posted
I was curious if any of you homeschool. I have been researching the possibility of homeschooling my child and would love to hear any success/warnings stories. And if you do homeschool, what prompted you to do so? My main concerns are social interaction and am I smart enough to do this?
Posts: 601 | Registered: Sep 2002
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Before people shoot you down, dawnmaria -- I did homeschool for several years. And BannaOJ was homeschooled, she tells me, for all her growing up years, I believe.
I would be happy to answer specific question via e-mail. (in my profile) but not on this thread.
posted
I think it's probably due to my experience in school. I went to Catholic schools until 9th grade. I was so far ahead by the time I hit public school that I was incredibly bored. Without any special guidance to distract me, I ran amok so to speak with boys and had a horrible academic experience. I have read that typically homeschoolers are 2-4 grade levels ahead of their peers. I would like that advantage for my daughter. I am also scared of the drugs, guns, gangs, etc. in schools today. I worked hard to have a child and I am lucky enough to be able to stay home. I thought it would be a wonderful experience to introduce my child to the world and keep her from my mistakes. The last is lame to be sure, but I thought I'd be honest here. I have looked into some curriculums you can send for and since my child won't be able to start Kindergarten until she's almost 6 due to her birthday, I thought I would start the Pre-K mod and see how we do.
Posts: 601 | Registered: Sep 2002
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Dawnmaria, my kids are homeschooled and I, too will be happy to give my perspective... however, I can sometimes be very slow answering e-mail so please be patient with me.
quote:I thought it would be a wonderful experience to introduce my child to the world and keep her from my mistakes. The last is lame to be sure, but I thought I'd be honest here.
Not lame at all. It's the best reason to do it, IMO.
posted
I have been home schooled my entire life. I think the thing I missed most was interaction with people my age. If that's one of your main concers about homeschooling, don't worry. There are plenty of co-ops and other study groups that get together that that shouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, my family never really did much of that.
Homeschooling is a great experience, and I think you should do it. I think you will be plenty smart enough. Posts: 4174 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Ok, I'll preface this by saying that I am a teacher in an outstanding public school. We certainly have our share of problems, but we are far better than most.
I teach seventh grade and have seen a great number of previously homeschooled children come and go. They fall into two categories.
The first group is the group you hope to join. These are outrageously bright children, ahead of their peers, whose parents have made great efforts to involve them in community activities as well as promote their academic skills. These parents have taken great care to insure that their homeschooled children are covering all or more than the required curriculum for the subjects they cover at home. Often the students I get from this category take a bit of time to adjust socially to the public school life, but their intelligence helps them adapt. They are a pleasure to have in the classroom.
The second group is the one you must avoid and, from my experience, the much larger group. The parents have been so overprotective of their children that they are completely and entirely naive about the ways of the world. They are shell shocked when they come to a public school. They cannot relate to their peers. They are markedly immature compared to their peers and cry often because they are stunned by everything from vocabulary to fashions. Frequently, the parents of these children have also not taken the time to really research and cover what is taught at each grade level. They study bits and pieces but not everything. For example, I teach Language Arts and frequently get homeschooled children that read on a high school level and have studied great literature but have never written a five-paragraph essay and can't spell at all. Formal grammar also gets forgotten quite frequently.
Just some things to think about. I hope this helps. Done right, it is a wonderful idea.
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I think it is a vast misconception that people need interaction with "people their age" Eruve.
You look at us as we get older -- we don't gravitate to people by age -- you gravitate to them as friends by shared interests, values or personalities. There is no statistical evidence that says staying with the same "age group" is of some vast benefit to children.
This is especially true of gifted children, who may have the body/development of a six year old, while think like a youth twice that age or more.
posted
I have a friend who home schools their 3 children. The dad works full time and mom teaches the kids and does pampered chief on the side for fun. The kids test scores are impressive. Not to mention their oldest is reading like it is going out of style. They’re involved in their church and other home school groups and one of the kids even plays on a soccer team. I’ve noticed that their children are some of the most well behaved kids I’ve ever seen. If you would like her email drop me an email and I’ll send it to you. I know she’s talked to people all the time about home schooling and her experiences. Good luck!
