For pro-home schoolers only, please?

Kat

2006-11-15 22:07:50 UTC

I think that home-schooling is good for students because the teacher has 100% attention onto the pupil, plus the student would get a better understanding. Instead of a large group of kids where teachers have to often stop because of some of the class is messing around and time is wasted, home-schooling makes it a lot easier in some ways. Some disadvantages may be the kid wouldnt be able to interact with other kids their own age too.

anonymous

2016-03-19 13:04:57 UTC

Are you talking about people your own age or are adults actually unkind to you? I would say that kids your own age are probably jealous. The only problem I have ever had with homeschooling has been the safety issue, but that certainly is not a problem in your case. I would never say anything to a home schooled child or to the parents. It is the family's business. And the education can be much better. As far as the safety: in my state there have been several cases when abusers and molesters have been homeschooling their kids, foster kids, etc. That way a teacher or other responsible person does not notice any bruises, burns, etc. on the child. Also the child has no friends and is isolated from other trusted adults. This is the ONLY problem anyone should have with homeschooling and I realize these cases are rare. It has just been in the news several times locally and it breaks my heart.

Barb

2006-11-17 00:02:14 UTC

1. Well, we didn't pull them out of school. Our children have been homeschooled from the cradle.

2. The public/private schools take away the family-dynamic that we desired to keep strong within our household.

3. :-) We have participated in our children's school from the start. 24/7 at home.

4. Resources -- there are so many things and people available to help us -- we had full confidence that any obstacle could be faced with aid from others.

5. We don't grade their work because we eliminate the variables. They work on math for 100% accuracy every day. They write everyday -- practicing essays and learning to write persuasively and clearly. They read, read, and read --- progressing from one level to another.

6. Objectively grade? Well, the idea is to write every day -- I can check grammar, spelling, punctuation... Painting? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Qualititive --- we strive for that along with the quantitative too.

7. A fall back plan? One day at a time

8. .....not effectively?..... well, we learned over the course of years that as the children learn to study the parents take a backseat -- the student becomes very capable of self-teaching. But yes, we have friends that are wonderful resources for "filling in the gaps". With the hundreds of thousands of books and products available it isn't difficult to find more than enough things that will work with each student's learning style and needs. If one thing isn't working -- adjust and adapt -- move forward.

9. 3 advantages? 1. The student can progress without obstacles in each discipline of study. 2. The student is able to completely master a concept without skating through it and rushing to the next concept -- this develops a better understanding of the material. 3. The student can take all the time needed to work through a difficulty -- in either of math, writing, or reading.

10. 3 public/parochial advantages? 1. Mom can sit and eat bon-bons while watching TV instead of supervising study hours. 2. Mom can chat on the phone for hours on end instead of helping a student with the books. 3. Mom can work full-time instead of being a stay at home mom..... Oh, wait... that's not really an advantage -- at least not for me!

Oh drat! I didn't know it was an essay question!!! I didn't answer it in the proper format. Do you want me to start over? ;-)

Nah, it's not yucky. It is a great exercise in thinking about WHY we do what we are doing. And no, i don't think that it would help to call you mean names. Your questions are very fair and worthwhile. If you were mean or rude in the past I do hope that you are willing to be nice now!

BTW: Home schools have many glitches and bobbles. We learn to work through it all together. Our students are not "super-human" or above anyone -- they are just kids like any others out there.

Have you ever considered visiting a conference put on by home-school organizations? Or even take a field trip to a curriculum sale --- you will be amazed at the enormity of material, the variety of methods, and the kaliope of people. Every one is different!

In Oregon the NW Curriculum Exhibit fills up a large room in the Colisseum -- with hundreds of tables with everything from educational games to college level text books. There are thousands of people that attend pulling wagons and carts to be filled with the things they plan to use to teach their children for the coming year.

answer faerie, V.T., A. M.

2006-11-16 12:55:52 UTC

I didn't pull my child out, he's never been to a school.

He's three and very quickly learning to read, can pretty much count to 100, knows that it gets dark because the earth turns, and that plants grow from seeds. He recognizes the flag and Statue of Liberty, and is also learning some basic civics. (we discussed voting during the elections).

We do art projects at home, go for walks and collect fall leaves. He puts together 24 piece jigsaw puzzles and we play board games. We cook and he does several household chores. We go to museums, Celtic and Renfaires, zoos and parks. He loves Jazz and we also listen to folk, classical, Celtic music and rock. He takes a martial arts class, and has taken soccer and arts classes.

I chose to educate him at home to give him a flexible, broad and cultured education. I'm an atheist but we can study all the worlds religions from an anthropological point of view.

I believe I have the language and research skills to teach my child, and his father can help when his math skills exceed my own. I think it's good for children to see their parents as lifelong learners as well. Studies have shown that even home schoolers with less educated parents do well. I believe that is due to the intensive nature of the small teacher to child ratio afforded home schoolers.

I want my child to be well rounded, and many schools have cut arts programs. Much of what's offered in the way of physical education (in those places where such programs still remain) are geared toward competitive children and not inclusive of children with less aggressive natures, which I find counter-productive. At home I can teach my child that everyone can find a physical activity that they can enjoy to keep them fit.

I want my child to have time to pursue his own interests, rather than filling his time with repetitive busywork. At home he can learn through play and the world will be his classroom. He can study when he's feeling focused and break for play when restless. He can learn practical skills and spend a week reverse engineering household items. Later he can apprentice with artists or craftspeople, or volunteer in our community. We can study languages other than Spanish or French.

I know I didn't complete the assignment as dictated, I just poured out my thoughts on why I homeschool. No time to edit, we're off to the park to play soccer.

Melissa C

2006-11-16 05:23:40 UTC

My son is being home schooled due to extreme devolpemental delays due to a brain stem tumor.He is 12 with an IQ of 49.He has the abilities of a 4 yr old.There was nothing wrong with the public school for the exception there wasn't enough resourses for him to have a private aid who could work with him one-on-one.He attended K-5 in public school.I was a very active parent volunteer in his school.

