Do you have to be smart to homeschool?

First of all, what does smart mean? It means different things to different people. Sure I could whip out the American Heritage but people would still argue about it!!

I know a few highly educated people that hold several degrees. Does this make them qualified to homeschool? Not necessarily! In fact these particular people are probably the last people that should venture into the world of homeschooling!! (I guess there is no question about my feelings on the statement, "Everyone can homeschool." NOT!!!!)

I also know a few people that never graduated highschool. Does this make them un-qualified to homeschool? Not necessarily!

The general public tends to associate fancy documents with intelligence!! That's not how it works folks!

I graduated highschool with an honors diploma, a 3.86 GPA and the president of the German Honors Society. I currently speak about 50 words of German (many of which shouldn't be spoken in mixed company!) and feel like a moron every time the boys and I sit down and work on History! A lot of good those fancy documents do me.

I attended college at a major state university and have enough credit hours for 2 Master's degrees. Although, I never actually earned a college degree because I was too busy taking all the cool classes and none of the "important" classes.

I consider myself a smart person.

What about this makes me smart? My fancy diploma? My IQ? My college credits? What about this makes me qualified to homeschool?

The ability to homeschool is less about the knowledge and education you have and more about your ability to find out the information that is needed. I prefer to think of the homeschooling parent as a facilitator of knowledge instead of a teacher of knowledge. If you know how to find the information and you impart that knowledge to your children then EVERYTHING else is obtainable.

It is not about how much you know. It is about how much you are able to find out.