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On the subject of relating to people your own age...I was homeschooled, and I'll have to say, I never got along very well with kids my own age. However, I usually got along very well with kids older than I was, or adults. Like Farmgirl said, it was because I was thinking years ahead of what I was 'supposed' to. Besides, maybe it's just me, but I've always felt that age-to-age interaction was highly overrated.
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Thank all of you for the wonderful feedback! I hope to avoid some of the problems you have brought up. My husband has great plans for Leslie's socialization. I almost afraid he may go to the opposite extreme and over schedule the poor girl. He is convinced she can be an olympic fencer and an accomplished sailor. I just want her to have a little more self esteem then I did as a kid and be an active, happy little girl. Cor, your warning about writing was one of my concerns. I was worried about will I be able to tell if they are where they should be as far as that goes. I just finished looking through a sample curriculum and they seem to focus on writing starting in the 1st grade level. Does that seem like the right timeframe? They also offer a program where you have an assigned teacher that will monitor your childs progress and make suggestions as you go. I think I'd like that. I won't feel like I am being to easy on her.
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Wow! You guys post faster then I can reply! I never really got along with kids my own age either. I often got into trouble for hanging out at the "adult table". So I do agree with all of you on that note. She may not like kids her age either. I just want her to be able to get along with them in situations that she HAS to be around them even if she'd rather not.
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It's not that I didn't get havi interaction with "people my age", it's that I didn't know many other kids at all, and I felt like I was missing out. Now I can hang out with people who have similar interests, no matter what age they are. Actually, I mostly hang out with people older than me. I think it is good for kids to have "interaction" with kids who are a little older, and more mature, they can learn a lot that way. Personally, I was always "mature for my age", and I think it was partly because I hung out with my older brother and his friends.
posted
I actually agree a lot with Cor. Though I think her experience is skewed to seeing more of the latter group she describes and fewer of the former. Because many of the homeschooled students who can adjust never darken the door of a public school until college. I certainly didn't.
The number of 5 paragraph essays I have written, I think is exactly zero, or completely accidental, if any turned out to be 5 paragraphs. Can I communicate in writing effectively nonetheless? Absolutely. Did I get an 800 on the verbal section of the SATs? Yup.
But I think being an avid reader has much more to do with it, though certain skills and habits can be taught, and practice undoubtedly improves one's writing skills.
I do definitely have "patches" of subjects that I don't know much about. However the subjects that I found fascinating, and my mother let me choose to investigate on my own in lieu of more formal instruction, I know in extreme depth.
I've also found that even though my exposure to "the classics" was fairly limited during my education, I seem to enjoy them more when I pick them up and read them, than the people who were force-fed them in high school.
While I disagree with some of my mother's premises, I firmly believe in this one. "A home schooling parent's goal is to make their child an independent learner." Yes, the basics have to be taught, but once you get beyond the rudimentaries of long division, and writing complete sentences, and even while teaching those, your goal is to teach your child the skills he needs to learn for a lifetime.
I know that if I want to find out information on just about anything I can go to the library and check out a couple books written from different viewpoints, read opposing opinions and come to my own conclusions. Now I tend to use the internet more frequently as my reference point, because it is more convienent, but it is a similar thing.
AJ
(As for socializing with other kids, one of the main places this took place with me was church. There were also homeschooling groups, but because I was so much older than most of the rest of the homeschooling kids it was difficult. There were about 5 girls near my age that were homeschooled in the area and our parents did go out of their way to make efforts to get us together. I was also involved for many years on a completely secular swim team. When I went to college at 13 I didn't actually have any trouble making friends at all. Though my parents did go through a nervous stage when their sixteen year old daughter was hanging out with all 21 year old guys, even if it was for a calculus and physics study group. At that point though I think it was their own fault. They'd given me the tools to survive in life and they just couldn't let go. While not entirely an indication of character every single one of the guys in that study group is now pursuing or already has a PhD or MD.)
