Thinking of home schooling my kids.

[Mike C]

To any an all who are home schooling I am really interested in how you are accomplishing the education for your kids and would like to hear any thoughts about getting started or any issues you may have found along the way. I am also hearing about curriculum being used and teaching methodology.

Specifically, Irelander, Lester Polfus I saw what you posted in the textbooks thread and hope that you might be willing to share where you got started and what curriculum you went with along with methodology/delivery, (i.e. online, self taught, local co-op etc.) you might be using. I have been contemplating home schooling my son. He is miserable in school and I can't say I blame him. Currently I am retired so I have nothing but time to invest in my kids and can't think of a better investment to make. To put it politely I am appalled by what my son has been learning at school and further disgusted by the lack of time kids get to socialize and generally be outside and exercise. Here in SC my kid is eating lunch at 10 AM which is freaking nuts, (when I asked why the assistant principal stated that there is barely enough time for the kids to all squeeze in for lunch), no other snacks during the day. The kids get 30 minutes on the playground daily and P.E. only two times a week for barely 45 minutes.

Between the crap my son is repeating at home, the shit noted above and the fact that the school is literally run like a prison with music playing over a loud speaker, (so they don't talk in the lunch line) I'm about to lose it. Oh yeah, and don't get me started how I have literally been told they think my son needs ADHD medication despite no one there being a fucking doctor. Maybe if kids were allowed to move exercise and socialize during the day, (at some point) kids wouldn't be so fucking talkative. In talking with the teacher recently I found that about 60% of his class is on medication. I am really starting to feel like people are medicating the shit out of their kids because it's easier than dealing with them and I am tired of being consistently talked to about medicating my son. It seems to me like the educators here prefer it because the children are more compliant. My son is smart, articulate, reads well above his grade level and is above his grade level in math. He doesn't like to preform or do his work for his teachers but I have zero trouble with him doing his work at home. My current concern is that he is just bored and am worried about the shift in his behavior I am seeing. As of late all he talks to me about is how unhappy he is at school and how bored he is. I feel like I could easily keep him occupied and learning at home. He is naturally very curious and wants to read, learn investigate and research things. I am getting the impression that this is being squashed in class as I am being told he constantly interrupts with questions. Initially I thought this was just a personality conflict but it is the same as last year. All the staff says how polite and kind he is but I am regularly told by his teacher that he interrupts the lesson with constant questions.

Where I am at presently is I've looked at private schools, and done some preliminary research on home schooling but everything in my area has a huge waiting list for private schools and I don't see much difference between them and public. With that in mind and the price of private school being the cost of college tuition I could invest that money and travel all over the US and abroad with my kids and truly enrich their lives and experiences. There is a great deal of learning that could be had outside of traditional school. Maybe this last part is a little self serving but I can't see the down side. Really the only thing holding me back right now is the fact that I don't feel qualified to teach every subject. I have looked at co-ops though and that looks promising. If anyone can elicit some advice I would be grateful. Please feel free to PM me if you don't want to post. I could certainly use some help. Pulling my son from school to educate at home isn't something I am taking lightly. Thanks in advance to all.

[TheRoland]

I was not home schooled, but have lived in communities where it was common enough that I'm friends with several families that have. None of the children in these home school arrangements ended up with the knowledge or social skills necessary to follow a traditional white-collar career path. As someone who has succeeded on a traditional white-collar career path, this has not endeared the idea to me, personally.

I do not know if this is a universal experience born out by the statistics, and I will say that the home school families I'm aware of produced highly intelligent, skilled children who are happy. But none are getting a Masters in biotech, moving to The Valley, and bro-ing down, if that matters to you. It matters to me.

Again, this is my personal experience and your milage may vary.

[Mike C]

It does matter, I do not want my children limited by their education or the potential for further education. This is something that I have concerns about. The social aspect I am aware of in the bit of looking that I have done. To be quite honest I feel like my child already has social impairments and it seems most other children his age in the school system here are very much the same way. Very little socialization seems to happen at school here. Thank you for your input.

[Duces Tecum]

Following.

[littlejerry]

I was not home schooled, but have lived in communities where it was common enough that I'm friends with several families that have. None of the children in these home school arrangements ended up with the knowledge or social skills necessary to follow a traditional white-collar career path. As someone who has succeeded on a traditional white-collar career path, this has not endeared the idea to me, personally.

I do not know if this is a universal experience born out by the statistics, and I will say that the home school families I'm aware of produced highly intelligent, skilled children who are happy. But none are getting a Masters in biotech, moving to The Valley, and bro-ing down, if that matters to you. It matters to me.

Again, this is my personal experience and your milage may vary.

This is not universal.

I'm a mechanical engineer and my highly successful PM was homeschooled. I've known a few others who also were successful in white collar jobs(some even have masters degrees...). In fact I'd go so far as to say the people who I know that were homeschooled seemed to display a higher level of maturity for their age.

ETA: I was not homeschooled.

[Duelist]

To any an all who are home schooling I am really interested in how you are accomplishing the education for your kids and would like to hear any thoughts about getting started or any issues you may have found along the way. I am also hearing about curriculum being used and teaching methodology.

Specifically, Irelander, Lester Polfus I saw what you posted in the textbooks thread and hope that you might be willing to share where you got started and what curriculum you went with along with methodology/delivery, (i.e. online, self taught, local co-op etc.) you might be using. I have been contemplating home schooling my son. He is miserable in school and I can't say I blame him. Currently I am retired so I have nothing but time to invest in my kids and can't think of a better investment to make. To put it politely I am appalled by what my son has been learning at school and further disgusted by the lack of time kids get to socialize and generally be outside and exercise. Here in SC my kid is eating lunch at 10 AM which is freaking nuts, (when I asked why the assistant principal stated that there is barely enough time for the kids to all squeeze in for lunch), no other snacks during the day. The kids get 30 minutes on the playground daily and P.E. only two times a week for barely 45 minutes.

Between the crap my son is repeating at home, the shit noted above and the fact that the school is literally run like a prison with music playing over a loud speaker, (so they don't talk in the lunch line) I'm about to lose it. Oh yeah, and don't get me started how I have literally been told they think my son needs ADHD medication despite no one there being a fucking doctor. Maybe if kids were allowed to move exercise and socialize during the day, (at some point) kids wouldn't be so fucking talkative. In talking with the teacher recently I found that about 60% of his class is on medication. I am really starting to feel like people are medicating the shit out of their kids because it's easier than dealing with them and I am tired of being consistently talked to about medicating my son. It seems to me like the educators here prefer it because the children are more compliant. My son is smart, articulate, reads well above his grade level and is above his grade level in math. He doesn't like to preform or do his work for his teachers but I have zero trouble with him doing his work at home. My current concern is that he is just bored and am worried about the shift in his behavior I am seeing. As of late all he talks to me about is how unhappy he is at school and how bored he is. I feel like I could easily keep him occupied and learning at home. He is naturally very curious and wants to read, learn investigate and research things. I am getting the impression that this is being squashed in class as I am being told he constantly interrupts with questions. Initially I thought this was just a personality conflict but it is the same as last year. All the staff says how polite and kind he is but I am regularly told by his teacher that he interrupts the lesson with constant questions.

Where I am at presently is I've looked at private schools, and done some preliminary research on home schooling but everything in my area has a huge waiting list for private schools and I don't see much difference between them and public. With that in mind and the price of private school being the cost of college tuition I could invest that money and travel all over the US and abroad with my kids and truly enrich their lives and experiences. There is a great deal of learning that could be had outside of traditional school. Maybe this last part is a little self serving but I can't see the down side. Really the only thing holding me back right now is the fact that I don't feel qualified to teach every subject. I have looked at co-ops though and that looks promising. If anyone can elicit some advice I would be grateful. Please feel free to PM me if you don't want to post. I could certainly use some help. Pulling my son from school to educate at home isn't something I am taking lightly. Thanks in advance to all.

