Maybe the public school isn't that bad ...

[blessedmom3]

Today we went to our ps for my son's speech therapy . There was a little boy sitting near us . He was reading a chapter book and since he seemed so young I asked him which grade is he in. He said " I'm in K" . I asked what else is he learning at school , he said they just learned how to count by 5's and 2's and he started to show this off to me :) . He said most of the kids in his class read chapter books . Was he lying ? Is he an exception ? I don't know ! But he did seem smarter than what I thought a kid in ps kindergarten should be (besides, he said he is only 5 , will be 6 in July 30th ) This school is an average one , used to be a C , last year was a B .

 

I was really impressed . My kids never went to school and all these moms who are homeschooling told me how inferior the ps is , that the kids don't learn , etc .

I spend about 4-5 hours/day of my life to homeschool them . Of course I enjoy it. All my kids are doing great,even my 4yo started to read well and my oldest who is not 7 yet tested at 7-8th gr reading ... But it's not easy being a mom , a teacher , housekeeper , cook,wife and who knows what else ! If I don't have to be a teacher and pay taxes so that someone else do this job, then why should I stress so much with four kids (all under 7 ! ) ? I spend my days teaching them and my nights searching for "the best" curriculum or looking for what's greener than what I already use. I even dream about curriculums ! I feel like I don't do anything efficiently: it seems like the 3 R's take us all day (so there is little time for reading aloud or history/science) , the house is most of the time messy , can't be a good mom to my baby and my preschooler is ignored a lot ... I feel like I don't have time to hug and kiss like I used to when my kids where little and just being a mom ! I am strongly considering to send them to school in fall, but a part of me cannot give up . My husband is anti-ps since he was a teen and always knew he will hs but I am born and grew up in Europe so maybe my mentality on ps is different.

 

Anyway , maybe all this is to say ,

If you have more than two kids , HOW do you do it ??

And do you ever "lose" it and feel like ps is better for you and for them?

 

Well, I didn't tell you why the boy was sitting near me. He said the teacher put him to "bad choice" because he showed the finger to her ! My 7yo doesn't even know what that means ( I didn't till I came to US) and I don't want him to learn that but that is just a part of life . I consider it as a microbe to a newborn ... he needs to get used to them and survive. If you have strong morals and for those who are Christian , Godly values , then little incidents like this don't matter , in fact perhaps they need that for their spiritual immunity later in life .

 

Sorry it's so long but I would like to hear opinions on this ... since I struggle with keeping them home or ps .

Edited May 8, 2010 by blessedmom3

[Jean in Newcastle]

Our newspaper posts the test scores each year. In a good school only 60% pass the standards for grade level. I realize that tests are very subjective, but that tells me that our schools anyway aren't that great.

[jewellsmommy]

I saw some studies on 20/20 I think, or one of those same type shows that said American elementary students do well academically when compared to other children (same age) worldwide. It is when these students go into middle and highschool that they fall to the bottom of the ranks. So, the longer they are educated the less educated/informed/intelligent they become.

 

That being said, there is a little ps girl that is good friends with dd that reads much better then dd. When they are high school age then who knows, maybe her friend will still be farther along, maybe not:D. It does not matter to me because I am still not going to put my dd into ps. I guess it all depends on why you homeschool in the first place.

[blessedmom3]

I saw some studies on 20/20 I think, or one of those same type shows that said American elementary students do well academically when compared to other children (same age) worldwide. It is when these students go into middle and highschool that they fall to the bottom of the ranks. So, the longer they are educated the less educated/informed/intelligent they become.

 

That being said, there is a little ps girl that is good friends with dd that reads much better then dd. When they are high school age then who knows, maybe her friend will still be farther along, maybe not:D. It does not matter to me because I am still not going to put my dd into ps. I guess it all depends on why you homeschool in the first place.

 

That's a good point .

