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Wow! I seriously just read this ENTIRE thread before getting to the end and realizing it was from 2009 :lol:

 

I'll respond anyway since I seriously spent 30 minutes reading! I agree and disagreed with a lot! My twins definitely aren't doing what some people probably think they should be doing. They are finally catching up though. One has LDs but they were preemies and had developmental delays and weren't ready for so long. Funny thing is once I stopped freaking out and pushing them to be ready, shortly later they were reading and writing! I know I need to :chillpill: more often!

 

OTOH my pastor frequently says (of course in regards to our spiritual life but I think it applies elsewhere also), " No one ever drifted to excellence."

 

I am very academically inclined and really want all my kids to be also, even though my step-children aren't so much (well aren't at all). However I do think that the social aspect of raising children to be well-adjusted adults who love God is much more important than where they end up academically. I also strongly believe you can be happy anywhere in life, dead-end job or not. Of course I hope for more for my children because I am human, but I try to remind myself that God has plans for people in every position in life, even if it doesn't make sense to me. That said I of course will continue pushing them to be their best!

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Wow! I seriously just read this ENTIRE thread before getting to the end and realizing it was from 2009 :lol:

 

I'll respond anyway since I seriously spent 30 minutes reading! I agree and disagreed with a lot! My twins definitely aren't doing what some people probably think they should be doing. They are finally catching up though. One has LDs but they were preemies and had developmental delays and weren't ready for so long. Funny thing is once I stopped freaking out and pushing them to be ready, shortly later they were reading and writing! I know I need to :chillpill: more often!

 

OTOH my pastor frequently says (of course in regards to our spiritual life but I think it applies elsewhere also), " No one ever drifted to excellence."

 

I am very academically inclined and really want all my kids to be also, even though my step-children aren't so much (well aren't at all). However I do think that the social aspect of raising children to be well-adjusted adults who love God is much more important than where they end up academically. I also strongly believe you can be happy anywhere in life, dead-end job or not. Of course I hope for more for my children because I am human, but I try to remind myself that God has plans for people in every position in life, even if it doesn't make sense to me. That said I of course will continue pushing them to be their best!

 

NO ONE EVER DRIFTED INTO GREATNESS -- I love that....oo ... :lol::lol:)

 

(I read most of it before realizing t

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Where is Ria? Can anyone find and link that great butt-kicking post I referenced back in 2009?

 

Also, what happened to Peek A Boo? Someone PM me and tell me why she was banned, please!

 

Carry on.

 

Jennifer

 

Ria stopped homeschooling a few years ago and (I think) started working as a pharmacy tech.

 

Peek a Boo came back from a year ban and then got banned again within a few weeks.

 

Sometimes when I want to play Nancy Drew, I search for a poster's most recent threads to see what kind of kerfuffle she was last involved in. Like "plowing the damp field" for example. ;)

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Ria stopped homeschooling a few years ago and (I think) started working as a pharmacy tech.

 

Peek a Boo came back from a year ban and then got banned again within a few weeks.

 

Sometimes when I want to play Nancy Drew, I search for a poster's most recent threads to see what kind of kerfuffle she was last involved in. Like "plowing the damp field" for example. ;)

 

You can't search for a banned person - it's like they've disappeared. They will show up in an actual thread but you have to basically know what thread it is to begin with or it's like searching for a needle in a haystack.

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You can't search for a banned person - it's like they've disappeared. They will show up in an actual thread but you have to basically know what thread it is to begin with or it's like searching for a needle in a haystack.

 

I just did.

 

It works under advanced search.

 

Put in Peek a Boo. The damp field thread is on the high school board.

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He has asked how he should answer "Why do you do so much schoolwork?" and I have no idea what to tell him to say since any answer I could think of would in effect insult the asker's homeschool. I also don't think it's as much a serious question as a hostile comment.

 

I don't suppose "it's good for my health" is a polite answer?

 

Rosie

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OTOH, kids will learn a LOT in an atmosphere of learning full of books & questions & experimenting & pointing out details.