I’ve seen a lot of homeschoolers, and I’ve seen kids go back and forth between public education and homeschooling. The homeschool situations I’ve seen fail are when the barely literate are trying to save their chilluns from that damn gubmint school that’s ruining all the kids in town. Or when the homeschool mom has too many kids too keep up with and doesn’t really do anything, and homeschool dad is too busy working three jobs so mom can stay home with the kids to be involved.

The ones I’ve seen succeed are usually when the parents go into it with both eyes open, are realistic about expectations, use real curriculum - even though they can be adaptive and flexible to the needs of their kids, they have to have a real foundation for what they are adapting or it doesn’t work well. Especially when the parents have a reasonable level of education, they are able to help their kids learn to learn.

Re: the highlighted section: nobody really is qualified to teach every subject. It sounds like your son is in elementary school. In the early grades, general knowledge is all the teachers have to have on any given subject. They are supposed to be experts on child development and education, not on every subject that is covered. Later grades and into middle and high school, the teachers specialize. They have to!

So, homeschooling grade school is probably something a reasonably intelligent retired dude can do, especially if you get in with a solid co-op that can make up for whatever your educational deficiencies or knowledge gaps might be.

[Artemas2]

Having been home schooled since 4th grade I seem to be doing alright...

Just like kids in public school, not every one is a rocket scientist. Every family does this for their own reasons. I was introverted as a kid (still am) the school's answer to this was to pull me from class and put me in a mentally challenged program and not inform my parents what they did. After 2 years when my Mom realized what was going on...well to this day I can't believe that school is still standing, more than one person lost their job. It took me until my mid 20s to find my social niche, I don't feel held back by that. It is just who I am.

I can't speak to every decision that was made to my education, but I know my mother used every resource she could. Any subject she did not have a strong grasp on, she found someone who did and was willing to spend time with me on it.
There are likely home school groups in your area that have many families that regularly meet for both social and education reasons. Prepare to butt heads on stubborn subjects if you find you kids has trouble in a subject to the point that you are arguing about it, call in an outside tutor. You local literacy center should have that available.

We also spent a lot of time in local libraries delving in subjects that I found interesting. While there are state and federal requirements (think standardized testing) you kid can following something that THEY find interesting and are more likely to retain it.

You will need to have a curriculum that covers all the required learning objectives and retain a folder on completed papers, tests, etc and find an evaluator that you like. The evaluator reviews everything you covered for the year to verify that all learning goal are met for a given grade level. Some off them are pretty easy to work with other not so much, luckily you can chose to use another one.

Education can also come in different forms if you let it. My younger brother was also home schooled. Without getting too personal in his life, he had trouble reading until about 12 years old. The thing that got him over that hill was his determination to play Minecraft and read the wiki guides! He is now on his second semester in college for Electrical Engineering.

It is a substantial lifestyle change in everything that you will do in a day, but it also offers more freedom. With a 1/1 student teacher ratio we often covered all the subjects in under 4 hours a day. Don't feel like school today? How about Saturday instead. By 15 I was largely independent in my education and was able to just follow the book work for a given day only asking my mom for help if I was stuck on something.. often math.

A couple things you will find to be incredible frustrating is random strangers asking your kid stupid "pop quiz" questions while grocery shopping. The same random strangers will also lecture you about how you are wrong and your kids needs to be "socialized" (like a dog!), see above mention groups if that is something you feel you need. You can kindly tell these people to fuck off (I am not bitter... really!)

[BillSWPA]

Socialization is not the disadvantage with homeschooling. The biggest challenge is making sure that the kids are not over-insulated from the normal struggles that would normally strengthen them. The he kids that don’t experience this are the ones having problems later.

We live in a “good” school district, but every time I see their lame excuse for teaching math, my decision to send our kids to private school is validated. It is expensive but worth every penny.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TheNewbie]

There were several homeschooled students in my college classes. They were generally more impressive socially , behaviorally, and just as smart.


They were from religious homes.


It impressed me.

[JV_]

We currently home school 2 of my 4 kids. We do what's best for each kid. My oldest was home-schooled, but she's now in a private school - 8th grade. One of my middle kids was unwilling to learn at home, so he goes to school. The other two are home-schooled. We like picking and choosing the curriculum and we do annual tests (graded by an outside company) to gauge progress. My wife was a teacher, so I feel like we have a good handle on the situation.

We also have a very active home-school community at my church, there are probably 75 families participating. They also have a co-op teaching setup where they can go to classes once a week, and do the remainder of the work on their own.

I don't see any socialization issues with my kids. As a matter of fact, I find that home-schooled kids are far more capable of talking to adults and holding a conversation. The public school kids around me seem to scatter when adults are around, or they talk to you while looking down at the floor. Home-schooled kids also seem more open to playing with kids of other ages, public school kids seem to only want to play with kids of their own age.

[UNK]

Before you dump public schools look to see if they have a magnet program. The programs here are arranged so a student could complete one year of college before graduation.
Talk to them as they go through school and find out what they are telling them in school you disagree with. Thats your chance to counter.
No doubt about it at least around here home schooled kids, in general, are a little bit different.

[TheRoland]

I'll also suggest that figuring out how to get by in school doesn't mean you can't do a lot of learning outside of school. I didn't learn any of the science and tech that made my career in school (but did learn the writing and math).

Totally acknowledge all the stories contrary to mine. My distaste might be from being in the northeast, where the public schools options are generally good.

[UNK]

https://youtu.be/uGnTW8EhGSk

[Mike C]

¿Porque no los dos? :)

That's a damn good point. Maybe it would be good to try a practice run this summer and see how it goes.

Thank you all so for for the input please keep it coming.

[BillSWPA]

Before you dump public schools look to see if they have a magnet program. The programs here are arranged so a student could complete one year of college before graduation.
Talk to them as they go through school and find out what they are telling them in school you disagree with. Thats your chance to counter.
No doubt about it at least around here home schooled kids, in general, are a little bit different.

I had two conversations with an elementary school principal about the math program. They were teaching some of these "new' methods that go by several names, but which deviate from traditional math in ways that add steps, take longer to solve problems, and increase the likelihood of mistakes. I pointed out to this principal that, since I hold two engineering degrees, I could explain exactly why their program was setting people up to fail if they went to engineering school. She had no interest in learning. After those conversations, I learned that the husband of one of my wife's friends, who is an engineer employed by a company whose name many here would recognize, had drawn the same conclusions as me, talked to the same principal, and received the same response. Two engineers who did not know each other looked at the program, saw its flaws, and independently approached the school, and both were ignored. I later learned that the son of one of my wife's brother's friends, who is currently a senior in high school, cannot multiply because of the ineffective way math is taught.

The school board was, until recently, dominated by liberal Democrats who do not care one bit about what the taxpayers in their district think. The superintendent has her own agenda, which included trying to silence a valedictorian who included a statement about her Christian faith in her graduation speech, backing down only after the family's lawyer got involved. Talking to these people would be a waste of time.

Again, this is supposedly a "good" public school, which seems to mean it is the top tin can in the dump.

[JAD]

I particularly appreciate the OP’s comments about medication; that’s a rampant issue in all schools right now.

I have seen home schooling work very well. My wife is a teacher and we’ve done it for short periods when we felt like our boy needed to catch up. Curriculum is very important — we are huge fans of Memoria Press. Coops can work.

The most important thing is routine and schedule.

The big catch is it’s really fucking hard.

[Darth_Uno]

My brother and I were homeschooled. So was my wife, but I didn’t know her growing up. I’m sure a lot has changed in the nearly 25 years I’ve been out of school, but I say go for it.

