Why do you homeschool and what should we do???

[kbpaulie]

Our boys are 7 & 10. We've homeschooled from the beginning. We teach them so we can share our own Christian morals/ values, they can work at their own pace, we can have a more flex schedule and the boys can be together.

 

As many of you can relate. Homeschooling is a joy and a huge challenge too. We go until about 3pm - unlike what I'd always imagined. The boys bicker, as brothers do. And I loose my patience enough times during the day that I'm not a good model of those Christian values.

 

So... we've been looking for a new house for about the past year and just aren't finiding anything. Well, a house came up in one of Ohio's best school districts. About 1400 kids for the whole district. Great little community. High taxes. Families commited to the schools. House needs some work, but it's a great deal priced nearly 50% below value (it doesn't need THAT much work).

 

So, while I know it's a personal question, I'm struggling to decide if we continue to homeschool or move to a great district and let my kids excel there...? Maybe I need a pep talk on why homeschooling is great? Maybe I need permission to put my kids into a great school (we don't know anyone there, only the reputation and rankings).

 

Thanks!

[Mrs Twain]

Whether to put your children in a public school or continue to homeschool is a personal decision that only you can make.

 

What I will say is that you shouldn't just believe that the schools in that particular district are great. I moved into a very affluent area where the schools are widely known to be "great" and some of the "best". However, my experience was quite the opposite. I was appalled by how low the academic standards are at the schools in my neighborhood. Academics is one of the main reasons I withdrew my children.

 

Also, I would caution you to watch out for the worldview which the school teaches. The public schools in my "great" school district have a major focus on teaching humanistic/secular worldview. Their goal is to teach the kids that religion or spiritual belief is all relative and depends only on personal opinion. Everyone's beliefs are equal and equally true. My school teaches the kids Kwanzaa, Islam, and lots of other subjects in ways I don't agree. Personally, I would prefer that the school teach the three R's and leave religion to the parents. However, the schools in my area put as much weight (or sometimes more) on prosthelytizing their worldview as on academics. I felt like the school was trying to undo all of the teaching I was giving my children about God and truth. It is tough to overcome that when your children are at the school for 6.5 hours per weekday away from your presence and knowledge of what is going on.

 

So if I were you, I would take a very close look at the quality of the academics as well as the worldview being taught at the schools in your potential new district.

[dhudson]

All I can tell you is that seeing my kids now at 14 and 11 yrs have made me so glad we have homeschooled them. They are well educated, kind, and are pretty well grounded especially in comparison to their peers, many of which are from great private schools and very high rated public schools.

 

I would take a look at your curricula. Only about 4 hours a day is needed for those ages, so perhaps rethink what you are using and try and combine them in Bible, Science, History, Art etc. I would only separate them for Math and LA.

[txmommyofboys]

Have you asked the boys? I know they are too young to make that choice but I am interested in hearing what they think.

[Lisbeth]

Very personal decision.

 

For us, the school model itself is flawed and can never be 'great.' I'm with John Taylor Gatto on that. To me, teaching mine is giving them the gift of time. They get tons of time to not sit around and wait for 25 other people just because of some arbitrary age-thing. That's why I couldn't do afterschooling, either. If I felt afterschooling was necessary I'd feel bad that they were wasting so much useless time in school.

 

We get asked this very thing all of the time. We live in a wealthy area with a very highly rated school. People are perplexed about why we wouldn't just put the kids in school. It gets interesting answering. Often I just gloss over it because I don't want to insult others who put their kids in school. I can't tell them I think the "high rating" is a nonsense rating. It will be harder to hold my tongue with the whole Common Core nonsense coming down the pike.

 

However, that's how I feel and how we do it. It all depends on your philosophy.

[Candid]

I don't think I would put my kids in school just to get a better house. I'm not sure if that is what you are asking. But if it will take both you and your husband working to afford this house, I'd say I'd move on.

 

AND our neighborhood high school has been ranked in the top 100 in the country several times, I still home school.