posted
That's it! You hit on it perfectly! That's how my husband & I feel about it. We want her to love to learn and to not feel that any subject is out of her reach. Personally, I want more then anything for her to be an avid reader. I have already started buying books here and there to start her library. But I do think that nails our feeling perfectly. Be a student of the world. Posts: 601 | Registered: Sep 2002
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I was homeschooled from 7th grade until an early graduation. I don't think I'm going to homeschool my own children (when I have them), but I'm not 100% sure right now. My homeschool experience more than likely should have ended as soon as it began. I could have graduated highschool (with a GED) when I started homeschool. I say that because I didn't spend any time learning anything while I was in homeschool. My mother had the hardest time trying to get me to do stuff and teach me, but she gave up after the first year and just let me do what I wanted to do. I think after the second year (after we got a computer), my lessons just involved games that I liked to play. My transcripts for the state were effectively fudged to give me a 4.0 gpa as far as the requirements for actually continuing in homeschool go. It worked only because the thing that really mattered, the year end test, was too easy. I aced it every single time, getting the highest possible score each time I took it. I finally ended up taking the GED at age 16, having learned little about Reading, Writing, Science, Math, etc. I came within 10 points of being eligible for a state sponsored scholarship for the test. Without studying. So yeah. Public school probably would have killed me. However, I really wish I had had the opportunity to develop and grow amid actual people. I had almost no social interaction growing up, and the interaction I had before homeschool was almost all negative. So I'm making up for that now. So I guess the point of all this is, that I'd wait a little while to put her in homeschool. I've never thought that really little kids should be taught at home. I think it's a good idea to let her experience public or private school with other children, then let her choose between those schools and homeschool when you think the time is right.
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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Good luck with your homeschooling adventure! I think homeschooling can be done right - but it can also be done terribly terribly wrong.
I choose not to homeschool myself, but homeschooling was quite popular in the area we used to live in. Some of the things to avoid - lack of any kind of routine and a true dedication to teaching.
One of my close friends homeschools, and while she's a wonderful teacher her eldest fights homework because their schedule is so screwed up that the child is expected to do spelling at 9:00 at night because they didn't do anything all day. I think homeschooling is kind of like working from home - you must have the dedication to not get off track.
Definately join a homeschool co-op. IMO, once a week activities with other children are not enough. Some kind of social interaction with others needs to take place on an almost daily basis. This is also based on observing that most children I know who are homeschooled are seriously lacking social skills. Unless you are heavily involved in a co-op, it's reasonable to expect your child will be behind socially, as most other children interact socially at least 5 days a week by attending school.
Good luck! I'm sure you'll do well and find lots of helpful advice here.
posted
I was homeschooled in elementary school, and believe I benefited from it. I am, however, very grateful that I was not homeschooled in high school, because I would have missed out on some very important opportunities.
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I didn't know that Tom. You've complained about your high school experience at times too.
One thing I would say about socialization, is that people do put different levels of priority on it. I think one thing that definitely influenced my parents in that regard, other than my mother's education degrees, were their personal lives. Both of them moved frequently as children. My mother's moves averaged to once a year through her childhood. My father was a military kid, and moved frequently though less than Mom. Mom said she always just tried to make one friend in whatever school she was at.
My dad doesn't really talk about his friends as much, though I know he used to set off the electric eyes on the base with the General's kid and was a bit of a ringleader and mischief maker. At college I think he had a bigger and more divers group of friends than my mother, but a bit of a collection of misfits to begin with. I hear the stories of how he'd walk to class with his hippy friends in his ROTC uniform (in the middle of the Vietnam era). He didn't make the military a carreer cause he pissed off Admiral Rickover (look the Admiral up if you want to know who he was.)
So I think because my parents have always been social misfits themselves, and survived, and even perhaps prided themselves in their own identity as misfits, while they were concerned that I "get along" the weren't really concerned about the "fitting in" aspects of socialization. My dad can pull off fitting in far better than my mother for sure. I think it's because he's acutally had to exist in the workforce and earn a living to provide for his family.
2) I'd be worried about sports, music, and drama, opportunities for a person to decide to shine and fall see their place in the world, but that's me. There are supplementary programs, and I'm sure you'd take these programs seriously.
posted
We seriously considered homeschooling before I decided to go back to school myself, and decided against it because we just felt like it wasn't the right fit for our family.
I do however, have many, many homeschooling friends I know through churches and other places and I have yet to see any of them doing what I'd call a poor job. For one thing, there are so many support groups and cover schools out there so that a homeschooling mom is no longer "on her own"
There are places like our ballet school, that offers dance classes just for homeschoolers. There are homeschool athletic leagues where homeschooled kids can play football, soccer, baseball, etc. There are programs at local public libraries for homeschoolers to be involved in reading groups where they can practice giving oral book reports and speaking in front of others.
