Did the current public education crisis prompt you to homeschool/supplement?

[veritas]

Why do you suppose that more parents (including yourself) are homeschooling?

 

 

Do you think that the current public education crisis is part of the reason?

[Rjmakmom]

I began homeschooling 6 years ago because of a daughter with severe learning differences. I am still homeschooling because I can't imagine not (though unfortunately 2 of them went back to school this year, their choice) 

[Momling]

What crisis? I mean, any public education system will have flaws, but which flaws make you feel that there is a full-on crisis?

[Guest]

It wasn't for me. I wanted perks that I believed would be difficult or impossible to get if my kids were gone all day.

 

The public schools where I live are roundly considered outstanding and the elementary school where I was when my oldest was Kindy was ranked as one of the best in the entire nation. So no. 

[Crimson Wife]

Private school tuition going up much faster than the rate of inflation over the past couple of decades while incomes have not is one of the biggest factors driving HSing IMHO. That's probably the main reason we started HSing. $25+k per year per child for elementary and $30+k per year per child for high school puts secular private schools out of reach for middle class families with multiple children. Even the Catholic schools, which used to be very affordable, now charge $7k per year per child for elementary and $15k per year per child for high school.

 

Public schools out here in CA have been lousy for a long time so I don't think that's had as much of an impact on the HSing rate as the increase in private school tuition.

[Chris in VA]

I don't see a crisis, exactly, where I live, so it didn't factor in.

 

She was already reading and ready for more than K would have offered. I wanted to maintain her innocence longer, do more faith-based stuff, and have her around (full day K here).

 

Ds had several reasons for hsing; he literally felt called to homeschool. No crisis in high schools here (at least none that have anything to do with education--I'd say the drug and alcohol and hooking-up culture are pretty rampant, but that's not solved by educational reform).

 

I do see homeschooling parents who are dissatisfied with what the public schools offer, or who think they aren't a good match for their kids. That can be in any area, not just "crisis" areas.

[SKL]

Which crisis?  :P   I can tell you that the common core confusion is causing a lot of parents to afterschool because they are afraid their kids will either fail or have serious gaps in math when they get older.

 

I would have done something either way, but the common core stuff has forced me to change my focus.

[J-rap]

In answer to the question in your title, no.  We live in a small town and the schools here are considered very good and accommodating.   When I say accommodating, I mean if there is a class your teen wants to take and it's not offered at the school, the school will try and help you figure out a way to take it...  either through live ITV with other schools in the state, online courses with a community college in the state, etc.  There is very little bullying, and very good relationships between parents and students and teachers for the most part.  We simply wanted to have more time with our kids and had a lot of plans, traveling, etc., that we wanted to do.   To be honest, academics weren't part of it at all.

[veritas]

The public schools where I live are roundly considered outstanding and the elementary school where I was when my oldest was Kindy was ranked as one of the best in the entire nation. So no. 

 

 

You're very lucky. There are many people who can't say this about their local schools.

[msjones]

Is there a crisis?  Really, not sure what you mean.  (That sounds snarky, but I don't mean for it to...)

 

Public schools are part of a large public system and will always have problems -- just like any large government agency.  

 

So, no, we that's not why we homeschool.  I wanted flexibility and independence. That's all.  I don't like big, impersonal, one-size-fits-all institutions.

[PeachyDoodle]

For me, the short answer is: I homeschool because I'm a control freak.

 

I wasn't ecstatic about the education dd was getting in public school. But I think she would have been fine in the end. Not challenged up to her full potential, but fine.

 

But I hated all the stupid stuff that went along with school. Like the day dd brought me a math worksheet and said it was *my* homework and the teacher said I *had* to do it. It really did have a note to that effect on it. I wrote on the top "I already passed the second grade" and sent it back. Still haven't figured out what the point of that exercise was. (For all you former and current teachers, I promise that's the only time I got snarky. I tried hard to be a good ps parent.)

 

Or the time I brought word search puzzles as an activity for a class party and the teacher said, "Oh, well, these are okay since it's a party, but the district doesn't let us do word searches anymore." Come again?

