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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
Let's have a real discussion about homeschooling
I always thought HS was kind of weird. I do think that (unless you get in one of those HS "circles" where people with different specialties teach different classes) the kids may not get access to specialization and possibly even equipment (labs, etc.). I suppose there is a socialization aspect, although that argument is weak if the kid does outside sports / lessons or is involved with the HS circles (do those have Prom?). I think HS for religious reasons is going to be an unsuccessful endeavor, as there is more likely to be a... shall we say revisionist curriculum?
At the same time, though, with the new emphasis on standardized testing under stoo-pid NCLB, so much classroom time is turning into test prep (where I live, this is more true of the younger grades.) These tests / test prep are NOT making kids smarter or more worldly, and I am starting to question if I want anything to do with that nonsense for my kids. As a nice middle classer, private college prep school is out of the question financially, and the private parochial schools around me are nothing special educationally.
Basically, I'm saying I am now conflicted on the issue of my homeschooling.
What do you think about HS?
ETA: I am a certified teacher with many years of experience.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Let's have a real discussion about homeschooling
I would never do it. I consider myself fairly educated but I'm not a teacher and wouldn't really know how to teach them unless we had a subsitute every day.
My two kids have been doing the standardized testing every year and it's unbelievable the amount of class time they lose to prep for that. Once it's over we breath a sigh of relief. I have nothing but the utmost respect for teachers. I think they have an important yet thankless job.
Plus the standardized testing is actually biased against them
I generally don't think it is the best idea for all the reasons you listed at first. I understand the limitations of public school, but compared to HS, I still think it would come out ahead. Especially with a parent who encourages learning outside of the classroom.
I'm still hoping that we will be able to afford private school for Sophia when it's time.
It's not appropriate for our situation. I think home school kids are 'weird' (for lack of a better word) - I don't know if they started off that way and that's why they were home schooled, or if home schooling caused the 'weirdness'
That said, as a medical school recruiter, some of the most brilliant students I've met were home schooled through high school, attended college where they outperformed their peers and seemed mainstream enough socially by the time they applied to medical school. Society as a whole would be lacking without home schoolers.
I used to think that it was odd but now I am on the fence about it. I hate that the schools focus seems to be FCAT related. My nieces and nephews who are in public school are not exposed to things that are helpful. Forcing teachers to focus on test taking skills is a waste of time for the teachers and students. I do not want my children in the public school system in this state. Private schools would require me selling off organs or eggs in order to pay for them. I know there are organizations and groups for home school so that the kids can have group activities. As Matthew gets older it is an avenue that I will explore more.
I have a lot of friends (in their 50's) who homeschooled their kids and some other younger friends that homeschool their kids. They all are part of a Co-op and some of the parents (like a college science prof) does their Chem/Bio/Physics classes they go to a "gym" class etc.
Around here you can be HS'd and participate in sports/music so that isn't an issue.
I don't think it is a terrible idea but at this point I don't think that I would be the best teacher for my kid(s) , I'm pretty type A but it makes me feel like I may not do the best job.
That being said I agree with you on the testing that is going on, my DH is a Teacher and so I know a fair amount about it.
At this point, L will probably go to a charter school.
I know only 1/2 kids that are "weird" that were HS'd. That being said, I think they may have been "weird" before they were HS'd, not as a result of it.
I would never do it, and I don't get why people do it. School is so much more then just education, yes that is the main goal, but socially speaking there is so much to learn from going to school every day. The structure of it alone is good for kids. I can't imagine kids getting up and learning while sitting at their kitchen table in their pj's- its just not the same. I would not want DD to miss out on all the things you get to do in school, playing sports, being a cheerleader, going to homecoming and prom- those are all very important milestones that is part of growing up. I have great memories of all those things, high school and college were some are some of my fondest memories.
I am not sure if DD will go to public or private school yet, a lot will depend on where we live at the time school starts- we are planning on moving so that DD can attend public school. Both DH and I went to public school and both got great educations and went onto get college degrees and masters degrees. I don't think that private school is always better, I think it's very school and area specific.
As a teacher I can say that a lot of time is being wasted on test prep. These tests are designed to be tricky and we have to spend enormous amounts of time drilling certain skills/concepts so that students can recognize the concept period regardless of how the question is worded.
I also agree with PP that many HS environments are unsupervised. I know someone personally who HS's her kids and they never do ANYTHING! Most of the time they are outside playing. I don't see how that is any more beneficial than being in a test prep environment.
We wouldn't never do HS. However, I completely understand what you are talking about when you say that the standard state testing is taking over the classroom. This is happening with my DH's school as well where we live.
It's really getting frustrating!
I've thought about HS for DS. DH and I both went to public school and to say that our education was lacking would be an understatement. Our reasons for possibly homeschooling are:
1. We want to encourage learning in our home.
2. A lot of time is wasted in schools, test prep, busy work, catching other kids up, where as if I were just teaching my children myself, we would be able to move at their pace and make sure they understood things before moving on.
