What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it?
The last thing was a nationwide search for alternative teacher certification programs. I am looking for the fastest and cheapest way to transition into that career in preparation for starting a microschool. And for having a career if that doesn’t pan out.
“Microschool?“ you ask, raising one eyebrow so high it looks like it is trying to merge into your hairline.
Please allow me to momsplain. Microschools are essentially just very small schools, often with a particular purpose. For instance, one of my kids went to an Orthodox Christian school where there were only 5 or 6 kids above the Kindergarten level. It operated a lot like an old-fashioned one room schoolhouse, but with even more religion.
I don’t know if there still is, but there used to be the tiniest French immersion school in Pittsburgh. I am in a couple of entrepreneurial microschool groups on Facebook and have seen a variety of purposes and themes, including specific teaching methods, a school for the gifted, a hybrid online/in-person school, and so on.
As is the case these days, there are plenty of courses, webinars, coaches, etc out there to help you start your own school. One of those offered a free pdf in exchange for my email that was actually quite good for clarifying what you, as a school founder, want to do and why.
I found some value in the parts that made me clarify and elaborate. My “why” is easy though. I have a very bright 9-year-old with ADHD (who scored single digits away from being diagnosed autistic when he was evaluated) and a bright 11-year-old autistic grandkid who can’t read because nobody ever taught her. My mom is teaching her now and she seems to have the aptitude, so I am slightly disappointed with everyone who didn’t even try.
This is an especially meaningful quest for my mom, since she got to 5th grade without being able to read. Her 5th grade teacher noticed and gave my grandmother materials to work with at home while the teacher worked with her at school. She was up to grade level by the end of the year.
I want to be a place for kids to settle when they slip through the cracks. I want a place for those kids to feel like they are okay just as they are. And I want everyone to have an opportunity to reach whatever potential that they have and that they want to.
I’m considering just doing an enrichment program to start with. We’ve been alpha testing on our 9-year-old— mostly just music, Spanish, reading, and math. I am working a good deal of social studies into the Spanish as well.
Anyway, I found useful information on certification in several attractive states. A lot will depend on what kind of program we put together. For instance, PA is awash in cyber schools, and so I don’t think I’d need a certified teacher if what I was offering was a place for kids to do their schoolwork with people on hand to supervise, and then have other in-person activities and enrichment.
The laws vary greatly from state to state for establishing different kinds of educational institutions. I guess I should figure out where I want to be and then figure out what’s next on the agenda.
In the meantime, I have plenty of other work to keep me busy, paying and otherwise.
The Mia Experiment 