How Supportive of Homeschooling is Your Spouse?

[dirty ethel rackham]

I was going to post that it was my idea, but he has been consistently supportive. However, this year, he has mentioned school as an option several times. My oldest has some social anxiety issues and dh thinks he needs to develop social skills. Also, I have been overwhelmed because we did summer school and we went away for vacation for the first 2 weeks of August, so I am still not done planning. I don't think school would be a good option for my boys. I really can't see them navigating the artificial social environment of school, especially middle and high school.

 

I pushed back on this one and he hasn't mentioned it since, but I am working to reassure him that their real world social skill development is high on my agenda.

[Frelle]

I wanted to homeschool before I graduated from college, having had exposure to classrooms of several sorts (private, public, mainstreamed, special ed...) while getting my undergrad degree. I just couldn't see my kids in school the way school seemed to be working at that time. My husband was totally against it.

 

Before we had kids, we were in a small church, and we taught the Jr/Sr High Sunday school class. My husband got such a look at what was being taught in public school that he began researching homeschooling.

 

By the time we had kids, he was fanatical about it. To the point where if something happened and I felt I couldnt handle homeschooling, he would be more likely to teach in the evenings after work or adjust his schedule so he could continue homeschooling, rather than put them in school. But the local private school is a backup option for us at least.

[cathmom]

Our oldest was in public school and we were both unhappy with many things there. A friend suggested we homeschool, so we both began looking into it. We decided together to do it. I have always done the teaching, but he is 100% percent supportive. He never ever wants to put them in school. He had a really bad school experience and so did I. If I am having difficulty with a child, I can call him and he will straighten that child out for me!

[Remudamom]

He was on the school board when our oldest was three. He came home mad one night from a meeting, annoucing that our children would never go there, and that we were going to homeschool.

 

This was my reaction.:smilielol5: But we did and it was good.

 

A few years later he announced we were going classical and I was going to teach Latin and Logic. Again.....:smilielol5 But I did, and it was good.

 

I'm scared to death to see what he comes up with next!

[RebeccaC]

I have not read the whole thread but here is our story. I was for housing and dh was not in fact he was vehemently opposed. His father was super of the wealthiest school district in CA. His birth mother was a teacher. His step mother was a college prof. No way no how were we going to he's. So I kept my mouth shut and prayed.

 

Our oldest son had to go to developmental preschool due to his LKSv and autistic behavior. He was 3 and mute and for 3 months he was in ps. He would come home with bite marks and bruises. I would arrive in his classroom at random times to see what was going on. I found him under the teachers desk banging his head on a cement floor with no one stopping him or shielding his head. When I asked about it I was told he was only doing it for 45 minutes this time and got a shrug........ I could go on but won't because it get s worse.

 

Any way we had an IEP in the spring for the next school year. Dh and I both went. We were informed at the IEP that our son had been bolting from the classroom and running into a very busy street and just standing in the street turning circles. We were asked to work with this with him at home. Dh asked if ds could have an aid to help keep him in the classroom, no was the reply,...... Dh asked if the classroom door could be kept closed, no was the reply....... Dh asked and no was the reply. Dh finally said that ds would probably be hit and killed then and if that happened Dh would sue the school, reply was yes that is probably what will happen and we will cross that bridge when we come to it, dh walked out of the IEP. In the car he said you can not do any worse than these folks and at least ds won't get hurt any more or worse.

 

Of course it was not that easy because in the IL at that time to put a child in developmental preschool you had to sign papers that stated if you did not follow what the school felt was best placement they could take the child. I went to the next IEP with all kinds of doctor and therapist notes saying ds need x amount of speech, OT therapy. More docs and therapists than the school had.... Asked if they were going to supply what the doctors wanted and then sat and listened to their excuses, threw out the sue word and sat and listened again and then very quietly and sweetly said there is another option we could all agree that best placement is in the home......... and at lightening speed every one signed off best placement in the home ;)

 

For many years there was no looking back. At the beginning of high school dh brought up ps as a weak option and that was that. Ds is now quite verbal and reads above grade level, has a leadership position in one of the largest scout troops in the area, and is a cub scout camp counselor. If you met ds now you would never know that he had had LKSv or ever looked autistic. We have been blessed that the medical treament ds had worked and that hsing was such a good fit. Of course prayer had a lot to do with it too.