That said, we elected not to homeschool our son. But our district is very good, and continues to put out some of the highest testing scores in the state. I’ve been quite pleased with it; my experience has been the exact opposite of OP’s. It’s also a smaller district which helps. Believe me, I would have homeschooled him at the first sign of trouble...but there hasn’t been any. Not perfect for sure, but really no major complaints.

To respond to TheRoland; granted, there’s a few out there, but the homeschooler with all the social skills of Rain Man is a stereotype of the past. I personally know several homeschoolers who went on to earn various degrees and achieve much success with Fortune 500 and 100 companies in many fields. Of course, not all or even most went that far; but neither did my friends who went to public or private schools. So homeschooling isn’t a surefire recipe for success, but neither does it put you behind for social skills. If anything, the majority have been able to navigate relationships with a much broader age group.

[Yung]

This is a sidebar, but if I were to ever raise children and I really wanted to plant the seeds of true independence and critical thinking, I'd take them to learn from Dark Angel and Lone Star, and every so often we'd practice putting tourniquets, chest seals, and bandages on each other. They'd probably have their own IFAK before their first wallet, and understand that it is for them and not necessarily for their friends.

Regardless of whatever their schools would (or wouldn't) do to keep them safe and aware, the next (every) time everyone is abuzz about the next masscal incident in the news, learning will occur and be reinforced in their own observations of what their classmates and teachers say and do.

I know some of you guys have done something like that already.

[Lester Polfus]

Every time I sit down to write a cogent reply to this, life intervenes.

It's almost bedtime and I have two brain cells left, so I'm going to weigh in tomorrow, but I'm not ignoring you.

[Darth_Uno]

A couple things you will find to be incredible frustrating is random strangers asking your kid stupid "pop quiz" questions while grocery shopping. The same random strangers will also lecture you about how you are wrong and your kids needs to be "socialized" (like a dog!), see above mention groups if that is something you feel you need. You can kindly tell these people to fuck off (I am not bitter... really!)

We were part of the “first wave” if you will, so it was much less common at the time to see kids out and about on a school day. “Are kids off school today? Homeschooled? Is that even legal?”

[JohnO]

Every time I sit down to write a cogent reply to this, life intervenes.

It's almost bedtime and I have two brain cells left, so I'm going to weigh in tomorrow, but I'm not ignoring you.

Me too. Have an early meeting tomorrow. Ugh!

Homeschooled 4. Last one finishing now.

Most beneficial thing we ever did was join a large homeschooling group. Activities every Friday. Summer & Winter Theater productions with kids filling all roles and stage work. Group field trips. Many activities year round e.g. Turkey Bowl Large touch football game the day after Thanksgiving. Enough participants to have 4-5 games running simultaneously.) Dances including a Silver & Gold Ball for high school grads home from college on Christmas break. Dad’s poker night. 👍

All the kids have accomplished quite a lot. Socialization was never an issue. Yeah you see that sometimes with homeschooled kids but I could also easily find plenty of weird, strange and anti-social conventionally schooled kids.

Oldest finished High School in 3 years at home. Graduated at the top of her class from Hillsdale College and while at Hillsdale got admitted to Kings College, Oxford University and did a semester in England. She completed a Masters of Fine Arts and is teaching now.

I’ll end with this for now. Years back my wife emailed the admissions department at USMA West Point and asked if they accept homeschoolers with Mom’s transcripts. The response: “That’s exactly what we are looking for.”

[JV_]

The big catch is it’s really fucking hard.I think it's more time consuming than hard. It's much easier and faster if you choose to go with a boxed curriculum, rather than try to do it on your own. For the stay-at-home parent, it is a full time job.

If you have kids that are even slightly motivated, they can finish a home-school day in a small fraction of time they'd be in public school.

[JV_]

Socialization was never an issue.

IME, the socialization argument is largely a chicken and egg problem. Are they home-schooled because the social side of public school wasn't working out?

Are there kids who are home-schooled who are neglected in some way (ie. the parents aren't really home-schooling)? Sure, I don't doubt it. But it's not the norm.

[fixer]

Starting the home-school journey right now. Following with interest.

[willie]

I've been up all night and have not yet gone to bed. Though being exhausted, I will comment. I did not see your child's grade level but got the impression he is in elementary school. I did not recall comments indicating that you have the whole picture. States rate school districts. Yours will have a rating. You might inquire. Too, achievement test scores are public information. Your child's scores will indicate level of mastery in reading, writing, and math. Is your child in special education? If so, he has been tested by certified specialists. If he does display attention deficit and hyperactivity traits, these tests will verify their existence. Medical doctors prescribe based on these test results. If your child shows this behavior at school, he also will show it at home when required to perform.

I think you need more data and suggest that you first meet with your son's counselor and then visit with his principal. You can visit your son at school and have lunch with him. You can bring food from home. You could have his doctor write that the boy be allowed to have snacks.

Demographics determine much about what takes place at school. That might be a consideration. Let me urge you not to make negative comments about the school in your child's presence. They will color his view. Further, he will feed the same information back to you.

If your son is in special education, then he has special needs. Law requires schools to meet them.

[JohnO]

Having homeschooled 4 kids I can say everyone is different. The two girls were more motivated and only required occasional guidance. The boys well the supervision there was a few notches higher.

Our journey into homeschooling started when my daughter (oldest) got sick. It's a long story I won't bore you. During 5th grade she was unable to attend school so we adapted and overcame. When High School time came along she asked if she could try going back to school. We let her go. Within the 2nd week she came to us and said, "I know you didn't plan for me to be homeschooled this year but they are so far behind me in school that it would be a waste of my time to stay there. Can I resume at home?" And we did.

We pulled my oldest son from school after we got established homeschooling his sister. He finished 3rd grade in the school system. My youngest two have never seen the inside of what they called "prison for kids" (school building).

One of the things we were able to do was take advantage of school system. My daughter was able to take selected classes at the high school. She attended Vocal Jazz and Chorus. I'm told that varies by state how the laws regarding homeschooling work. Connecticut lets you opt in. Others are not so accommodating. I can almost bet she was counted a regular student by the town (using minimal resources). Only my oldest did this the other three had no desire.

A standard question my wife and I always got: Are you or your spouse a teacher? "No, anyone with a decent amount of intelligence can do it."

To be fair (not to brag) my oldest has something special going on. She always was way ahead of the curve and she would have been successful no matter where she received her education. Due to the fact that she was in the school system and through some of the standardized tests she took she was invited to take the SAT in 5th grade. In 5th grade she scored higher than most of the high school juniors taking it at the normal time. One of the essays she wrote for the college admission process was published by a national newspaper. I'll never forget the look on the face of the admission counselor at Hillsdale when my daughter said, "I wrote an essay for the admission process at another school. It answers one of your essay prompts can I submit it here? The counselor said "yes". Then my daughter said, "your requirement is 3000 words or less, my essay is 4000+ but it was published in ..." The counselor: "We want to see that in it original form, can you also edit it down to satisfy our requirement?" She did, they got both and I knew she was In like Flynn.

[JAD]

I'll never forget the look on the face of the admission counselor at Hillsdale .

As Shi'ite Catholic as I am, I would be tickled pink if we could get into Hillsdale. It's not in the cards, probably, but it's a stretch goal. For me. I think the kid is torn between Benedictine and clown school.

[JohnO]

As Shi'ite Catholic as I am, I would be tickled pink if we could get into Hillsdale. It's not in the cards, probably, but it's a stretch goal. For me. I think the kid is torn between Benedictine and clown school.

A friend works at Benedictine. My son graduated from Thomas Aquinas College and my daughter currently attends Franciscan University.

[JAD]

IME, the socialization argument is largely a chicken and egg problem..