One cover school we seriously considered had a co-op program and a PE program. There was a gym where they would hold bi-weekly PE classes, and the co-op program involved parents volunteering to teach anything from sewing to creative writing and the kids could take some classes together and interact with each other and a teacher.
If you think it's right for your family - go for it!
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Irami, it's never knowing enough. It's about lifelong learning and how to find information that you don't know. Both in homeschooling and any other facet of life.
The particular socialization issues that you mention sports, music and drama that you addressed can all be taken care of outside of school. There are socialization areas that might not be covered but these are clearly the easiest to take care of. These are already frequently done as supplementary activities outside of school as parents find that their particular public schools are inadequate in that respect. However even though a parent might want their children to be involved in multiple of these areas, in depth, they don't have time for a child to go to school and be shuttled around to as many after school activities as they'd like.
For example, in my own case, I practiced the piano for an hour to hour and a half a day and also swam for an hour and a half a day on a private swim team (including travel dressing and undressing easily 2.5 hours)
If a child gets home from school at 3pm, has 2 hours of homework. 2.5 hours of sports activity, and 1.5 hours of practicing the piano, you end up at 9pm and nearly bedtime without even taking time to eat! I knew a couple of kids (mostly Asian) in public schools that did this and they had my utmost respect. I certainly had it easier than they did.
posted
Then there is a deeper problem. I, for the most part, love the public. I'm one of them, and we public are a rich people. I like being around us, for our faults and virtues. I'm a little worried about the tacit disdain for the public that comes along with homeschool. I'm also worried about that approach to solving problems with the public, as in, if something is wrong with your public school, do you really want to set-up the value system that makes it more appropriate to run away than to roll up your sleeves and deal with it?
These would all be serious concerns for me. Kids will do nothing you say and everything you do, if they see that you solve community problems by removing yourself from the community, that'll be internalized. It's something to think about. I'd much rather you become an active member in the PTA or otherwise in the classroom, but this is all my view and merely food for thought.
posted
I thought about homeschooling my son (almost 12 now) several years ago, and still go to homeschooling conferences just to be a better at-home support for his schooling experience. But it wasn't the right choice for us. I will, however, be teaching my daughter (2-1/2) from home schooling curriculum before she starts school. I think within the next year she'll be ready for early phonics and pre-K math.
I'd recommend reading The Well Trained Mind. It's very interesting reading for preparing a broad comprehensive homeschool education.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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jeni, about three or four years ago, I recommended that book to Ladyday. I think it's lovely, and appropriate for all good parents, not just homeschooling parents.
posted
Interesting points. I would say once again, in my personal case, while my parents were misfits as I stated before, they *didn't* remove themselves from the public. Mom has volunteered with literacy programs at the library, and assisted at many of the library functions that were open to all children to attend and enjoy. She was also the only mom home in the afternoon after the latch key kids got off school. Their parents were out working their butts off to make ends meet, in a modest neighborhood that was debatably on the fringes of decency at times. She was the one who would dispense the bandaids etc, for a number of kids who wouldn't have had an adult who cared around for hours otherwise. Our house was the hub of neighborhood activity, because all of the kids were invited to come in and do whatever craft project we had going on the dining room table. Homemade valentines, froot loop necklaces, playdough, whatever.
My Dad volunteered his time as a swim coach for free for 7 or 8 years, so that the team could continue to keep costs low, and offer scholarships to disadvantaged kids, who wanted to swim.
I would hope that most homeschooling parents and parents with children in school would volunteer their time in that arena to benefit the community and not just their own children.
Funny thing is how many people did think my mother was nuts for allowing the "dirty mexican" children in the neighborhood into her home. Though if she hadn't I wouldn't have had any nearby friends, cause I was also the only white kid my age in that neighborhood.
quote: I'm also worried about that approach to solving problems with the public, as in, if something is wrong with your public school, do you really want to set-up the value system that makes it more appropriate to run away than to roll up your sleeves and deal with it?
Keep in mind that making any changes takes a long time and is not easy. If you truly feel there is something lacking in your public school system, it is your child that is suffering due to your not running away.
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AJ, did you ever experience any problems from the public school kids when you did outside activities with them?
