Why I took my daughter out of public school

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laurabeth
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Posts: 48
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2007 8:33 pm
Location: South Carolina

Postby laurabeth » Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:55 am

Thankfully my dd didn't have these horrible experiences before I took her out. She only made it through Kindergarten in PS though. She did 2 years of PreK and even though she was rather board academically she thrived socially. In K she was in a different ps and there wasn't any real social issues but there was one girl in her class who was quite a bully and she drove my daughter nuts. Luckily the bully was the exception and it was just her picking on everyone not my dd singled out. We moved yet again and she would have gone to yet another school for 1st and I decided to keep her home.

I had a horrific school life, as someone else said, I too am proof that the abuse in school does scar you for life. I like to spin the negatives into positives and I don't think I would be who I am today without that experience but I also don't think any child should have to go through it. Socially I am a loner, have been for a long time and the not having friends didn't bother me in school, it was the bullying that did, but my dd if she had been singled out I know it would have killed her. She thrives on everyone liking her. I wasn't willing to take the chance.

When I was in school it didn't matter what you wore and such until 5th grade or so. Before that everyone was "cool". Before 5th grade I was an excellent student, as were all my friends. We had group sleep overs every weekend and the teachers were great. When 5th grade hit my trouble began, the teacher was the first to single me out, for a reason I still don't know today, and no matter what I did I was getting poor grades. A few other students had similar issues but not my "friends". That was the beginning of the end. Shortly thereafter my friends abandoned me and my loner days began. In 6th grade I had a wonderful teacher, and I really had a great year other than the social torture that had begun. It went from abandonment to torture that year. For 7th grade we left elementary for the middle/high school and it only got worse. The "friends" from elementary were still the worst but more joined in when the cool crowds merged. I dealt daily with threats of "Im gonna kick your butt", teasing of my clothes and hair and on and on. It continued through 8th. In 8th grade I ended up so depressed my parents hospitalized me for 3 weeks. I went to a different school for 9th grade and I had a great year there, it was a tech school with kids from a couple dozen towns. It was a totally different enviroment there and who you were didn't matter, everyone was friendly with everyone no matter who your friends were and what clique you were in. I ended up only staying there for a year though because I wasn't able to get into the shop I wanted to and I hated the one I was in (my bad choice lol) so I ended up back at the old high school. 10th grade wasn't as bad as 6-8 but only because I had changed. I no longer cared and when I was threatened I invited them to try. Without laying a hand on a soul I managed to make the bullies scared of me instead of the other way around, but I also neglected studies and was going to flunk out. I ended up quiting school a couple months shy of the end of the year at the schools encouragement. They convinced my mother that was the best thing for me just so they wouldn't have to deal with me any more. My mom bought me a ged study book and that was that lol.

10 years later I actually went and got my GED and a year and a half later hear I am. I would love to think that my children are just to beautiful, to nice, to personable, to "cool" to ever be bullied, but the reality is kids don't need a reason like that. I saw first hand if there isn't a kid who fits into one of those they just pick someone for no reason so they have someone to pick on. And I don't want my dc on the bully side either, and just choosing not to bully with get them bullied so you cant win.

My kids are home, they have friends, they have family, they have safe, happy lives. I am so thankful I made this decision before damage was done!


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