 

The way they were teaching math really got under my skin. That was my biggest academic beef. When I finally got fed up watching dd draw out 47 little circles or lines or whatever, I sat down and taught her the traditional algorithm in about 3 minutes. I get that some kids need that visual representation to understand the concept, and I'm totally fine with teaching that in the beginning, or using it with a child who's struggling. But two years of little circles was enough.

 

When a kid in the classroom across the hall brought a pistol to school (twice, and after bringing a knife before that) and the district neglected to inform even the parents in that class, we were done.

[regentrude]

For us, it definitely was the reason. Elementary school was OK; learning stopped in 5th grade and social climate in school became unbearable.

We homeschool solely for academic reasons.

 

I believe the low quality of schools contributes. I hear from many highly educated people who refuse to subject their kids to the dumbed down school system and decide they can do a much better job themselves.

I do not know whether the word "crisis" is the right description; school quality has been in steady decline for decades, and much has been written and talked about it, to no avail.

[DianeW88]

No.  This is my twentieth year of homeschooling.  I started (and have continued) because I feel that it is a superior means of education and that my children are far better off than they would be in the public school system.  I don't actually know much about what is happening with my local schools, and I don't base any of my educational decisions on what they are...or are not...doing.

[BigMamaBird]

We live in a very good school district, so I know my children would have gotten a well rounded academic education.  We decided to homeschool before we even had children.  We worked with our church's youth group and noticed something different about some of the kids.  They were smart, fun loving kids who didn't fit the "teen ager" stereotype and deeply loved God.  We decided that we wanted our children to grow up to be like them and when we discovered the common denominator with all of them was they were homeschoolers, we committed right then and there to homeschooling.  

 

 

[Ellie]

"More parents" are always homeschooling. :-)

[Guest]

You're very lucky. There are many people who can't say this about their local schools.

 

*shrug*  Perhaps. But it was moot to me in any case. I didn't decide to homeschool upon looking around at what was available and declaring, "This will never do." I didn't want school at all at that point. Whether the schools were ranked well or not was moot.

 

I guess it's a bit like saying to someone who lives in Rome, "Wow, you're so lucky you can go to Vatican to see the Pope on Easter!" Nice if they're Roman Catholic. Moot if they're not. 

[Silverwood]

My DD actually went to a private K5 and we loved it. She only went 3 days a week instead of the traditional 5, she was there from 9 - 2 so her days were shorter, they had smaller classes than our traditional public school, and they had tons of art and play time. DD learned a ton there, and when she got to first grade this year in a public school, she was too far ahead, to the point of where she was constantly bored to tears. She also had problems with the teacher because she expected her to add a certain way (in double digit problems, removing the tens and adding them together, then adding the numbers in the ones place together, then adding those two sums..also drawing circles for the numbers instead of using mental math) and my Dd told her teacher that wasn't "logical".

 

When I met with her teacher, she told me that my DD was a distraction because she got done with her work before most of the others, so she would give her the same worksheet to complete again, and suggested putting her in the learning disabilities class because she could not have my daughter disrupting the ones who were just learning the topics, I researched my options and my husband and I decided to homeschool.

 

That was September, and now after researching and hearing more about our schools, I cannot imagine not homeschooling. My DS (4) will be homeschooled as well, because I am dissatisfied with my local schools.

[Scrub Jay]

 

When I met with her teacher, she told me that my DD was a distraction because she got done with her work before most of the others, so she would give her the same worksheet to complete again, and suggested putting her in the learning disabilities class because she could not have my daughter disrupting the ones who were just learning the topics, I researched my options and my husband and I decided to homeschool.

 

 

 

Wait - what was her reasoning for a learing disabilty class if your dd was finishing her work early?  Did she want you to sign an assessment plan to test in certain areas?  If so, what areas?

 

I just find the learning disability classroom suggestion odd given your dd was obviously ahead based on what you said.

 

[Lang Syne Boardie]

No. The public education crisis of the 1980s was more influential than the current public education crisis. I opted out of this one before it started.

(I might need some definitions of terms...)

[SKL]

My local public schools are rated "excellent."  I still didn't decide to send my kids there.  Lately I can't seem to remember why, LOL.  I sent them to a Lutheran school instead.  If the Lutheran school ticks me off enough, they will probably go to the public school.

