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We will be homeschooling due to a number of factors. If we end up around where we are now, the biggest factor will be the actual lack of education that goes on at the schools. The standards are so low it's ridiculous.
We also have moral problems with many new programs which are being forced onto schools through the state government.
Also, flexibility is a big thing. One child might be really good in math, average in science, and need extra help in English. Schools do not have the flexibility in them for the child to get educated at the different levels that child needs.
I didn't choose to homeschool because I simply cannot give up a career that is really so appealing to me on so many different levels (combination of enjoyment, decent money for a second income, flexibility, possibility to work from abroad the whole summer, benefits, retirement...and did I mention I don't even feel like I am working because I love what I do too much?... etc).
However, if my husband's job was perfectly secure, if he had the health benefits I have and if he made as much as we make together now - I WOULD get over the "I love my job" part, I would sacrifice myself for the children and I would just home-school. Reasons?
- Perceived (by me ) low level of academics in state schools, even those rated as very good.
- Lots of time wasted on frills and comparatively little focus on classical education.
- Bullying issues starting middle-school or even earlier.
- Ability to get more substance covered in less time than they would do in school.
- Avoid the drone-worthy indoctrination and the "I-am-only-able-to-function-in-large, organized-groups" syndrome that happens to children in state schools. I already see it in my son's K class.
- Because I am confident I would be fully qualified to act as an educator to my children for all the classical subjects that really matter (I teach/do research at the university level).
We are likely to switch to some private school starting middle school though.
Do you guys worry about the social aspect of it? Like if a kid is homeschooled isn't it easier for them to not see the real world as in bein introduced to different people and different forms of working together and collaborating as well as negotiating when working in undesirable conditions?
Do you guys worry about the social aspect of it? Like if a kid is homeschooled isn't it easier for them to not see the real world as in bein introduced to different people and different forms of working together and collaborating as well as negotiating when working in undesirable conditions?
My fear is that in the so-called "real world" he will hardly be exposed to truly "different" kinds of people...because young people are no longer socialized to be different...but like you said, to "collaborate" and only live and breathe in superficial, large, organized groups.
I see an increasingly homogeneous population out there (regardless of race/ethnicity, social class, etc) with children who seemed to have been mass-reproduced and mass-brought up and with little individuality: nterested only in things that have to do with images (video-games, TV, entertainment-based education), only able to function in large, organized groups, teachable by images and entertainment only, conversationally impaired, over-scheduled if middle-to-upper-middle-class, left to be raised by electronics if lower-class, generally lacking social graces or ability to connect at a one-on-one level in a meaningful, personal manner, treating volunteering (lots of it!) as means of personal advancement /CV enhancer, etc. That's what I see everywhere in my son's generation - not differences, but a huge homogeneous mess. Yes, I know I am generalizing but I am doing it well - because the phenomenon really is GENERAL.
If home-schooled, we would be able to travel overseas more often and thus be exposed to truly DIFFERENT kinds of people... while they're still different. They will soon no longer be all that different either.
It is true however that home-schoolers need a cohesive community of their own, otherwise they risk social isolation.
Do you guys worry about the social aspect of it? Like if a kid is homeschooled isn't it easier for them to not see the real world as in bein introduced to different people and different forms of working together and collaborating as well as negotiating when working in undesirable conditions?
No. They will have other opportunities to be in the real world. Sports, volunteering, playgrounds, and other things can give them those things. I learned way more about the real world and how to be a part of it outside of school than I did inside school.
Most of the parents I know who homeschool (I'm a special education teacher) do so because of their children's disabilities, mainly autism spectrum disorders, and their dissatisfaction with the way their given school districts choose to accommodate their kids' needs. Parents who make this choice need to be very careful about building in appropriate time for social interaction with other kids. As important as that it for all kids, it's especially important for kids with ASDs, who often see a lot more isolation than most.
In the district I have been involved with, homeschooled students still retain the right to participate in extracurricular and enrichment activities offered by their local school district by virtue of their parents paying taxes to support the programs. I have known homeschooled students to participate in school plays, band, chorus, athletics...all things that cannot be provided in a homeschooling environment. Not all parents/students make use of this, but it has been an option for all.
I am homeschooling for a number of reasons. Here are just a few.
I'd like for us to have more time together as a family. Sending my children to school 6+ hours a day, 5 days a week interferes with that time. I'd like them to have more opportunities to be out in the real world, exploring, rather then sitting in a classroom.
I'd like to give my children the freedom and opportunity to follow their interests, learn at their own pace and be able to explore topics in depth before moving onto something else.
Do you guys worry about the social aspect of it? Like if a kid is homeschooled isn't it easier for them to not see the real world as in bein introduced to different people and different forms of working together and collaborating as well as negotiating when working in undesirable conditions?
Not at all. I think that a homeschooler with active and involved parents has more opportunity to see the real world then someone who spends most of their time in the artificial environment of a classroom which is made up of (generally) one adult and 20+ agemates.
Children will learn about working together, negotiation and undesirable conditions just through living life. They don't need a classroom for that.
I understand anxiety, or bullying etc, at older ages, but what makes you homeschool a child from the time they should be starting pre-k
No hate here though just curiosity.
I decided long before I even had kids that I was going to homeschool them. partially because my older sister was homeschooling her children at the time, and partially because I had been homeschooled occasionally when I was younger because of medical issues.
I read up on the ins and outs of it, the pros and cons, and decided that was the best course of action for my kids, when I had them. I was 16 at the time.
Now, my oldest is almost 18 and youngest is going on 16 and they have never been to a "regular" school. They get excellent grades, have a lot of friends, and my oldest has had a girl-friend for over a year now. LOL! Not sure that's a good thing or not though.
Why I decided this was the right thing for my kids was because I was never really satisfied as to how my own education went at school. I always learned more when I was at home as opposed to at school. I also didn't like the idea of bully's, sex & drugs in elementary schools, and so much more!!
Really, I have a hard time understanding why people would want to send their kids to regular school? LOL!
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) low level of academics in state schools, even those rated as very good. 
I decided before I ever had kids
