Homeschool

[Sam]

What exactly is the benefits of home schooling your child? I believe that most stay at home moms do this, but how do you have the patience?

[Teresa]

I'm a SAHM but I have never homeschooled my children. Because of some personality conflicts, especially with Adrienne, I knew that it would NOT be a pleasant experience for any of us. As a former teacher in the public schools, I don't have a lot of confidence in them, to be honest, but I try to supplement what they teach by providing more educational opportunities for my children outside of school.

[jmeyer3131]

I don't homeshool now, but I did for a year. Actually, what I did wasn't really homeschooling, it was public schooling at home. My husband was serving in Kuwait/Iraq and we weren't sure when he'd be home, so we worked through an online school program that year. That way I knew we could spend a lot of time together when he got home.

What I liked about it was that there was a principal and teachers to call on if we needed help, but my daughter was able to work at her own pace. She's motivated, so it worked well for us. Someone else who used the same program had a lot of trouble with it because they just didn't do much work most days, so they were always trying to catch up at the end of a quarter. For me and my daughter, we finished early.

My husband travels, and when he came home we would travel with hiim if it was relevent to what she was learning. You wouldn't believe how often we managed to go places that related to her studies. It was pretty cool and enriching.

For the most part, parents often purchase a curriculum for homeschooling, at least the ones I know of. They like it because their children can work at their own pace and they don't have to deal with bullying. With homeschooling, the school districts are required to allow the kids to still attend things like band that they can't get any other way. Homeschoolers often score very high on standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT.

Some people homeschool because they don't like the values being taught. Personally, I like it when my daughter is exposed to differences from our beliefs because it gives us more opportunity to talk about why we believe what we do.

Public schools work well for average students. As one parent pointed out in another post, they are now also gearing more and more towards special needs students. If you have an above-average child, though, there isn't nearly as much, at least not in the earlier year, or at least not in our school system.

I loved the versatility. I loved the opportunity to supplement. In addition, my daughter misses some school for migraines, so I love that with online schooling she would just start later in the day or work a weekend day if she had a migraine. There was no worrying about what was missed.

Still, for her, she needs the social life that school offers. Despite the bulllying (and it's been awful!) she has made friends, and that's important to her. For her, I prefer what we are doing. For some, homeschooling is clearly the best way to go.

Any homeschoolers out there with more to say? I'm pretty sure I missed a lot of the reasons people homeschool.

[happy2bg33k]

I like the idea of homeschooling but I'm not sure it's always a good idea to school your own children. I agree with the person who said there could be conflict. Some of the best homeschooling programs I have seen are networks of parents and children in which all the parents teach all the kids based on the parent's strengths.

[Sam]

But isnt homeschooling taking away from the children, I mean interactive wise. They dont get to socialize much and what about outside acivites, do they participate in those also? My question is , is it fair to the kids?

[jmeyer3131]

A lot of parents who homeschool make a point of having their kids involved in other activities.

I was never homeschooled, but would've been a prime candidate for it. I was good student academically, but I was bullied a lot. You can argue that staying home wouldn't have taught me social skills, but I stayed in school and things never got any better. College was great, but middle school through all my high school years was a nightmare.

Being homeschooled would have been a much better option for me. I still could've participated in band (my passion) without all the bullying.

For me, homeschooling would definitely have been fair.

There have also been studies on the issue of sociability and homeschooled vs regular schooling. Home schooled kids get along with others as well as regular schooled kids do. There really isn't any difference...except maybe when it comes to class reunions, which some of us never attend anyway.

[lyricb]

I stay at home with my kids, and although they are not of school age yet I really don't think I'll be homeschooling them.

[mamab]

I do homeschool my kids, and have since they were born. All parents are homeschoolers, without realizing it. Who teaches your child to eat, to walk, to go potty on their own, to clean their rooms, to be a part of a society (family) and respect others? You, as a parent, do. Most people just don't see it as "homeschooling" though.

Sam, you asked: What exactly is the benefits of home schooling your child? I believe that most stay at home moms do this, but how do you have the patience? Let me try to address them, and I hope my answers will help you understand.

The benefits of homeschooling are numerous, so I won't give you an exhaustive list. I'll just give you my take on the subject.

First, each child has a natural "bent" to their personality, and this includes the way they learn best. My oldest son is very "kinesthetic" in his learning. He wants to "DO" things, not just read them. He wants to be an active participant in learning. This isn't looked upon very well in public school systems. They want the kids to ALL sit still, do as they're told and not question anything the teacher tells them. He was in kindergarten for the first 9 weeks of school and was constantly in trouble for not staying still and quiet. It was obvious if he stayed there he would continue to have problems. He couldn't just sit all day, he wanted to be doing something. Does that mean that he has ADD and just needs medication to make him "compliant" with the teacher's wishes? No, it means he was a normal, active little 5 year old boy. Remaining in public school would have lead to confrontations, because they would have wanted to medicate him, and I refuse to let them do that.