There's also a very important question of what they're being socialized towards. My kid spends more than half of his waking hours at school. I can work really hard to instill values and discipline and have it completely f'd by a cute chick with daddy issues. Homeschooling frees you up to have much greater control over the exposure the kid receives to values that differ from yours, and a much greater ability to frame that exposure in its proper context. I can sit in front of the record player with the kid and talk about the difference between Tom Araya's costume party satanism, Neil Peart's slowly evolving Freidenker persona, and Geezer Butler's heartfelt Christianity. I think that's a superior formative experience to sitting next to a kid carving pentagrams in his arm in third grade.

[Cory]

I was home schooled from 5th grade until I received my GED at 16 years old. I then attended a local college at 16, took 15 credits and had a 3.91 GPA.

My parents homeschooled my brother and I due to concerns with what was being taught socially in school. The school allowed my brother to pass grades without learning. It came to a head when I was punished for dealing with a bully the way he dealt with me.

My Mom used a canned curriculum from Abeka books (Pensacola Christian Academy) plus curriculum she made. There were assignments, reports, quizes, tests. Mom cared. So if I didn't score 90% or above I had to restudy and take a make up test Mom created. Additionally, we would periodically have extra classes like learning to spot wildlife sign in the woods. Or how to balance a budget and checkbook. Or how to cook basic meals (man, I was bad at this) or how to change brakes. I did fine on the GED (my brother struggled and took it twice. He is definitely a hands on learner. He now works in construction for the county - but extremely excells at PC tech stuff.), did fine in college (at 16) on my ASVAB, and later in college getting my degree (2 year. Quit just shy of a 4 year. After the military I was a bit to independent to play games with professors)

Social intelligence is often discussed about homeschooling. I had neighbors as friends and was pretty normal. The difference was I had a few good friends, not a lot of mediocre "friends". While I'm a bit direct, and kind of an asshole, that's not really due to homeschooling. Many like to champion homeschoolers as dumb, socially inept, slobs. But how many people who were homeschooled have they interacted with an had no idea?

There are downfalls. I really wanted to play sports. Wrestling and football. I couldn't. My local school district found out the current rules let homeschoolers play when my older brother played football. They quickly changed the rules after and I wasn't allowed. I was at times lonely, and wish I had more chances to meet girls. I'm pretty happy with my life now, and look back on this as early teenage angst now. At the time it was difficult, but it's likely all coming of age is.

It was hard financially for my parents. Dad worked full time, through the years mom worked part time and full time. We weren't rich. Some of that is because of homeschool, some is our area was economically depressed. And we werent from money.

There are positives. I was prepared for the real world with stuff some of my public school friends werent. I was taught about books AND life. I could prioritize and manage time well ahead of my peers. My family is incredibly close. My brother and I are very different, but very close. My Mom and Dad are some of my closest friends. I can talk and confide in them. Now that I have a family of my own, they often do the same.

Often I woke in the morning, did my school assignments, did my chores, and then it was 1 o' clock. When my buddies got home from school I would go ride bikes or go hiking. Pretty normal kid in general.

I'm not an expeet, but if you have questions about it feel free to PM me.

-Cory

[JAD]

A friend works at Benedictine. My son graduated from Thomas Aquinas College and my daughter currently attends Franciscan University.

That, sir, is a vulgar display of parenting.

[Mike C]

I've been up all night and have not yet gone to bed. Though being exhausted, I will comment. I did not see your child's grade level but got the impression he is in elementary school. I did not recall comments indicating that you have the whole picture. States rate school districts. Yours will have a rating. You might inquire. Too, achievement test scores are public information. Your child's scores will indicate level of mastery in reading, writing, and math. Is your child in special education? If so, he has been tested by certified specialists. If he does display attention deficit and hyperactivity traits, these tests will verify their existence. Medical doctors prescribe based on these test results. If your child shows this behavior at school, he also will show it at home when required to perform.

I think you need more data and suggest that you first meet with your son's counselor and then visit with his principal. You can visit your son at school and have lunch with him. You can bring food from home. You could have his doctor write that the boy be allowed to have snacks.

Demographics determine much about what takes place at school. That might be a consideration. Let me urge you not to make negative comments about the school in your child's presence. They will color his view. Further, he will feed the same information back to you.

If your son is in special education, then he has special needs. Law requires schools to meet them.

All very excellent points, the school district we live in is the best in the state according to every rating I can find. I will admit I probably don't have the whole picture but, I believe with the expense time and effort I have gone through I have about as good an understanding as I can have. I have had regular meetings with the school guidance counselor, assistant principle, principle, teacher, school physiologist, and psychologist. I have enrolled my son in the 504 and now worked our way into another program to which I somewhat feel railroaded into and an unsure if it is even making a difference for my son.

More background, my son is presently 7. He started kindergarten in an emersion program with English part of the day and French the other, (his mother is French born citizen) so he had a leg up on other students. His distaste for school started day one when his French teacher, (previously high school before coming here, first year with 5K) wrote a, "sad face" on his report for the day because he was having a hard time sitting still, (there is a great deal of cultural difference and expectation in France for children). Afterwards, he would not preform for his teacher counting, speaking and responding to her direction even though he could do these things at home in French, English or some basic sign language. Difficulties continued after that, if there was a personality conflict with a teacher he would act out and be defiant, with teachers/staff he got along with or were, "nice to him" he would behave. I was regularly told, "he is the most polite child they have ever met, or had at the school" (not entirely sure if they were sugar coating). He was still, "always polite and respectful" but would flat out ignore staff if he didn't get along with them. My wife and I made a decision based on the recommendation of the school to keep him back. We did so. My understanding is that kids with ADD and ADHD mature at a slower rate. Being a little old or on par with others in maturity we didn't think was a bad idea. He noticed he was kept back and was upset about it.

I will preface by sayin I do think my has ADHD from what I have read, observed and been reported from evaluations both by school and independently. To give you a better idea I have had my son independently tested twice, once by a family friend who knows him as well and is a school psychologist in a neighboring district. The second eval was completed by unbiased individual who did not know my son and was even more credentialed that the family friend. Based on all the forms we filled out, evals, observations, reports and testing he has ADHD but show now other signs of any other, "disabilities or disorders".

One of the major issues I am struggling with is that my son has been evaluated at the school, (and enrolled in 504 due to ADHD) the catalyst was difficulty getting him to finish his work among the incessant talking, questions and fidgeting. He was tested by the school and is on par or well above his grade level for most of the things I care about. I.E. math, reading writing etc. Much of the behavior experienced at school is only partially observed/experienced at home. So not everything is congruent. At the end of one of my meetings for 504 after it was decided to move forward with an individual learning plan the school physiologist voiced her opinion that she believed my son is a mildly autistic and wanted to diagnose him with Asperger's/mild autism.

I disagreed and so did other parties who have evaluated and know my son who were on the phone at the meeting. The first reaction from out family friend who specializes in autism and has now known my son for over 2 years said, "hell no." The other specialist politely disagreed. These are the same people who stated medication should be an absolute last resort due to my sons age, to which I agree despite having repeatedly by staff been told we need to try medication. Which, by the way is not legal nor ethical for them to say. At the request of my wife we have tried four different medications. All of them had serious negative reactions, two of which caused my son to start talking about killing himself or wishing he wasn't here. I am no longer willing to revisit that shit. My son went from excited, happy and sociable to down right depressed and antisocial.

To your point on not speaking ill of the school or staff I appreciate that. My wife and I have a pretty hard rule of not talking about adult stuff around the kids. I realize that everything I say and do around my children will in some way affect them. I do my best to model correctly for them so that I don't get regurgitation of my own bias and opinions. I really do appreciate the reminder as I believe we can all use it from time to time. I appreciate all the thoughts opinions and input so far. I didn't honestly expect so much from this thread so I am grateful to all. This isn't a decision I am taking lightly and will illicit all the help and information I can get. I want to have eyes wide open whether we keep our son where he is, send him to private school or home school him.