[Silverwood]

Wait - what was her reasoning for a learing disabilty class if your dd was finishing her work early? Did she want you to sign an assessment plan to test in certain areas? If so, what areas?

 

I just find the learning disability classroom suggestion odd given your dd was obviously ahead based on what you said.

 

She did not mention any testing, just said she could not have my child talking in class while the others were still working and she couldn't move ahead just for my DD.

[Scrub Jay]

She did not mention any testing, just said she could not have my child talking in class while the others were still working and she couldn't move ahead just for my DD.

 

And that's why she suggested a learning disability classroom?  That is mind boggling.  I have never heard of such a thing. 

 

 

[T'smom]

Well, I basically homeschool because I don't think I received a very good education. I have no idea how you would solve the issues that I had in school. I assumed that my kids would be similar (and they sooooo are!). So maybe it was an educational crisis, but not a new one.

[Silverwood]

And that's why she suggested a learning disability classroom? That is mind boggling. I have never heard of such a thing.

Exactly. I hadn't either. Basically the teacher was saying she didn't want to deal with her, and would get frustrated when my DD would cry from having to repeat the same worksheet just because other children were still working. We suggested sending a book to let my DD read when she was done, but the teacher said that wouldn't be fair to the other students. That is when I realized not public education does not help children who learn at different paces, they expect them to all be at the same pace and I did not want my daughter to have to learn the things she already knew when she should have been advancing. It was basically like repeating her Ker year.

[Pawz4me]

I don't think there's any crisis in public education.  Or if there is, it must be the same one I've been hearing about for all of my 51 years. ;)  A constant refrain for that long tends to make one discount the idea that there is or ever was an actual crisis.

 

We started homeschooling our boys and continued to do so for four years for oldest and seven years for youngest because it was the best academic choice for them at the time.  They're both back in public high schools now because it is the best academic choice for them at this time.

[Desert Strawberry]

I'm sure it's a factor for many families, from what I have heard, but not us. 

I have always wanted to teach my own, from age 14. I was afterschooled, so it seemed a clear choice. 

When my oldest was approaching school age, dh and I were both in school, so we looked at our options. My husband was opposed to public school due to his own experiences. All of the private schools were of a faith different from ours. That settled it for us. We were on our own.

 

Now that we are doing it, we have no desire to try public or private. We are very happy to forge our own path and work with each of our children individually.

[LucyStoner]

In the district we live it is an open secret that if you have a highly capable student who needs advanced instruction but also needs special ed for social issues (ie gifted and well into the spectrum, as opposed to just very mildly affected), you are SOL.  I mean completely and totally screwed.  They simply do not have any programming to meet the needs of such students.  Not wanting to make his IEP and advocating for thing after thing after thing my fulltime job, homeschooling is much, much saner and less stressful. 

[Kerileanne99]

When I met with her teacher, she told me that my DD was a distraction because she got done with her work before most of the others, so she would give her the same worksheet to complete again, and suggested putting her in the learning disabilities class because she could not have my daughter disrupting the ones who were just learning the topics, I researched my options and my husband and I decided to homeschool.

We aren't even at official school-age and I have encountered this mentality/suggestion!

We placed my dd, who just turned 4 in Dec, in a play-based preschool 2 days per week for 'fun' and so I am do therapy without her having to go.

We just had her 'parent-teacher conference', which is funny in itself! Her teacher, who also taught Kindy locally for 10 years, informed me that she believes this is exactly where my kiddo is headed.

In her words: kids way too far ahead that get bored and cause problems NEED to be in specialized classes that can deal with the behaviors so other kids are not penalized.

 

Yeah...penalize mine instead. Needless to say we will be homeschooling for lots of reasons...AND looking for other play options:)

[Momling]

I think homeschooling is an option that used to only appeal on the fringes... Either a religious fringe or a social fringe or a geographic fringe. It never even occurred to me that I would homeschool my own kids. But here I am! It got trendier, I wasn't working, my daughter wasn't learning much at school and basically I figured I could do better.