My other son, who's 6 now and has never been in public school, is an auditory learner. He loves music and sounds. He is active, too, but he can sit still if he has to. He might have done okay with public schooling, but why make him a carbon copy of the child in the seat next to him? That's not the way God made him, and I surely don't think I know better than God!

Each child is a unique personality, but that's not what the public school system wants. They want each child to fit into the mold that they have for them. Basically, all they are doing is preparing them to be good workers for society. They aren't encouraged to think for themselves, just to take the information they are given as gospel and be able to regurgetate it to the teacher on a test. It's not truly learning. If it were, why do the students have to spend the first 4 months of the new school year "reviewing" what they "learned" the year before? If they truly LEARNED the subject, they wouldn't forget it so easily. They learn to test, that's all.

With homeschooling, a child has the opportunity to learn about the things that interest them, instead of HAVING to learn that man is descended from apes (which I believe is false). They can spend as much time learning about dinosaurs as they want, using subjects you would cover in a public school, but using the topic of dinosaurs as a springboard. If they want to spend a whole year learning about dinosaurs, great! In the process, they're learning science, history, language arts, reading. But, the difference is, they're interested in the subject, so they're going to retain more of what they learn.

Another benefit of homeschooling is that I get to pass on my values and morals to my child rather than having them being taught things that are against my belief system. Case in point, (and I realize this might be controversial, it is NOT meant to demean anyone.) children are being indoctrinated to the thought that homosexuality is okay. I personally do not believe that, therefore I do not want my children to be taught that. I don't believe that we descended from apes, therefore I can teach my child about God and creation instead of the "THEORY" of evolution (which cannot be proven in any way, shape or form). Yes, I will teach my children that homosexuality exists and that this is why I believe it is wrong. I will also teach my children the "theory" of evolution, because they will have to know about it if they choose to go to college, however I have the opportunity to teach them from a Christian perspective and tell them WHY I think it's wrong. They will be allowed to make up their own minds, whether I like it or not, but at least they'll be given both sides of the story. Not just the one that the public school system deems is "TRUE."

One of the other benefits of homeschooling is that you're not stuck in the public school schedule. If our home business picks up and my husband can quit his "job", we'll have the opportunity to take a vacation whenever we want, not just travel during the summer when everyone else does. We can sleep later if we choose, can take off on a field trip when the mood strikes us, and we can enjoy being outside when the spring is just beginning to bloom instead of being stuck inside a building and told to sit still.

There are so many benefits to homeschooling, and these are just a few. I'll be happy to answer any questions if you want to send me a PM.

In regard to having the patience to homeschool, I have to be completely honest. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes I wish they were in school so I could have some time to do things I want. However, I didn't sign up to be a mom to push the responsibility of raising my sons off on someone else who doesn't have my values. I may not be perfect, and I may not always respond to the frustrations I face with patience. I do, however ALWAYS respond with love and desire for the absolute best for my children. Will a teacher be able to say they truly want what's best for my child? Will they try to understand their individuality and encourage them the way I can? No, they have 30 other students to deal with, my child is just another child to them. They can't get to know and love my child the way I can. They can't understand the things that make my child go wild with enthusiasm, nor will they encourage that "spark" and let them run toward those things that cause them to go, "I see, I want to know more."

Is homeschooling for everyone? No, it's not. It doesn't take a supermom (or superdad) to be a homeschooling parent. We're not perfect, we make mistakes, we probably fail more than we'd like to admit. However, no one knows my child or loves my child more than I do. I felt led by God to homeschool, not everyone does. Is that okay? You betcha! I want what's best for my child, and I feel that homeschooling is the best choice.

Does that mean that in the future my child will never go to public school? I don't know. I don't know what God's plans are for my child, any more than I know God's plans for my life. All I know is that at this point in time, homeschooling offers the best opportunity for my child to grow to be all that God has created him to be be. Things may change, and my child may ASK to go to public school for whatever reason. At that point we'll discuss it, give him the options and guide him to make the best choice for him. It may turn out that in the future public school is better for him. Until that point, I'm going to enjoy every day I have with my boys until they are ready to go out on their own.

Hope this helps, and I'm sorry it's so long.

[fldasha]

I think home schooling is good for teens, grown-ups and adults. But this is not good for kids. They will not be able to interact with other children. School does not teach lesson alone, it also help in character and social development.

[jenilouise]

I homeschool my girls. I will be frank- I was deeply dissapointed by the "education" my children were receiving in classrooms of 40 kids. In my town a child was kidnapped from one campus, another raped at school. It isn't safe and they aren't learning. That wasn't good enough for me. My kids have thrived in a homeschool environment. Now a lot of people bring up the socialization issue. To me it is not a valid arguement because I don't believe school is meant for socializing. My kids get plenty of interaction with other homeschooled and public schooled kids after school and in activities outside of school.