 

Well, sure, we do that, too. :001_smile: They aren't mutually exclusive.

 

As a matter of fact, the people I know IRL who do the best job of establishing an environment of learning are also the most rigorous academically, so I actually think they go together more often than not. ;)

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Can I just ramble a bit?

 

I really feel that the HS community has completely enabled itself to settle for for lower standards than we should.

 

"Is it okay if we take off school this week even though we are 6 weeks behind? We just need to take a break."

"Can my 10 year old do Core 1?"

"My 10 year old is not writing, and is in 2nd grade math. Is that okay? "

 

All of these are all too often met with a resounding YES!

 

Yes! It's okay if you are behind. That's what homeschooling is for! You set your own pace!

 

Yes, your 10 year old can do Core 1. You can supplement, but regardless, he'll be fine reading and learning on level that probably won't challenge him. It's HOMESCHOOL!

 

Yes, your child can be behind! Some kids just have trouble and life gets in the way. Don't worry about keeping your child at grade level. That's why we homeschool...

I have to pick on this and say: Bad example. Homeschooling standards are so different than PS standards that Core 1 with a 10 year old is probably fine.
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we are 6 weeks behind?

 

Behind whom?

 

I have many goals in homeschooling. One of them is forward progress. However, I rarely sit down and chart out how quickly we should get somewhere. Some days my ds8 does two pages in path. Some days he does five problems. It depends on the material and how challenging it is for him. Were I a public school, I would drag my son through a predetermined amount of math every day because I would have to stay "on schedule." Since I homeschool my son so that I can give individual attention to his education, the days we do five problems instead of 40 don't bother me. He has gotten the attention he needs and the challenge level appropriate for him.

 

I have a dd16 who is in school. The school she is in now is an anomaly, but in the past she was in a more regular public-type school. The focus was on plowing ahead and sticking to the schedule. That is not a recipe for success. I'd rather be "six weeks behind" and taking a week off than "right on track" with kids who aren't getting the material.

 

I think it is a mistake to hold up the public school as a yardstick against which we measure our success. Many of us homeschool because the public schools have failed. I expect academic excellence from my kids. I don't view the public schools as academically excellent, so I don't worry about grade level or anything else associate with them.

 

Tara

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Wow! I hope no one read all... what? 34 pages? before they realized this thread is two years old.

 

I think a round of donuts may be in order.

 

 

 

(Yes, I really am hoping this donuts thing catches on.)

Edited by Parrothead
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Wow! I hope no one read all... what? 34 pages? before they realized this thread is two years old.

 

I think a round of donuts may be in order.

 

 

 

(Yes, I really am hoping this donuts thing catches on.)

:grouphug:

 

I knew it was two years old and still enjoyed reading and replying. I even learned something.

 

I guess that makes me different.

 

Are you worried that current replies to this thread will get heated?

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This is a topic that is not time-sensitive, so the age of the thread isn't really relevant.

 

Tara

 

I agree.

I'm not sure why folks seem so irked when a thread is resurrected. Someone probably had a question, used the search function, and used the thread as a resource. I'm glad people do that!

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OTOH, kids will learn a LOT in an atmosphere of learning full of books & questions & experimenting & pointing out details.

 

This takes more effort and organization than a curriculum though! :tongue_smilie:

 

I have a friend who played down what she was doing and whom the general homeschool group thought was very lax in the way she schooled. Due to personal circumstances her daughters have had to go back to ps this year. Her 10 yo dd is consistently top of her class and her 13yo dd is in the top 10 of hers. They are not 'behind' ps standards at all!

 

Everyone's hs is different and what may seem lax from the outside, may actually be a wonderful atmosphere of learning.

 

There are children in our group about whom I do worry that they may be leaving things a bit too late (for example a 12yo still reading at a 1st grade elvel) but each family has their own standards and I try to respect that.

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The last time I participated in a discussion like this was nearly seven years ago.