3. Children are growing up too fast as it is, we want to keep our children young and innocent as long as we can.
Those are our main reasons. We can't afford private school and it would depend on where we buy a house and that school system. We arent' ruling it out though.
My children will be going to public schools. I don't think that there is a private school with 100 miles of our house but I could be wrong.
I'm not qualified to home school my children. Will I be able to help them with there homework yes. But to teach them everything no. I also think that hs doesn't let kids socialize in many cases.
Oh, and fuckings Arne Duncan. ::shakes fist at Obama::
I have a few friends that were home schooled. They are incredibly book smart, were mostly done with college before I was even out of high school, and now have multiple degrees, their masters and 1 has his phd and scored perfect scores on his SAT. They all participated in school sports and after school activities but that doesn't exactly make up for the school environment they missed out on. They have so much going for them but are lacking socially. I'm not sure if that's due to the home schooling or their church.
In the long run, I don't think home schooling puts them at a disadvantage in anyway and if people are prepared to do it, I say go for it. I however don't feel comfortable doing it myself and would consider private school as an option for DD. We live where we do in most part because of the school system and would only move back to where we are from if DD was able to attend private school. The public school system there is a joke.
I have a SPED certificate but no job (in a school), I work in an aftercare program though.
I am not a fan of homeschooling either. It's not for our family. First off, I have to work. Second, I like the socialization at schools and without that a child could be void of social skills, networking, learning in the way college is taught, etc...Third, I like the expertise of various subjects, various athletics and additional support system to children.
I am also not a fan of state testing. I've always sucked a standardized tests but excelled in school.
I do like that kids don't have to worry about the hard social learning experiences (bullying, etc)
I would love to send the boys to private school b/c of the "teaching to the test" that is so prevalent here, but I know we won't be able to afford it. I feel like I am capable of homeschooling in theory but not in practice, plus it wouldn't be financially feasible for me to stay home to do it. I hope that my love of learning is something my boys will get from me and that I can help fill in the "gaps" so to speak from the public school curriculum. Here we do have the "choice" program, so your kids can apply to a school outside of the school designated for your area and we'll probably do that so they can go to an "A" rated school. The one for our zone is not.
ETA: My thoughts on homeschooling are generally that most of those who do it are not qualified and their kids don't get the education they need as a result. If the kids are participating in sports, music, etc. in group settings, I think they'll get the socialization.
I love this! I want one.
I plan to HS B, because overall the public school system in this country blows. At the very least he'll be HS through elementary, because I am 100% comfortable teaching him through those levels of education. I'm college educated and I know how to read teacher manuals; it's not rocket science as long as you actually care about what you're doing and don't turn it into an excuse to sit on your ass all day. We also plan to enroll in co-ops to supplement either areas I'm not great at (math) or ones that are hard/impossible to do with only one child (like performing arts). B will also be enrolled in music and sports (of his choosing) so he won't be lacking there.
By HS we'll also have the ability to travel whenever we want, both for fun and education, and B can learn about cultural differences, languages, history, art, etc. first-hand rather than in a stuffy classroom where he does nothing but busy-work all day and homework all night. With HS you can also cater to the child's needs and interests in ways you can't with a class of 30 kids. You can find ways to make stuff they dislike fun, while encouraging a love of the other subjects. Not to mention, you simply can't learn about some things from books, you have to actually experience them, and you can't do that if you're prepping for SOL tests all day, every day.
Mes Petit Choux
I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person then. ~ Alice
I have no issue with HS as long as it is in the best interest for the kid, not the parents. That being said, does your state still require certain tests to be passed to get credit for the courses? I think our state does, but it is not a VA SOL test per se. It is to make sure the kids are actually covering the material.
We won't HS. I teach in our county and it is ranked year after year as one of the best in the country. We have a better college acceptance rate than a couple of the private schools here, so we must be doing something right!
Rebus,
I know when I was still int he area, the schools by you were pretty decent.
And being college educated doesn't mean one can automatically have the ability to teach.
I actually think if HS is done right and with plenty of opportunities for socialization, it is far better than a public education. I work in a public school and see it failing kids every day. I don't think it's for lack of effort by teachers, it is the system that is flawed and even the best of teachers can't overcome that.
That being said, I cannot afford to not work and HS my son...I am hoping that we can afford to send him to a montessori or possibly the local catholic school which is good. In our town, the HS is a private school which our town has the luxury of attending for free (well if you don't count our ridiculous tax rate) so I am all set for him once he gets to that age.
