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My local school district was rated "Excellent with Distinction"


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I'm not sure how to feel about it. On one hand I'm very happy that the children in our public schools are getting a pretty good education. It also helps my home value. My older children graduated from this district, so that makes me feel a little better too. On the other hand, it makes me wonder if spending so much time and money homeschooling is really necessary. One of my older kids never had his educational needs met. Another now tells me he wishes he had been homeschooled. One of the boys at home started in school and had a negative experience. All these things made me believe I was doing the right thing by homeschooling, but now I'm confused. We're having a bad homeschool day today and I'm not happy with how much we're getting accomplished this year, so maybe that is affecting my attitude.:confused:

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We lived in a town that had the best rated school system in my state. I homeschooled not because the school system was bad, but because no matter how good the school system is they still could not tailor an education to my kids.

 

I found that homeschooling (especially during the elementary and middle school years) allows for a lot more creativity, academic excellence, and individual growth than public school.

 

I guess it all depends on why you are homeschooling.

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We lived in a town that had the best rated school system in my state. I homeschooled not because the school system was bad' date=' but because no matter how good the school system is they still could not tailor an education to my kids.

 

I found that homeschooling (especially during the elementary and middle school years) allows for a lot more creativity, academic excellence, and individual growth than public school.

 

I guess it all depends on why you are homeschooling.[/quote']

 

:iagree: Just because test scores are high and everything looks great on the surface or for most kids doesn't mean that it's a good educational experience for all kids (as you can see yourself after talking to your own olders). And there are a lot of social negatives to public school. IMO, if you can homeschool and you know you can meet your kids needs doing so, why not give them the best experience you can? If it turns out that for some reason, you no longer can (burnout, financial difficulties, personality clashes, etc.), then be glad that you have a good school system to fall back on. If you never have to, then be glad you were able to give your kids something even better.

 

:grouphug:

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The district we live in is reportedly the only district in Ohio in which all of the schools have been designated as "National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence". The schools are brand new, gorgeous, and state-of-the-art. We pay truly obscene taxes to live in this district. However, I have no interest in my children attending these schools.

 

If I wasn't homeschooling, my children would likely attend one of the two excellent college prep schools in our area. Fortunately, we could afford to send them there. However, we still choose to homeschool instead.

 

I agree with the PP that it all depends on why you are homeschooling.

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We lived in a town that had the best rated school system in my state. I homeschooled not because the school system was bad' date=' but because no matter how good the school system is they still could not tailor an education to my kids.

 

I found that homeschooling (especially during the elementary and middle school years) allows for a lot more creativity, academic excellence, and individual growth than public school.

 

I guess it all depends on why you are homeschooling.[/quote']

 

:iagree: My kid went to a highly rated public elementary school for 2 years that always has long waiting lists. It still wasn't a good fit for him. It was a lovely community and many kids find a good fit there. My oldest needed something different. Now that I have experience with PS and have looked at no less than 25 schools public and private for my kids, I do think the ratings are a bit of a joke.

 

"Excellent with distinction" is great when comparing apples to apples. Just don't confuse your orange with the apples!

 

:iagree:

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We also live in a National Blue Ribbon and "Excellent with Distinction" school system.

 

Despite these accolades, the academic standards in this system were far below those at the Montessori school my kids attended prior to our moving into this district. I can't even imagine how terrible the education must be at the lower rated districts in Ohio.

 

My two younger kids spent two years in our public schools before we decided to homeschool. I have absolutely no doubt that my kids are receiving a far more enriching education at home than they ever would receive at our Excellent with Distinction public school.

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The ratings mean the school district does a pretty good job with most kids.

 

It does not mean they do a great job with all kids.

 

It does not mean they don't mess up with any children.

 

It does not mean they meet all of the needs of any child. I do not believe any district can meet all of the educational needs of any particular child. I do believe that a district could meet most of the needs of some children. Some needs are not going to be met. The individualization you do with homeschooling cannot be done in public school.

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The best day in a classroom is not as good as the worst day at home. :D

 

We don't only homeschool because the local public school is not so great. We homeschool because we think it's important for our children to be *home,* with their parents and their siblings, where they can have individualized attention, where the standards of learning don't change because the state legislators get a new thought, where they can learn what real life actually is, where they don't have to worry about being bullied or introduced at a young age to things they should never be introduced to.

 

So, yeah, I wouldn't rush right down there and enroll the dc. :D

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