 

And for the most part, I'd give a reply similar to the one I offered then (although the intervening years have, as one virtual friend said, softened me):

 

One of the reasons I homeschool is that I'm not terribly interested in what everyone else is doing -- how woefully underprepared Suzy Homeschool's kids are, how inarticulate Peggy Publicschool's kids are, etc.

 

Really. Not. Interested.

 

I'm concerned about the progress of two young adults. Hey, look at that. They both live here.

_________________________________

 

The OP spoke of being frustrated by lowered standards, but, simply put, there is no one set of standards to which home educators subscribe. The consistency, rigor, and quality of education being provided to the children of the posters on this board varies -- sometimes greatly -- from poster to poster, not to mention across the ever-expanding ranks of homeschoolers in this country. The exact same thing can be said of the consistency, rigor, and quality of education being provided to the children in public and private schools around the country, though! So, while I subscribe to what many would call "rigorous standards," I know someone else -- whether home, public, or private schooled, might disagree. And that's okay. He or she isn't in charge here. I am. Similarly, while I may have some fairly strong feelings about what can be accomplished through home education (Oh, and I do!), I know that it's really none of my durned business if someone chooses different methods, philosophies, and/or goals.

 

Related aside: In the last couple of years, I have begun to wonder if the homeschooling community, which still represents such a small fraction of the country's student population, does itself it great disservice by publicly deriding its participants. Then again, many are challenged and inspired by such virtual conversations.

Edited by Mental multivitamin
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I agree.

I'm not sure why folks seem so irked when a thread is resurrected. Someone probably had a question, used the search function, and used the thread as a resource. I'm glad people do that!

 

I don't get *irked,* but it is embarrassing to accidentally post twice, esp when your 2nd heart-felt answer turns out to be nearly verbatim what you said 2 yrs ago. :lol:

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I don't get *irked,* but it is embarrassing to accidentally post twice, esp when your 2nd heart-felt answer turns out to be nearly verbatim what you said 2 yrs ago. :lol:

 

I don't know, it would be more embarrassing if your second heart-felt answer were the opposite of what you said 2 years ago :D

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I don't know, it would be more embarrassing if your second heart-felt answer were the opposite of what you said 2 years ago :D

 

Maybe--but if you *realized* you'd learned something or changed your mind, maybe not. I once referenced my teaching mentor twice in one thread, down to the very creative description of her & a choice quote. :glare::lol:

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Wow! I seriously just read this ENTIRE thread before getting to the end and realizing it was from 2009 :lol:

 

I'll respond anyway since I seriously spent 30 minutes reading! I agree and disagreed with a lot! My twins definitely aren't doing what some people probably think they should be doing. They are finally catching up though. One has LDs but they were preemies and had developmental delays and weren't ready for so long. Funny thing is once I stopped freaking out and pushing them to be ready, shortly later they were reading and writing! I know I need to :chillpill: more often!

 

OTOH my pastor frequently says (of course in regards to our spiritual life but I think it applies elsewhere also), " No one ever drifted to excellence."

 

I am very academically inclined and really want all my kids to be also, even though my step-children aren't so much (well aren't at all). However I do think that the social aspect of raising children to be well-adjusted adults who love God is much more important than where they end up academically. I also strongly believe you can be happy anywhere in life, dead-end job or not. Of course I hope for more for my children because I am human, but I try to remind myself that God has plans for people in every position in life, even if it doesn't make sense to me. That said I of course will continue pushing them to be their best!

 

Someone on one of the other boards had asked for some "rigor" threads to help inspire her. I guess this one was too good not to comment on.

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The last time I participated in a discussion like this was nearly seven years ago.

 

And for the most part, I'd give a reply similar to the one I offered then (although the intervening years have, as one virtual friend said, softened me):

 

One of the reasons I homeschool is that I'm not terribly interested in what everyone else is doing -- how woefully underprepared Suzy Homeschool's kids are, how inarticulate Peggy Publicschool's kids are, etc.

 

Really. Not. Interested.

 

I'm concerned about the progress of two young adults. Hey, look at that. They both live here.