ETA: Sorry if some of this is not cleanly laid out but a lot has happened in the last several months and it's hard to organize and lay everything out on here in short time and condensed format.

[Erick Gelhaus]

Maybe of interest, maybe not ...

A classmate of mine/wife of co-worker homeschooled their boys - one is finishing an architecture MS at a major southern school, the other is at a state U doing something in the science field.

Anyway, she wrote a book on their experiences, I've heard it is well received.

https://www.amazon.com/Long-Dont-Turn-Them-Weirdos/dp/1545619689/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1579109048&refinements=p_27%3AJanell+Smiley&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Janell+Smiley

[45dotACP]

I was home schooled until I went to high school.

We would play various team sports with other homeschoolers in leagues or tournaments. My sisters were volleyball players, my brother and I did tennis, we all did shooting or martial arts, but the gun stuff was through 4H and the martial arts was through a nearby church. Neither were specific to homeschoolers but a few of our fellow martial arts students were homeschooled as well so they would join the group as well to take advantage of it's organization, resources and community. My Mom graduated with a degree in music education and was a pianist in her youth, so there was music as well.

This was prior to the internet so most of it was due to a very tightly knit group of homeschoolers that had a series of newsletters they sent out to keep everyone in the loop on activities, get togethers, sports etc.

Not everyone used the same curriculum or textbooks, but everyone did standardized testing. Our curriculum was a mishmash of a strong reading program for history, literature and religion. Complex subjects like mathematics, science and writing were done via a series of DVDs that coincided with textbooks that we would watch. We organized our homework and assignments with planners. Tests were administered by the parents, who then used a grading rubric. If we did poorly we were made to re-do the lesson until we could understand it.

Most people did it out of a deep mistrust of what they considered a morally bankrupt public education system, however my parents did it because my two oldest siblings had been in the public education system and it was ass. Poorly organized, ineffective at teaching concepts and a gross failure at developing a social, well rounded kid. Rural Indiana had a lot of meth, not a lot of opportunities, and the average kid there was a dumb redneck.

My mom accurately assessed the situation that the system where we lived was geared towards the lowest common denominator and wasn't based on producing high performing students. She said "I can do this better" and I'm pretty sure she did, up until we moved to a fairly affluent IL suburb following on my Dad getting a significant promotion. At that point I went to a public high school, did well, went to nursing school, did well and now I'm working as a nurse and doing well.

Tl;Dr

The Good:
1. It's great if you live somewhere that doesn't have a great public education system.
2. You won't have problems socializing of you find a good Homeschoolers group that puts events together, gets the kids socializing and has resources/advice for you
3. We performed in the top levels of standardized testing compared to our peers from public school, so our curriculum seemed to work.
4. We were allowed to explore subjects that would have been taboo in public school (firearms, martial arts and Christian theology/philosophy)

The bad:
1. It can be a bit of an echo chamber. Lots of homeschoolers tend to be conservative and deeply mistrust any public system.
2. If you don't have a group to be in, your kids will be poorly socialized and probably awkward
3. My mom was actually a teacher, so she understood how to teach. Not everyone does. Overall it's not too hard though because we kids were responsible for organizing our homework and studying and for all the educational theory out there, the most simple was "watch the lesson, read the assignments, do the homework, take the test."

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

[JohnO]

As Shi'ite Catholic as I am, I would be tickled pink if we could get into Hillsdale.

FYI. A significant percentage of students at Hillsdale have been homeschooled. The Marines recruit actively on campus and are quite welcome.

Hillsdale was an amazing experience. I remember day one at the convocation. Dr. Arnn addressed the incoming class and told them there is no grade inflation at Hillsdale. An A really requires outstanding work. He said that for the first time in 15 years there is one student on campus with a 4.0 GPA. He went on to talk about a recent graduate who was starting Harvard Law School. Arnn asked him if having a 3.8 GPA made it difficult getting into a program where everyone who gets in has a 4.0. Arnn said the student replied "no not at all they know what a 3.8 GPA from Hillsdale means. Then Arnn told us that student had the highest score in the country on the LSAT.

The work required at Hillsdale is quite rigorous. One has to be committed to be successful. They are very old school in their ways. Grades are sent to the parents. They say you're paying you should know. Every semester there is a day where you get 10 minutes to sit down with each of your child's professors. It's an event you sign up for and they ring a bell and you move on to your next appointment. All the professors are set up in cubicles or at a table in an auditorium.

I remember my daughter's first semester on campus at the meet the professor day. My daughter was struggling under the work load. I decided to sit down with the Dean of Women Students (something like that, not sure I remember her exact title). She had an open seat and I figured, how could it hurt. I mentioned my daughter adjusting to the new environment and the school. Her immediate response was, yes everyone goes through it and they all think it's only them. Then I mentioned how she had just turned 17 and had completed high school in 3 years. That woman had my daughter in her office right away and continued to check up on her throughout the semester. The attention the students get there is amazing, second to none.

Everything on campus is merit based. Want to live in a particular dorm? That's determined by your GPA. You want something? Earn it!

[Irelander]

Mike C, I commend your desire to give your son a better education based on your families values. There are 4 different learning styles and public schools and most private schools only cater to 1 or 2 learning styles so kids who learn differently are left behind and often "diagnosed" with ADD or ADHD just because they learn differently than some of their peers. Most of these kids are just bored or confused with what they are being taught. Homeschooling gives you a chance to not only tailor your child's education to their learning style but also teach your child how to adapt to be able to learn via any of the other learning styles.

We are Christians and seek out Christian based programs but don't be afraid of these, they are not at all in your face about Biblical teaching, they are just absent of any amoral ideals or social engineering. Just good clean education.

My wife homeschools (no internet) our daughter who is in kindergarten. We use different curricula for different subjects. My wife is really in love with the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling where the child learns from reading real books instead of textbooks. So we read a lot to her and she is now reading children's books on her own. We do not adhere wholly to the Charlotte Mason method but we use it a lot. I am an engineer and I love math so I am teaching her math from the Singapore Math curriculum. My wife has used the All About Reading and All About Spelling curricula for a while now. She also uses Handwriting Without Tears, Sonlight, Veritas Press, and some others. Each of the programs has strengths and weaknesses based on your child's learning style and you can mix and match as much as you want. Abeka is very good but is more textbook/workbook based like a traditional school. Our daughter does not do well with that routine. There are lots of good reviews on Homeschool curricula out there on Youtube that my wife is constantly looking over.

We really don't worry about the whole socializing thing. Our daughter is very outgoing and gets plenty of socialization at church, play dates, trips to the park, etc. My mother teaches piano lessons and gets public, private and homeschooled students. She finds that the public school kids are much more socially awkward than the homeschool or private schooled kids. The homeschool kids seem to be comfortable in all situations and can carry on a meaningful conversation with an adult easily as well. Every child is different but I generally think the whole fear of your homeschooled child being socially awkward is simply not true.

I think Co-ops are great if you can find a good one. Our daughter is young and our local co-op is a bit of a train wreck for the elementary grades but looks to be very organized for the high school. So for now we are doing school at home

My daughter is excelling in her education much faster than we expected, which we attribute to tailoring her education to her learning style. She is interested and excited about school and gets to spend her day with Mommy.

Feel free to ask me any questions and if I don't know the answer I'll just ask my wife. You can PM me as well.

[Yung]

I went to public school. In high school I took IB and AP classes; part of this status as an 'IB kid' allowed us to skip PE we had less elective requirements. Naturally I stuck with band.

In hindsight, this was a bad choice on my part, as my parents had already put us in private piano lessons for our entire childhood on the basis that it was what the wealthier Chinese immigrants were doing with their kids. I'm thankful for the influence of the creative element that music gave me, but if I could do it over again I'd have requested just sticking with music at school and trading piano for a physical component, specifically Olympic weightlifting. A few years back I volunteered as a loader at a state-level competition and felt a bit jealous at the kid who were participating, some as young as 11.