I had to have faith in myself that I could help him.As for grading his work yes I am very objective.I often helped a teacher grade papers while volunteering at his school.His handwriting will never be up to par but at least he can sign his name and won't have to make a X for his siginture.He can read on a 1 graders level which he wasn't doing whn we began this year.

As for a fall back plan our only other optoin would have been to send him back to public school.Fortunatlly, for us it has worked out beautifully.This is our first year.

Advantages of public school are very difficult for me to name.While I can't say anything bad I really can't say anything positive.While he had wonderful teachers they just couldn't give him what he needed.He missed 37 days of school due to illness last year and was never required to make up any of the work.Yet he was passed to the next grade.

Home schooling has given him the oppurtunity to have one-on-one help.We will work on something untill he can unerstand it.It has been very hard for me to except that he will always be a child.What parent could possibly want to deal with that?

It is a joy to hear him read out loud and know what he is reading about.When he learned simple multiplacation tables I was thrilled.

Now, that's was a tall order but I won't call you a poopy head.LOL

Thank you for trying to understand the other side.

mtgirl118

2006-11-20 07:49:00 UTC

I am a homeschooled 8th grader.

Why did you choose to pull you kids out of school and home school them?

My parents choose to pull me out of school for 8th grade because I was not being challenged by the work prepared for me at my old school.

What was wrong with the public/private schools? Why didn't you try to change these problems by participating in your children's school?

My parents liked my school. This was not the problem. The problem was the academics. The work was not at my level. When I was in 7th grade, my estimated reading level was 10th grade. However, the books we had to read for school were about a 5th grade level. This made me bored and unhappy in school.

What made you believe you could do an adequate job teaching?

I am enrolled in an umbrella school, so if I have a problem I can call up the umbrella school and they will answer my questions. This was a nice back up plan in case they couldn't help me with something. This reassured them.

How to do you grade your children's work? Can you objectively grade your son's/daughter's writing/penmanship/painting? (not the math or spelling, the objective stuff is easy, I mean the quailitaive stuff)

The umbrella school grades my tests.

Did you have a fall back plan when you started? What did you plan to do if you could NOT effectively teach your children?

My parents planned on sending me back to my old school if this didn't work out.

Can you name 3 advantages of home schooling?

More free time for the whole family, Challenging academics, Closer family

Can you name 3 advantages of public/parochial school?

Sports...............that's it.

I will be attending a local private Catholic high school for high school. However, if that doesn't work out, I will go back to homeschooling. I will then enroll in one class in the local tech school and homeschool for the rest of the subjects. That way, I can be on their school sports teams and also participate in their extracurricular activites, but still homeschool.

Ellen Marie

anonymous

2006-11-20 12:36:00 UTC

I didn't pull my Son out of a public school.He never went to regular school in the first place. I homschool my son because I was born and raised in this town. And almost everyone I know that has been raised in this school system including myself. Has had nothing but trouble.I personally know some children whom were attacked on school grounds with knifes and one was raped.And all of the children I speak of are under the age of 10. The one whom was knifed was forced to ride the school bus with the offender less than a month after the offence. The school board refused to do anything because the boy's mother threated to claim that the school board was racist. Which the victum was a 7 year old white girl. But the charges were filed because she was stabbed not because the offender was a 10 year old black boy.All except for 6 of the students on the bus were black and the boy's mother still tried to make the same claim even after the other kid's parents asked to have him removed from school.They let him stay because they didn't want an accusation like that floating around.I also have a nephew whom was assulted by the highschools star basketball player and had the princapial tell my sister and myself that he flat out wasn't going to do anything because the team needed him. And if we pushed the matter he would find a reason to throw my nephew out of school.And the teacher whom witnessed the assualt had her job threatned and eventually got transfered to anthor school. The princapial said he wanted her out of his school because she challagend his authority and he wasn't going to have that.I also homeschool my son because he has sever asthma and is in and out of the children's hospital and wouldn't be able to attend school everyday.After really bad attacks he could miss has much as 1 month from school at a time. I would put him in a private catholic school we have one of the best in the country. Just down the road from me.But again he would miss to much time and not be able to keep up.has far has trying to make a change We parents have tried to make changes but the school board here prefers to stick their heads in the sand and pretend like nothings wrong.And you can't change something you don't acknowledge. I truely feel that the public school board in my county and The magarity of it's teaching staff aren't fit to teach my kitten to use the litter box.Has for has my qualifications I have more education than most of the teachers in this place. I am also very inteligent. I am self taught.I was pulled out of our public school system at 8 years old because of the inability to educate properly.When I was in school they didn't have all of the advanced classes they have now and I was forced to be in 3rd grade with other kids my age when I was reading,writing,spelling and doing math and grammer on an 8th grade level.I didn't better teaching myself then the school system did. I must have been a good teacher. I managed to finish high school get a diploma and finish my collage courses in legal studies with a 4.0 GPA.And it took me 9 months to get a two year degree.And I know I am being a good teacher to him. Because he is in 3rd grade and tests out on 5&6th grade levels.

Jessie P

2006-11-16 05:29:17 UTC

1. My children have never attended a public school. We toured our home elementary school, I asked questions of the parents that have their children in that school, and we said "no thanks".

Our home elementary school is known to tolerate violence from its students. In fact, the boy next door has been known to strangle other children, and stab them with pencils, and I could go on, but I won't. I was NOT going to let my children be subjected to that in their classrooms. Not only that, but 33% of my city's schools are failing in requirements. 33%!!!!!!!!

2) I have a Master's Degree, and that is more education than many/most of the public school teachers in my area. I have always been intelligent and good with children. I have worked with children for years. I use the answer key to grade my children's work, and believe me, I can be very objective. Just ask my 8 year old why he has to keep re-writing his work over and over.