_________________________________

 

The OP spoke of being frustrated by lowered standards, but, simply put, there is no one set of standards to which home educators subscribe. The consistency, rigor, and quality of education being provided to the children of the posters on this board varies -- sometimes greatly -- from poster to poster, not to mention across the ever-expanding ranks of homeschoolers in this country. The exact same thing can be said of the consistency, rigor, and quality of education being provided to the children in public and private schools around the country, though! So, while I subscribe to what many would call "rigorous standards," I know someone else -- whether home, public, or private schooled, might disagree. And that's okay. He or she isn't in charge here. I am. Similarly, while I may have some fairly strong feelings about what can be accomplished through home education (Oh, and I do!), I know that it's really none of my durned business if someone chooses different methods, philosophies, and/or goals.

 

Related aside: In the last couple of years, I have begun to wonder if the homeschooling community, which still represents such a small fraction of the country's student population, does itself it great disservice by publicly deriding its participants. Then again, many are challenged and inspired by such virtual conversations.

 

Um? Welcome back? :)

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Unlike other professions (law, medicine, etc.), teachers and schools can't be sued for educational malpractice. If a child goes to school for 12 years but can't read or write, the school isn't held accountable.

 

Each state does set some standards for homeschoolers, but they vary.

 

But, should homeschoolers hold each other accountable? On the one hand, some people feel that it reflects badly on homeschoolers in general and could lead to greater state restrictions if homeschoolers don't do a good job. On the other hand, what business is it of other parents if one parent is educating their child in a way that is different or unconventional? Don't parents have the right to educate their child in the way they think is best?

 

Should there be some sort of homeschooling standards not enforced by the state but by a homeschool association? Would voluntary membership in some sort of homeschooling association help to promote better homeschooling? Or would it just get in the way of people who are trying unconventional or minority approaches?

 

So far, homeschooling has been a movement, rather than an organization. This is how many ideas begin, but later they become more organized and structured. But the beauty of the movement is the freedom and the innovation. Movements are often fast-growing, whereas structures and organizations typically take root after the fast-growth period.

 

Due to the freedom, there are sometimes abuses- some people get too extreme or carried away and then there are calls for organization and structure. Limits on freedom, in other words. We might be at that point.

 

I enjoy these boards because I read about ideas and innovations that people are trying in the laboratory of their own homes with their own children.

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:grouphug:

 

I knew it was two years old and still enjoyed reading and replying. I even learned something.

 

I guess that makes me different.

 

Are you worried that current replies to this thread will get heated?

 

No problem with replying to this thread and contributing to this discussion because it is one that is relevant at any time. But - people who are quoting the OP need to realize that she is no longer homeschooling and is no longer coming to this board, as far as I know.

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The last time I participated in a discussion like this was nearly seven years ago.

 

And for the most part, I'd give a reply similar to the one I offered then (although the intervening years have, as one virtual friend said, softened me):

 

One of the reasons I homeschool is that I'm not terribly interested in what everyone else is doing -- how woefully underprepared Suzy Homeschool's kids are, how inarticulate Peggy Publicschool's kids are, etc.

 

Really. Not. Interested.

 

I'm concerned about the progress of two young adults. Hey, look at that. They both live here.

 

:iagree:

 

I don't know, it would be more embarrassing if your second heart-felt answer were the opposite of what you said 2 years ago :D
:iagree:I have done that many times. I have learned so much since I have been here.
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No problem with replying to this thread and contributing to this discussion because it is one that is relevant at any time. But - people who are quoting the OP need to realize that she is no longer homeschooling and is no longer coming to this board, as far as I know.

 

The OP said they started homeschooling - again. :confused: Sheesh. I'm biting my tongue here and trying to play nice. It is an old thread.

 

:auto: And now back to Grammar Island, Peeps.

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The OP said they started homeschooling - again. :confused: Sheesh. I'm biting my tongue here and trying to play nice. It is an old thread.

 

:auto: And now back to Grammar Island, Peeps.

