From School To Homeschool
Demetria Giles has over 15 years of experience in education and is passionate about culturally responsive pedagogy, critical thinking development, and project-based learning. She is the former Director of Curriculum & Instruction at 9th Bridge School, a private early childhood and elementary school located in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. She is also an education consultant and the homeschool mom of a 9-year-old son.
Demetria and I connected on the Clubhouse app and I immediately enjoyed being part of homeschooling conversations with her. She brings abundant knowledge from her years in education but her experience as a mom that has chosen to homeschool her son while working in the school system adds depth to that knowledge. Demetria and I hold very similar beliefs around learning and school and we are both passionate about supporting families on their unique learning journeys.
What You'll Hear In This Episode~From School to Homeschool
I enjoyed this conversation with Demetria and I am looking forward to having more. If you are curious about how you can create and support a life long learning environment for your child, I recommend you take a listen. Here's what we discussed;
- The reasons why Demetria chose to homeschool her son while she continued to work in a brick and mortar school
- The foundation of a great teacher and why it is not a teacher certification
- What supporting life long learning looks like in her family
- Her unique approaches to homeschooling while working full time
- Leading with interests and how to do that when your child's interests are not your own
- How to cultivate big picture thinking
- The importance of free time and play
- Re-framing our ideas of what learning is or should look like
- The depth of video games
- The freedom that homeschooling offers
- Opting out of standardized testing and how kids can still be successful at testing when they are "required" to test
- Overcoming her own obstacles in homeschooling
- From school to homeschool-what she recommends to parents that are just getting started
Demetria and I close out the episode with her thoughts on what she would like to the future of education and homeschooling to look like. I love that not only is she thinking about it, but she is already doing her part to help make that future happen through her consulting and support. If you are a reader that enjoys good books, Demetria also left us with a few reading recommendations. Find those below in the resources.
Resources
Here are a few ways that you can find out more and connect with Demetria:
Instagram~ drosewritings
SchoolED
Clubhouse
As mentioned in episode~ Outschool
Demetria's book mentions
- Homeschool and parenting~ Parenting From The Inside Out by Dr. Dan Siegel
- Learning and Critical Thinking~Think Again by Adam Grant
If you enjoy hearing from educators that begin homeschooling, you may enjoy my episode with Golda David who, like Demgtrira, is an educator and former administrator turned unschooling mom.
If you would like to join our weekly Clubhouse conversations, you can join through here.
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At times I will recommend a product or resource that has added value to myself or our family. Or, I will ask a guest for their recommendation. Sometimes the links I give may contain an affiliate link and when you click to make a purchase from there, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
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