[mom2scouts]

Only you can make that choice, but don't put the kids in school just because of the "highly rated school district". Our district just earned "Excellent with Distinction" and I still have a child in PS (I pulled the younger ones out to homeschool.) and I'm counting the days until he's out of that "excellent" school. The fights, bad language, bullying, low standards in some classes,unevenly applied discipline, and peer pressure to have the latest and greatest electronics makes me hopeful that I can homeschool my little ones all the way through high school. Yes, there are some great teachers, some good classes, and good opportunities in the school, but it's just not worth it to me.

[Hunter]

Rank and reputation can be very misleading. Sometimes horrible injustices take place to create ranks and reputations. I know one school system that drastically raised it's rank by expelling most of it's LD students. Another school system raised it's kindergarten age and starting holding lots of children back a grade to raise it's test scores.

[Matryoshka]

I live in an excellent school district. I did put my older kids (twins) into high school this year (none of my kids have ever been to so much as preschool before this), and I've been pretty happy. Since they can choose their classes, they are challenged in each subject at the appropriate level.

 

My younger dd (6th) also decided to go to school, although that was not the original "plan". She was refusing to do a lot of her schoolwork, and I think she missed her sisters and felt left out. I have honestly been appalled at the low level of academics in the 6th grade. I have no idea how these kids end up working at the high level they do in the high school. All I can think is that there is a ton of afterschooling. We have a large Asian community, and I know most of them heavily afterschool. I have a good friend whose dds are in the schools, and she's pretty much copied my entire homeschooling curriculum over the years and somehow gotten her girls to do most of it after school hours.

 

Anyhow, the math is just Everyday Math 6th grade. Dd is in the "accelerated" group, but as far as I can tell, that's just extra worksheets. They're not moving ahead faster. Algebra isn't offered until 8th. In LA, they've written two paragraphs all year. Read two books (though that doesn't include the 20 min. of free reading they're supposed to do each day - which my dd manages to fit in during school hours...). They're learning "advanced" grammar concepts like... subjects and predicates. Memorizing lists of helping verbs (which I actually think is pedagogically misguided). Science is getting a bit better now that they're done with the Science Explorer "Science and Technology" text, where they learned terminology about the scientific method, the metric system and technology ("what is technology?") with precious little application of those concepts. Now they're on to an Earth Science book. In Social Studies they're doing geography, which so far has included a month of longitude/latitude, a month of landforms ("what is an island?") - they've finally moved on to culture and I think are starting to study people around the world.

 

I have decided to keep dd in this year, but honestly none of the reasons are academic. She's coming home for 7th and 8th. And she's afterschooling with AoPS Algebra, MCT Practice Voyage, and I decided to put together an after school writing class, as she just needs to write more, more often - that's her weak area (and what she wouldn't do for me, and ironically one of the big reasons she went to school in the first place). Because honestly I'd think otherwise the year would be a loss content-wise. I do think (hope) she'll pick up some skill work - studying, deadlines, etc.

 

Anyway, the house sounds awesome, and like a really great deal. I do appreciate living in a nice school district. The kids are nice, and studious. But I am seriously underwhelmed with the pre-high school curriculum. Rather gobsmacked, to be honest. I'd say move there, keep them home, and maybe re-evaluate come high school.

[Sahamamama]

Our boys are 7 & 10. We've homeschooled from the beginning. We teach them so we can share our own Christian morals/ values, they can work at their own pace, we can have a more flex schedule and the boys can be together.

 

You really have two separate questions: (1) Should we continue homeschooling?; and (2) Should we buy this house? IMO, they don't need to be tied together, unless you have to generate income to afford the house/taxes. But if you can buy the house and still stay home, you can answer these questions separately.

 

The house has to be your call, because only you know what your budget is, what you're willing to pay for taxes, and how you feel about living in that house/neighborhood.

 

About the homeschooling: Go back to your original goals (above). Can you achieve these goals if you stop homeschooling? How? Are you willing to let go of these goals? What will your new goals be? Will putting them in school accomplish that? What do you think God wants you to do?