I noticed that . It seems that many Americans don't know basic history or geography and spelling . Many often confuse Their with There and other things . I think in most European countries you need to know basic things to get a HS diploma. Here everyone gets one:)

That's something to keep in mind .

[ZooRho]

I work in an after school tutoring program. We had a 2nd grader use the major F word, SEVERAL times one afternoon. we had a K, and 2 other second graders and 3 4th graders.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

I just want to warn you, there WILL be behavior changes, and they could be significant. I started homeschooling last year, and I can not even tell you how my kids behaviors have changed! The difference is like night and day. That child could have just had an amazing teacher (there are some of those out there in the ps!) I would really look into it before you make any desicions!

[Wildiris]

Our newspaper posts the test scores each year. In a good school only 60% pass the standards for grade level. I realize that tests are very subjective, but that tells me that our schools anyway aren't that great.

 

I am with Jean here. A direct headline from my local newspaper,

"Most Graduates Not College Ready." Further in the article lamenting that more students do not take classes enabling them to apply to a four year college cites that only one in four of the 5000 students graduating this June will have completed the required courses work to be eligible for a four-year college.

 

I think student achievement depends of the wealth of the school district in which the school resides.

[ElizabethB]

They can read chapter books, but can they read a real book that is not 90% sight words?

 

I have taught scores of remedial students that can read fake books but not real books with phonetic words in them. (The failure rate seems to be about 30 to 40% in classrooms with a mix of phonics and sight words and 60 to 70% in a classroom that is 100% whole language.)

 

Check the 3rd and 4th graders and see if they can read real books.

 

That being said, our main reason for homeschooling is not academic.

:grouphug:

 

Small children are tiring, but worth it!

Edited May 8, 2010 by ElizabethB

[Pamela H in Texas]

I've started working in the public schools. I can see good and bad in it. A LOT has to do with the individual classroom, the individual school. And the kids seem happy and are enjoyable for the most part.

 

I *definitely* see, in our middle class, GOOD school district, that elementary are pretty good but jr high and high school suffer horribly. I thought maybe my standards for what high schoolers should do were to high. I thought maybe I just was being unreasonable and it's okay for them to make dumb mistakes anyway. But then I went to 3rd grade and saw how WELL they do, beyond what I would expect. Somewhere between 3rd and 11th grade, even 7th grade, things go haywire.

 

But there is always "stuff" too. The little boy (2nd grade) who throws a fit and breaks his teacher's wrist (I was there) was a sweet cute boy. He just threw a fit. Do I want MY 7yo exposed to that? The teacher who has an ugly tone of voice and/or yells at the kids for being kids. Not that the students weren't wrong, but do I want my kids hearing an adult being harsh with kids? The majority of a "good" 11th grade classroom won't quiet down when asked. Do I want my "good" kids to practice such disrespect and spend a HUGE amount of time with kids who do? In almost every class period for high school, there is time to play online (they usually look at pictures or play something like The Physics Game). I am not against video games, but regularly at school?

 

Anyway, the list of positives and negatives can go on for a LONG time.

 

Here is what *I* believe. A loving mom who really cares that her kids are educated, who is dedicated to making sure it happens, who is conscientiously working with them most years, regardless of method, is going to benefit her children more than a public school can. She will make it work out.

[Carrie12345]

Anyway , maybe all this is to say ,

If you have more than two kids , HOW do you do it ??

And do you ever "lose" it and feel like ps is better for you and for them?

 

 

I "lose it" on a regular basis, lol.

But I've had a child in ps. And he was a straight-A student, well above grade level in the majority of subjects. That wasn't a result of the school, though.

 

My initial reason for hs'ing was primarily academic, with a few concerns about bullying (oldest is on the autism spectrum), but it's grown to encompass so much more than that.

 

I don't want my children gone for 40+ hours/wk (including bus travel). I don't want them putting teachers and administrators at a higher level of authority than me (which ds did). I don't want their same-aged peers being a 40+ hr/wk influence (including bus travel, but add after school activities to that one!), particularly when I'm oblivious to how that interaction is going.