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Kind of interesting that this post would be today and I would get the email I just did. I guess we’re having a “NASA Home School Event” in March here at the facility. They sent out to everyone a word document and info about it. I guess they’ll have some things for them and usually they fire off some rockets (little replica ones) and I think they usually take them to the simulator so they can land the space shuttle or dock with the space station. Usually seems like a fun filled event. I’ll send it to you if you’re interested.
Posts: 2845 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Irami, I agree. I read it several years ago after homeschooling my son through summer break.
There's a private school about 70 miles from here that follows that book's recommended curriculum layout -- I'm thinking very seriously about sending my daughter there. We'd move, of course, which we were thinking about doing around that time to put my son closer to a good private high school. There aren't any here and we're only a few years away from needing one.
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quote: AJ, did you ever experience any problems from the public school kids when you did outside activities with them?
Nope only the private schooled ones. I say that somewhat tounge and cheek but there is an element of truth. While there may have been cliques in the public schools, at grade school age, the public school kids were much more accepting of me and willing to go outside their school clique to include me, than the private schooled kids were.
At the high school levels, particularly on the swim team, it was more difficult. However I didn't need the kids on the swim team to be friends with me all the time either. I would say that the adolescent age is when peer pressure to fit in is at its most extreme. I don't know that I had it any rougher than anyone in school dealing with the same issues. I eventually earned respect from them that led to lasting friendships in a few cases.
The differences between me and them at that stage were far more gaping than when I was grade school age. When I was younger, no one knew that I was doing algebra and stuff when I was 8. I didn't talk about it with the neighborhood kids when we were worrying about a game of tag. Later on the swim team they knew I was going to a community college as more common knowledge. It's harder to hide a college textbook in your backpack. I also had college classes with a few of the people on the swim team who had just graduated high school, even one of kid's mother who had gone back to work towards a physical therapy degree!
A few of them both in high school and college would occasionally ask me for help with their homework, and that was how I got involved with tutoring. But to ask that reuires a certian amount of humility. The ones who could accept me as I was, and understood that I was willing to use my gifts to benefit them as much as I could, were the ones I got along with. The ones that couldn't handle the ego blow, tended to be the ones that avoided me. It was never ever persecution, just avoidance.
posted
One thing I would consider is the value of having a kid exposed to different points of view. I don't have any direct experience with homeschooling, just this one anecdote. One of the people I worked with this summer is homeschooled and had been his whole life. It seemed as though his entire experience had been shaped around what his parents told him. I can understand wanting to pass your values and beliefs onto your children, but I got the impression that his parents did more than that, and as a result he has a very narrow worldview. This is (my interpretation) of one example, so take it with a grain of salt. I just think it's something to be wary of if you do homeschool your children.
Posts: 2149 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Dawn, I am homeschooling my kids- 7, 5 (but only for 9 more days!), and 2 1/2. I would happy to answer of your questions!
Right now for certain subjects I am following The Well Trained Mind . We use their books for history ( Story of the World ) and Grammar ( First Laguage Lesson for the Well Trained Mind ).
Matthew (7) is using a math book I picked up at a district sale- 4th grade. He also does spelling ( I download lists from the internet and he is doing about 3rd-4th) cursive wriing practice, and spends loads of time reading whatever he likes ( he has not been tested yet, but I would conservatively put his reading level at about 7th grade).
Science, I do together with Olivia. I got a "Ranger Rick" cirriculum ( also at district sale) that has both primary and intermediate options for the lessons, so I can involve them both.
Matthew is not into activities as much as we'd like- he has a reading group at our homeschool center, homeschool 4-H, church choir, and twice a month homeschool class at my church's MOPS group. He also takes a cooking class every other month at the local Health Food Store.
Olivia- almost 6- does History and Science with Matthew. She does a phonics workbook, but the bulk of her work is on the Comprehensive Cirriculum of Basic Skills, Grade 1 She does math, grammar and reading comprehension daily, and I have had to add supplmental math from a 2nd grade book. She has many of the same activites as Matthew: reading group at our homeschool center ( at a different reading level), homeschool 4-H, church choir, and twice a month homeschool class at MOPS . She also has ballet ( she is in a RAD school and plans to have a career in dance).
(OK, I am goingm to post before a little person pushes some button to erase my long post)
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I'm not homeschooled.. but I'm AT school as I write this. *shrug* I know people who have been, but then they started going to a public highschool, and it was really hard.