 

But as for whether there's actually a crisis in education, check out Diane Ravitch's book on educational reform. Among other things, she argues that every generation thinks the past was better. There's historical precedent for believing we are in the midst of a crisis, but I think you'll find people perpetually think that the educational system should be overhauled.

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=xyOxAKKwfDYC&oi=fnd&pg=PA13&dq=1920s+article+school+reform&ots=hA5WL9epnr&sig=6WGK55_DarnNTz0y2RL2luOV_00#v=onepage&q=1920s%20article%20school%20reform&f=false

[Forget-Me-Not]

We homeschool because we felt led that way and because it's a lifestyle we love for our family.

 

However, it was the fact that my advanced first grader was finishing early and then being used as an unpaid teacher's aide (delivering notes, helping other students with work and the computer), and the fact that my upcoming Kindergartner was already working at a level well beyond K and was *adamant* that she wanted to homeschool, that sort of pushed us off the high dive and into the pool.

 

We reassured ourselves that we could always put them back in if it didn't work out, but we fell in love with homeschooling in about 15 seconds flat and never looked back :D

[sarahbobeara]

The way they were teaching math really got under my skin. That was my biggest academic beef. When I finally got fed up watching dd draw out 47 little circles or lines or whatever, I sat down and taught her the traditional algorithm in about 3 minutes. I get that some kids need that visual representation to understand the concept, and I'm totally fine with teaching that in the beginning, or using it with a child who's struggling. But two years of little circles is enough.

Totally agree. After 2nd grade in PS, I brought Dd11 home and we started over with math facts and basics. Math was a weak point for her and whatever program the school was doing just was not helping her. I was not going to let her flounder through math courses like I did in school.

 

Love the flexibility of homeschool too.

 

No educational crisis in our PS, but one distracted teacher and a crappy math program was enough to turn me off.

[Jkacz]

I never thought I would homeschool.  We moved to our town because it is considered an "excellent" school district (ie all schools get 10/10 on great schools,etc.). My children loved our private preschool/kindergarten and I loved "my" time to exercise and clean my house.  Unfortunately, we started getting concerned at the public school's 1st grade orientation when the principal seemed more concerned about pick up and drop off process rather than curriculum or what a typical day consisted of.  We did find out that they used "Everyday Math" which was concerning.  But we did enroll DS1 for first grade.  That lasted 4 days.  During that time, he came home with a migraine because he had under 15 minutes for lunch, an hour of homework one night which was more an assignment for us, and was taught how to twiddle his thumbs so that he didn't disturb the other children when he finished his work.  And DS was on grade level, not advanced, but, with 21 kids in the class, the teacher had to be "all inclusive".  After I received several notes home from the teacher with grammar/spelling issues ("their" rather than "there" and "closepin" instead of "clothespin" to name just 2), I figured I could do better and pulled DS without having anything in place.  I just wish I had known earlier that we were going to do this so that I would have had longer than 1 weekend to research and purchase materials.

 

[celticmom]

We live in Mississippi so we never even considered the public schools(MS consistently has either the worst or the second or third worst every year when schools are rated). We initially planned to send dd to a private school but then I was laid off and I could not bring myself to trust strangers with my baby.

[StartingOver]

I feel everything happening today in education can be traced back a long way. There came a move, from what I saw, in the later 1980's to a feel good education. First there seemed to be a move to promote everyone, whether they had passed the year or not. Then I saw rewards for children how generally misbehaved, but behaved for a bit. Then it seems the parents weren't asking the children why they weren't keeping up in school, but asking the teachers why Johnny or Jill didn't get an A. I am sure it started earlier than that in some areas but this is when I saw the beginning of the dumbing down start. 

[Slartibartfast]

We were homeschooling before common core.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

We were homeschooling before common core.

Is *that* the current public education crisis?

[mlbuchina]

I don't know about other parents, but I'm homeschooling because of my own experiences in the public school setting.  Probably add a little of my brother's experience in for good measure.

