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I beg to differ with your assessment of teaching at home. My wife is just a regular person and taught our children at home. They went to college and one of them graduated magna *** laude. I hardly consider that a failure. In my opinion, the vast majority of parents are capable of teaching at home if they take it seriously and make it a priority.
amen and amen and I would put a homeschooled child education up against a public school educated student any time in a debate and
I know dollars to donuts a homeschooler would win any debate against a public school educated student . My aunt was a teacher in a church based school and she said she could tell when she had a child who had switched from public school to her school and they were so far behind her kids it was not even funny and she spent the rest of the year getting said student caught up .
There are pros and cons to all educational options, public, private, homeschool and even among the choices there is a ton of variation. For instance, the experience one might have in an excellent public school can be very different then the experience one has in a not so great public school and that can extend to both socialization as well as academics. Homeschooling experiences will also vary greatly as some may be isolated while others are involved in all kinds of activities outside of the house from co-ops, to enrichments, to regular get togethers and other activities. Some parents use curriculum, others do not. Some seek outside educational opportunities, others do not.
There’s far too many variables to make the claim that one is inherently better then the other. In either scenario, a committed, open minded, involved parent is key.
This isn’t rocket science, but it does require mom be fully committed and ‘in’, and recognize where she is limited so she can best facilitate what her kids need, even if that means outsourcing or going back into a classroom.
Agree, we also need to be careful because in my case (and that of many of my homeschooled friends at the time) the local school district apparently interpreted our ability to ace the standardized tests at our grade level and higher as above-average competency in that subject.
Not sure if this is taboo to say, but those standardized tests were *easy*. In actuality, they had no bearing on whether I actually knew algebra or calculus, and I don't even recall taking them after middle school.
At the end of the day, homeschooling is just another decision along the road of life; but there are ways to ensure it's successful such as allowing the parent to admit that they aren't fully equipped to teach the same higher-grade curriculums as an educator who has been specifically prepared for such a task.This isn't a failure at homeschooling, it's just admitting that there's a limit and it's ok to mix homeschool with traditional schooling when the need arises.
Speaking from the perspective of someone who was homeschooled their entire childhood and throughout high school, I just wanted to stop in and mention that if you do end up homeschooling, it's not a failure to opt to start out homeschooling and switch over to public school once your child is older.
In my case, my mother was totally unqualified to teach. Homeschooling was her way of keeping me out of the 'secular' school system (she was going through a fundamentalist religious phase at the time). Anyway, our local school district was mostly unaware, a few palms were greased to keep it under the table, and there was no oversight apart from a yearly CAT test.
Long story short, homeschool was fine through around middle school. I was an only child so used to being alone, self-study and managing my own schedule. I breezed through several grade levels and studied year-round (no summer break). However, things really broke down around middle school with my mom having only elementary-level math knowledge, so she basically checked out about that time. Because this was the pre-internet era, I was basically left to my own devices with a pile of books, a couple VHS recordings of some classes and no one to ask questions to or review my work. I never learned any math or science until college and had to really struggle (and fail) many classes before I could catch up for the years lost. That said, I made it through college and today I work as a software developer, but that lack of foundational knowledge was really crippling and I still feel it today. It was a lot of catch up, just because my mom stubbornly refused to subject me (in her opinion) to the evils of the public school system.
I give this same warning to my close friends in real life who are now homeschooling. It sounds great (and can be great!) when the kids are young and the curriculum is easy, but please be open to flexibility or bringing in reinforcements once the curriculum gets harder and the concepts more complex. There are some great online resources out there today which kids are lucky to have available (Khan Academy, etc), as well as online public school too. Just don't be afraid to ask for help like my mom was, your kids will thank you one day for having the courage to make the right call! Best of luck to you.
In all fairness, I attended public school from K-12 and struggled with math all along the way, including college.
I do think that a parent who is homeschooling who is not good at a particular subject should branch out and seek outside teachers, tutors or other opportunities to help their child or teen get what they need. I also think a parent of a public school kid should also seek tutoring or extra help as well if their child is struggling.
well now here is my thoughts on it . First off do you want you teaching your values and moral to your kids or do you want someone else teaching the worlds values and morals ? if you want wordly teaching then go with public school but if you want your values or the values you were taught seek out a church based school or a private school and find out what curriculum they are teaching as well. There are also plenty of home schooling parents who take field trips , library visits , museums you get it , and you usually don't get a lot of that one on one in a public school setting . im very pro private , church based , homeschooling opinions .I have learned to be not so pro public school simply for the fact of what goes on when teachers are not looking .