 

Do you have to put them in school, just because you move there? Just because there's snow on the mountain doesn't mean I ski. :rolleyes:

 

Edit: I did want to add that I agree with Matroyshka that it would be desirable to live in a district with a great school system, whether you use it or not. Even though my husband and I intend to continue homeschooling our girls, we still want to move away from this terrible school district.

 

There is a (major) part of me that agrees with John Taylor Gatto -- the system is broken, no matter where you go and schools are designed like factories and prisons. OTOH, there are schools that function better than others. It depends on whether you see it as a positive when the schools are good at what they do. ;)

 

Ahem -- I see a strong desire for autonomy in your stated goals. Separate the house question from the homeschooling question. A better neighborhood, a lovely home -- these are great goals. Why give up homeschooling, just because you move?

[Tess in the Burbs]

I agree with others that only you can decide but I don't think a well respected school is ever going to fit your needs perfectly. You either want to homeschool or you don't. Do not let the idea of a 'good' school stray from your original intent.

 

My kids are 9 and almost 11. Every year we start we go 9-3pm and in a month I usually get it back to 9-1pm. I have found they can learn a lot more in less time if I have the right curriculum. Now, my ds will often take forever in his subjects but that is his issue. He has good days, and bad days, but in the end, his motivation to get done on time is his responsibility, not mine. We do the group stuff so that dd can be done when she's done and ds can go at his pace. And his pace is slower. But I am not sitting here with him until 3pm. I teach, and am around if he needs me for help, but the work is his to do.

 

I know for us, we home school. I don't care where I live(and we have moved a lot while home schooling), we still home school. The school district is never a factor in our choice to be home. You have to know why you are doing this and have faith in your ability. We all have bad mom/teacher days. The kids have bad days. But at the end of the year if you look back, is the time home what you expected and did everyone have a good time? Let the good outweigh the bad before making big decisions.

[PentecostalMom]

Lots of great advice here. I pulled my two older dc from the best school in our city when they were in 1st and 2nd grades respectively. Well, we decided to homeschool around Christmas and let them finish the year. That was 13 years ago and I haven't looked back. For me, it was a variety of reasons, the most important of which was our Christianity. It is difficult to instill Godly attitudes and character when it is constantly being torn down at school, mostly due to peers. Think long and hard about these choices. Whatever choice you make, it isn't permanant. You can put them in school, see how it goes and pull them if you decide it isn't working. These decisions are challenging, aren't they?? Best to you!

[Anne in CA]

I agree with the posters who are suspicious of "best schools". My oldest attended the "best" elementary school in the West Hills of Portland and it turned out that they really did no academics all day. The "best" students were home schooled by their parents at home and attended the "best school" for enrichment activities. Since I worked and my husband worked and was a full time student we did not have time to teach our child at home and by the time dh was done with college and she was failing fourth grade the only solution left was for me to stay home and home school her. No private school would have taken her without holding her back two grades at that point. She couldn't even do Alpha Omega at grade level and she had no learning disabilities. It was very hard to catch her back up to grade level and she was very resistant because she had been allowed to do all her math with a calculator at the "best school".

[idnib]

Here's a link to a highly regarded and highly ranked public school in our area.

 

Read it and weep.

 

http://en.wikipedia....ol_(California)

 

 

Alumni include Robert McNamara and Christopher Stevens, the ambassador killed in the Benghazi incident. The school offers everything you could ever want in a public school; 98% go on to college within 2 years of graduating.

 

Now read this, with apologies for possibly offending:

 

http://blog.sfgate.c...sy-slut-league/ :ohmy: :svengo:

 

Read it and weep for different reasons.

 

There's more to schools than just academics.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Our school district is always in the top 5% in the state, both for funding and performance. My oldest went there for K and 1st before we pulled both kids out. Some things about the school my kids attended were just sad and depressing. Other things were down right alarming. I'm just saying that even though a school district receives high rankings, it doesn't mean it will work out for you or your children.

[TranquilMind]

'Mrs Twain:

Whether to put your children in a public school or continue to homeschool is a personal decision that only you can make.