3) Our only fall back plan is that when my husband finishes school (next May), we may consider private school. Since my children are doing well emotionally, socially and academically, there is no need for a further fall back plan.

4) Advantages (homeschool)-my children get one on one attention, they aren't just a means for a school to collect cash. They learn BOTH sides of a story, not just the PC version. They are not exposed daily to kids with their pants around their ankles, sex talk and cursing.

Advantages (public)-it''s free. Sometimes the teachers DO actually care, and are good. (I had about 6 in all my public school years) The sports and extracurriculars are free. Sorry, I was public schooled, and that's all I could think of.

lilybornagain

2006-11-17 18:28:26 UTC

I had two sets of children several years apart. My older children attended public school throughout their lives (although one of them eventually homeschooled starting at 11th grade by request). We were living in a large city, at the time. Gangs started to pop up, metal detectors were going up at the schools, girls were getting knifed in the bathrooms by other girls over boys, drug deals were made by kids throwing paper wads around the class with the drugs inside. There was an influx of non-English speaking students which placed a further burden on the school system. I saw the older children struggle to survive each day -- just making it home alive was a huge victory -- and it was clear they were being influenced by their peers in some damaging ways. And this was all supposedly in an upscale community. We did attend several school support meetings and found the teachers fearful and discouraged -- many of the veteran teachers telling us they were getting out of the teaching field at the year's end. Replacing those veteran teachers were young, inexperienced teachers who were simply unable to make effective change. The lessons were dumbed down just to get kids to pass -- no real learning was taking place. As the two younger children were approaching school age, and I saw their innocence, I didn't have the heart to put them in school. Private school wasn't an option. My husband and I are well-educated -- 14 years in publishing on my part; my husband was a chief engineer in naval research. A radio program came on that spoke about homeschooling. Something clicked for me, and I began to do the research -- spent two years learning about it before actually doing it. There were a lot of sacrifices to be made -- living on one income, choosing home over career, learning to be a teacher, organizing the home, doing the research, making the lesson plans, planning for socialization, budgeting, etc. It all took time, and each year I learned something different and improved. My younger children were thriving and maintained their innocence and went on to become successful in public high school (after we moved out of the city). Our family bond became strong. Testing each year proved that the academics were being learned and mastered. When you have the kind of motivation that we had -- true concern for our children's safety -- it's amazing what you can do. In our later years of homeschooling, we formed a cooperative with 5 other families -- each mother taking a turn teaching a particular topic one day per week while the other mothers and younger children socialized. We did science projects, dissections, history lessons, dramatizations, field trips, book reports, etc., together as a group -- including themed dinners that centered around learning other cultures. Those were the best years of our 12 year homeschooling experience, and these friendships continue even though most of our children are now grown, have college plans or are in public high school. Each of these families has avoided the pitfalls with drugs, rebellion, teen pregnancy, etc., and they are standing out in the community as responsible and well-liked young adults. I wouldn't trade those years for anything, and I treasure the closeness that has cultivated between myself and my children. It took all of that time together to create it -- and it never seemed like work or sacrifice. When they tell stories about their childhood, I'm not hearing about it second-hand -- I was there enjoying it with them, and I'm in each one of their stories. To me, that's what homeschooling is really all about.

paige

2006-11-17 12:54:51 UTC

My word, what a long question......Okay, my parents decided to home school my brother and I because of all the junk that is taught in public schools. i.e. all that evolution, stuff on abortion, handing out contraceptives in middle schools and homosexuality. Not to mention all the peer pressure to have sex, do drugs, drink, smoke etc... I have heard sooooooo many stories from friends who do go to public school about what goes on and I am SO thankful that my parents loved me enough to teach me at home and away from all of that. So there's your answer.......poopy head.

K&E4life

2006-11-16 06:49:48 UTC

Well, buddy, its like this. I cant really relate to my mother teaching me. cuz she hasn't really done it since I was younger. I do a homeschooling/private school program called the Morningstar Academy. I think that this is the best option for homeschooled children. one advantage is that its a one on one education process. Which helps one concentrate on wtf they should be learning. The public schools today are going down hill with countless acts of violence. Shootings, fights....etc. Now when I first started homeschooling like about 7 years ago, I thought that my skills to interact with other ppl would be less then perfect. but see I was wrong. HOMESCHOOL IS FINE IF U GET UR DAMN KID OUT IN THE WORLD AND HANG WITH FRIENDS AND ALL THAT. Im not even lying when I say that Im pretty damn popular. Im am in 10th grade and I couldn't have a better life. the weird thing is that I know like 7 highschools around here in and out. and ppl know me at each and every one of them. So my point is homeschooling is fine as long as u get the kid some interaction with others.

If you want you may check out my school website: www.themorningstaracademy.com this is so much better then having a parent teach you. its real teachers and you can actually talkl to other ppl enrolled in the school.

Anna M

2006-11-15 23:49:32 UTC

And YOU have how many children? And how much experience with home school study?

I home schooled my son, and will home school my daughter. I also home schooled my youngest brother, two of my siblings children and a friends child, all from pre-K to 5th grade.

I feel home school is important in early ages..........after establishing a formal foundation I will allow my children to attend a private school.

Let me address your questions:

Q: Whys did you pull your kids out of school..........?

A: I never enrolled them in the first place. Home school began from birth. My 2 year old can say her ABC's, knows her home address and phone number, recites the first 7 lines of the Constitution, knows all her colors and can draw a smiley face. And in case you don't know the common apptitude of a two year old, that is rare!

Children draw, but to draw and release in order to dot eyes?

Q: What was wrong with public/private....?

A: Violence, corporal punishment, pier pressure, gangs,

insificient core curriculum, teachers that can't pronounce,

diction/language or correct usage, the letter "r" is NOT

pronounced "r'ar" slang words, negative

student apparel, removal of prayer, .......