Not sure if they would have said yes. That would have been more expensive, and would have affected my dad's self-imposed obligations at church when it came to performing in Sunday worship.

[JAD]

We use different curricula for different subjects. My wife is really in love with the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling where the child learns from reading real books instead of textbooks. So we read a lot to her and she is now reading children's books on her own. We do not adhere wholly to the Charlotte Mason method but we use it a lot. I am an engineer and I love math so I am teaching her math from the Singapore Math curriculum. My wife has used the All About Reading and All About Spelling curricula for a while now. She also uses Handwriting Without Tears, Sonlight, Veritas Press, and some others.


Take a look at Rod and Staff for primary arithmetic. Best we've found.
https://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/math/rod-staff-grade-1-math-set/

[Darth_Uno]

When I was 14 we inquired about playing on the high school baseball team. We were told I couldn’t play because I didn’t go to that school. That was technically true, but years later I realized if I was really that good they would’ve found a way to make it happen. :p

But I had played city (actually three small towns) league up to that point, and my dad even coached. So yeah. It’s not like we woke up, did school, then just hid inside until we could do it again tomorrow.

[JohnO]

That, sir, is a vulgar display of parenting.

All our kids were given a Mom & Dad approved list of colleges to pick from. My daughter had the grades and the smarts to get into Yale. Heck she could have commuted if they allowed it. But we were not going to send a still impressionable young adult into a liberal hotbed were pinko professors could undo the values we worked on her entire life.

Some of the schools on our short list.
Hillsdale
Thomas Aquinas College
Franciscan University
Wyoming Catholic College - It takes a unique individual here. Freshmen Orientation is a 3-week wilderness expedition in the Rocky Mountains.
University of Dallas
Thomas Moore College

[Irelander]

Take a look at Rod and Staff for primary arithmetic. Best we've found.
https://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/math/rod-staff-grade-1-math-set/

YES! I forgot that one. We have used Rod and Staff. Memoria Press is a great resource.

[JAD]

All our kids were given a Mom & Dad approved list of colleges to pick from. My daughter had the grades and the smarts to get into Yale. Heck she could have commuted if they allowed it. But we were not going to send a still impressionable young adult into a liberal hotbed were pinko professors could undo the values we worked on her entire life.

Some of the schools on our short list.
Hillsdale
Thomas Aquinas College
Franciscan University
Wyoming Catholic College - It takes a unique individual here. Freshmen Orientation is a 3-week wilderness expedition in the Rocky Mountains.
University of Dallas
Thomas Moore College

There's a lot of commonality there with the Newman Society's list, which is my reference:
Ave Maria University
Belmont Abbey College
Benedictine College
The Catholic University of America
Christendom College
Franciscan University of Steubenville
John Paul the Great Catholic University
Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts
Thomas Aquinas College
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
University of Dallas
University of Mary
University of St. Thomas
Walsh University
Wyoming Catholic College

[Irelander]

When I was 14 we inquired about playing on the high school baseball team. We were told I couldn’t play because I didn’t go to that school. That was technically true, but years later I realized if I was really that good they would’ve found a way to make it happen. :p

But I had played city (actually three small towns) league up to that point, and my dad even coached. So yeah. It’s not like we woke up, did school, then just hid inside until we could do it again tomorrow.

I went to a private high school and really wanted to run track at the public school district my parent's payed taxes to. The school said it was a no go, which I think they were not allowed to do. But anyway, I played soccer at my school and loved it.

My daughter does dance, and several things at the YMCA, so she gets to interact with lots of kids.

[Zincwarrior]

There's a lot of commonality there with the Newman Society's list, which is my reference:
Ave Maria University
Belmont Abbey College
Benedictine College
The Catholic University of America
Christendom College
Franciscan University of Steubenville
John Paul the Great Catholic University
Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts
Thomas Aquinas College
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
University of Dallas
University of Mary
University of St. Thomas
Walsh University
Wyoming Catholic College

Will these get you into a top 20 university grad program? this is not a criticism but a question.

[0ddl0t]

If your son is in special education, then he has special needs.

Probably, but not always. Someone else in this thread mentioned they were mis-tracked into special ed, and briefly I was as well. For me it was as simple as a very bored elementary student stuck in a class "taught to the lowest common denominator" being given a test they were told would not affect their grade. My response was to ignore the test questions and fill in the scantron with geometric patterns so I could go to recess right away. Welcome to special ed!

My parents questioned the move, but the teachers never did. Once I was finally retested (at my parents' expense) with the instructions "even though you won't be graded, this test actually does matter and will affect your class placement" I was moved from special ed into the gifted program.

[JohnO]

There's a lot of commonality there with the Newman Society's list, which is my reference:
Ave Maria University
Belmont Abbey College
Benedictine College
The Catholic University of America
Christendom College
Franciscan University of Steubenville
John Paul the Great Catholic University
Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts
Thomas Aquinas College
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
University of Dallas
University of Mary
University of St. Thomas
Walsh University
Wyoming Catholic College

Just some info.

My daughter applied to Belmont Abby and was accepted and heavily recruited but chose Hillsdale.
Catholic Univ. Expensive, can be iffy depending on the professors, not super homeschooling friendly wanted us to provide a synopses of our daughter's curriculum. No one else ever asked.
Recently heard about some shenanigans going on a Benedictine College.
Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts - Had the reputation of a boot camp type of college. room inspections ...
John Paul the Great Catholic University relatively - New school. Almost like a popup in the center of town. A couple kids from our group attending.

[JAD]

Will these get you into a top 20 university grad program? this is not a criticism but a question.

Some of them, for sure. Some of them have different end goals. If that was my boy's emphasis, I'd look particularly hard at UD, Benedictine, Thomas Aquinas, St. Thomas. Beyond that, some of them have top 20 grad programs within specific fields.

[JAD]

Just some info.

My daughter applied to Belmont Abby and was accepted and heavily recruited but chose Hillsdale.
Catholic Univ. Expensive, can be iffy depending on the professors, not super homeschooling friendly wanted us to provide a synopses of our daughter's curriculum. No one else ever asked.
Recently heard about some shenanigans going on a Benedictine College.
Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts - Had the reputation of a boot camp type of college. room inspections ...
John Paul the Great Catholic University relatively - New school. Almost like a popup in the center of town. A couple kids from our group attending.

Good G2 but it will be out of date by the time I'm actually shopping in 9 years. PM me about Benedictine, please -- I have several friends who are lining their kids up to go there.

[JohnO]

Will these get you into a top 20 university grad program? this is not a criticism but a question.

I can't speak to all of the schools but based on what I have seen over the past 20 years in a large homeschooling group where everyone keeps in touch, yes some will.

Harvard & Princeton. But you have to understand that a lot of the families/students that choose one of those undergrad schools go there for a reason. Like my daughter some very well could have gone to a bigger named (more prestigious, in some people's eyes) school but had reasons why they chose what they did. So just like in shooting it's the Indian not the Arrow. The arrow being the school.

[Zincwarrior]

I can't speak to all of the schools but based on what I have seen over the past 20 years in a large homeschooling group where everyone keeps in touch, yes some will.

Harvard & Princeton. But you have to understand that a lot of the families/students that choose one of those undergrad schools go there for a reason. Like my daughter some very well could have gone to a bigger named (more prestigious, in some people's eyes) school but had reasons why they chose what they did. So just like in shooting it's the Indian not the Arrow. The arrow being the school.

But the arrow matters in what grad school and companies will be hiring after.

[JAD]

But the arrow matters in what grad school and companies will be hiring after.