 

What is will say is that you shouldn't just believe that the schools in that particular district are great. I moved into a very affluent area where the schools are widely known to be "great" and some of the "best". However, my experience was quite the opposite. I was appalled by how low the academic standards are at the schools in my neighborhood. Academics is one of the main reasons I withdrew my children.

 

 

 

Oh my gosh, yes! My oldest went to "the best" classical high school in the area. It was a cesspool of the promotion of evil values, in my view. There were a couple of good AP classes she took, but it wasn't worth the price we paid as a family. The rest of the classes were nothing special, by any means. My daughter said that it was quite a shock to hear, "We had homework???" regularly, and having to carry the entire load on all group projects or the work simply wouldn't be done. They found out she was a brainiac so it was all on her from that point on.

 

Also, I would caution you to watch out for the worldview which the school teaches. The public schools is my "great" school district have a major focus on teaching humanistic/secular worldview. Their goal is to teach the kids that religion or spiritual belief is all relative and depends only on personal opinion. Everyone's beliefs are equal and equally true. My school teaches the kids Kwanzaa, Islam, and lots of other subjects in ways I don't agree. Personally, I would prefer that the school teach the three R's and leave religion to the parents. However, the schools in my area put as much weight (or sometimes more) on prosthelytizing their worldview as on academics. I felt like the school was trying to undo all of the teaching I was giving my children about God and truth. It is tough to overcome that when your children are at the school for 6.5 hours per weekday away from your presence and knowledge of what is going on.

 

 

Yes, this. Active mockery of Christian values is normalized in classrooms.

[TranquilMind]

Here's a link to a highly regarded and highly ranked public school in our area.

 

Read it and weep.

 

http://en.wikipedia....ol_(California)

 

 

Alumni include Robert McNamara and Christopher Stevens, the ambassador killed in the Benghazi incident. The school offers everything you could ever want in a public school; 98% go on to college within 2 years of graduating.

 

Now read this, with apologies for possibly offending:

 

http://blog.sfgate.c...sy-slut-league/ :ohmy: :svengo:

 

Read it and weep for different reasons.

 

There's more to schools than just academics.

 

 

Wow. You've said it all here.

[Izzy]

We live in a great neighborhood with "exemplary" schools but I can tell you that "exemplary" status means nothing. Well, that's not completely true. It does mean the kids will spend most of their time learning how to pass the STARR test. They also have to study ways to get the answers right even if they don't know the answer. OTOH I think living in a great school district is important because those are the kids your children will be friends with. Being in a safe neighborhood is a big priority for me. We love where we live and even though we homeschool we wouldn't want to live anywhere else even if it meant saving money.

 

Only you can make the decision to homeschool or public school and it's a personal decision. Many kids thrive in PS. :)

[LucyStoner]

We homeschool our older son for academic (quite gifted and quite bored), safety (being bullied) and developmental (HFA) reasons. We

withdrew him from one of those top ranked schools and the gifted program because I knew I could do better academically and socially. I was right and what we thought would be a temporary thing for just him has become a long term plan for him and the decision to homeschool our younger child from day one.

[G5052]

The schools in my area are very good if you compare them by test scores, and there is magnet school for science and engineering that mine would be eligible for.

 

I teach a course at the local community college that is frequently taken by the newly-minted graduates of those schools. This is not a "last chance" college, and some graduates go on to top-notch 4-year schools in the national rankings. The nursing program is considered one of the best in the state.

 

My collegues and I talk frequently about how unimpressed we are with the average graduate from the county system. The scores on the college entrance exams (ACT/SAT) and math/language arts placement exams are about average, if not below in some areas. The percentage of recent high school graduates actually finish an associate's degree is low, and most that drop out drop out because they can't get past the English and math requirement. No interest in public school here.

[serendipitous journey]

We bought our house specifically b/c of the good school district (and the plenty-of-garden for my father-in-law) before we had children, and so I feel a bit odd bypassing all that for homeschooling!

 

I also understand the weariness, the disillusionment of days taking longer than you'd planned and boys being less angelic and much more human, and wanting to be a more graceful and centered mother. I would say that making mistakes does not interfere with teaching Christian values as such -- remember that what the children need to see is your honest effort, your humility, your love.