 

Are you sure? I looked at her posts and while she was reading the board yesterday (according to statistics), her last post to the board was in August 2010 when she was selling her homeschool books. Now - having said that - I really don't "care" which method of schooling they are using but hope that whatever method or location, it is working out well for them.

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Are you sure? I looked at her posts and while she was reading the board yesterday (according to statistics), her last post to the board was in August 2010 when she was selling her homeschool books. Now - having said that - I really don't "care" which method of schooling they are using but hope that whatever method or location, it is working out well for them.

 

I think this was the 2nd time she quit.

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I think this was the 2nd time she quit.

 

 

Really? I'm not sure which smilie to use: :glare: or :confused: or :lol:

 

 

 

 

 

ETA: Irrelevant to the discussion , but I quite like the tag "zombie thread." I wish we had a zombie smilie.

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I am committed to homeschooling all of the children all the way through. So that means I'll be homeschooling until I'm 62 unless I have grandchildren to homeschool by that time.

 

That means I have to pace myself, and chant, "It is a marathon, not a sprint".

 

I have two education degrees and my older children are old enough for me to feel secure about the way that they have been educated, and about what kind of people they have become.

 

I set goals and I reached them. It's perfectly fine for others to have different goals for their children, but I won't be attempting to reach those. They aren't mine.

 

I'm sad when people push themselves and their children to the point where they all burn out and quit homeschooling, but I don't take it personally.

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I am committed to homeschooling all of the children all the way through. So that means I'll be homeschooling until I'm 62 unless I have grandchildren to homeschool by that time.

 

That means I have to pace myself, and chant, "It is a marathon, not a sprint".

 

I have two education degrees and my older children are old enough for me to feel secure about the way that they have been educated, and about what kind of people they have become.

 

I set goals and I reached them. It's perfectly fine for others to have different goals for their children, but I won't be attempting to reach those. They aren't mine.

 

I'm sad when people push themselves and their children to the point where they all burn out and quit homeschooling, but I don't take it personally.

 

Amy, did Miss Happy's foot get better w/o too many problems?

 

I may have missed an update.

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I have to agree that I shudder when I hear about a kid who has fallen behind in math or something due to life circumstances because the mom has been unable to school. In public school there is no such time off. Sometimes homeschooling is not the best option for a child in terms of consistency. It is not okay to just fall behind all the time. A lot of time and dedication is required to do this job and do it well in my opinion. I have noticed that I have seen A LOT of homeschool written work and I think to myself, "Wow, that kid needs handwriting BAD." When I taught public my only experience with a homeschooled child was when I got a 4th grade boy in my Language Arts class and he started a paragraph with "Uncaponatim" (once upon a time):001_huh:

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Ouch. Queen bees abound.

 

I did sign in yesterday to post, but I realized that I wasn't nearly as proficient at typing from my iPad as I would like. I never made it over to the laptop.

 

Anyway, I suppose I don't need to defend myself, or even explain my current status, but I do lurk on this board often, and I still miss homeschooling and have so much respect for those who pursue it.

 

The first time I quit homeschooling was in the course a big move, and I chose to send my kids to PS. It went well. Their second year found my middle son in an unsafe environment with an awful teacher. My husband and I chose to bring them all home for the rest of the year. We did, and during this time I wrote my post. I knew several other homeschooling moms at the time, both online and IRL that had lost their motivation and their children were "behind" where they probably should be academically.

 

We had a great time during that spell of being home again. We pushed hard, and they learned so much. I was employed, and my job duties and policies changed. It became a choice of work or homeschool, and I loved my job. My husband preferred that if the kids could have a good PS experience, that they remain there. We re-enrolled them the next year. They're doing great! We continue to take it one year at a time, but we're pleased with their progress and continue to set high standards for each of them.

 

Anyway...

 

It *is* an old thread. Whether I still homeschool or not is hardly the question. You do. Teach your children. Push them to work hard. Have fun with them, and be nice. Just like you'd like them to be. :)

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