People with character and connections get hired. Degrees are tertiary. We're hiring a shit ton of engineers right now. We have an MIT MS on staff; we hire well and pay extraordinarily well for the area. The engineering VP and I had this discussion a week ago -- you know what gets you to the top of the pile? Eagle scout.BB/BS. KoC 4th degree. Evidence of good character.

[willie]

Participation in extracurricular activities and volunteering, having had leadership roles and won awards, grades, and
ACT or SAT scores, and recommendations carry great weight in college admissions. Some of these are easily attained by kids who are home schooled.

[LittleLebowski]

Participation in extracurricular activities and volunteering, having had leadership roles and won awards, grades, and
ACT or SAT scores, and recommendations carry great weight in college admissions. Some of these are easily attained by kids who are home schooled.

Not in my state. In Virginia, home schooled children are not allowed to use school facilities nor participate in school sports. Happily, the home schooling parents still get to pay taxes that fund these things their children cannot use, though :)

[Mike C]

Maybe of interest, maybe not ...

A classmate of mine/wife of co-worker homeschooled their boys - one is finishing an architecture MS at a major southern school, the other is at a state U doing something in the science field.

Anyway, she wrote a book on their experiences, I've heard it is well received.

https://www.amazon.com/Long-Dont-Turn-Them-Weirdos/dp/1545619689/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1579109048&refinements=p_27%3AJanell+Smiley&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Janell+Smiley

I’ll order it when I get back tonight. Thanks!

[JohnO]

People with character and connections get hired. Degrees are tertiary. We're hiring a shit ton of engineers right now. We have an MIT MS on staff; we hire well and pay extraordinarily well for the area. The engineering VP and I had this discussion a week ago -- you know what gets you to the top of the pile? Eagle scout.BB/BS. KoC 4th degree. Evidence of good character.

Both of my boys are Eagles. Going to the local Council Eagle Scout dinner Saturday with my newest Eagle.

[Zincwarrior]

People with character and connections get hired. Degrees are tertiary. We're hiring a shit ton of engineers right now. We have an MIT MS on staff; we hire well and pay extraordinarily well for the area. The engineering VP and I had this discussion a week ago -- you know what gets you to the top of the pile? Eagle scout.BB/BS. KoC 4th degree. Evidence of good character.

You noted the part about connections. Thats what gets you looked at before there is a pile is made.
One place to make those connections is a good university, hence my question.

[JohnO]

But the arrow matters in what grad school and companies will be hiring after.

My oldest whom I have said the most about has all the fancy pants credentials. You know what she is lacking? Moral indecency! Yes you heard that correctly. Her chosen field in which she has great talent is Poetry. Yes she has gotten he work published buy numerous academic journals but she would be doing a dam site better if she was writing about her trans-gender journey, fellatio or other crap that is getting scooped up and slapped on paper like you can't believe. The world is upside down!

[Zincwarrior]

Participation in extracurricular activities and volunteering, having had leadership roles and won awards, grades, and
ACT or SAT scores, and recommendations carry great weight in college admissions. Some of these are easily attained by kids who are home schooled.

Excellent point. This is really what was I was asking about.

[JohnO]

Not in my state. In Virginia, home schooled children are not allowed to use school facilities nor participate in school sports. Happily, the home schooling parents still get to pay taxes that fund these things their children cannot use, though :)

One of the few good things in CT are the homeschooling regulations. Homeschoolers in my town can even play on the school sports teams. Boy would I love to get a property tax rebate for all the money my town saved due to my kids not participating in the school system.

[willie]

Not in my state. In Virginia, home schooled children are not allowed to use school facilities nor participate in school sports. Happily, the home schooling parents still get to pay taxes that fund these things their children cannot use, though :)

I omitted the word "not" by error. I had intended to point out that participation in extracurricular activities and such are not easily attainable by home schoolers. The school where I taught was and is a war zone and ranks in the bottom 25 percent in Texas--and has for the last 33 years. There are many others like it in the state. I understand why parents might elect home schooling in some instances. However, this choice can have many shortcomings. One is less opportunity for social skills development, and another is a curriculum lacking academic rigor. It seems that everybody thinks he is an expert in education. Schools have their share of incompetents, but more are found in districts having a history of poor leadership. Achievement scores are good indicators of competent leadership. Low teacher turn over rate is another. My opinion is that special education children would benefit less in home schooling. Not every parent has the temperament, level of organization, motivation, and subject matter knowledge to teach their children at home.

[Quantrill]

My 14 and 8 year old kids are home schooled. They have never attended public school.

I love it. The time that we spend as family is worth every penny my wife doesn’t earn by staying home. My kids are very “normal”. To the “they’ll be weirdos!” crowd I say that weirdo school shooters are members of the public school system. I know several other home school kids and they are all mature for their age

Homeschooling is what you make of it. If you put out the effort it will go well. Try out co-ops and other organizations, see what works for you. Maybe dual enrollment is a fit if your state allows it. Join HSLD.

We’re using Christian Light curriculum until high school then switched Penn Foster.

Good luck with your decision.

Edited for spelling cuz I went to public school. Lol

[AKDoug]

I don't feel like getting into the debate... all I will say is that it was the best thing we ever did for our kids. We've had zero problems with our three, now adult, kids. They make good choices and live good lives.

[Odin Bravo One]

I battled with the same decision in similar circumstances. I’m retired. My kid was starting kindergarten and I didn’t want him lost in the sauce at public school.

Fortunately private school here is fucking awesome. Yes, it is expensive, but I consider it a long term investment. He’s got to at least be able to change my shorts when I start shitting my pants.

[Mike C]

I just want to say thanks again for all who replied and everyones thoughts.

[Duces Tecum]

Homeschool Mom Goes On Brisk Morning Run With 18-Seat Jogging Stroller
January 23rd, 2020
https://babylonbee.com/img/articles/article-5462-1.jpg



TEMECULA, CA—Local homeschool mom Cindy Breyers has a morning routine: get up at 6, read Proverbs 31, read fourteen other chapters of the Bible, make coffee, and finally, go out for a quick morning jog with her 18-seat jogging stroller.
The wife cheerily gets all the kids ready, loads them all into the custom stroller, and goes on a quick 5-mile run around a nearby lake.
"It's important to spend a little 1-on-18 time with the kids as you go about your day," she said as she picked up the pace up a steep incline, reporters struggling to keep up with her. "Josiah! Let's remember to share some Goldfish with your twin brother, OK, pumpkin?"
If a kid needs changing during her jog, a button on the stroller lets her rotate both rows of the stroller like a conveyer belt, bringing the soiled child right in front of her for easy access. She also has "a heck of an arm" and can lob healthy, homemade bottles of juice at any of the kids who starts to get thirsty.
When she gets home, she starts school for her little ones, from the unborn child she's currently carrying all the way up to her 8-year-old high-schoolers.
"I'm a little worried about Jake 2 though -- he's not really picking up on koine Greek very quickly, and he's already 2," she said, her brow furrowed as she prepared a healthy, nutritious meal for 20. "But that's OK -- some people are late bloomers."

(Today's news family courtesy of BabylonBee.com)

[Catshooter]

Do it Mike. You can't possibly do a worse job than our public schools. Public schools in America are the biggest scam ever perpetrated here.

Do it.


Cat

[Duelist]

Do it Mike. You can't possibly do a worse job than our public schools. Public schools in America are the biggest scam ever perpetrated here.

Do it.


Cat

Alright, now, that’s getting a bit harsh. I know there are lots of opinions out there on public education. I believe in educational choice, but I can’t get on board with the idea that it’s cool to trash talk other forms of education while talking up the one you hold near and dear.

If we want to talk about different issues in education and different educational choices, there are plenty of people on this board with a wide variety of experience as educational consumers and providers who will gladly provide their input. But if we get into trash talking someone’s perfectly legit livelihood which they spent years getting educated for and certified in and have further dedicated years of their professional lives to the education of other people’s offspring, all the while being told how much they suck and how to do their jobs better by people with limited to no experience in the field, I can just imagine it will get as heated in here as in a cop thread when non-cops start with doing the same thing with the blue bashing.