 

I imagine you are praying about this? it is a very personal decision. If you are tired and disillusioned and burning out, that is real and deserves attention: your well-being is one of the family's concerns and functions. If the children are unwell in themselves, that needs attention too. But if you are all essentially well, if your family is loving and functional, and the grass seems greener: it's not. I am coming to see that having a strong, healthy family takes much more effort and commitment and many more hard choices than it "should"; and whether you school them yourself or outside the home, it is an incredible amount of work.

 

I would say that middle school is often the weak link in a school system's chain; I myself would hesitate to enter a child into middle school unless there were compelling reasons.

[Reya]

Some of those GREAT school districts come with a crippling amount of homework each night, so you won't actually be doing less homeschooling!

 

Check this FIRST, especially the workload in middle school.

 

Don't like how difficult it is for you? Make them more responsible and make them bear the brunt of their own irresponsibility, so that you don't "have" to get mad.

[Laura Corin]

This is a difficult and personal decision. My boys were home educated for seven years - initially because Calvin had LDs/giftedness that were not being addressed at school, later because we moved to a place that had no acceptable school. I'm not sure that the situation that you describe will meet your initial educational goals, so it's worth assessing if these are still your aims at this stage.

 

Things do change over time. One of the things we really valued about home education in the early years was the amount of time that the boys had to read, play and dream. Whilst this was still an ideal as they got older, their need to bounce ideas off more people (pupils and teachers) became more important, so our educational goals changed. It's up to you to assess if yours have too.

 

Best of luck

 

Laura

[Dmmetler]

If we make the potential move in our future, I'll be looking at schools for DD and then making a decision then. I'm not set on homeschooling for life, only for now.

 

I will say,though, that when DD was 18 months old, we moved from the urban, largely low-performing district to one of the "best districts in the state" zoned into one of the "best schools in the state". As it turned out, that meant "best school in the state" based on test scores, but the actual schools were pretty mediocre unless you were a kid who just happened to learn at the rate they set out to match (which was at the high end of what's normally considered "grade level", but nothing above that). So don't assume "Best school in the state" really is going to mean "best school for my kids in the state".

[kbpaulie]

Thanks for all the great feedback and thoughts!

[violamama]

We're really loving hs'ing and all the benefits we see already, even though our kids are way little. Our reasons started out as purely academic, but the more we do it the more I find to be glad about.

 

I guess if I were in your shoes and could swing it, I'd buy the neat house in the good neighborhood and then make your hs decision separate of that. If you go with ps, great- you're in a potentially good place. If you keep hs'ing, great- you'll probably be surrounded by families involved with their kids and have lots of friends to choose from right in your own neighborhood. A good family neighborhood can be hard to find, so either way it sounds like a good deal. You don't necessarily have to join the school to benefit from it.

[besroma]

Even if you plan to continue homeschooling, buying a home in a great school district can help a lot when it comes time to sell the property.

[Alice]

We live in an area with some of the “best†schools in the country. We also live very close to a small Christian school that our closest friends go to (including my oldest’s best friend) and that is fantastic. Over the past two years I have frequently asked myself why we continue to homeschool. What I’ve realized...

 

We aren’t NOT choosing to have them go to school elsewhere. We are choosing to homeschool right now. This may sound like splitting hairs but for us the difference is that we could see circumstances where it might be better for a child or for our family to make a different educational choice. We are grateful to live in an area where we have many good choices. But for us right now, homeschooling works for our family. Part of realizing that was to really think about why we homeschool. Not why other people do or even to consider what the other schools might offer. But why we made this choice and whether or not those reasons are still good ones for us. That’s really a very personal decision that only you and your husband (and maybe kids) can make.

 

I also believe that as our kids are older they should have some say in the decision. My oldest is in fourth grade. It’s not totally his decision but I certainly would think twice about continuing if he was miserable or if I felt that his needs weren’t being met. I also would think twice about putting him in school if he strongly wanted to continue homeschooling. We went through a rough time last year and I talked to him about school choices. He had no desire to go to school elsewhere and still doesn’t. But talking about it helped us to figure out what changes could be made (on both our parts) to make things better.