 

I want family to be the constant, not just another extra-curricular. I want our values to be the core, and outside ideas to be weighed against them (not the other way around).

 

And, you know what? I don't want to get dressed at 7am and load everyone into the car when it's 10 degrees to make the 8am bus! :tongue_smilie:

[mom2att]

I want family to be the constant, not just another extra-curricular. I want our values to be the core, and outside ideas to be weighed against them (not the other way around).

 

 

Great post, Carrie--this is what it comes down to for me as well.

[jld]

My understanding is that in other countries, students start to be sorted out and tracked in about 6th grade, while in America everyone still stays together. As a result, Americans' test scores are lower because they are judged as a group against just the top students in other countries.

 

I've only heard this; anyone know if it's true?

[Dmmetler]

I also wouldn't assume a child in ps who is reading was taught at school. He may be afterschooled, may have gone to a preschool which taught phonics, may go to Kumon or Sylvan, or may just plain be an early reader. As far as the "lots of kids are reading chapter books", Kers tend to be all or nothing and to assume other kids have the same abilities they do. I recall one day when my DD was upset because her K teacher had praised her for being good at reading-and to DD's point of view, that meant she was good at nothing, because "But Mommy, EVERYONE CAN READ!!!". She honestly didn't realize that the reason her classmates were reading picture books instead of Alice in Wonderland was that they couldn't read anything harder, because, after all, she often chooses to read picture books instead of longer books.

 

Counting by 2s and 5s is common, but many kids don't understand what it actually means at this age and cannot apply it (for example, if you ask them to count by 2s starting at any number BUT 2, they can't do it, and cannot count by 2s from an odd number). It's like a 2 yr old singing the ABC song-it doesn't really mean they know the alphabet, only that pattern of sounds.

 

I would certainly look more at the classrooms and what is happening there, not only in K but beyond. I'd also look at what is being left behind. A whole school reading chapter books in K would be impressive-but not if it means that the kids spend all day drilling phonics and doing workbook pages.

[Teachin'Mine]

I think the most telling part of your story is about the reason the Kindergartener was put on a 'time out'. That's the socialization people say the home schoolers are missing out on. That little boy sounds precocious and obnoxious. Not a good combo. Personally I don't think that exposing children to this kind of thing early on helps them. They usually respond in two ways - they hate being around it, or they learn to do the same. God gave children a mother for a reason. :)

[Guest captainpap1]

:grouphug:

I hope that you can find some balance in your life. I can relate to how you feel. I have been there. We have recently mixed things up a bit around here in order to try to have a more balanced life. I felt like school was ruling our lives. We were doing our studies shortly after breakfast and then they seemed to drag on all day long. We never finished before lunch and then I would have to put my little one down for a nap and then start back with our studies. I just felt like the day was never going to end and I too felt like my youngest was not getting what she needed from me or my kids.

NOW

We do school after lunch. We wake up at 7:30, have a light breakfast and my kids watch a cartoon while I have time to get dressed. After a cartoon, they play, play, play. While they play, I throw a load of laundry in, scrub the toilet, load the dishwasher or read an e-mail. I sometime include them on some of my household duties and other times just let them play. I use this time to prep dinner and at 11:00 we start lunch prep and eating. At 12 noon, my 8 year old and 6 year old sit down at the computer to do Rosetta Stone Spanish or Typing Instructor and I take my 3 year old to my room to have snuggles and stories. She gets her one on one time with me for about 1/2 hour. When she is asleep, my son, daughter and I hit the books. We get as much done as we possibly can while my little one is sleeping and when she wakes up, I have a small desk, crayons, safe scissors, magnet books, color book, etc.etc.etc. and she usually chooses to be near us and keep herself busy. We get a lot more accomplished when she is sleeping and I don't feel like she is being pushed aside all day. I feel like she has some great play time with her brother and sister in the morning and is ready for her nap after lunch. Don't beat yourself up about "only doing the 3R's." If they know how to read and read well, they can read anything. They have their whole lives to learn. Our day has ended at 3:30. Next year we will be adding history and science because I finally made up my mind which curriculum to use and will stop school at 4:30. Have a start time and have a finish time. If you haven't finished all of your work, finish it the next day. Be flexible. Don't put yourself in a "school" box. It's not easy, but I wouldn't throw in the towel. I agree with all the other comments. They are going to get a whole lot more than an academic education in the public school system. We really have them for such a short time in life and then they are out in the world for the rest of their lives.

