Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Huey Rocha and his brother Adam study together at the family's kitchen table. The boys are learning about animals in their homeschooling day.
Homeschooling is an alternative method of education that is on the rise in the United States.
Homeschool is defined by the Nebraska Department of Education as parent-led, and family-funded education of a child at home.
Though homeschooling is generally parent-led, there are a multitude of different programs, ranging from online school to faith-based teaching.
In Nebraska, there is no certain format of teaching that must be used, so parents are free to decide what curriculum works best for them.
Fee Rocha's family is homeschooled in Sidney. Rocha works with her three children on a daily basis and follows a schedule she laid out that best fits her family.
"I have three kids that all learn in different ways," Rocha said. "One is self-driven, one loves to learn through research and the third is a hands-on tactile learner. I personally create a curriculum that works for the kids."
The family's day starts like other students around Sidney. Rocha said she begins class at 8 a.m. and teaches until one p.m.
"This is the time I do any hard instructional curriculum, walking the kids through lessons, and they must finish their work before they can move on," Rocha said.
Even though the subjects taught can vary, there are several subjects that students in a home class room must learn. The "core" subjects that students are required to learn are math, science, social studies and English.
"I like to to throw in extra unit studies," Rocha said. "For example, we are learning about Honey-badgers. I compile questions to go with the video we watch, they answer the questions and then they have to research and write a paper on the subject. My goal is to teach my kids to be self-lead when it comes to learning, I want them to want to learn."
According to the Nebraska Department of Education (NDOE) home schooling is a growing trend. In a study of the 93 counties in Nebraska the top 10 with the greatest number of home school students showed Douglas County, which is the Omaha area, had 2,017 homeschooling students. Followed by Lancaster County in the Lincoln area, with 1,270. Cheyenne County was not on the list but Scottsbluff County had 180 home school students. All show statistic's the DOE said is an increase from previous years.
"There are a good 20 families, that vary in size, that home school in Sidney," Rocha said.
Rocha's children are all in different grades. She teaches fourth, fifth, and ninth on a daily basis, following the typical school week of Monday through Friday.
"I made the decision to start homeschooling when my oldest was in third grade," Rocha said. "She attended public school in California and was struggling. I gave myself six months to see if it was for us and I was hooked, we have been homeschooling ever since."
Homeschooling isn't for everyone, Rocha said, it is a big commitment and Rocha said she has the ability to stay at home with her children and give them the time needed to learn.
Rocha said Nebraska is a no-testing state. There is a set number of hours that students must receive instruction, on an honor system. Homeschooling is also an out-of-pocket endeavor. Where public schools receive funding, making the choice to homeschool means paying for learning materials on your own.
Rocha said there is a lot of homeschooling material and websites available to help ease the process. There are websites that also help keep track of transcripts for the homeschooling parent for re-entering school or upon graduation.
"The presumption is that homeschoolers are uneducated and lack social skills, when in fact, there are a good number of colleges that accept homeschooling transcripts," Rocha said.
Rocha and a group of homeschooling families get together twice a month to socialize the homeschool students from around the area.
"Homeschooling is a personal choice, I am in no way knocking public school, this just works for us. I know what my children need and I work hard to make sure they get a good education," Rocha said. "It really has been a joy to get to know my children on a different level."
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