msjones Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 My kids went to public school this year. One is in 9th grade, the other 8th. They attend large, urban public schools. I just thought I'd share how it's gone for them...it may help someone make their decision. Academics: They are getting good grades -- As and Bs. I am very impressed with the quality of the instruction and work assigned, especially at the high school. They are both working hard for their grades -- school is NOT easy and the good grades are not just 'handed out' for showing up. Math has been the hardest for the 8th grader. It's just a different style of grading, and it's taking time for him to adjust. He's doing better all the time. Spanish is hardest for the 9th grader -- I had required very little memorization in our homeschool, so that is entirely new to him. Social: My kids have nice friends, and plenty of them. They are pretty happy to go to school most days. There are some terrible behavior problems at the middle school. A few fights in class, fights in the hallways, blatant disrespect of staff, foul language...I hear these stories from my son several times each week. Not happy with that. The high school has drug problems and a few kids in my son's classes brag about criminal behavior. Ugh. Main differences between my kids and their new peers: My kids know a lot of history. :) What I wish I'd done to prepare them: I wish I'd taught them some more organization. It took them a while to learn to keep track of paperwork, assignments, homework, etc. My new life: I am very happy to no longer be in charge of their schooling. I realize that I essentially had a full-time job as a homeschooling mom. I'm teaching part-time at a public school now, but I feel like I'm on vacation. I hadn't realized how much work hs was or how much time my non-hs friends had! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 That's great that it is all working out so well. Congratulations on a job well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
journey00 Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Glad it all worked out. I'm sure you hesitated to come back and share this and I I appreciate your honesty...it was very informative. I'm glad to know that if I ever had to put my kids back, it would all be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 I could have written your post about my older two girls. Their transition to PS has been similar (they've been in school for a couple years after homeschooling for many). I'm still shocked/amazed by the great quality of the teaching and the meaningful learning going on. There are a lot of 'icky' things too: stories of drunk girls showing up at homecoming dance only to vomit/pass-out in front of everyone (where are their parents?), but for the most part my girls use these as teaching moments and reinforcement of how NOT to behave, etc. The biggest takeaway is that PS isn't all bad (or all good, for that matter). I'm grateful for the opportunity to homeschool my kids through middle school, but also happy to turn high school over to my local PS. My 'new life' is just homeschooling more younger kids, but it is a refreshing change to have just two for which I'm responsible to educate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msjones Posted November 26, 2014 Author Share Posted November 26, 2014 There are a lot of 'icky' things too: stories of drunk girls showing up at homecoming dance only to vomit/pass-out in front of everyone (where are their parents?), but for the most part my girls use these as teaching moments and reinforcement of how NOT to behave, etc. My boys seem to feel sorry for the kids who act so badly at school. It's been interesting and kind of surprising to me that the worse behavior is at the middle school. My 8th grader was pretty shocked at the 'girl fights.' I don't think he knew that girls ever behaved that way. I'm glad he's shocked; I don't want my kids to think that kind of behavior is ho-hum. We knew the instruction could be excellent; my husband and I are both ps teachers. :) But we feel very lucky to have 11 out of 12 teachers this semester who are really impressive. Of course there are plenty of duds. We seem to have avoided many of them so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLMom Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 I am glad it is going well overall. You are right; homeschooling is a full time job. And you are right that there are good public schools out there that are challenging and doing a good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 I'm glad things are going well for your and your dcs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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