Homeschool? Good or bad?

[krussell]

Hey everyone, I am trying to decide if homeschool is the right decision, or if kids are better off in public school. I've built a website with all the information I've found and I would really like to know what you guys think and what your opinion is on your children!

http://www.wix.com/krussell22/homevpublic

be sure to leave your opinions on the site :)!

[NJRoadie]

While your message above implies that you are open to discussion about whether or not homeschooling is good or bad, your actual link is clear in its opinion - homeschooling is bad and needs, at the very least, to be heavily regulated. You refer to some research, but do not seem to have read it. To compound the problem, all of the reasearch you reference is at least 10 years old.

For example - A study (August 2008) by Dr. Brian Ray and Dr. Bruce Eagleson in the peer-reviewed Journal of Academic Leadership finds no relationship between the degree of state control of home-based education and the college SAT scores of the homeschooled.

There are many other studies that indicate no relationship between level of regulation and homeschool outcome.

There were many more inconsistencies between what you wrote on the website and reality, but I'll leave that to someone else.

[JenniferMomma]

I have to say, I think I've seen good and bad cases of homeschooling. I personally think you should evaluate each child, and see what the benefits of homeschooling might be for them. And, as sad as it is to say this, you should evaluate the public schools in the area to see if it might be better preparation at home than the local school systems. Each child and each city is different. Treat it that way, and make an informed decision.

[SiMaMa]

I was home schooled up until high school, and I am completely against it. Sure, I was smarter than most people my age, but at what cost? I was completely sheltered and so whenever I went to public school I was picked on because I did not know what to wear, how to act, or how to make friends. I feel that school offers much more than education, it teaches children how to act in social situations. I have spent much of my life feeling like an outcast, and it wasn't until recently that I felt I could call myself normal. I mean, I'm not saying that kids should be forced into public school so they will be 'cool', but I think as far as happiness goes they should be given the opportunity to surround themselves with people with whom they can form bonds with and learn how to behave in certain situations. Parents can only teach but so much, the rest comes from life experiences. So. . . suffice to say, if anyone is thinking about homeschooling their kids I would strongly recommend against it.

[dcroberts]

Being home schooled is not an automatic recipe for being an outcast. Just visit your local public school and see how many "outcasts" there are attending on any given day. A person who tends to be shy or "backwards" will tend to be that way whether they attend public school or home school. There are many outlets for a parent to use to help over come these tendencies. Home schooled children actually have tons of access to social circumstances! My children are involved with their Church groups, co-op groups, 4-H, Youth Court, Scouts, basketball, swimming, soccer..... A parent who is devoted to giving their child the best home schooling experience possible will have their child involved in the community. Those experiences can be far more realistic in an adult social point of view than a public school experience, where children are segregated according to age and taught to disapprove anyone not up to their current standards. Remember the school bus rides? The older you were, the farther back you got to sit. Remember needing the "right" clothes to feel like you belonged? etc. etc. Pretty much every negative experience that I had as a youngster was at school. If that was true of us as adults, most of us would be seeking new careers. Public schools are falling further and further into a degenerate pit and as parents, we CAN do something about it. Home school ROCKS! ( My son told me he wouldn't marry a woman who wasn't planning on home schooling their kids.) :)

[moonemaiden]

SiMaMa and dcroberts- I would be very interested in further discussions with both of you. To get both sides of the story. I am contemplating homeschooling my daughter. She has been in Montessori school since preschool and is going there again this fall for second grade. However, it's expensive and I don't know that I'll be able to continue enrolling her there. On the other hand, I'm not fond of the public school system. I'm one semester away from my teaching degree (I did finish my degree in biology and earth science, I just didn't take the Praxis). I chose not to teach after spending time in the public school system. It is very much all about teaching to the lowest denominator here. Our area has even removed all gifted programs. For this reason, I'm considering homeschooling my daughter starting in third grade. I'm at the very beginning of this process, just starting to research it, and I would like to hear from people who have been homeschool students as well as homeschool parents.

[dcroberts]

moonemaiden,

There isn't many topics that I like more than home schooling!
My oldest daughter will be a freshman this year and has never gone to a public school. I also have three others that are school age and a very busy toddler. Our state is very liberal with its home school laws. We have chosen to enroll in a program that allots each child a set amount of money to pay for curriculum and lessons. In return, we submit work samples, report cards and have the children tested yearly. They also provide field trips, computers, support, etc.
I do have a couple bits of advice though. #1- Be prepared to make home schooling a full time job! It should be a very enjoyable job, though! #2- I don't think that it is good for anybody if the children are shuffled back and forth between home schooling and public schooling. Make up your mind, and be dedicated to your decision! #3- Be prepared for a lot of negative comments from others who just don't understand (or who have had a bad personal experience). Home school is YOUR school, and you can make it what you want. Who better to direct your child's education? It can be personally tailored to your child's needs and desires.
I shall get off my soap box now, but I do dearly love it up here. :)

[moonemaiden]

Thank you for you feedback, dcroberts. A couple questions, if you don't mind. How do you help your kids associate with other students their age? Is it simply through sports and extracurricular activities, or is there a kind of homeschool community that the kids can be a part of and interact? Now that your daughter is in high school, how is it set up to meet the standard required credits for graduation in your area, or does that even apply? Will she earn a diploma or a GED or something else entirely?

