Why do you homeschool?

[m0mmaBuck]

I pulled DS from PS midway through his 2nd grade year. By October of that year the school wanted to push him into 3rd grade in spite of the fact that he (IMO) is emotionally immature and had struggles within LA's that they weren't addressing.

 

I would consider putting him back in PS but it would really depend on the teacher as well as whether he was placed in the enrichment program (which is based on test scores AND recommendation).

[mazakaal]

I'm going to be homeschooling because I like power with my responsibility.

 

Rosie, I really like this answer. I think I may have to steal it from you, if you don't mind. :001_smile:

 

What made us decide...

The reason we started homeschooling is because we were in a new country (had just moved to the UK when ds was 4yo) and he wasn't ready to be thrown full time into school after the international move. I considered putting him in the following autumn, but the school was so unswerving on several issues that I really didn't feel comfortable putting him under their care. After that we just kept on hsing because it was working for us. I considered another school for oldest ds after my youngest was born (we had moved to another village), but again was not at all put at ease that ds's best interests would be a deciding factor in educational decisions that the head teacher would make regarding his education. There was no room for him in his own year group and she never gave me a straight answer about how his own personal educational needs would be met in the younger group.

 

Have my dc ever been in public school...

Finally, this past year, it seemed best for many reasons to put him into secondary school. I've been very unhappy with many of the aspects of the schools (we moved part way through the year, so he's already had to change schools), but there are positive aspects as well, and it's what's best for our family right now. The younger ones are all still homeschooled.

 

Do I ever plan on sending them to ps...

The pat answer that I always gave when asked was, "It's what we feel is best for our family right now." As long as we feel hsing is the best option available, we'll keep it up. If we ever feel that ps would be the best option for them (as we did for my oldest), then off to school they would go. :001_smile:

[asta]

The guns, the knives, the metal detectors, the police cars in the parking lot, the fact that his friends (all of a different ethnicity than he is) told him that even they couldn't prevent him from getting killed in the bathroom due to the color of his skin...

 

It was a pretty clear cut situation.

 

 

And here we are, 5 years later. I can't imagine doing anything else (even having moved).

 

 

a

[Rosie_0801]

The guns, the knives, the metal detectors, the police cars in the parking lot, the fact that his friends (all of a different ethnicity than he is) told him that even they couldn't prevent him from getting killed in the bathroom due to the color of his skin...

 

:001_huh: I'm glad I live somewhere where this kind of stuff only happens in movies.

 

Rosie

[laughing lioness]

None of my dc have been in public school. We have no plans for any of them to be.

We began homeschooling in 90' becasue we lived in L.A. and I just couldn't imagine sending my sweet and innocent child to any of the schools that we visited (see asta's post).

I was also writing my Master's Thesis about that time with a lit review that included the hx of ed in America and I just couldn't get on-board with the government vision of mass education.

Most importantly, I LOVE being with my kids. They are fun. They are sweet and sympathetic and innocent but mature. They are pure of heart, and funny, not jaded and cynical like so many of their peers. Homeschooling forces me to learn, grow, and mature myself ;).

My kids know how to learn. They KNOW a lot. They want to know more. They aren't bored with life.

It's been a long, bumpy road and some days I really wish I had a pay check to cash, but I remember being a working mom well-enough to know that that wasn't always a fun road either.

And, lastly I homeschool, because I'm an educator at heart. I love teaching. I love learning.

[IsabelC]

I know there are so many different reasons people have, what made you decide?

Our reason for home educating is that we have not found any compelling reason to do otherwise. School is an institution. We don't put people into prison, hospital or nursing homes without any reason, so neither would we put our children in school unless there were some reason why they needed it.

 

Have your dc ever been in public school?

Nope.

 

Do you plan on sending them to public school?

Not unless circumstances change majorly.

[*********]

We homeschool because dh and I feel it is our responsibility to see that our children grow up in the Lord; not in the world. I cannot bear the thought of sending my boys off each day to be taught by the world. In fact, it breaks my heart to see what the world is doing to my stepchildren.

 

ETA: We have no plans to ever send the boys to ps. The only exception we've discussed is if perhaps, after they have been born again (Lord willing), and are strong in their faith, and they want to go to public school out of service to the Lord to spread his light. Even then, it would take much prayer, fasting, and most of all a clear direction from the Lord before dh and I would send them.

Edited May 24, 2010 by bethanyniez

[Guest CarolineUK]

This time last year I hadn't even considered homeschooling (except in a very vague 'wouldn't it be lovely to be able to go away whenever we wanted and not worry about school' kind of way) - it was because of problems with my then 8 year old, who is very bright but had a very uninspiring teacher and so began to act out, that we took the plunge. His teacher had started to complain to me on an almost daily basis about his behaviour, and no sanctions nor incentives seemed to improve his attitude; eventually I began to feel that she was demonising him unfairly (although I admit he is high-spirited!) and brought him home for fear that he was beginning to be 'labelled' and would go from bad to worse. I also pulled his five year old brother out. Almost a year later and we're all thriving - at least they are, I'm exhausted and have almost certainly aged 10 years!

[Dayle in Guatemala]

What happened to your dd is unbelievable! I can't imagine a teacher asking children a question, and then ridiculing them for their answer. Unbelievable.

 

 

 

I know there are so many different reasons people have, what made you decide?My dh decided! I was against it at first. I had not met very many homeschoolers at the time and had the typical ideas about it. But, we felt that because of eventually going on the mission field, it would be a great idea to homeschool so that we would have consistency in our kids' education.

 

Have your dc ever been in public school? Nope! Only my son for a brief, and really bad preschool stint.

 

Do you plan on sending them to public school?Not an option, but, even if we were living where it was an option, the answer would be no. I like the flexibility we have with homeschooling.

 

Mine were in PS, I will explain in a bit-- I have to go stir dinner:lol:

[Laurie4b]

I know there are so many different reasons people have, what made you decide?

 

Have your dc ever been in public school?

 

Do you plan on sending them to public school?

 

Mine were in PS, I will explain in a bit-- I have to go stir dinner:lol:

 

 

We decided to homeschool for several reasons:

 

1.Religious reasons (we wanted our children's education to have worldview embedded in the curriculum & we wanted to make sure they could think and sort fact from opinion from assumption before they went to public school)

 

2. When they were little, we wanted them to have more free play time; as teens, we wanted them to be able to have a quality education without all the stress that their peers in public high school had

 

3. We wanted to avoid the nasty social stuff that goes on in middle school

 

Our dc have not been in public school, except for community college. We are fine if they choose public school for high school. By that point, they can think for themselves and have had plenty of experience at home sorting through world view applications to various subjects. I don't see indoctrination as an issue in the same way that I see it as an issue in younger years. So for our family, we allow them to make that choice in high school.