Blessings

I hope this might help you.

Forgive my spelling. My computer doesn't have something for me to run spell check and I always run it with my e-mails. I'm just a mom and I'm not perfect (spelling included). I'm learning right along with my children at home and I love it.

[NanceXToo]

I'll chime in on the standardized testing issue, too.

 

My daughter was in public school for K through most of 3rd. Yes, she learned to read well in Kindergarten. Then again, she's a natural reader, as is every woman in my family.

 

But she also got punished a lot for being too chatty in those years, didn't get much music or art or gym, was only allowed 15 minute recesses (if she didn't lose them for talking), they had to sit through "silent lunches," she would bring home an hour's worth of homework in like 1st grade which I thought was ridiculous, and all they ever focused on were the stupid standardized tests, to the points where she'd get stomach aches nearly every day from the stress.

 

I finally had enough and pulled her out at the end of third grade- right after she'd taken those tests. I homeschooled her the rest of that year and all of this year and I just wish I'd done it sooner. Or right from the beginning.

 

But anyway! The summer after I pulled her out (last summer) a report came out in the newspaper with the results of the tests. It looked at how 15 different districts around here performed compared with state averages.

 

Most of the districts around here scored pretty poorly. Although my daughter had done well on hers, our school as a whole was the third worst out of those 15. 4th Grade math, and 5th grade reading and writing "met or surpassed state average". Every other grade, every other subject, "did not meet state average."

 

SOMETHING they are doing is just not effective and that helped convince me that I couldn't possibly do a worse job with my child than they were- and I'd provide a much more positive learning environment, too!

 

I have no regrets about pulling her out, that's for sure, and I wouldn't send her back. And as for my 4 1/2 year old, I won't make the same mistake with him of sending him there to begin with. He'll be home with me all along. And if he reads chapter books at age 7 or 8 or 9 instead of 5, that's fine with me. :) That certainly wouldn't make me think "maybe he's better off in school." I know he wouldn't be better off in school, all things considered.

[angela in ohio]

I was really impressed . My kids never went to school and all these moms who are homeschooling told me how inferior the ps is , that the kids don't learn , etc .

 

This is a common misconception among homeschoolers. You will hear it many, many times in your homeschooling career.

 

When we see evidence of students performing poorly in ps, we blame the school. As you have seen, though, when the students are succeeding, we are cautioned that they aren't really or that they didn't learn it at school.

 

The honest fact is that many students learn very well in ps. Many students learn very wel in private school or in homeschools, too. It is dangerous to assume about a group of students or to rest and relax thinking that our hs kiddoes will be ahead 'no matter what we do.'

 

I'm chuckling at the end of your post. We are in an inner city school weekly for an after-school Bible club, and we have little guys who can read well in K and are sharp as tacks and well-spoken, but they flip each other off and say the 'f' word.

 

Anyway, listen to your husband. Keep them home and keep working on it. Everyone loses it and dreams of the big yellow bus taking all their worries away, but it is a fantasy. It is just a different set of worries and responsibilities.

[texasmama]

Our ps is terrible and not an option. I received a "mixed bag" education at public school. Some public schools give a quality education and some do not. It is the other part of the education in terms of all of that oft[-heralded "socialization" that scares the pants off of me!