Seriously? My kids went on lots of field trips in elemenatry school in particular to places such as museums, the post office, a walk to several historic sites in our town including a coal mine burning underground, various parks and open space areas for environmental educaiton, etc. Schools generally have libraries.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phonelady61
amen and amen and I would put a homeschooled child education up against a public school educated student any time in a debate and
I know dollars to donuts a homeschooler would win any debate against a public school educated student . My aunt was a teacher in a church based school and she said she could tell when she had a child who had switched from public school to her school and they were so far behind her kids it was not even funny and she spent the rest of the year getting said student caught up .
Confirmation bias. I have a friend who took her kids out of church (Catholic) schools because it turned out the public schools were ahead in math.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnotherTouchOfWhimsy
Honestly, he could very well be a very normal, active little boy. Schools are not designed to put up with active little boys who have not had the training that preschool provides.
I did not want my five-year-olds subjected to the "sit down and be quiet and eat when I tell you I can" philosophy that seems to be prevalent in the public school system, so we homeschooled. My kids went to a Montessori school for one year (7th and 5th grades, respectively) and my son tried high school his freshman year but it was just not what we were looking for in terms of education, so he came back home. My daughter had no desire to try high school. They are currently in the 12th and 10th grades (homeschooling).
You can absolutely positively pull him out and then make your plan. You do not need a full curriculum for kindergarten! There is no magic switch that gets flipped in August when a child is 5 years old; you can start now or you can wait a few months or until next August. My best advice, as a homeschooling mom who will be graduating her first child in the spring, is to join up with a local homeschool group. You will get a lot of different perspectives and advice, and your son will have children to play with. A homeschool group will generally offer a weekly park day as well as field trips and activities. Sometimes they have co-ops and classes. It depends on what the homeschool culture is like in your area. There might be both secular and religious groups... I would recommend trying both, whether or not you are religious, unless the religious group asks you to sign a statement of faith that you disagree with. We have belonged to both throughout the years and have made good friends in both types of groups.
If you want to start some type of curriculum that is age appropriate, I recommend Five In a Row. It is based on children's literature and it takes no more than 30 minutes per day (you can break it up), which is perfect for kindergarten. Aside from that, go to the library, read out loud a ton, take walks, feed the ducks, play with playdoh, help him work on things like using scissors and glue, keep lots of art supplies around for him to use as he likes, go grocery shopping, go to the post office, go to the bank, cook together, use sidewalk chalk, play hopscotch, run, jump, climb the monkey bars, teach him how to wipe down the cabinets with a soapy rag (save the real cleansers for when he's older!), encourage him to care for a pet (with your close supervision and help, of course!), take him on road trips, take him to age-appropriate volunteer opportunities, take him to the library story hour or gymnastics class... and on and on. I'm a very strong proponent in delaying formal academics until the age of 7 or 8... I would say that a five year old boy definitely doesn't need more than 15 minutes or, at most, a half hour each day of sit-down work.
Good luck!
First bold: How did you know this? Did you observe the schools in your district? There was some of that time in my kids' kindergarten, but it wasn't 2 1/2 hours of that. In fact there was plenty of the bolds in the third paragraph in their kindergartens. They had a pet in a cage (can't remember what type of animal now).
The problem with those ideas is that there won't be many kids his age at these activities as they are in school. It will be mostly younger kids during the daytime hours.
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Originally Posted by saibot
(snip) The times our homeschool group went on field trips, we were invariably complimented and told that our kids were more engaged, more curious, asked better questions and had better manners than the public school kids.
My kids had some home-schoolers in their gymnastics program. They had a hard time with waiting their turn, not always being the center of attention, etc. It works both ways, and frankly, I wouldn't put a lot of stock into what a museum guide or whoever said. They were just trying to be nice, probably said the same thing but opposite to the school classes, if it ever came up.
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 08-18-2018 at 11:11 AM..
Honestly, he could very well be a very normal, active little boy. Schools are not designed to put up with active little boys who have not had the training that preschool provides.
I did not want my five-year-olds subjected to the "sit down and be quiet and eat when I tell you I can" philosophy that seems to be prevalent in the public school system, so we homeschooled. My kids went to a Montessori school for one year (7th and 5th grades, respectively) and my son tried high school his freshman year but it was just not what we were looking for in terms of education, so he came back home. My daughter had no desire to try high school. They are currently in the 12th and 10th grades (homeschooling).