Posts: 925 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Grin, Miro I agree with you. I know my parents tried to shape my worldview. What amuses me is that they think they have spectacularly failed with me, becuase I rejected the part of it they thought was most important, namely, their religion. However on many other moral and ethical issues I'm sure I do have exactly the same worldview as they do.
My brothers toe the line a bit more. But I'd say that the odds aren't really very good, from the count I have in personal experience that your kids will end up agreeing with you as a parent any more than with a traditional schooling/parenting methods. I actually think this is incorrect propoganda that the homeschoolers believed was true when they started, but the outcome isn't quite the way they want to think it is. It's hard to say though because I at age 26 am one of the oldest in the modern homeschooling era, and only in the next 2 decades will it actually become clear. I also doubt the objectivity of future "homeschool" research on this topic as well.
I would say homeschooling parents, particularly mothers, experience lots more angst when they realize their children *don't* agree with them. They hold themselves more personally responsible, than a parent that sent their kids to school. They can't subconsciously blame it on the kids having picked up newfangled ideas at school.
posted
My thoughts would be that if you have truly raised your home-schooled child to think for themselves, to learn what they want to know, to basically be able to educate themselves throughout their lives, chances are they won't agree with you about some things.
If you want them to share all your opinions, don't teach them to think for themselves.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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I was in public school from grades K-9, and am currently homeschooled. Social interaction isn't a problem. I still have friends from public school, a good block of friends that are homeschooled like me, and another block that have graduated.
However, looking over your reasons, I've seen much more drugs, gangs, and guns outside of public school than I've seen inside. I'm not sure if that's a common thing, though, or if it has everything to do with my location.
Keep in mind that it's much easier to transfer from public school to homeschool than it is to transfer from homeschool to public school. So if both ways appeal equally to you, do public school. If you dislike it, switch.
Farmgirl - Yes, you should gravitate to people who share your interests. However, in my experience, it's easier to find people that share your interest if they also share your generation.
posted
Dawnmaria, I homeschool my kids, and have for 7 years now. It works for us, and we're fortuntate enough to live in a community with many homeschoolers, so socialization isn't a problem (actually sometimes I think we have to much!)
My kids aren't at all interested in going to school at this point, although we might look into my son taking a class or two...
I'm with farmgirl in being happy to answer any questions via email-- I personally find any homeschooling thread on Hatrack devolves quickly into a pro/con debate and it seems more like you are looking for info about how to do it. (No disrespect to those who debate, it's a worthy topic. I'm just at a point where I'm so comfortable with what we do and why we do it I don't feel the need to debate!)
posted
AJ, there is a richer experience in sports, drama, music, speech and debate, Model United Nations, or any of those activities than just the events. There is something important about cheering for the person in your history class at her volleyball game. or that feeling of walking in school when you know that the person in the front row is going to be in the audience when you perform tonight on stage, or that new look the girl in your physics class gives you when she finds out that you broke the school record, she didn't even know you ran track. There is a community that comes along with these activities that trancends the actual event and that's a pretty big intangible.
quote: My thoughts would be that if you have truly raised your home-schooled child to think for themselves, to learn what they want to know, to basically be able to educate themselves throughout their lives, chances are they won't agree with you about some things.
If you want them to share all your opinions, don't teach them to think for themselves.
LOL, this is so very true. I must have done an above average job of teaching my 7 year old to think for himself. ("When I'm dictator of the world, we won't need jails, because I'll just set criminals adrift on a log in the sea.")
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I like his thinking! If my daughter has that kind of attitude, she'll make her daddy proud! I don't want her to think to much like me anyway. Then neither of us would be unique anymore! Do you see the world differently now through your childs eyes? I can't wait for mine to be able to communicate in a way I can understand. I tell her everyday "we don't speak monkey.".
Posts: 601 | Registered: Sep 2002
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Irami, I'm not denying your point. The interaction throughout the day is distinctly different when homeschooling.
However, my point is is that you want your child to excel at any of those things you generally pay for it outside of school rather than doing it in school. Virtuoso pianists don't normally go out for high school band. Amongh other things becasue they could trip and sprain their fingers! Same with soccer and swimming and most other sports. The good high school swimmers were good because they swam competitively from the age of 4 on, not because they showed up for the high school team.
