How do you explain to "die-hard" homeschoolers tha
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 5:08 pm
you are considering enrolling your kids in private school?
I believe that every family should be able to make their own decisions about education. My sister-in-law is a single mom with 3 kids and 2 jobs to make ends meet...homeschooling is not an option for her. She doesn't like public school but her options are a bit limited. I hear other people that are only pro-public school and seem to think that you are only a good parent if you send your kid to public school to evangelize their peers and be "socialized" in the "real world". I hear other people that are only pro-homeschool and seem to think that you are sinning if you allow someone else to educate your child. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle in this. We started with Christian private school and brought my oldest home in first grade because she was having a really difficult time catching on to things. Why spend thousands of dollars just to have crying tantrums every night with homework? We didn't realize that she was ADD eventhough we saw a lot of signs. We've kept our kids (3 of them) home so that they could get 1-on-1 academic attention and progress at their own levels (some areas are ahead of grade level, some are behind).
The problem is that I'm finding more and more that I'm keeping them home because I like to teach and also because it helps me feel like I've "earned my keep" as a stay-at-home mom who doesn't bring in income financially. I don't know that this is the best reason. However, I feel like if I talk to anyone about it, the public schoolers will think that I've proven them right that homeschooling is bad. And if I talk to homeschoolers, they will think that I've failed. I'm feeling kind of selfish because I want to do something that doesn't revolve constantly around my kids.
Thoughts?
I believe that every family should be able to make their own decisions about education. My sister-in-law is a single mom with 3 kids and 2 jobs to make ends meet...homeschooling is not an option for her. She doesn't like public school but her options are a bit limited. I hear other people that are only pro-public school and seem to think that you are only a good parent if you send your kid to public school to evangelize their peers and be "socialized" in the "real world". I hear other people that are only pro-homeschool and seem to think that you are sinning if you allow someone else to educate your child. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle in this. We started with Christian private school and brought my oldest home in first grade because she was having a really difficult time catching on to things. Why spend thousands of dollars just to have crying tantrums every night with homework? We didn't realize that she was ADD eventhough we saw a lot of signs. We've kept our kids (3 of them) home so that they could get 1-on-1 academic attention and progress at their own levels (some areas are ahead of grade level, some are behind).
The problem is that I'm finding more and more that I'm keeping them home because I like to teach and also because it helps me feel like I've "earned my keep" as a stay-at-home mom who doesn't bring in income financially. I don't know that this is the best reason. However, I feel like if I talk to anyone about it, the public schoolers will think that I've proven them right that homeschooling is bad. And if I talk to homeschoolers, they will think that I've failed. I'm feeling kind of selfish because I want to do something that doesn't revolve constantly around my kids.
Thoughts?