I was a teacher for 7 years in Texas. An active shooter drill led me to quit my job and pull my kids out of school.
Beth McCarter was a classroom teacher in Texas for 7 years.
Gun violence and the school system's disregard for the staff's well-being convinced her to homeschool her two kids.
Her family has now traveled to four continents and consider themselves part-time worldschoolers.
Most people start their workday with a strong cup of coffee and a heavy sigh before checking email. Me? On that particular morning, a few days before my 28th birthday, I was on the grimy floor of a middle school bathroom, heavily pregnant and fighting my way through a panic attack.
Teachers in the US typically start the year off with active shooter drills. Although I'd sat through this kind of training before, that particular morning, which involved watching actual police cam footage, was too much for me.
During the pandemic, my disillusionment with teaching grew. Our suburban district in North Texas decided to abruptly return to in-person classes without consulting teachers. This blatant disregard for our well-being, coupled with inevitable staffing shortages due to illness, heightened my concerns about both my family's safety and the future of public education.
I had taught elementary and middle school for a total of 7 years. But the ongoing threat of gun violence, coupled with our district's willingness to compromise teacher well-being during the pandemic, made me realize it was time for a change.
We were done with the classroom
The decision to leave the classroom and pull my 5-year-old daughter out of school was not made lightly, but it offered my whole family a sense of security that had become increasingly harder for me to find at work.
Removed from public schools, we were less exposed to infections and didn't have to worry about budgeting for extended sick leave. This also removed the ever-present worry of "is today the day an active shooter comes to my campus?"
Although this wasn't what I had foreseen when I set out to be a teacher, we suddenly found ourselves homeschooling.
I was no stranger to homeschooling; in fact, it's how I was educated growing up. My mom homeschooled me both at the kitchen table of our rural Texas home and while on the road. Our flexible lifestyle allowed us to follow my dad's programming job across Texas to Illinois, New York, Florida, and even the UK.
I didn't originally plan for my own career to follow the same route. I had watched how emotionally draining it was for my mom to put her whole life on hold and felt motivated to be financially independent, initially wanting to build my own career outside the home. But my husband and I have found a way to balance our jobs and embrace the opportunity to tailor our children's learning experience.
Travel has been worked into the curriculum.
A year after the pandemic, my husband also left teaching and became an online consultant. Now that all of us were home, we decided to pursue our lifelong travel dreams and headed to France for three months. We even brought our pets, two naughty cats, and our senior yorkie.
Three years later, we have traveled to four continents and plan to visit all seven before the kids graduate. We travel throughout the school year, although we don't act like we're on vacation. We teach the kids and work online just like we would at home.
As part-time worldschoolers, we love immersing ourselves in the current destination. It's exciting to hear our children speak in the local language and eat different foods than they would at home.
What I love about homeschooling is the slower pace of life it offers. There are no rushed mornings or overbooked evenings spent with half the family at soccer and the other half at dance practice. Our kids have all the time in the world to play Lego blocks, draw, read, and run around outside.
Making friends while on the road
Don't get me wrong; homeschooling is not without its challenges. One of our biggest hurdles is that our kids are outgoing and crave social opportunities. We've had to find alternative ways for them to build friendships, such as co-op groups and extracurricular activities.
Darcey is now 7 and involved in several homeschooling groups online, but Ronan, my 5-year-old is not old enough for that. They have both made playground friends around the world and never let the language barrier get in the way of a good game.
Although it might get tough during the teenage years when peer relationships become so important, I'm confident in our ability to meet our kids' social needs and homeschool.
Balancing it out between mom and dad
It's also a challenge to work full-time and homeschool. Both my husband and I work remotely from home and rarely take more than a day or two off while traveling. Routines are messy, and the line between school, work, and play is often blurry.
It's hard on both of us because homeschooling is a 24/7 gig and we don't get as much "us time" as we'd like. Thankfully, he's a supportive partner, and we continuously work together to divide domestic labor and parenting responsibilities evenly.
Ultimately, the decision to transition from public school to homeschool was driven by a desire for a safer, more flexible experience for my family. It was a challenging journey, but one that has ultimately allowed us to regain a sense of control in regards to our family's well-being.
If you are considering leaving public school to homeschool, I highly recommend talking with someone who has gone through it to help you evaluate whether it's a viable choice for your family.
Beth McCarter is a certified teacher and the creator of The Homeschool Graduate.
Got a personal essay about living abroad or parenting that you want to share? Get in touch with the editor: akarplus@businessinsider.com.
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