Homeschool World Forum

[Profesora H]

I homeschooled my 4 kids for 7 years. One by one they requested to go to school. As I had lost the desire to be at home full time, I allowed them to enroll. I returned to work, eventually ending up as a public school teacher. Here is my nickel's worth:
One size does NOT fit all. People and circumstances change. Good things can come from many different experiences. I learned a lot from homeschooling. I had time for personal and spiritual development. I made more memories with my kids. When my kids went to school, they never quite bought into the whole peer-influenced thing (except one, who NOW agrees it was negative).

Now I see kids flourishing and kids floundering in my highly-ranked public school. For some, it is a happy and fulfilling thing. They keep a good relationship with their families, grow appropriately, and have lots of friends. For others, it is a sad, lonely place, or they are not able to keep up with the work, or they make negative friends.

Each family must make this decision individually. An emotionally weak parent is NOT going to be a good homeschooler. A depressed mom can do more harm than a depressed teacher. But if you have access to a good support system, and believe God equips the called, it can be a great thing.
_________________
If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

[pamom1980]

I chose to pull my children out of public school once they finished this most recent year. My decision to do so was not taken lightly. My husband and I thought about it for quite a long time before we actually did it. Each year that passed, my oldest struggled more and more. He had issues where some teachers just didn't like him and/or didn't know how to handle him, serious learning issues causing him to just not want to even try, and then of course being bullied at school just because he acted differently than others.

Then my other son began to slowly have problems in school as well. I'm not saying that the public school system is bad, but my children were not doing well with it. All three of my children were struggling for one reason or another. We chose to pull them out because we felt that they'd do better if they were homeschooled. With the kids being home and us teaching them, my children will get the needed one on one time that they were missing at the public school.

I don't know that we'll do it through their high school years, but for now-- it was the best choice for us and one that I am glad we've made.

One thing we just recently learned since deciding to homeschool: My oldest has been having such a difficult time in school with math. I always thought he knew the material and was just being stubborn.. He never wanted to do the math and he'd give the teachers problems. I thought it was partly a result from his having ADHD/OCD but what I found out was that it wasn't because he was being stubborn or due to his ADHD/OCD. Instead, I tested him and while he is now in the 7th grade, his math skills were back at around a 4th grade level. He wasn't being stubborn but he just didn't understand it. Teachers would call my husband and I in for conferences and tell us how stubborn he was being or that he was refusing to do work. They never once wanted to work with us and try to find out the source of his frustrations or WHY he was struggling. They were too quick to place blame on us as his parents and asked us what was going on at home for him to behave the way he was.

Anyway.. my point is.. A parent's decision to homeschool their child(ren) is their right and their choice. It is legal in every state and as a parent, we just want our children to grow up with a decent education and to be treated like any other child. Seeing them come home crying from being bullied is awful. My boys are in the Boy Scouts and my daughter is in the Girl Scouts. They go to the library for different activities, the playgrounds, the zoo, playgroups, etc... They will socialize and have fun. Yes, they're playing with others who are homeschooled but also get to play with other children as well. I don't think that I'm limiting my children on their socialization. I think that I'm helping them avoid the peers that would have a negative impact on them. I know that they can't avoid the "troublemakers" and I know that they have to experience life like any other child. My choice to homeschool them was out of love.

I'm sorry that the original poster had a negative experience with homeschooling but not everyone will have the same experience. I know many people that were homeschooled their entire childhood and have tons of friends both homeschooled and not. There are a lot of deciding factors that go into why parents decide to homeschool as well as how a person will grow up and how they will socialize.

I'm not trying to make anyone upset with anything I've said but just stating my own opinions...
_________________
Living life one day at a time

[DU)_CORE]

The real reason we homeschool has been summed up pretty good in the original post to this thread.....and that reason is "closed minded-ness."

Homeschooled children seem to have a much more open mind imho. I see that in my own kids and with the responses to the opening post.

For the OP it's their way or the highway but the responses I see mainly recommend to do what works best, every child is different, every school is different, every teacher is different. The OP, in their "government school" way of thinking, is unable to see that. That's the biggest difference between home school vs government school.

Social skills are a non-issue UNLESS the parents have "issues" themselves.
My children are more socially advanced than any government schooler, not because there is anything wrong with those schools, but because we as parents are social people.

When many of our friends public schooled children need/want a play-date, they request to play with our children.

Again, do what is best for your children. Unfortunately, many folks cannot because their hand is forced by the mighty dollar in that they've over-extended themselves trying to keep up with the Jones and now both parents must work or hold down several jobs.

Sometimes other issues get in the way that are legitimate.