 

I am a part-time therapist and work with a lot of kids and adolescents in my practice. It is absolutely horrendous and shocking what these kids are exposed to and have to deal with at a young age. I see an 8th grader who has peers who go to school high on drugs every day. I am also working with a first grader who is having behavioral issues at school and from what I can garner, much of it is related to being bullied by other kids in his class. This is not what I want for my kids.

 

My ninth grader goes to a wonderful, small, Christian private school. She still struggles with a lot of issues related to comparing herself to peers that she would not have (at least to the same degree) if she were homeschooled. (It is not an option - she is from my first marriage and her dad and I share custody.) I sent my oldest son to private school for kindy and first before bringing him home. He is a sensitive soul, and being in school taught him a lot of things that were not in the curriculum...not anything good. He is much happier at home.

 

In the end, there are positives and negatives to any situation or schooling choice, but for my kids, in my town, homeschooling is the only option.

[2cents]

I was doing 3 at one time. Now one is in college so it is easier. The other 2 are close together and above grade level so we do a lot of the same things except for math. When they were in elementary they were doing more separate grade level work but as they get older it is easier. It was challenging when I was teaching them to read and their math facts and writing but once they hit about 4th grade we were smooth sailing. The older they get, the easier it becames because they are more responsible and cooperative. We still have our moments but they are few and far between now. I find that as they mature, we can really enjoy the more challenging subjects together.

 

I think there are great ps's out there and I've been impressed with some of the skills my ps friends children have achieved. But what I find is that some of that can be attributed to an exception teacher. We had our oldest in private and he did fantastic for 2 yrs with one of his teachers and when he moved up a grade the next was awful. It was like night and day. I think the anxiety with ps for me would be that I wouldn't like the success of the year to be 'luck of the draw'. I've seen my ps friends having the 'who is the teacher this year' anxiety and it doesn't look fun, especially when they get one that has a bad reputation. Having been there, I wouldn't consider going back. Even on our worst day we like hsing better! :)

[RegularMom]

There's a girl who lives a few houses over from us who's started a tentative friendship with my 2 girls. She asked me a couple of times why my girls didn't go to school nearby. "It's a really nice school," she assured me. "How come they can't go?" I told her I was sure it was very nice, but that we do school at home because we like it that way.

 

A few days after that, this girl told my 9yo that she "wasn't normal". The reasons being were something like this: my 9yo is a highly imaginative child and brings that imagination into her everyday play, and this little girl was having trouble understanding it. And so she said that it must be because my dd is homeschooled. The homeschooling was making her too-imaginative and not-normal. My husband was really upset by this, but I told him to not make a huge deal out of it.

 

About a week after that, this little girl came over to play Barbies with my girls. They sat out on the front lawn with their Barbies, and my girls carted down their giant bins of Barbie stuff, and they spent a nice couple of hours playing Barbies while I watched from the living room window.

 

Yesterday when I checked the mail, I found a little handwritten note in the mailbox from this girl addressed to my girls. This is what it said, verbatum: "Just to said did you see something mind."

 

I gave it to my girls like I'd give them any piece of mail addressed to them. My 9yo read it and said, "Hmm... must be written in code." Later on that evening, RegularDad came upon the note and asked about it, and we all read it again, and suddenly I realized what she was trying to say: have you seen something of mine?

 

So I asked the girls, "Did she leave something of hers here last weekend when you were playing Barbies?" and they both brightened up and said yes, and ran and found it in the Barbie bin and took it over to her.

 

It's hard not to toss a blanket judgment (academic and social) down on that school after this whole scenario. But I guess it could work both ways. I can't infer that my local ps is terrible based on my experience with this one girl any more than you can infer that your local ps is fabulous because you met one kid at the ps who seems seriously well educated.

 

All I know for sure is that my homeschool seems to be working and I'm gonna keep on keepin' on with it. :)

 

Sorry to go on so long, but this has been on my mind for a few days and your post really helped me process it. Thanks. :)

[dangermom]

PS is not always terrible or anything, plenty of kids enjoy it and do fine. OTOH, it's not terribly individualized, lots of kids can get lost in the shuffle, and there just isn't the freedom we have. School can be such a hassle and I am often amazed at how much my friends put up with.