[Rhonda in WA]

He is the one that supports me the best. He never wants our girls to go to real school.

[LaMere Academy]

we made the decision together and he supports it. I don't know about enthusiastic...but he does love telling people we do it and wouldn't have it any other way.

[Stacy in NJ]

None of your options really fit for me. He was and continues to be supportive at about the same level. It was my idea that he agreed to. With the expection of Rosetta Stone Japanese, he doesn't do any academics with the boys. Although, he is generally a cheerleader; listening to memorized poems, admiring well-done test and papers offered up for approval, and listening to interesting facts learned during lessons. Really, he does what most dads with kids in ps do; listens, admires, asks a few questions, gives a little feed-back once in a while. He never complains about the costs or that our house has too much homeschool stuff laying around. He does enjoy the flexibility for vacations.

[Mommy22alyns]

It was my idea, and I had to present my arguments for homeschooling to DH. It didn't take him long to realize how beneficial hsing would be for Becca (and eventually Sylvia) and now he is a FIRM believer in it, probably even more avid than I am! He's 150% behind me. He's done a few lessons with the girls, but only regularly does art lessons with them once a week. He's their "Art Magister"! :D

[melmac]

We both agreed it would be bet years before our first child. It was just always a given.

[SABE]

I was the first one to bring up the idea of homeschooling, but apparently he had already given it some thought on his own. He immediately agreed with me that it sounded like the best idea for our circumstances, and we haven't looked back. Just about all of the responsibility for getting it done has fallen on my shoulders, but I knew that before we ever started. He has been incredibly supportive of me along the way.

[JudyJudyJudy]

It was my idea, but dh agreed with it from the beginning and has been very supportive of me. I do the large majority of the work involved, though.

[~Tara~]

Hubs was the one who encouraged me to home school. :) I liked the idea, but was hesitant. Not sure I could follow through well. He has been my support and encouragement all along. :D

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

It was his idea-before I was ever pregnant.

 

However-that statement is not meant to reflect anything about my level of enthusiasm or commitment.

 

Or even my need to be committed...;)

[MomOfOneFunOne]

My husband is very supportive. He likes that we homeschool and loves how my daughter is turning out (except that temper!) but he doesn't help or ask for input in planning, et c.

[Kisa in CA]

I wouldn't say as enthusiastic as I am! He can only handle so much 'curriculum' talk! But that's ok, I have YOU ladies to talk curriculum with!

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

We planned to send our kid to the local private school but it wouldn't meet her needs. We have no other choice but to move- dh is from this area and does not want to leave his family (neither do I - I love his family). It was a decision we came to together out of necessity.

 

Dh is very supportive. He helps enforce the rules, he quizzes dd on her work, he helps her with her work, he does projects with her and is going to do dissections with her soon. He's in charge of PE this year too and that has really gotten him more involved.

 

Neither one of us thinks it makes our kid better than or better off than any other kid whose family makes any other choice. It's just what dd needs to meet her needs academically right now.

[tibbyl]

As the primary caregiver, I make the educational decisions. Certainly, if spouse felt strongly one way or the other, he would speak up. So I suppose that makes him supportive of homeschooling.

[Mama Anna]

"If we have children you're going to homeschool them." (Emphasis mine.) We were living in the Bay Area of California at the time. I must admit that while it seemed like a laudable goal I was somewhat resentful of his assigning the job to me.

 

However, I remember one day when my dd was about 3.5 yrs old. I was standing in the kitchen marveling over something she had just done and I wondered if I could really bring myself to trust such a jewel (you'll forgive the parental bias, I'm sure;)) to someone else for schooling. I began actively researching homeschooling very soon after that.

 

Dh is very supportive - he's teaching piano - but pretty much all the decision-making falls on me. In other words, much like most of the rest of us!

 

Mama Anna