Q: Changing the rules by participating?

A: Schools are not governed by "parents" but by politics!

Q: What made you think you could do an adequate job?

A: My educational level exceeds requirements to teach basic

skills to pre-k through 12th grade. College grad, sub taught

4th grade for a period of time. My personal desire to give the

most advantage to my children and family via self discipline,

self respect, moral judgement and individual character and

individualism.

Q: How do you grade your childs work?

A: You want the best for your child, you must remain impartial

and concerned for the greater education of your child.

Q: Do you have a fall back plan?

A: Home study IS the plan! It requires as much preserverence

and steadfastness as any task of great venture.

Q: What is your plan if you could not effectively teach your

child?

A: Public/private teachers come up against hard to teach and

learning disabled or difficult students every day! (ADD,

ADHD, children of broken homes, gay children, children with

identity problems, disabled children and many catagories

that "teachers" are not equipped or trained to handle.Those

teachers pass them on to "special ed" classes, alternative

schools and pass out ISS (in school suspension) to avoid

what it takes to nurture the individual child due the class size

and what I denote as "I don't get paid enough" to do this!

My plan, as should be anyone that undertakes the education

of their own child, is to stick to the convictions that I/you

make to give and afford the opportunities to that child that you

believe would compliment them as a person.

Q: Can you name 3 advantages of home school?

A: I can name many: One on one teaching, individual thought,

personal persuit, patience when patience is due, addressing

special needs, varied studies, personal interests, character

building, moral teachings, open forum, subject selection and

planning your childs future.

Q: Can you name 3 advantages to public/private/parochial

schools?

A: Not a one..................

This was a long one, as you said. I trust that those that are qualified to home school will do so. For those that want to home school for vaious and no-productive reasons, I would say to re-think what you are up against. It is no easy task to educate anyone, much less your own child.

Are you a "poopy head" for asking? NO!

Terri

2006-11-16 06:01:36 UTC

Sorry, you lost me at "I've been bashing..."

I don't play with bashers.

And the reason I don't is because, although basher's favorite song is "You are so narrowminded," it always seems the basher are the ones that refuse to look beyond their noses at a situation they are unfamiliar with.

My personal experience is that it does not matter what I say, a basher is usually never interested in the other side, instead, when they say things like "I'm just curious..." they are just simply gathering "evidence" against me.

So why on earth would I give you my testimony if all you're going to do is trash it?

Even you "list" of "questions" is argumentative.

I still cannot figure out why anti homeschool people think that homeschool parents "owe" it to anyone to explain themeselves.

Why aren't people demanding that publicschool parents explain themselves?

Why aren't people standing outside daycares demanding that moms explain why they think it is beneficial to have their kids in daycare facilities 13 hours a day?

Why do people like you even care how we raise our kids?

Why can't you research and look at the evidence?

Why are you so narrow minded?

Why do you think this is any of your business?

What happened to you to make you so critical of others?

Why do you think it is in your realm of authority to stand in judgment over others?

And poopy head is way too good for bashers, so I will not waste that term on you!

Karen

2006-11-16 00:42:49 UTC

Why did you choose to pull you kids out of school and home school them?

Long story sorry. In kindergarten my ds' teacher wanted to retain him because he couldn't read, and he was a head taller already than the other kids, so I taught him to read. She said she would pass him but he would struggle, so keep working with him and I did. In 1st grade, the teacher asked me to tutor my son with his handwriting and math. Near the end of 1st grade, the IEP panel asked me to preteach his language arts. Plus my ds had been having stomach aches and crying each day throughout 1st grade because of the stress. He is autism spectrum and dyslexic. The public school does not have any dyslexic programs for children in my state and told me at the IEP meeting to take him to a $6000 private program which we can't afford. (They said this after the meeting off the record; I assume so they wouldn't be held responsible for any costs of course.) Anyway, at that point I was basically almost homeschooling anyway, and he was under so much stress at the school and we felt we had almost no choice but to homeschool him. My son had been asking to homeschool for the last few months before this also.

What was wrong with the public/private schools? Why didn't you try to change these problems by participating in your children's school?

I don't know that anything is necessarily "wrong" with the public/private schools. The schools deal with an enormous amount of children, and in Florida are limited by the fact that taxpayers do not want to spend much money (we are one of 6 states with no state income tax), many are senior citizens that have already educated their children in other states and may have limited incomes. Given that our state is 45th or so in educational funding and about 45th in educational quality, I would say, that is probably about expected for the funding level. I wish our state would put more money into education, and have voted for every increase in taxes for education that has come up on the ballot.

The only criticism I will offer is that I think that public/private school from what I've seen is maybe best for the 80 or 85% of the kids that are in the middle or average of the classroom ability level. I think some kids on the fringes, i.e. special needs and/or gifted may do really great with homeschool. My ds was really alternately stressed and/or bored with school as a LD/gifted child and as gifted kids my bro and I were bored for years in schools. I think it is tough for any one schooling option to be the perfect option for every child, whether it be homeschool, public school, or private school.

My husband and I did participate in the schools. My husband was on the school board for two years, during my son's 1st grade year (that we had many of these problems), and the following year that we were homeschooling. I helped him with some of his projects since he has always been very busy at his regular job. I was active as a school parent in the classroom during my son's school years, and of course now during his homeschooling. I would imagine all homeschool parents tend to always be involved parents whether they are homeschooling or not.

What made you believe you could do an adequate job teaching?

I do have a Master's degree in Elementary Education and a semester's worth of Special Education, although I think you can hs without teaching degrees. I certainly don't know every topic in history or science, and enjoy learning what I don't know and/or remember along with my children. I think enjoying learning is probably one of the best traits of a good teacher. I have a very strong desire to teach my children and have them become successful and happy adults (which is a goal I am still working towards).

