Differences Between Learning Through Zoom and Homeschooling
Rogelio Valdes
Mar 15, 2021
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Starting in 2020, we all had to rethink how education worked. Schools were forced to adapt quickly so children could keep learning from home, and many adopted platforms like Zoom to replicate what they had already been doing in the classroom. Personally, I believe that simply transferring the same model to a video call fails to take advantage of the real strengths of online education, such as flexible schedules and a more flexible curriculum, but that is a topic for another video.
What matters here is that this system, which almost every child experienced, is now being confused with the idea of homeschooling. Yes, the literal translation of homeschooling into Spanish would be something like “school at home.” But the concept behind homeschooling goes much deeper, and it is very different from simply learning through Zoom. Let me explain.
What homeschooling actually is
Homeschooling, as a concept, means that education is not delivered through the same traditional structure used in schools. One of its biggest advantages, and one of the things I like most about it, is that the curriculum is flexible and chosen by the family, because we know that every person learns differently. It also moves away from the model of one teacher lecturing to a class of thirty children. Instead, there is usually an adult acting more like a mentor and guide, someone who does not necessarily have every answer but helps the student discover those answers. Very often, that role is taken by one of the parents. And most importantly, homeschooling is something families choose intentionally.
Last year, children were forced to learn from home. It was not their choice. And the other parts of homeschooling were not really present either. In other words, the curriculum remained fixed and identical for every student in the same grade, and students were not supposed to move ahead or fall behind. We also kept the same groups of 25 or 30 students per teacher, which was already difficult in a classroom and became even more difficult over video.
And this is not a criticism of schools. They adapted very quickly to a huge global change. The problem is that the model itself has not been a very good experience for many children, and that can distort the way families think about home-based education.
If you are interested in exploring what alternative elementary and middle school models can actually look like, at Robin we are developing a new methodology. You can see more information about our camp at camp.robinacademy.com.
We will also continue publishing content about the legal side of homeschooling, the alternatives families have, and how our own model works. So do not forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel and turn on notifications so you can keep up with everything new we are sharing.
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