Obviously your very pleased with your decision. How did you juggle being a parent (which is already a full time job) and being the teacher (another full time job) with being you? Did you run into problems of "overload" where the kids just had too much of you and vice versa? I'm also new to the stay at home mom thing, so this is definitely going to take some adjusting. But I've always believed that being well informed is the first step in making the best decision. If I'm asking too many questions or being too nosy just say so. Thank you again.

[dcroberts]

My children are involved in home school co-op groups. About five families at a time sort of divide the kids up into ability levels and a parent teaches each group. This usually happens once a week. Each parent has special talents, so this is a great way to share those talents, and to expose your child to talents that you don't have. lol Depending on the subjects taught, the children's ages can vary greatly or be limited to specific ages. I do not like the idea of children being constantly educated with only children of their ages, it is unnatural to me. I feel that it tends to destroy sibling relationships as well, so this is the perfect solution-in my worthy opinion ;)
The kids also have plenty of peer relationships at Church, 4-H, Scouts, sports, neighbors, etc. I have never had a lack of available children (some home schooled, some not) for mine to interact with.
As for high school- My children will receive a regular diploma from the program that they are enrolled in. Since, in reality, many early college classes are comparable to college prep classes taught in high schools; our children have the option of taking many classes through online college courses. Algebra, for example. They will receive both high school and college credit for the same class. It is possible for a hard working child to graduate high school with an Associates Degree, largely paid for with their high school allotments. Since my daughter is ahead of her peers academically (easy to accomplish with a home school schedule), this shouldn't be too difficult for her. She has the desire to get into a good college, and this will be a bonus for her.
Now, as for ME time? I admit that my life is largely devoted to serving others. There is joy in that. In fact, I believe that there is GREAT joy in that. I begin house work when I wake up, get the kids moving on their chores, then school, then outside activities, meetings, classes, etc. I do more house work after they are all in bed. I try to make sure that they have good old plain "down time" as well. Not so much for myself! This computer time is probably my only nonconstructive downtime that doesn't in some way benefit the children. They are my life, my joy, and I am devoted to them. Time flies, they won't be here forever. Most of my pleasure activities involve a child, horseback riding with my daughter, for example. The children have other teachers in their lives, as I am a teacher to other children. So I really don't feel that we ever "have too much of each other." Unless you want to count the toddler. I often have a great need to hand him off to hubby the minute he walks in after work! I also don't allow children into my garden. That is MY space. I do have guilt over it though, because it would be a wonderful learning area for the children!
Anyway, I think that touched upon all of your questions! Aforementioned toddler is now running around pantless, so I better go remedy the situation.

[moonemaiden]

Thank you very much! I'm aware of a homeschooling community here, I just don't know anybody who is a part of it. I will definitely have to find some of them and get to know what's available in my area. Thanks for all the information

[familyfaber]

My sister home schooled her daughter for a year before they moved to a different school district (cause of dad's work) because she wasn't getting the support she needed in the public school. My sister said the worst part about it was the she's had to play teacher. Even if it does fit your child's needs, don't forget the role you will have to play!!! Teaching is not for everyone either and it's not as easy as it looks, especially as they get older.

[scompton73]

I am a public school teacher and I think that people need to make a decision that is best for them. I have a friend who is the home school teacher advisor and other friends who have home schooled their children.

There are good and bad public schools and good and bad home schools. You have to make a decision for your child. Forget what others might think or say and the negative connotations about home schooling. If your willing to work as hard as teachers do....I say Go For It.

[MommieZ]

...and I hope to use the support of online academic programs to take care of some of the curriculum & teaching. I hope to supervise of course. My kids are older, and I'm looking at some of the Math programs and other information I found under the HomeSchooling section on SmartBean (http://www.thesmartbean.com) - a new site for parenting and education started by some friends of mine. I find it useful for other stuff in there too.

I would not take on the complete load of teaching my children. If you were able to incorporate help from some others for tutoring some of the subjects that would be great, I think. But, I do know of people who have homeschooled their kids successfully.

[mamatiff]

Personally i think homeschooling has pros and cons just like a public school does. On the one hand you can shelter your kids from the drugs and parties involving alcohol and kids doing things they probably shouldn't or even teachings you may disagree with. On the other hand, your kids need to have a social life outside the home. I was homeschooled until I was in the second grade, unfortunately I was forced to repeat the second grade due to social reasons. The only thing you need to assess is how much socialization your child gets and if you trust your schools. I was never put into a public school and have known many whom were homeschooled, many of which are on a higher learning level than others their age. Homeschooling is not for everyone including parents especially due to your level of education. But whatever course you choose, stick to it!

[big-mouth-burgher]

What communitymember neglected to mention is that she sells the products she is referring to. So she is paid to love them.