How to do you grade your children's work? Can you objectively grade your son's/daughter's writing/penmanship/painting? (not the math or spelling, the objective stuff is easy, I mean the quailitaive stuff)

I do grade math, I actually just have the children do all their work until it is correct, so all their Math papers are A papers I guess. Writing and Art and those kind of opinion kind of subjects to me are a pass/fail kind of subject and I think the schools should probably do that too (wish I could make up all the rules)!

Did you have a fall back plan when you started? What did you plan to do if you could NOT effectively teach your children?

We had planned to put my son back in school if it didn't work out and also do a reevaluation every year, but what really happened is my son has refused to go back and insists he wants to homeschool now until college, so we really have not been reevaluating anymore, he's just stubborn about not going back! He is 13 now so possibly may change his mind later, but I don't know because he is pretty darn stubborn once he makes up his mind!

Can you name 3 advantages of home schooling?

(1)Individualized homeschooling; I teach my children at just the right level for them, not too hard or too easy. I also use their interests. My son currently loves history and mythology; my daughter right now loves dragons, human body, science, and dinosaurs, so that's what we're learning a lot about.

(2) Homeschooling year-round when you want is great for us. My dyslexic son needs to homeschool frequently or he forgets (has short-term memory issues), but because we homeschool year round we also take several mini-breaks throughout the year also whenever we feel stale, so we don't get any burnout like you sometimes get at the end of a long stretch of public or private school.

(3) Learning is fun. We use fun books, fun games, fun computer games if something is really boring; we generally won't do it for very long. There are a lot of great resources out there now that are fun, interesting, and educational; you don't have to use boring old basal textbooks anymore. Plus, learning is everywhere: the computer, the floor, the couch, etc.

Can you name 3 advantages of public/parochial school?

(1) Public school is free.

(2). Private school limits their admission policy to the best-behaved children usually. They can have very high academic standards.

(3) Teachers are very hard-working individuals and do not get paid enough!

Bethie

2006-11-16 09:41:31 UTC

First, let me thank you by at least attempting to try and understand.

I went to public school until I was 16. After age 16 my mother let me quit school (it was illegal to homeschool way back then) and chose to homeschool me instead. I learned more being homeschooled for those last few years than I did in all my years of public school. I interacted with a variety of people from all shapes, sizes, colors, backgrounds, religions and I feel I became a better person because of it. Before homeschooling I hated school and I was very shy and withdrawn. I associated learning with the horrors of school. I had an abusive teacher, the children were mean and cruel for no reason except I wasn't a part of their click. I was in a fight and at the Head's office almost on a daily basis.

My mother taught me to have a passion for learning that has lasted a lifetime. We became very close and I found out she was not only a great mother but a wonderful and intelligent person. We went for walks in the woods, walked through museums, graveyards, I learned local history and developed a passion for ancient civilizations and history in general. She taught me that whatever I wanted to know, there was a way to learn.

So that is some background information on me and it gives you an idea on my beliefs.

1. My son is dyslexic. He had a 2nd grade reading level in the 3rd grade. In the 5th grade he still had a 2nd grade reading level. During a meeting with his Special Ed teacher (who by the way was quick to say she had been teaching SE for over 20 yrs) told me that my son would never learn anything past the 2nd grade reading level because of his dyslexia. This was in front of my son. His regular classroom teacher after several months of having my son..knowing she was sending him to the special ed classroom and taught in an "inclusion" classroom..asked me if he might need glasses because of his reading habits. I told her he had difficulty reading due to the fact that he was dyslexic..she then said to me..OH I DIDN"T KNOW THAT!!!!!! They tried to convince me to put my son on ridlin (unsure of spelling) because they felt it would help him focus (last time I checked you don't put a dyslexic on drugs.) THAT is the problem with the public school my children had to attend.

I volunteered for the reading program at the school to teach children with learning difficulties. I was at the school at every meeting (even requesting my own several times to try and work this out), was on first name basis with the teachers, and tried very hard to get my son a better education. My son suffered from migrains, was made fun of all the time because of his learning differences, he was beat up and came home bruised and crying almost everyday. His life was hell.

2. If there is something I cannot teach my son I find someone who can. I am an intelligent human being and I hang out with others that are teachers, managers, business owners, craftsman, etc..they are intelligent people as well. They can help me and have on several occasions. Its called mentoring.

3. I now use a charter school (online) for both my children and their teacher grades their work. BUT, for five years I did it on my own. Yes, I can be objective because I WANT my children to do well in the outside world. In fact I am probably harder on them.

4. Yes, I could have always sent him back to public school if I failed as a teacher.

5.

a. My children get to learn at their own pace.

b. If there is a subject that really interests them we can work on it for a few extra days or even weeks if need be.

c. I KNOW the ideals and morals of the people who are teaching my children. Plus, they KNOW my children because they have been to my house for dinner, watched movies and ate popcorn. We have been to their house to dinner....

Those are only three there are plenty more.

6. You know, I'm sitting here thinking about it and can't really think of anything that is better about public school. Except, not everyone has the patience and time to homeschool their children. It is great for a parent who can't take the time to teach their child (please note I said can't not won't), for a parent who is uneducated themselves, or for the child whos learning style forms to the learning style of school and excells.

Homeschooling is not for everyone...but it is sometimes the best thing for some. I recommend at least trying it if you can because you get to actually know who your child is. You watch them grow and learn instead of leaving that to someone else for 8 hours a day.

On a side note...My son is now in the 10th grade and has a 8th grade reading and comprehension level. He helps coach a little league hockey team. He belongs to several sports leagues, plays guitar and drums, is active in his church, and wants to go to college to be a math teacher.

anonymous

2006-11-16 11:54:43 UTC

Why did I pull my kids?

Well, My oldest I HS'd preschool and K. Then we moved to a small rural community. I enrolled him in public school. And the my 2nd started in K after him. I also was a volunteer in the classroom, and then started substitute teaching, (as did my dh). My 2 children attended this public school for 3 years while we lived in that community. I trusted their teachers and the principle, I had no problem with the public school.