[Catshooter]

Mike,

Mmm. Please, I have no desire to put down teachers. Just like many professions I'm sure the vast majority are dedicated, well-intentioned people trying their best in a difficult world. Using cops is a good comparison I think and what I just said applies equally to them. Being either in todays world? Horrific. Both trades are yoked, harnessed & whipped continuously by a management that usually has, at best, no clue. I know teachers are bound to a curriculum and teaching policies that must drive many of them nuts. Much of which come from the Feds. Therein lies much of the problem. Anytime government gets involved with something that they shouldn't it goes badly.

Critical thinking? Judgement? Our Constitution? Let alone the Declaration of Independence. Or history. How to live a life, pay your bills, fill out your taxes. Honor? None of these things are taught and haven't been for many years. And lets not even get into the drugging of our kids.

Actually I truly admire good teachers, of which there are many. The vast majority. How they can function and do a their best under such conditions is very admirable. Nonetheless, I stand by my advice to the OP: Do it. The products our school system is turning out in general is bad. Very bad. It's where most of our progressives come from/are manufactured.


Cat

[Mike C]

Catshooter, I hadn’t replied. Not sure if you’re intending to reply to Duelist.

[Catshooter]

My bad. Yes, replying to Duelist.


Cat

[Duelist]

Critical thinking? Judgement? Our Constitution? Let alone the Declaration of Independence. Or history. How to live a life, pay your bills, fill out your taxes. Honor? None of these things are taught and haven't been for many years. And lets not even get into the drugging of our kids ...

I have never personally worked at a school or district that did not address and actively teach each of the topics you state haven’t been taught in years. I personally just assisted in a review of our curriculum and course catalog, and I can tell you that, to quote from the worst Star Wars film, everything you just said is completely wrong.

If there is a school or district not teaching those things, they are failing to deliver what they owe to their students and community, their students are probably failing any standardized tests they take, and getting bad scores on college entrance exams. Those failures have consequences: funding, school report cards, even direct monitoring and control by the state department of education can happen if a school or district doesn’t meet the mandated expectations.

If we are going to have publicly funded education (it’s not going away, so let’s not fuss about that) then we have to have mandated standards and curriculum that meets those expectations. If you don’t like what’s going on in your district and schools, rather than rant about it and shake your fist at the sky, I would encourage you to attend your local school board meetings. Most of them are never attended by more than a handful of people, but that is how you can hold them immediately and directly accountable, and if shenanigans are going on, you can raise your voice about it and get other people in your community involved to increase accountability pressure.

Virginians recently had a large assembly of people at the capitol about the proposed bad gun laws. Today is their educators turn. I just wonder if as many people will show up for it as did last week.

[Zincwarrior]

Mike,

Mmm. Please, I have no desire to put down teachers. Just like many professions I'm sure the vast majority are dedicated, well-intentioned people trying their best in a difficult world. Using cops is a good comparison I think and what I just said applies equally to them. Being either in todays world? Horrific. Both trades are yoked, harnessed & whipped continuously by a management that usually has, at best, no clue. I know teachers are bound to a curriculum and teaching policies that must drive many of them nuts. Much of which come from the Feds. Therein lies much of the problem. Anytime government gets involved with something that they shouldn't it goes badly.

Critical thinking? Judgement? Our Constitution? Let alone the Declaration of Independence. Or history. How to live a life, pay your bills, fill out your taxes. Honor? None of these things are taught and haven't been for many years. And lets not even get into the drugging of our kids.

Actually I truly admire good teachers, of which there are many. The vast majority. How they can function and do a their best under such conditions is very admirable. Nonetheless, I stand by my advice to the OP: Do it. The products our school system is turning out in general is bad. Very bad. It's where most of our progressives come from/are manufactured.


Cat

Can you teach calculus, chemistry II, physics, four years of another language? Can you provide a sports education and a musical instrument? Can you code and teach debate and speech?

If so then you might be qualified to home school. But if not then these are subjects taught in a good public or private school that your children will not get.
I am not trying to denigrate homeschooling, but these are what my kids learned in good schools. If your local public school doesn't teach that, then you need to get them into a place (private, tutored, or home) that does.

[pooty]

But if we get into trash talking someone’s perfectly legit livelihood which they spent years getting educated for and certified in and have further dedicated years of their professional lives to the education of other people’s offspring, all the while being told how much they suck and how to do their jobs better by people with limited to no experience in the field,
.

Well I don't know about the rest of the country, I attended public school in one the wealthier counties in the US and let me tell you, a lot of teachers there were dumbasses. Most of them were the typical government employee looking for an undemanding job that's hard to get fired from while putting in minimal work in teaching the young. This didn't apply to any of the math, physics, compsci or chemistry teachers who were all highly motivated.

I remember the US government teacher going over the bill of rights:

"1st Amendment, freedom of speech and assembly.
2nd... theres that.
3rd, no quartering of soldiers in homes"

Oh yeah and during history, or social studies, we had to write reports on recent news articles. I would do mine from "The Onion" and got A's until one of my classmates dimed me out. Stuff like this: https://www.theonion.com/iraq-declares-partial-law-1819567999 The teacher never even read them!

So if you could homeschool your kid for the other subjects while letting them go to school for science and sports, that'd probably be ideal, since you're paying for it either way.

[Catshooter]

Gentlemen, I'm not interested in arguing about this. My intention was to encourage the OP in homeschooling and to point out that I wasn't trying to attack individual teachers. That's all.


Cat

[Joe in PNG]

Teachers are like any other general section of the population- there's a competence bell curve.

You have the very few who are actually extraordinarily good at their jobs.
You have a bit more who are pretty good.
You have a ton who are average, nothing special.
You have a bit who are low average, just babysitters that assign homework.
You have the very few who are actually extraordinarily bad at their jobs.

This shifts depending on the school, the parents at the school, and so on. I went to the same public high school as the children of various prominent doctors, lawyers, judges, and a member of the school board. If you found yourself in the same classroom as these kids, you got a pretty good education. For the most part- we had an utter dingbat teach American History, and wow. Learned absolutely nothing that year.

A kid's learning style is also important. Some learn well in a classroom/ lecture setting. Others do better with self study (Richard Feynman for instance).

[AKDoug]

Can you teach calculus, chemistry II, physics, four years of another language? Can you provide a sports education and a musical instrument? Can you code and teach debate and speech?

If so then you might be qualified to home school. But if not then these are subjects taught in a good public or private school that your children will not get.
I am not trying to denigrate homeschooling, but these are what my kids learned in good schools. If your local public school doesn't teach that, then you need to get them into a place (private, tutored, or home) that does.

No option where I live to private school my kids. I possessed a far greater understanding of mathematics than my son's third grade teacher did. She was actually hired as a P.E. teacher, but certified as a grade school teacher. She sucked at it and is still ruining students to this day. She's been impossible to get rid of.

The harsh reality is that in the majority of public schools, teachers teaching the classes you mentioned are barely qualified to do so. It's not the teachers fault, it's the fault of systems that don't attract qualified instructors of these high level classes so administrators use the warm bodies they have available to them. It is also the fault of administrators and unions that don't have a metric of evaluating teachers and getting rid of them if they are substandard.

My daughter in-law, bless her heart, is a certified K through 8th grade teacher. She is barely competent at an Algebra 1 level and my wife will run circles around her in grammar and writing. It's not her fault, but the fault of the university system that blessed her with her degree. She is really strong at controlling a classroom and has a nice aptitude at encouraging learning, which puts her in an ideal position to teach kindergarten and 1st grade. Yet, she still could take a job teaching every subject to middle school children.

The system is broken in many localities. There is no denying that.