You can absolutely positively pull him out and then make your plan. You do not need a full curriculum for kindergarten! There is no magic switch that gets flipped in August when a child is 5 years old; you can start now or you can wait a few months or until next August. My best advice, as a homeschooling mom who will be graduating her first child in the spring, is to join up with a local homeschool group. You will get a lot of different perspectives and advice, and your son will have children to play with. A homeschool group will generally offer a weekly park day as well as field trips and activities. Sometimes they have co-ops and classes. It depends on what the homeschool culture is like in your area. There might be both secular and religious groups... I would recommend trying both, whether or not you are religious, unless the religious group asks you to sign a statement of faith that you disagree with. We have belonged to both throughout the years and have made good friends in both types of groups.
If you want to start some type of curriculum that is age appropriate, I recommend Five In a Row. It is based on children's literature and it takes no more than 30 minutes per day (you can break it up), which is perfect for kindergarten. Aside from that, go to the library, read out loud a ton, take walks, feed the ducks, play with playdoh, help him work on things like using scissors and glue, keep lots of art supplies around for him to use as he likes, go grocery shopping, go to the post office, go to the bank, cook together, use sidewalk chalk, play hopscotch, run, jump, climb the monkey bars, teach him how to wipe down the cabinets with a soapy rag (save the real cleansers for when he's older!), encourage him to care for a pet (with your close supervision and help, of course!), take him on road trips, take him to age-appropriate volunteer opportunities, take him to the library story hour or gymnastics class... and on and on. I'm a very strong proponent in delaying formal academics until the age of 7 or 8... I would say that a five year old boy definitely doesn't need more than 15 minutes or, at most, a half hour each day of sit-down work.
Good luck!
This right here. Modern kindergartens expect five-year-olds to all sit there all day and focus on academics. That's not developmentally appropriate at all. Sure, maybe the OP's kid needs more discipline, but that doesn't have to come from a public school.
If you can't understand your kid, though, I would suggest speech therapy.
If you homeschool him, where will he learn the impulse control he is lacking? It sounds like he could use the structure. Perhaps he needs another year to mature before he starts school.
I guess a private school is out of the question, or you would have mentioned it as an alternative.
The public versus home school debate will always be a hot topic and there is no "right" answer. However, as a teacher who has taught extensively in public and private schools, and has interacted with many homeschooled students, the key to me is that you must look at homeschooling as a full-time job and one that is not to be taken lightly.
Yes, there are "schools in a box" with videos kids can watch, and there are online schools as well. My sister online schooled her one child for a year and she (also a veteran teacher) worked tirelessly to augment the classes. Online schooling only works if you plan on being your child's assistant. It was never intended for a parent just to plop their child in front of a computer alone.
The one area that I think needs to be considered when homeschooling is college preparedness. I know a few homeschooled students whose parents were PhD's and did very well on all of their SAT's to the point where they got great scholarships to top colleges. But in my experience that is the exception. In my church all of the students who have been homeschooled have either gone into the military, law enforcement, or are floundering with minimum wage jobs while struggling to complete community college. Almost none had the stats to get acceptance and financial aid into any significant colleges. There is nothing wrong with these various paths but I see limitations to being homeschooled all the way through high school. The cost of college is so prohibitive that students need every advantage possible. Parents need to do a self check if they really possess the knowledge and skills necessary to guide their students all the way with the best possible education.
This right here. Modern kindergartens expect five-year-olds to all sit there all day and focus on academics. That's not developmentally appropriate at all. Sure, maybe the OP's kid needs more discipline, but that doesn't have to come from a public school.
If you can't understand your kid, though, I would suggest speech therapy.
Please document, and not from opinion articles or "mommy blogs".
I have heard good things about many online school programs, especially the ones that document that the students are actually working on appropriate curriculum.
The one my kids go to is an online public school, so they use the curriculum the state has approved and they take standardized tests. My daughter who's in high school is learning much more in depth than I did at the private college prep high school I attended, and her school offers a variety of classes. This year she's taking anatomy, intro to psychology, medical terminology and sociology as electives.
I thought online public school was going to be a temporary solution for us, but it worked really well. This will be my daughter's 7th year of online school.
She had to catch up when we switched from regular public school, because she was expected to do a lot of creative writing and essays, and she couldn't even write a paragraph at first.
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