[Ripley]

I homeschool because it's convenient for me.  I'm way too ego-centric to base my decision to homeschool on any outside factors. LOL

 

But in the past year, four families I know peripherally (through extra-curriculars) have decided to homeschool. These are families we've known for the past two to five years, who swore up and down they never could (or would) homeschool. They didn't know how we did it, they didn't know why we did it, they couldn't do it, their kids wouldn't do it, they didn't want to do it, their kids didn't want to do it, ... there were always reasons why they were opposed to the IDEA of it; they sure as heck weren't going to DO it themselves!

 

I should share that we live in the state's top-ranked district and in an affluent area. Our public schools educate the children of area CEOs, CFOs, and wealthy families who have pulled those children out of pricy private schools due to the superior offerings and results turned out by our public schools.  Academics aren't a factor here.

 

The families I know are opting out of public schools now because of the social climate. Their kids aren't bullied, rather it's becoming an increasingly toxic scene. Old money usually still attends area private schools for the prestige; new money breeds social competition at the public schools that make the Real Housewives franchise appear amateur and the movie Mean Girls look like an elementary how-to. 

[DawnM]

No.  Not really.  

 

I had no intention of homeschooling, ever.   I even criticized homeschoolers.  I was a public high school counselor.  I worked for almost 17 years in the PS system.  I still fully intended on sending my kids to school, although I was looking at private due to the lack of good schools near us.

 

But my oldest had some learning disabilities and we didn't know what they all were at the time.  Homeschooling was best for him.  We decided to HS them all as it was easier than being on two different schedules.

 

However, now that I have HSed 9 years, I find that I really want my kids to not have the traditional school experience.  Sitting in classrooms all day is boring and not conducive to learning IMO.  My kids have time to focus on their passions and do things they could not easily do were they in school.

 

But I don't vilify public schools.  It is a viable and necessary part of our society.  

 

Dawn

[PeachyDoodle]

I feel everything happening today in education can be traced back a long way. There came a move, from what I saw, in the later 1980's to a feel good education. First there seemed to be a move to promote everyone, whether they had passed the year or not. Then I saw rewards for children how generally misbehaved, but behaved for a bit. Then it seems the parents weren't asking the children why they weren't keeping up in school, but asking the teachers why Johnny or Jill didn't get an A. I am sure it started earlier than that in some areas but this is when I saw the beginning of the dumbing down start. 

 

This was another issue for us. DD's public school had an awards ceremony every quarter. For K-2, they only presented three awards: perfect attendance, citizenship, and the "PAW" award (which was basically an effort.most improved kind of thing designed to motivate kids who struggled but tried hard).

 

DD sometimes got perfect attendance, but she occasionally missed a day when she had a cold, etc. and then that was out. She did receive citizenship once, but that one was only given to one child in each class. She never received the PAW award, because school came easily to her and she always got high marks; it's hard to earn "most improved" when you start at the top of your class.

 

The one kid in her class all three years who was a MAJOR discipline problem got an award every. single. time. because he was at school every day, sick or not.

 

The awards they did offer didn't bother me so much as they ones they didn't. I think good citizenship and effort are fine things to honor (though I did think recognizing perfect attendance quarterly was a bit much). But there was ZERO recognition for academic achievement of any kind, even at the end of the year. It was disheartening  to watch the kid who couldn't go an hour without getting in trouble be rewarded every time while those who worked hard to learn and earned good grades sat there with nothing. That same kid NEVER would have been given a basketball trophy just for showing up at practice while the championship team was sent home empty-handed.

[Runningmom80]

Yes.

[Momling]

The way they were teaching math really got under my skin. That was my biggest academic beef. When I finally got fed up watching dd draw out 47 little circles or lines or whatever, I sat down and taught her the traditional algorithm in about 3 minutes. I get that some kids need that visual representation to understand the concept, and I'm totally fine with teaching that in the beginning, or using it with a child who's struggling. But two years of little circles was enough.

 

Oh TERC Investigations in Number, Data, and Space!! That was the worst waste of time ever!

[Mrs Mungo]

No. I don't think there is a public education "crisis."

 

We homeschool because I believe it is better for my kids and it fits with our lifestyle better. I don't homeschool because of what is/is not happening in the public school system.

[Wheres Toto]

I don't think there's a crisis.  My oldest went through public school (except two years in Catholic school mainly for the all day kindergarten) and had a good experience.  We live in a good school district.  Homeschooling wasn't on the radar, although I didn't like school and my brother had big problems.