 

Yesterday was "Grandparents' Day" at our local PS, and we were invited to visit our friend's 4th grade classroom. I decided to call it a field trip! :001_smile: The kids had spent weeks preparing a show of poetry recital and singing. Sounds neat, huh? Well, they performed well. But I was horrified at the 'poetry' (pure doggerel), and the songs were mostly pretty dang bad too, and holy cow they spent weeks learning this vapid stuff when they could easily have done something of quality.

 

Then we went into the classroom, which is quite nice--but crowded. The two kids we know well in that class are often bored or frustrated--the teacher won't give the boy extra work (though she says he needs it) and punishes him for reading in class, one girl has a hard time dealing with the constant 'mean-girl' atmosphere.

 

I ended up chatting with the boy's dad about his frustrations with the school. I was relieved to get out of there. I think my kids would be OK if they went--but the hassle and restrictions and time wastage is just too much for me to handle.

[2squared]

I don't want my children gone for 40+ hours/wk (including bus travel). I don't want them putting teachers and administrators at a higher level of authority than me (which ds did). I don't want their same-aged peers being a 40+ hr/wk influence (including bus travel, but add after school activities to that one!), particularly when I'm oblivious to how that interaction is going.

 

I want family to be the constant, not just another extra-curricular. I want our values to be the core, and outside ideas to be weighed against them (not the other way around).

 

And, you know what? I don't want to get dressed at 7am and load everyone into the car when it's 10 degrees to make the 8am bus! :tongue_smilie:

 

:iagree: I can tell you that I LOVE my elementary school. My 2nd grader takes PE and music there, and she participates in all extracurriculars that the public school 2nd graders do (field trips, class parties, etc). It's the best of both worlds.

[cjbeach]

Both of my children went to ps K. Having voluteered in both classes I found it was really diverse. Yes, there are children who read very well and yes, there are children still struggling with letter identification. I did find there was a lot of testing for letter recognition, sounds, nonsense words, etc.. I think our kids had Dibels testing 2 or 3 times in K.

 

Here in FL we have VPK so our children do half-day 4yo "school" paid for by the state. With the inception of VPK the K teachers I've spoken to have said they've needed to ramp up their curriculum because the kids came in knowing so much more than they used to. I definitely saw more readers in my dd's class (those kids who had been through VPK) than in her older brother's class. In her class of 19 last year 50% were reading the beginner phonics books proficiently the first day I volunteered in September. I was impressed. But VPK is much like anything else.. it depends what school you're in. Some of the VPK programs are better than others but the kids are tested during the end of the school year on Kindergarten readiness and the school is given a grade based on how the children did in the program. I was fortunate that my children were in a highly rated Montessori VPK that they had been in since they were 2ish.

Edited May 8, 2010 by cjbeach

[DawnM]

Yes, this!

 

Our local elem. school scores in the 90s. Our middle and high schools score that high as well and our high school was just voted #2 in the entire area and they said the #1 and #2 were neck and neck.

 

They still won't be going as far as I can see right now.

 

Dawn

 

 

I saw some studies on 20/20 I think, or one of those same type shows that said American elementary students do well academically when compared to other children (same age) worldwide. It is when these students go into middle and highschool that they fall to the bottom of the ranks. So, the longer they are educated the less educated/informed/intelligent they become.

 

That being said, there is a little ps girl that is good friends with dd that reads much better then dd. When they are high school age then who knows, maybe her friend will still be farther along, maybe not:D. It does not matter to me because I am still not going to put my dd into ps. I guess it all depends on why you homeschool in the first place.