We then moved to a very large city (Las Vegas) this school district is one of the largest in the country. My 2 children attended the public school here for 2 years. I was a parent volunteer and was active in their classrooms. Those 2 years they attended the public school I saw them digress educationally, socially and emotionally. My dd struggled with reading. I would talk to her teacher about it constantly. Her teacher insisted she was not below the "level" of what was considered OK for her grade. That was the year that math was being pushed so they could do well on the standardized tests. Their teacher openly admitted that math was most important and the scores on the standardized math tests had to be good so the school could keep their rating!! So my dd regressed in reading, but that was OK as long as the standardized math scores looked good!

I gave the school system a chance and it was very apparent to me and my dh that it was not working!

Believe me, I worked with the school to try to talk with them about changing the problems I saw. The teachers seemed to be on my side, but could only make comments to me "off the record" so to speak. They too saw the flaws but told me they saw not way out. My ds was in the gifted and talented program at this same public school. He has a high IQ. The teacher of this program asked me to apply for the magnet program because she did not want to see him have to go the the regular middle school. She knows how bad the middle school is and was trying to get him to a better program! The magnet school works on a lottery system, we were accepted but our number was not drawn. When I told his teacher I was considering hs'ing, she was very pleased with that decision. When word got out that I was going to hs, I had several teachers "off the record" tell me what a great choice it was and they wished more parents could do it!!

So that is why I pulled my kids, sorry for the long story but I think you sincerely want to understand why some families choose this.

Q-Can I adequately do this?

A- I have a BA and my dh has a MA. But there are areas that I know are not my expertise. I choose to belong to a hs support group that gives us opportunities to teach our children in a co-op setting. That way my children are in classroom type settings with other parents as teachers and they are recieving quality instruction on subjects that not my strong point. I would be at fault if I said I could do it all and do it all perfectly.

Q- How do you grade their work?

A- They write letters to relatives, if their penmanship is not legible, Grandma will write back and tell them she had trouble reading the letter. Sometimes they need to hear that from someone other than Mom. As far as art projects, they share these with everyone that comes to the house and sometimes they take them over to relatives to share. Art is subjective even in the real world. I think the compliments they get boosts their self esteem, even if they are not to become world renown artists.

Q- What is your fallback plan?

A- This is now THE plan. I am very flexible and willing to try any method, curriculum, program, whatever until I find the one that works with my children. Not all children learn the same, that has been proven many times. Our local news did a report on how the public education system is set up to teach girls. How the teaching methods of the classroom cater to the typical learning style of a girl. This is a hot topic, and I won't go into detail right now. Just do a little research if you want to know more.

Q- Advantages of hs'ing.

A- My children socialize more now that they are out of public school. They would spend the day in the classroom, only had 1 recess, then come home with 3, yes at least 3, hours of homework (in grade shcool). They sent their afternoon/evening doing more busy work (and the teacher often never even looked at it or corrected it......wow I have stories about that too!!) It was very stressful for them and for me.

Now school is completed by 2:00. They do not have to stress about homework. They can enjoy lots of extra-curricular activities and have fun just being a kid!

With the hs group we are a part of, they have the chance to play sports through a local private school. My kids have played volleyball and football. They are allowed on all their sports teams, and they can participate with the private school's spelling and history bees. We also are invited to attend all of the school assemblies.

We have the chance to attend filed trips that pertain to what they are studying. In public school, there was only 1 feild trip offered in 2 years of school. We can study in depth on any topic that interests them. They learn more information and get a broader understanding of most things we study.

I could really go on and on but I feel like I'm rambling!

Q- advantages of public school?

A- cheaper lunches, a quiet house for 8 hrs a day, less housework since there are no kids messing things up

I have a good friend who is a public school teacher. She understands why I hs, and she supports me. She even helps me out with suggestions, strategies, and grade level helps.

I hope you have the opportunity to see some of the reasons we hs, and why it will give our children more opportunities and result in a more well-rounded childhood.

Please understand that most hs families truly care about their children's education and development. Yes, there are those families that are homeschooling and doing it very poorly. I am concerned for the children in those homes. But these are the minority. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! On the reverse you can say there are many children in public schools that end up graduating and can't read. There are children that go through the public school system and never make it in college.

When evaluating hs'ing you have to look at both sides of the issues and determine if it is right for your family. Is it right for every family? No. Is it right for our family? Yes!

Oh I just realized Ididn't even mention the number of times hand guns have been brought into the public elementary and middle schools so far this year, and one school bus was shot at on the way to school! It is truly scarey!!

Quicksilver

2006-11-20 15:14:45 UTC

I was a home schooled child. My mother had no intention of homeschooling me, but I learned to read by the time I was 3 (at my own insistence) but I couldn't hold a pencil by the time I was ready for school. They were going to put me in a class that learned the alphabet, but I was already reading at the 3rd grade level. That is why my mother started homeschooling me.

Nothing is wrong with the public or private school system, individual schools may need some evaluation, but as a whole, I believe they work, but some children need a more tailored environment. The school system tends to be designed for a certain type of child, it's not a custom fit and it cannot, as excellent as the teachers are, mold to each and every child. Homeschool offers this perfect fit teaching. Every parent knows their child and is able to teach to the way their child learns best. Most parents are great teachers because they want their children to excel in life and won't let their children do less than their best. This is why homeschooled children test so high on ITBS tests and win national contests like the spelling and geography bee nearly every year.

Throughout my homeschool experience we got involved with the school system as much as the system would allow. Some areas I lived in were much more receptive to the homeschooling community than others. At some points in my education I was also sent to private schools. I enjoyed this time in the school system, but over all as I look back I really enjoyed the freedom that being homeschooled gave me much more than the rigid structure I was forced to comply with in school.

