Why did you decide to homeschool?

[jewel7123]

Wow, such great insight....thank all of you ladies! At this point I agree that it's best not to debate the issue. I sent a polite but hopefully firm response that ended the discussion (I hope).

 

One of the reasons I'm not quite sure what I dislike about the public school system is because I have never been in it! I was actually homeschooled myself, and so I don't even really know what goes on there, although from what I here things are just getting worse and worse every year. The more I hear about the public school system the more I am certain I am making the right decision to homeschool! Again, thanks for all the great advice from everyone. My main focus now is to completely win over my DH. At this point he is not against homeschooling, but he's not gushing or excited about it either. He has always been a few steps behind me, I will say, on the choices we've made for our family, but he ultimately comes around after a bit of time. For example, I had our third baby at a birthing center with a nurse/midwife and had the best waterbirth you can imagine. It took him awhile to come around to the idea of not birthing in a hospital, but after we actually went through the experience compared to the hospital he defended our decision and even talked positively about it. I'm sure it will be the same with homeschooling. I actually talked to him a little bit about it tonight, and I mentioned as someone said here, we'll take it one year at a time. Am I qualified to teach letters and numbers? Absolutely.....I've already taught her half of what she would learn in kindergarten anyway. She is already reading three letter words and she wrote her first name (7 letters) last week, and we haven't even done any formal handwriting yet! I am confident my husband will be supportive and eventually positive, and I'll hope for the best with the MIL, although she and I have always disagreed on everything, so this probably will be the same, lol.

[KidsHappen]

I sent my oldest two to PS for a couple years. :glare:

[sunshine]

My children are taught by a physicist (who wrote his math curriculum), a scientist who wrote his science curriculum, a Doctorate in English who wrote his English curriculum.......should I go on?

 

My children are getting a private tutor with the best curriculum the educational system has to offer. Homeschooled students consistently score in the top 15% of the nation on standardized test and Ivy League colleges are actively recruiting them as they are more prepared for college than the average public or privately schooled student.

[LibraryLover]

We had had experience in a private school we liked, but we felt our time was not our own. We finally decided to HS because we were sick of other people deciding how we used out time.

 

We truly enjoyed the people at our school, and we felt our kids were getting a respectful, in -depth education that reflected our family values. (Quaker). However, we simply could not longer justify the cost x loss of freedom.

[Rhonda in TX]

It's fundamentally flawed. (in a nutshell)

 

We first sent our children to a private, Christian school. When it became too much for DS (who has Asperger's), we pulled him out. And, since we are a family, and do things together, we pulled DD out as well.

 

My children are getting the education that is right for them individually, rather than having to fit into a group mold.

[tricia]

Because I want to be the one to raise my children. I want to take part in their learning and all they do. That was then. NOW, I wouldn't dream of putting my little ones in those institutions. My reasons are so many now that I simply couldn't name them all. I began 23 years ago with my children and still doing it.

[vkay]

I decided to hs when I realized that it meant that my dc would: 1. have more free time to be a kid, 2. We would have more time as a family, and 3. They often can receive a better education.

 

So #'s 1 & 2 had me sold, but then when you add on #3!?!??! How can you NOT seriously consider hs'ing?! At least that's how it felt to me.

[J'etudie]

Her main thing is that I'm not certified and therefore am not qualified to educate my children. She also wanted to know the top reasons why parents prefer homeschooling over the traditional public school system. So I thought what better place to ask then here! Thanks for your help. :)

 

While we have tons of reasons for homeschooling, I think the primary one is that we knew we could give them a better education at home.

 

I have two credentials and taught in ps; dh teaches in ps. Without a doubt, being certified means nothing when teaching your own children. Credential programs focus on crowd control and whatever educational theory is currently in vogue. I can't think of a single thing teacher education programs offer that a home educator needs.

[teragram]

I love having this book in my house to easily share with anyone that is truely interested in what we do and why we do it. It's short and sweet but very powerful in reasons why to homeschool. I recommend it!http://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Big-Reasons-Homeschool/dp/080544484X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255576692&sr=1-1

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

I posted our 'Why Homeschool' reasons here. Our faith permeates all of our life, but it isn't one of our 11 stated benefits to homeschooling.

[KrissiK]

1. Give them a better education.

2. Avoid PC indoctrination

3. I just wanted to

4. Can't afford Christian school

[Mama Bear]

We began so my children could spend more time with their dad, who was undertaking a different phase of his career at the time. I guess you could say that it was so that we could preserve the integrity of the family. During that school year a friend handed me a copy of TWTM and the rest is history.

 

For your MIL: First, don't discuss it with her anymore. At. all. EVAH. Unless... Second: Send her flowers with a nice card saying that you sure hope things can be ____ between you again. Include a copy of TWTM with a note that explains that your philosophy for educating your children is evolving largely from this book and that you thought she might want to take a look for herself and maybe it could even allay some of her fears. And you sure hope things get to be ____ again! Big smiles! Lotsa happiness and butterflies!! And then? Unless she calls to apologize/make nice, do not *ever* discuss it with her again. Offer her bean dip instead. You might want to keep some on hand for the occasion -- Lay's brand is shelf-stable.