 

We decided to homeschool when my son did a year of Early Intervention from 3 to 4 years old, was declassified despite them admitting he still had some social/behavior/?? problems that they couldn't quite figure out.  They advised us to not send him back to kindergarten until he was 6 (late August birthday) but he was already reading, loved math, taught himself to skip count, taught himself left/right, north/east/south/west, and various other things.  We decided he'd be so bored waiting two years to go to kindergarten that his social/behavior/?? issues would be even worse.  Dh and I never had any doubt I could do it, I was already a SAHM so it just kind of happened.

 

Now, I've returned to work and rather than put them in school, we've hired a teacher/nanny to homeschool them during the day.

[PeachyDoodle]

Oh TERC Investigations in Number, Data, and Space!! That was the worst waste of time ever!

 

:lol: I have NO IDEA what any of that means... but "worst waste of time ever" pretty much sums it up!

[dirty ethel rackham]

We started on this homeschooling journey 17 years ago because were were attracted to the learning lifestyle, not due to any reaction to school (okay - I have to admit that my experience being bullied at both private and public schools did help make this alternative attractive.)  I fell in love with John Holt's writings.  We were moving to a crunchier lifestyle due to my experiences with La Leche League.  I live in an area with really good schools (some of the most highly rated in the state.)  So, I would have to say, no, my reasons for homeschooling were not due to any school crisis. 

 

However, I did notice that, in the late 90s, after a few fairly positive homeschooling articles in national magazines, many more people started pulling their kids out of public school to escape a bad experience, not necessarily to embrace a homeschooling lifestyle.  They would show up at meetings with a "what can you do for me" attitude.  The fantastic group we belonged to was a non-hierarchical "if you want something, start it and others will come" attitude.  This kind of self-reliant thinking was sort of a culture shock for many of these newbies.  Many of us more experienced homeschoolers tried to help and mentor these newcomers, but those who were not willing to put the time and effort into building community for their kids ended up putting them back in school.  Many very experienced homeschoolers stopped coming to park days and other activities because they were burned out on helping these "takers." 

 

I can't really say much about newer homeschoolers these days as I am much further along in my journey and don't encounter as many newcomers.  When I start an activity, I am very selective about who I will invite to join me because I don't want to carry the weight of people who do not have similar goals. 

[Trish]

Wasn't impressed with the curriculum at the private school the kids were attending. (it was a "blue ribbon" school) Didn't have any interest in subjecting the kids to the public school milieu, where kids start coming home with new 4-letter vocabulary as early as kindergarten.

 

When we started homeschooling for curriculum reasons, we discovered all the other joys of homeschooling, field trips, freedom of schedule, more family time etc etc.

 

We have been doing well in all subjects except Spanish, which I'm having difficulty being consistent with, or finding a program that seems to do the job for the middle school ages.

[Snow]

The current school situation could be part of the reason. I often hear people saying their school system is terrible.

 

But I also think that many more parents are aware of homeschooling now. I mean just look at the community on this site! I never could have done this without all the information on curric, schedules, support and advice that I get from the internet. Homeschooling never even occurred to me as an option until I started browsing around online. There's no one big reason we homeschool - it's really a bunch of medium sized reasons...but I wouldn't have done it, would not have even thought about it twenty years ago.

[Camelfeet]

I thought I liked public school while my oldest was in it from JK - grade 2.  It was a french school and she was learning french.  She never got very good grades because of her hearing loss (now resolved), but the school gave her an education assistant so she never dipped into fail territory.  When we moved overseas to a place where there are only private schools is the first time I seriously considered homeschooling.  The tuition was anywhere from 8k-15k and my child would have been kept a grade behind because of her hearing loss.  

 

So we started with k12 and I was really happy with how well both my daughters were doing.  English spelling tests from PS used to come back at about 70%, now she was getting perfect or near perfect every time, and this was reflected in every subject.  I'm now fully converted.  Even if we move back to Canada I wouldn't put my daughters back in school because this is working so well for us.    

[Peaceful Isle]

I homeschool because I like to be with my kids. :) They are kinda cool, IMHO.