My mother is an avid learner. She never finished 6th grade, but she never stopped learning for an instant. She always tried to make every waking moment a "teaching" moment. I always hated it, but it made her a great teacher. She would make supper into a science lesson, road trips into geography lessons, goldfish crackers into a math lesson (with yummy rewards to boot!) and my favorite hobbies into history lessons. I couldn't get away from her teaching.

She graded my work like any teacher, and as far as penmanship and other qualitative stuff, can any teacher grade objectively? It's practically impossible. I taught for a year and had to teach an art class and despised it because I had to assign a numeric value to something that is based in talent and personal taste. When something qualitative needed a grade, my mother would assess the amount of effort I put in and how much I had developed.

My mom never had any qualms with offering to put my sister and me in school whenever we wanted. Sometimes our situation required us to be in school, sometimes it required us to be in homeschool, we just went with the flow. She often asked us if we wanted to attend school and let us make the decision.

Six advantages to homeschooling as I see them:

1. Flexibility. You can make your own schedule, bend it, and tweak it, whatever, no need to go chapter by chapter in the textbook as long as you cover all the information.

2. Vacations. You can take them whenever it's convenient and even if it's a really long vacation, you can take your school with you and not miss a single day.

3. No cliques. My homeschool friends never had peer pressure issues. We all accepted each other for what we were. In every homeschool environment I have been involved with (and there have been quite a few) I found the kids to be very accepting. They talk easily with adults, kids, anyone, and they don't care if you're a punk rocker or a cowboy. Cliques are virtually non existent and it's a much easier find your place.

4. NO BUSY WORK! Your parent knows you and doesn't assign homework that isn't productive... the flip side of this is you are actually challenged and you can't just goof off...

5. You never know what will happen at school. Learning is always an adventure. Whatever you make it to be, that it is.

6. You are responsible for your own learning. You learn quickly that your education is your own responsibility, not something that happens to you.

Six advantages of public/parochial school as I see them:

1. August-June. You know when school starts, you know when you finish, and whatever you do between those times determines your grade.

2. Snow days. You can't have a snow day if you're already going to school at home.

3. There are opportunities for field trips without a specific educational purpose. I went to a ball game with my schools, a play or two, the water park, and several other field trips. Every field trip I took in homeschool had some kind of educational purpose behind it. A trip to the ballpark meant learning averages, and the water park would end up as a physics lesson.

4. A public or private school is socially acceptable. No one will shrink back in horror if you say you attended a "regular school" but they may pity, shun or assume you are socially inept you if you tell them you are/were homeschooled.

5. You know for a fact how each day is going to go. Sometimes it's nice to be able to predict your day.

6. Your mom isn't your teacher. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. Your mom knows you the best, but then again, do you always want that? Your school teacher might have a different perspective that your parents didn't see.

I loved my years in school, but I also loved my years as a homeschooled kid. I'm very proud of my mother for teaching us at home. She now has a master’s degree in teaching and is currently teaching in a private school not much bigger than my homeschool class. She is a fabulous teacher. No other teacher I ever had gave me real world experience like she did. Because of her, I knew exactly why I needed math, why science was important to the real world and who needs geography. The teachers I had at school were able to give me lots of information, but it was my mother who made the pieces fit.

Without homeschooling I would have never had the opportunity to travel to 25 countries on 5 continents before I turned 18, be in a mentorship program at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, participate in a dinosaur dig in Colorado, beta test a science program to be released into the public school system, present information at a NASA convention, help my mom teach conversational English in China to university students when I was 11 years old, teach all day history workshops (and make pocket money) to children as my history exam, take multiple cross country road trips, visit hundreds of museums across the nation, visit the US Supreme court in session as a civics lesson, and all this without missing out on graduation, socialization or even the field trips.

I had a school type environment with co-ops where homeschooling families get together and the parents teach what they're good at. We had one mother who was strong in civics, she taught Civics, my mom was strong in math and science, so she taught science, another mother was great at English, so she taught English. We got together once a week and had "school" for a day, then we'd write each other during the week, plan activities for us to do as a group, create our own newsletter, and generally do everything and a little more than any regular school kid would do. How many schools do you know of that regularly take week long field trips to study something in depth?

I am now grown, out of college, married and don't have children yet, but when I do, I would like to give them the same option that my mother gave me. I think everyone who embarks on the homeschooling journey feels afraid that they will not be able to teach their child adequately, but I think I've come to the conclusion that if you're not afraid to learn, you'll do just fine.

Talking Hat

2006-11-16 09:00:57 UTC

ALMOST EVERYONE THAT IS HOME SCHOOLED IS IN LIKE THE TOP 90% FOR A LEVEL ABOVE THEM NATION WIDE

glurpy

2006-11-16 05:24:24 UTC

*Why did I choose to pull my kids?

I didn't pull my kids. They have never been to school. I'm a former elementary teacher and my dh is a junior high teacher. The social/psychological environment at school was not one where we wanted our kids to grow up. We started talking about homeschooling when our first was a baby. As she grew, we also realized that our public schools were not geared for the individual and did not provide the individual student with the best education s/he could get. Since we were quite certain our family is a better environment than the schools and that we are able to give our children a better education than the schools, we decided to homeschool.

*What is wrong with the public/private schools?

When I was teaching at the middle elementary level (grades 3 and 4), the girls had already started the whole ostracizing other girls because they didn't "cut it" in some way. Boys were talking about sex and throwing condoms around on the bus. One grade 6 boy regularly smoked a cigarette at the bus stop across the street from the school. The kids talked about who knows what on the playground, but you knew that it wouldn't be approved of by an adult because they would hush up as soon as you were in sight. Socially and in terms of psychological development, it was not good.

