I carefully budgeted for my sons’ education: textbooks, supplies, online and local classes. I thought the cost of my teacher education was research—innumerable hours attending conferences, talking with veteran home-educators, collecting teaching resources, and reading books now considered homeschool classics.
Along the way, someone said, “Mistakes are the real tuition paid by a homeschool teacher.” (Sorry I don’t remember your name, Someone.) What a relief that observation was to me. Tuition doesn’t judge.
The bad news? Tuition is expensive. I made expensive mistakes. Tuition is not refunded if you keep the class. My homeschool mistakes were not erased. What did I do? Like any class, I accepted the bill.
The good news? Tuition didn’t reflect my intelligence or worth as a parent-teacher. I could reduce tuition. I sold expensive curriculum mistakes. As a bonus, guilt left with the item. Someone else’s curriculum mistakes met my needs. I reduced their tuition.
More importantly, I became vulnerable and shared my failures along with my successes. I asked my peers about their failures. Together, we reduced our future tuition.
What is your tuition for this season of life?
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