[Sahamamama]

We live in an area with some of the “best†schools in the country. We also live very close to a small Christian school that our closest friends go to (including my oldest’s best friend) and that is fantastic. Over the past two years I have frequently asked myself why we continue to homeschool. What I’ve realized...

 

We aren’t NOT choosing to have them go to school elsewhere. We are choosing to homeschool right now. This may sound like splitting hairs but for us the difference is that we could see circumstances where it might be better for a child or for our family to make a different educational choice. We are grateful to live in an area where we have many good choices. But for us right now, homeschooling works for our family. Part of realizing that was to really think about why we homeschool. Not why other people do or even to consider what the other schools might offer. But why we made this choice and whether or not those reasons are still good ones for us. That’s really a very personal decision that only you and your husband (and maybe kids) can make.

 

I also believe that as our kids are older they should have some say in the decision. My oldest is in fourth grade. It’s not totally his decision but I certainly would think twice about continuing if he was miserable or if I felt that his needs weren’t being met. I also would think twice about putting him in school if he strongly wanted to continue homeschooling. We went through a rough time last year and I talked to him about school choices. He had no desire to go to school elsewhere and still doesn’t. But talking about it helped us to figure out what changes could be made (on both our parts) to make things better.

 

Yes, exactly this! I like this whole post, but especially the bold part -- it's about making moves so your family has choices. What will give your family the most options for education?

 

Right now where we live, we basically have to homeschool our three children. Our schools are so bad -- so bad -- that we couldn't in good conscience put our children in them. And the private schools nearby are either (1) just as pathetic academically or (2) prohibitively expensive ($12,000/year/child x 3 children). So we homeschool now, but if and when we move it would be wise to move into an area that at least provides us with more options. We wouldn't be obligated to utilize those options, but then we could feel as though we had a choice not to. KWIM?

[Scarlett]

Here's a link to a highly regarded and highly ranked public school in our area.

 

Read it and weep.

 

http://en.wikipedia....ol_(California)

 

 

Alumni include Robert McNamara and Christopher Stevens, the ambassador killed in the Benghazi incident. The school offers everything you could ever want in a public school; 98% go on to college within 2 years of graduating.

 

Now read this, with apologies for possibly offending:

 

http://blog.sfgate.c...sy-slut-league/ :ohmy: :svengo:

 

Read it and weep for different reasons.

 

There's more to schools than just academics.

 

Yep. That would be one of the many reasons I homeschool.

[Scarlett]

Just as an FYI, it gets easier. My ds is 12 1/2 and doing 7th grade work......and he is working mostly independently. I am still here with him, and I have to crack the motivational whip at times but things are so much easier than 2 years ago.

[Ohmomjacquie]

I'm with the others. My oldest went to ps for k in one of our towns better schools. She came home with such attitude and became a totally different child. I dar the same happen to my best friends son last year.

 

If school is taking that long rethinking curriculum is a good idea. We use mfw and it takes 4 hours give or take depending on the day .i can also combine them once in second through eighth grade. We used other things that made our days longer but it is so much nicer now

 

Gl with your decision

[TravelingChris]

I have homeschooled one from 2nd grade through high school, the second from preschool through high school, and the last one from preschool to currently still homeschooling high school. None of mine wanted to go to school- why? Even when they lived in great school districts compared to the national norm, there were always lots of kids who would tell them how lucky they were to homeschool. I was able to slow down in areas they needed (for example, my older dd, who gets legally mandated adaptations in college, just had me to make sure she learned before I even knew what her disabilities were- I didn't know exactly what they were but knew there was no way to cure them and that she needed different ways to learn and I was totally correct according to the specialists) and I was able to speed up for subjects they were good at- and those were different for each of them.

 

Other than the benefits of just getting a good education, here are some of the benefits I found out about since they are now older--- they are much closer siblings than most kids their ages, they still like to spend time together and with us parents. OUr family is much closer since our kids, having spent so much time with us parents, ending up sharing so many of our hobbies, interests, pursuits, etc. They have all kept their love of learnng alive. Even the child with dyslexia loves to read, though it is harder for that child. All of our kids like science, though one has a disability that makes it take that child a lot longer to figure out some concepts.