I also witnessed how a mixed age group could make a huge difference in a child's development. We had two mixed classes my last year teaching in the schools: one was a grade 2/3 class (grade 2's outnumbering the grade 3's) and the other a grade 3/4 class (the grade 4's outnumbering the grade 3's). The grade 3's had all been together in one class for their grade 2 year. By the end of that school year, the grade 3's from the grade 3/4 class were way ahead in mature thinking and behaviour than the grade 3's in the grade 2/3 class. While I had heard about multi-age grouping being a benefit during my teacher training, I saw for myself what a huge difference it could make. It got me thinking about how much more mature, sensible, kids could be if they were not stuck with 30 same-age peers 5 days a week. I saw the psychological truth that kids learn what is around them.

(There is also just the aspect that school is not reflective of real life in the community. Sitting in a desk most of the day, not being allowed to speak, go to the bathroom or get a drink of water or food except when you have permission, is not reflective of life as an adult. Not unless you're in prison!)

Since then, there has been a huge increase in bullying--to the point that the city has created a by-law fining parents if their kids are caught bullying (of course, nothing actually happens with this because the schools are too afraid of making parents unhappy), an increase in drug use--especially meth, the recent trend at the junior high and high school levels is to spray Axe on your arm and light it on fire, I'm hearing about kids who are going to parent-supervised parties they've been invited to by friends at school, but the parties still have alcohol and drugs present, drugs the parents bought to 'share'. High school girls are getting pregnant and are actually proud of their pregnancies. (ADDED: We have also had recent issues with attempts at kidnapping as well as some guy hanging out naked in the bushes in front of a school. Not to mention that one of those weekend parties that all the school mates are invited to ended up with one teen being beaten to death.)

We know a lot of homeschoolers and do things with others regularly. I do not see the same problems among the homeschoolers we know, as you might imagine!

There are no private schools here that interest us. They are almost all of a different denomination or religion, one is a Scientology-based school. Only one would be potentially acceptable, but our home language is French and it's important that our children's education be in French. The French public schools (we live in a mainly English city) have the same issues that the regular public schools do; and they don't have specialized programs like gifted education.

*What made you believe you could do an adequate job teaching?

Why shouldn't I be able to do an adequate job teaching? I helped my kids learn to dress themselves and count and write their names. I teach them all the time about safety issues and life issues. How is teaching them 1+8 or 4x5 or 2^3 any different?

I also met plenty of homeschoolers with no teaching background who were doing a great job. I had no reason to think I couldn't do a good job. I have strong language arts (I never use spell check in these forums) and math skills, I know how to learn and love to learn... Yes, I have a BEd, but frankly, I'm not sure that really helped me much in terms of homeschooling. I certainly do not run my homeschool like I ran my classroom!

*How do you grade your children's work?

I don't grade my children's work. I assess it. I see how well they are doing with it and decide how best to help them learn the next thing. Grades are about giving an easy assessment to parents, not vital components of instruction. There are plenty of schools that do not give grades but detailed assessments of where the kids are at in their learning. A parent who is with their child most of the day can see quite well if the child needs a little more work on the penmanship or needs more practice with addition facts or capitalization, etc.

*Did you have a fall back plan?

Our plan has been to homeschool as long as it works for us. I had absolutely no reason to believe I could not effectively teach my children. The only homeschoolers I've met who couldn't effectively teach their children were those who were wishy-washy as parents. We're not wishy-washy parents.

*3 advantages of homeschooling?

Only 3? Okay, better environment to grow up in (I mean, really, we wouldn't think it's okay for a child to grow up in a family where members were being verbally or physically abused or around drugs or inappropriate discussions every day, yet it's supposed to be more desirable for kids to spend the bulk of their waking hours in a school where that goes on?), child can learn at his pace instead of going the pace the teacher has to go to finish the gov't approved curriculum, child has more time to be a child since school time doesn't take up 6 hours of the day.

*3 advantages of public/parochial school?

We don't have parochial schools here. Our Catholic schools are public schools. In any case, 3 advantages: can provide more social contact on a daily basis for the social butterflies, is better viewed by the society at large than homeschooling is, our kids would have more French-speaking friends if sent to the French schools.

EDITED TO ADD:

I would just like to add something to give a better idea of my position and viewpoint: I no longer look at homeschooling as an alternative to public school. It is one of many options out there and, for me, it is the default option. That means that I don't view public schools as the first place to turn to for education, with looking elsewhere if it doesn't meet expectations. I turn first towards homeschooling, and everything else constitutes the alternatives.

I'm well versed in the history of education and schooling. Instead of rationalizing my own opinions to come to a supposed logical standpoint, I have looked at the facts themselves and taken a position from that. I know that mandatory schooling came about to make sure that those with uneducated parents were still able to get an education instead of being kept at home to work. But guess what--I am an educated parent. So is my husband. I know that the public schools did, and continue to, make a big push to get people to enroll in them. It's big business. They get more money if more people sign up. I also know that children were sequestered into same-age groupings not because it was psychologically/ developmentally good for them, but because it was the easiest way for the teachers to teach masses of children.

A school's primary purpose has always been to give a student an education that the parents/governess/tutor couldn't or wouldn't give. If all parents taught their children to read, the schools wouldn't need to. If all parents taught their kids to count to 100 (which parents are perfectly capable of doing), the schools wouldn't need to. If all parents taught their kids sex ed., the schools wouldn't need to. If all parents taught the kids nutrition and bike safety, the schools wouldn't need to. And so on. And, wouldn't you know it, but teachers at school put the onus of good behaviour on the PARENTS to teach their children proper behaviour. When a child has poor social skills, the PARENTS are blamed for it (other than in developmental/physical issues).

To say that the schools' purpose is for social development, too, is faulty. It was never the schools' intention. Anybody who has done some studying in psychology, especially developmental psychology, can easily see that the social groupings have nothing to do with the best interests of the child, but for the ease of teaching. The one-room schoolhouse became the multi-room school because they had no choice with masses of children suddenly coming to school, and it seemed to make the most sense to group them according to age/relative ability. I repeat: the current structure has nothing to do with the best interests of the child in mind.