TTC #1- unexplained...lost left ovary 4/07 IUI #1 2/10/09-BFN IUI #2 3/5/09-BFN IVF # 1-BFP
TTC#2- FET 4/7/11 BFP, Natural mc 5/5/11 IVF#2 ER 9/13/11, ET 9/16/11, Beta #1 9/27/11 BFP 254 Beta #2 9/30/11 793 -Twins!
I am an elementary school teacher and I am worried about putting Owen into public school. I think there are many fabulous teachers whom I have deep respect for. However I am saddened to see what is happening to the younger grades. The testing stress filters all the way down to kindergarten. I hate to see them not learning play and learn social skills. Its all about test taking.
That being said, I could see home schooling until late elementary/middle school. But past elementary I don't think I'd be an adequate teacher. I wish we could afford private school. We are trying to save up to at least get him through like second grade in a private school.
I guess I'll chime in as someone who was homeschooled midway through 8th grade - HS graduation. I had a health condition that was out-of-control so I was missing 2-3 days a week and it became too much of a PITA to keep up with the public school system. I went through a virtual campus so I received a diploma, not a GED, and had standardized curriculums with testing and support that wasn?t directly linked to my parents. I graduated when I was 16 and immediately started working in my parents? office full time and then went on to college at 18 while continuing to work FT. I still participated in dance, sports, and other volunteer activities because I had extra time on my hands.
I personally loved it but I have a personality that homeschooling worked with ? my brother did not and he struggled with it. I feel that it gave me an edge that allowed me to push through college quickly while working FT, eventually allowing me to buy out most of my family business.
We bought our home in a planned community with an excellent elementary school that is being converted to a K-8 in the next eighteen months. Our goal is to send DD there and around the 8th grade make the decision if she?ll go to the public high school, a charter school, private, or a virtual campus for homeschooling. It will depend on her personality if the HS is even an option and if she can handle it.
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I have thought about homeschooling, too, but I don't think I'm going to do it. Like others, I think the structure of the school day is really important. I also want my kids to have different teachers and learn that there are a lot of adults they can/should respect and who are advocates for their education. I freaking idolized most of my teachers growing up, and it would be awesome for my kids to have that same thrill about going to school and impressing their teachers, hehe.
Instead of HSing, DH and I plan on supplementing their education at home. I've tutored and taught for years, so I am pretty confident that I won't have trouble sitting down with DS and his schoolwork each day, helping him with his homework, asking him what he learned, and filling in the blanks (like, uh, teaching him about Thomas Jefferson if he gets stuck with one of these new textbooks from Texas, for example).
I've been considering homeschooling. I do want to send DS to our church's preschool -- the teachers are wonderful, I think that the socialization will do him good, and I do think that it's important for him to learn how to behave in a classroom, that there are others in authority besides his parents, and how to get along with other (sharing, taking turns, etc). We'll most likely be sending him to a public kindergarten for the same reasons.
I have a degree in elementary education (1-8th), so I do feel well qualified to teach those grades, and definitely will be considering it when the time comes. There's a number of things that I don't like about public schools at the elementary level -- the large class sizes, lack of individualized attention, teaching to the test, the amount of time wasted in transitions, etc. As much as I admire what other teachers do every day, I do feel that I could give DS a comparable or better education, more individualized to his needs and interests, and still give him plenty of opportunities for extracurriculars, sports, and socializing with other kids.
I will not hs. I am college educated. I am a high school teacher. I am not qualified to teach other subjects than my own. And, quite frankly, I don't want to.
That being said, I am not against home-schooling. I wish we could send DS to private or Montessori, but we just can't afford it. And, we won't be able to ever (unless we win the lotto.) I think it can be done well, but it often is not.
I agree that the public school system is lacking. Testing is not helping any child.
And, I do have to say to the poster who said they can read a teacher's manual...good teachers, I mean really good teachers, don't use manuals. Only lazy teachers do.
Can you give more info on this? I don't doubt what you're saying, and as a fellow minority, I've heard this from a lot of family and friends. However, I always did really well on standardized tests, so I wondered where the racism was.
But I will say that I grew up in the suburbs, around 99% white kids, and both my parents are college-educated. So it could just be that I was not raised in an urban environment?
I just want to thank you for your opinion and respect!
As teachers we breathe a sigh of relief too! Standardized testing is not the root of teaching. We DON'T want to do it, nor do most of us believe in it. Therefore, although we must help prepare students for the tests, our main goal is to practice good teaching; to build children academically, socially, and emotionally.
I do believe that children learn a great deal from being in school and working with other students and adults to reach the common goal of furthering our education. The more types of people that our children are exposed to the more worldly and accepting they will become. Not to say that this couldn't happen with HSing, but the school system gives us a perfect opportunity to provide many "teachable moments" to our children. I truly believe school is about more than just an academic education. It is part of the mosaic that makes up who we become as adults. And with the right guidance and participation from parents in the educational process the school experience can be a very rewarding thing!