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I homeschooled my kids. Right now they are in charter schools because I need to work full time while their dad finishes school. But we plan on returning to homeschool when he is done. My daughter transitioned easily. She is very social by nature, and learns quickly and easily. My son had a hard time transitioning. Because of his medical problems he has a very hard time dealing with any kind of change. He would have had a hard time going to kindergarten too. But after a few months he loves school (hates his teacher) and is doing very very well, even though he is behind by 1-2 grades (he does some 2d and some 3d grade work its a 2-3 combined class). But that wasn't totally the fault of homeschooling. When he was 2d grade age he had a heart transplant. That seriously disrupted our teaching flow. Some how academics just weren't as important as keeping him alive. But he is catching up quickly.
So, if you ever want to email with questions I'd be glad to help. I am a "veteran" homeschooler with 6 years under my belt My daughter's plan is to finish jr high classes at the charter school she is attending then homeschool through high school so she can finish sooner and move on to college so she can be done with college and go on a mission for our church. She has it all planned out Posts: 1132 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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It seems to me that communities could get together and hire a qualified teacher and set up their own charter school to teach however they wanted. I know there are laws & regs to follow if you do that, but wouldn't it be better to hire someone who already knows how to teach instead of figuring it out as you go along?
I suppose the individual attention you give to your own child would be a strong counterbalance, though, to what goes on in a typical school situation.
I've heard of home-school cooperatives wherein different parents teach different classes to all the kids from families in the coop. I'm not sure how that differs from a small community-owned school except that no-one has to be certified as a teacher.
I know many people who have been homeschooled quite sucessfully. I think those kids are amazingly well educated, if a little naive. They never seemed to miss out on peer interaction, though, because they were involved in sports, music (at church), etc.
Every person I know who has done this has done it for religious reasons and, frankly, out of fear of the bad influence of everyone else's kids on their kids. And I can understand the desire to shelter a child from all the potential horrors and abuse that COULD happen if you let them out into the public. And, if you live in a community where the schools are known to just plain suck, the decision would seem to be an easy one. Homeschool or worry every single moment about how little is being learned in school and how dangerous a place it is.
I don't have any answers. I have my own biases which say that if everyone who thinks a certain way takes their kids out of schools, we all end up the poorer for it. But I'm not yet a parent and even I know that I wouldn't use my kids' educational experience as an experiment or as a political wedge.
Somehow, though, I just have this notion that homeschooling is bad for America's schools.
And, really, I think if people are so ready to abandon institutions, it is probably ultimately bad for America.
I'd be interested in the stats on success though. Do homeschooled kids do better than their publicly schooled peers in college or in later life (better jobs earlier in their careers? more stable marriages? is there no difference?) Anyone have actual data?
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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By the way, from what I've seen, there are a wide variety of carriculae to choose from. Many are religion-based, and, while that's certainly a personal choice, I have to say that one particular set of math lessons I've seen based on Biblical texts (this was only from one source -- A strict Southern Baptist one), was terrible. It alternated between bending Bible verses into math instruction and bending the math instruction to be about the Bible.
I didn't see the added value there.
I imagine as one gets up into higher grade subject matters, it'd be difficult to function as a teacher and one would spend more time functioning as a guide and resource. Making sure your kid didn't get just one side's view on important topics might get difficult, I suppose, especially if one chose home schooling for religious reasons.
But then again, that's up to the parents to know when they've reached their own limits.
Good luck, wheatever you decide.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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Among the homeschooled kids I know (several of which are close friends of mine, and my age), socialization is one of the biggest issues that differentiates them from their peers. They tend to have a hard time playing the typical middle school social politics with public school kids. They also tend to get along remarkably well with adults and children of other age groups.
Give your children social interaction no matter what their school situation, but give them real, community-based social interaction rather than relying on the gym-class-bully style interaction that most of us receive when it's time to be "socialized."
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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I say that somewhat tounge and cheek but there is an element of truth. While there may have been cliques in the public schools, at grade school age, the public school kids were much more accepting of me and willing to go outside their school clique to include me, than the private schooled kids were.![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
But he is catching up quickly. ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
My daughter's plan is to finish jr high classes at the charter school she is attending then homeschool through high school so she can finish sooner and move on to college so she can be done with college and go on a mission for our church. She has it all planned out 