 

Now here is what we couldn't ensure- that all of our children would be practicing Christians. One of our kids is sometimes agnostic, sometimes deistic, but definitely not a practicing Christian. Other things happened, that we had no control over, that have made that child lose hope. We just pray that that child will find the way again but you cannot guarantee your child's faith just because you homeschool and go to church and SUnday School and VBS and all the rest.

[scrapbookbuzz]

It's very easy to get into the comparison trap and very difficult to get out.

God does not call us to be perfect, or like anyone else. He calls us to be willing and to strive to

Be like Him. That being said, will your children learn that at a 'great' public school, which more than likely

Teaches from a secular/humanistic worldview or will they learn that God calls the willing, not the perfect, as they

see you face daily spiritual battles as well? Some Scripture you might find helpful: Ephesians 6:10-20, Deuteronomy 4:9 and Deuteronomy 6:6-7.

[EmilyK]

I just wanted to say that I saw no mockery of Christianity when my children were in public school.

[duckens]

If the house meets your other needs, I would move to the great school system, but continue to homeschool.

 

(FTR: We, also, are lucky to live in an academically great school system. At this time, I am planning to homeschool both girls through graduation).

 

I would do this because:

 

1) I choose to homeschool now, but at any moment, I can choose to send them to public school. Sometimes just knowing options reinforces my commitment to homeschool by CHOICE. I do this because I CHOOSE to do so. And that affects my attitude. I don't feel trapped.

 

2) If you live in a lousy school system, you do not have that CHOICE.

 

3 ) We, as homeschoolers, live life vicariously. For many of us, a major illness or death in the family would bring a screeching halt to homeschooling. Loverboy is our breadwinner. If anything happened to him, I would not have the funds to continue homeschooling; I would be lucky to keep a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. The saving grace would be knowing that my girls would be academically challenged and supported, and we would still have a hope that they could make it to and through college.

 

4) We live in a terrific school system, with a terrific homeschool program. The woman who runs the program and leads the K-1 enrichment homeschooled her kids. Her family was one of six who homeschooled in our town when it first became legal. Our visiting teacher (provided by the school system) also homeschooled her kids. In future years, everything from foreign language to computer to IEW workshops will be available to my girls through the homeschool program.

 

**Please account for individual variation between Ohio rules for homeschool support and Iowa rules for homeschool support.**

 

I can't say for sure, but I suspect that better school systems have better homeschooling programs. Whether you choose to participate or not, if it's not offered, you can't take advantage of it. Poorly funded school systems simply cannot offer the same level of support.

 

5) I suspect that most homeschool kids (unless they have attended public school prior to homeschooling) ask to go to public school sooner or later. Some are curious. Some think it will be better/easier than homeschooling, or more structured to prepare them better for college. Some just want to be with their friends.

 

Many parents say, "We're your parents, and we make the decisions! And for [academic or spiritual or social or safety] reasons, there is NO WAY you are going to public school!!!" And that is fine. I have no problem with that.

 

But I do think that MOST parents say, "Well, let's talk about that. Let's look into it." And I suspect that most kids transition nicely to public school at that time. You'd like them to transition to a good school if ever faced with such a choice.

 

6) Because the school system is so well funded, and the school has such a good reputation, this implies that the community values education. For this reason, your children will grow up with peers that live with this value of education. Even if they never go to a single day of public school, they will have acquaintances through church, swimming, lego camp, and tae kwan do.

 

Pick which one you want your kids' peers to say:

a) "I've decided to go to [insert college name] for early decision for college."

"I got a 34 on my ACTs!"

"I can't go out until the weekend. My mom says I have to study."

 

or

 

b ) "I hate school. I can't wait to graduate and never go to school again!"

"I just fill them all in as C. C is the most common answer."

"Why can't you go out with us to Burger King on Tuesday nights? We always have a lot of fun, and you can be home by 10pm!"