[Bee]

But it's not great either. When I go to pick dd up at her elementary school all the other children seem happy, the adults all seem kind and seem to like being around the children. I see evidence of learning taking place. My dd is happy there...she loves it. My local school has never been on a list of failing schools or even on a watch list. But, as a parent who has been very involved in educating my children, I also see lots of first hand evidence of wasted time and busy work. Nearly every week there is a schoolwide assembly for some sort of character education/ self congratulatory event. I really do think though, that every adult there is really trying to do what they think is right and best for the children.

I think every parent has to decide for themselves. I'm just really glad that my family is able to have a choice between different types of educations. I know there are many children in dd's school who would love to stay home and be hsed but they won't ever be allowed to make that choice (some of them have even said they don't understand why dd would choose to go to school).

[Blossom'sGirl]

My baby is in Pre-K at public school and I went Tuesday to the K orientation just to see what they are planning for next year even though he's coming home. It is quite academic compared to my K experience. They handed out a list of what each child will be able to do by the end of K. Here it is:

 

Language Arts:

-Identifies, writes using lines, and produces the sounds of most of the letters.

-Isolates and blends letter sounds

-Can hear and count out syllables

-Retells a story in their own words.

-Reads K level text.

-Reads color words, number words, sight words, and most keys.

-Speaks in complete sentences.

-Able to listen to a story and answer related questions.

-Be able to listen and follow directions.

-Writes first and last name.

-Writes their own stories using inventive spelling.

 

Mathematics:

-Reads most numerals 0-100

-Writes numbers 1-20

-Identifies shapes and solids and their faces/ surfaces

-Demonstrates understanding of math terms.

-Spatial concepts - Estimating

-Patterning - Skip counting by 10's and 5's

-Sets -Sequencing

-Ordinal numbers -Counts to 100 with only a few mistakes

 

I know they also learn some basic social studies, science, and health

 

 

I have to admit I felt a little insecure after that experience but I need to hold onto one of my original reasons for homeschooling which is that a 5 yo boy does not need to spend his day stuck inside and sitting at a desk. My baby, who is very bright, will have no problem doing all that is on their list this next year and still have plenty of free time.

 

I live in a great, small school district and I think they do a good job. They have cool new interactive computer boards in every classroom but I still think socially we are better at home. Everyone is kinda of surprised that I am homeschooling him next year and even more surprised that he is looking forward to being home again.

[talexand]

Public school has many bright kids. They often have parents at home who make education a priority. In K they really stand out. The interesting thing would be to talk to the parents of that child and see if they are happy or frustrated with their child's education. My kids go to public school part time and there are many things we are happy with. Its a nice, smallish country school and there are not many discipline problems. The parents are *very* involved and enable the principal to put in place a ton of special programs in math, science, and engineering. But the day to day academics inside the normal classroom is pretty mediocre. We try to take advantage of the special programs, including the parent supported math program, but avoid a lot of classroom time. I pick them up at noon after the all important lunch recess and we homeschool in the afternoon.

 

If your children fall outside the scope of normal achievement for their grade I would definitely think twice about public school unless you can do something like we do and pick and choose the parts you want to use.

[twilkin]

Not all ps are bad academically but do you want to risk all the behavioral issues?

[mamatanya]

[quote

 

Sorry it's so long but I would like to hear opinions on this ... since I struggle with keeping them home or ps .

 

My children have not started homeschooling yet. They have only been public schooled so far, so I would like to give you my opinion as a mother who is desperate to get out of public school.

 

My ps has been very good to my children and myself. The teachers that my children have been blessed with were all wonderful teacher's. They wanted to teach and they were passionate about it. They wanted more for my gifted ds, but were not allowed to give it to him. They tried, but there was only so much that they could do. This year, his teacher (who taught the advanced students in his class) cried to me and asked me if she had taught him anything. She really has taught him things, but most he already knew. She designated a corner in the back of the classroom for him to walk around in circles after he completed his daily work, extra work, and more extra work. He was able to read numerous novels throughout his last year, he was on the school's "morning news" and there he learned so much. He was an anchor, a camera man, the guy that flashes the words on the computer monitor (forgot what it's called), etc. He made tons of friends and everyone loved him. But, there was this one teacher.........who every morning talked about my son after he anchored the morning news. He made comments about his long hair, his short hair, his appearance, his reporting. I contacted the principal, the one who has always taken care of any problem that I have had, and told her about this teacher who was talking about my son. She claimed that there must be a mistake and she sent that teacher an email. He sent her one back and she forwarded it to me. It said something along the lines of, "you are right, kids sure do get things twisted around. I was trying to compliment him."