[SilverMoon]

Our main initial reason was because our oldest was reading at four, and his birthday was past the kindy cut-off. He would have been starting kindy when he was more than halfway through first grade materials and reading on a third grade level.

 

Now? We simply can't imagine life any other way. They're getting an individualized, classical education that the ps down the road simply can't provide. Even if a top notch classical school lived in our town, and we could afford it, I can't see us sending them at this point. This is our lifestyle, we love having our kids around all the time and they feel the same.

 

For the intrusive rellie? I don't have a mother, but I have a MIL and plenty of other nosy people in my life. I simply refuse to get into a dialog about my reasons for hsing with someone who clearly wants to debunk every one of them. "This is what works for us. Want some bean dip?" I once refused to discuss school of any sort with my MIL, because she couldn't refrain from ugliness. It took several years for her and I to be able to have a civil conversation about homeschool.

 

That's likely what it will take for your Mom too. There is no magic reason you can give her that will suddenly cause her to jump onto your side of the fence, or even acknowledge that your side exists. Time is the only cure in my experience. Time to see your kids really aren't messed up, that they really can learn well at home, that the socialization thing is bunk. Just time. If she's anything like my MIL? Years from now, when she finally does acknowledge the advantages of homeschooling, she'll brag about it to her friends as if it were her idea all along. :lol:

Edited October 15, 2009 by SilverMoon

[Linda1951]

was her first grade teacher kept saying she would not read in class. She read for us at home. She expected 6 yr olds to understand instructions on the papers she handed out for them to do.

I wanted to take her out that February,but DH said no.

so the last day of school I picked her up a little early and told the teacher that she would not be going to public school anymore.

It took me months to get her to ask me a question when she needed help. another draw back of PS. Not getting an answer when she needed one.

she is now 9th grade and doing great. If I had heard of homeschooling before she went to school, I would of never put her in there.

[kpupg]

....why did you decide to homeschool over the public school system?

 

Initial reason: Academics. Pure and simple. Our children, when they were in a school, were not being fed. They were dying intellectually from starvation.

 

Ongoing reasons: Add to that ... control of our lifestyle, freedom to teach according to our world view, freedom to begin the day with morning prayer, freedom to do activities we couldn't do if we were enslaved to the institution's schedule demands ...

 

I believe that I teach a far more rigorous course than the public schools do .. at least in academic subjects. I also keep my mind open and outsource courses when I find that preferable. Right now, my ds14 is taking two classes at the public school because I felt it would be better academically (German) and/or better regarding my own workload (Biology). So home schooling does not mean sitting around the kitchen table all day; in fact, we utilize far more varied resources than the institutions do.

 

As for the teaching credential/qualification issue -- that's laughable at best. Public school failures prove the lie. But someone who has bought into the lie will never take your word for it (or anyone else's either). Several posters have recommended not allowing the discussion to continue; I concur. In my experience, I've run into a handful of institutional school zealots, and they speak from a depth of ignorance; yet they don't realize their own ignorance; yet I don't have the credibility in their eyes to be able to enlighten them. I had one guilty pleasure in that regard -- I was able to shut up one particularly aggressive schoolteacher when I informed her that my ds13 had taught hiimself calculus just for fun (ya, he's scary that way) -- she hasn't brought it up since. But short of something fun like that, your best bet will probably be just to be firm about not discussing it.

 

HTH,

Karen

[OhM]

I would refer her to Family Matters by David Guterson, and also to this John Taylor Gatto essay.

 

For me, I mainly did not want my dd's to learn these six lessons. I want them to have a responsibility for their own education (and not simply jump through the hoops set up by their ps teachers.)

Edited October 15, 2009 by OhM
forgot link!

[jewel7123]

Just wanted to say I talked to my DH, as he's the one I really needed to discuss this with, I really needed to share with him how I felt. I told him that keeping me hanging and not giving me a direct answer regarding homeschooling or not was making me feel crazy and he agreed to take it one year at a time, so next year I am homeschooling my oldest for K. Yeah! As for the MIL, I'm going to avoid the subject like its the plague, lol.

[Laura Corin]

Two main reasons at first: Calvin is gifted and learning disabled, so the school didn't know what to do with him. Then we moved to provincial China and home education seemed like the best academic/social solution.

 

Now: I like the family closeness and the individualised, literature-rich education I can bring, plus I am glad that the boys still don't have homework.

 

Laura

[TxMama]

Just wanted to say I talked to my DH, as he's the one I really needed to discuss this with, I really needed to share with him how I felt. I told him that keeping me hanging and not giving me a direct answer regarding homeschooling or not was making me feel crazy and he agreed to take it one year at a time, so next year I am homeschooling my oldest for K. Yeah! As for the MIL, I'm going to avoid the subject like its the plague, lol.

:hurray:

 

Yea!

 

Just a suggestion.....and a thread highjack...

 

While you and DH are talking.... get a good idea what he wants to see to make the decision to keep on going. If you know what his goals are then it makes it easier to meet them.

 

Also, some days you are going to feel like :001_unsure: or like :eek: and even occasionally like:willy_nilly: and you really need to be able to vent your feelings to your dh without him coming to the conclusion that it would just be "easier" for you for the girls to be in school.

 

Best of luck, mama! See ya soon!