 

Choice b is not filled with juvenile delinquents and dropouts. It just reflects a lack of value for education.

 

7) Even if we homeschool all the way, I suspect that some classes will be taken at the local high school. We want that to be a good high school.

 

In talking with, "Parents who have gone before" [cue dramatic music], one mom shared that her son took one public high school class in 9th grade, two in 10th, and now takes 3 in 11th grade....... She feels that this meets the need of prepping him for:

 

a) learning according to someone other than mom

b ) learning on someone else's schedule

c) learning what someone else (outside your family) deems to be valuable

d) learning from teachers with a variety of different styles of teaching and testing (prep for college)

e) learning in a traditional classroom setting (prep for college, taking notes, not interrupting)

f) learning how to juggle 4 classes with their schedules and requirements....just like a semester at college.

 

Plus, I just can't provide a full Chemistry experience that an established lab can do. Support? Yes. Potassium Permanganate? No.

 

I wish you the best of wisdom in making the choices right for your family.

[Kathy G]

Very personal choice-but a good decision to have.

 

We homeschool because we were in a district that could nopt meet the academic needs of my children. We are Christians and I didn't find any problems with worldview with the public schools in my area. That being said, I do enjoy the fact that I can add more religion whenever I see a need (fighting children, morals etc.)

 

We are now in a very good district. 98% graduation rate ACT scores averaging 26. 96% going to college. My son does take a few classes at the high school, but only as we see fit and only in advanced classes as students there are choosing to learn. He doesn't want to go all day, and while the school would be fine with accelerating him, we are not fine with the general behaviors and attitudes of the kids. We like our relationship with him at home and we dont' need the "My parents are bad guys" attitude.

 

Of course homeschooling is not a guarantee that he will share our worldview or that he won't cop an attitude etc. But we feel it is our best shot at a loving, intelligent successful young man who will be best prepared for both college and life.

 

Good luck with your decision. There are many public schooled chilren who are wonderful people and students and I think we all have all met some homeschooled brats too. So do what is best for you and them!

 

Kathy

[MFA323]

We just bought a house that's zoned to a "great" elementary school. We had considered several houses that were zoned to horrible schools because we plan to continue homeschooling anyway. I like being zoned to a good school more than I expected. It's great to have a fallback plan. I don't actually think that my kids would get a great education there, but it's nice to know that they would get a decent education and be around nice kids if homeschooling became unworkable or if they just wanted to try PS for a year. Some of the other schools around wouldn't be an option, no matter what. The other thing I like is that the good school attracts parents who care about their kids' educations. I'm glad to have that kind of neighbor.

[kristinannie]

In my opinion, you should sit down with your husband and really hash out why you homeschool. That is really only your decision. If you basically homeschool because of the bad school system where you currently live, then maybe this move and putting them into PS is a great option for you. Although this is a personal decision for you, here is why I homeschool:

 

I started out homeschooling because I felt led my God in that direction. I also thought my son would be bored to death in kindergarten since he was already reading and would likely become a behavior problem. However, 18 months into this, I am homeschooling for many more reasons than that! At this point, I just completely disagree with how PS teaches kids. I see how long it has taken to me overcome my "training" at PS. I really thought that everyone could believe as they wanted and there was no Truth. I was a ultimate feminist who thought that I would never have an abortion, but it is everyone's choice. I was a real environmentalist who thought that having kids was mostly irresponsible and bad for Planet Earth. And I came from a great Catholic family... I just want more for my kids. I want them to make connections between subjects and not just move from class to class at the bell not thinking about the previous class until you are there again tomorrow. I want them to enjoying learning and not worry if they are too smart to be cool. I love that they don't pick up horrible behaviors from their peers. I am glad they get to be around kids and adults of all ages. I am glad that we have plenty of time to read aloud and pray as a family. I love taking field trips. I love traveling in the off-season. I love that my younger kids pick up so much from what I am teaching the older kids! The list really is endless.

 

I don't think you have to limit your decision to just moving and PS OR stay and homeschool though. If you love the house, you can still move and homeschool!