 

After that he stopped talking about my son, but there was only a few weeks of school left anyway. I never knew that saying my son looked like a girl when his hair was longer was a compliment, nor did I know that when he cut it into a short spike that being called a porcupine was a compliment.

 

That is just ONE example of what you have to deal with in public school.

 

Another problem that we had more than once, but I will just give you one example was when my dd was boarding the school bus. The bus driver stopped the boys from boarding and said "Ladies first". So my daughter entered before the boy who had planned to go ahead of her. He shoved her. Another boy said, "hey man, why did you shove her?" The little boy replied that he should have punched her in her *f-ing*(He said the real word) face. A few weeks later, he did attack a little girl on the bus).

 

There are many things in this world that I realize that we cannot avoid, but they are still wrong. Just because this world is sinful does not mean that our children are required to follow or to think that those sins are normal. They are not. I have tried to keep my the minds of my children as innocent as I can for as long as I can but with them being in the ps, they learned things that I did not want them to learn anyway.

 

I will start homeschooling my children this year. From now on, I will lead them in what is right and I will teach them the morals and values that are not taught in the school system. I will not allow my son to enter into the middle school and be exposed to sex, drugs,and violence at the age of 11 just because it is everywhere in the world.

 

I wish you much luck in your decision.

[shusband]

I wanted to try ps for a year and then try hs for a year and decide which we preferred. The ps was very good academically. I think he learned a lot. Here are a few things that bothered me:

 

- The atmosphere was very business like and stressful for him. The goal was to produce a classroom full of readers by May with basically no time spent on play. In kindergarten, I think that's crazy.

- My son is an average reader. He could tell he wasn't in the highest reading group. He would say things like "I'm not good at reading. I'm not as smart as ..." After a few months at home he says, "I'm a reading kind of guy."

- I saw a teacher flip out on a group of third graders - really berating them. Their offense - skipping in the hallway.

- My son cut his hand at school. He was too scared to tell his teacher and just pressed his shirt on it so he wouldn't cry.

- Starting in first grade he would be on the bus at 7:30 and home at 3:00. I just think that is too much time. He really needs the time for independent play.

 

All that said, we're still approaching hs year to year. I know it's what we're supposed to next year.

 

Good luck. If the older women at my church can be believed, this stage of life goes fast, and you won't regret pouring all this time into your kids.

[Sophia]

If the older women at my church can be believed, this stage of life goes fast, and you won't regret pouring all this time into your kids.

 

Yes, this is true. Every time I look at my 16 y.o., I'm reminded to savor the days I have with my little guys.

[kym]

This is a common misconception among homeschoolers. You will hear it many, many times in your homeschooling career.

 

When we see evidence of students performing poorly in ps, we blame the school. As you have seen, though, when the students are succeeding, we are cautioned that they aren't really or that they didn't learn it at school.

 

The honest fact is that many students learn very well in ps. Many students learn very wel in private school or in homeschools, too. It is dangerous to assume about a group of students or to rest and relax thinking that our hs kiddoes will be ahead 'no matter what we do.'

 

I'm chuckling at the end of your post. We are in an inner city school weekly for an after-school Bible club, and we have little guys who can read well in K and are sharp as tacks and well-spoken, but they flip each other off and say the 'f' word.

 

Anyway, listen to your husband. Keep them home and keep working on it. Everyone loses it and dreams of the big yellow bus taking all their worries away, but it is a fantasy. It is just a different set of worries and responsibilities.

 

:iagree::iagree: