than going to public schools where she will have to ride public transportation to get there and have to worry about being jumped and robbed like when I went to school.