Homeschooling I would like pros and cons?
I would love any input to this post all would be appreciated.
Thanks
I am a homeschool mom. My children are enrolled in an internet school, OHDELA and my experience has been good. The reasons why I pulled my children from their public school was because of a lack of education. My daughter is now 12 and in 4th grade. No child left behind didn't work for her. She did fall way behind and still can't catch up.
My children attended a very small Christian school for a little over two years. They really enjoyed that school but it became impossible to be able to pay the tuition any longer. The year after Christian school we worked with homeschool curriculum. For me, that was a bad decision. I didn't have enough discipline to work as hard or as long as what we needed. This year we are with OHDELA. At first it is a lot to get use to. Very strict guidelines on what needs to be done and when. I log in their hours they spend along with a detailed description of what they did. We are finally starting to really adjust to OHDELA, and currently I don't think I would have it any other way. My children are learning tons of information, no doubt more than they would get from our public school system.
We are extremely active with our church, we are youth pastors. I know my kids get enough social interaction, and anyone can tell you they are "well adjusted". I do want to add that I almost decided to try our public school again this year, but when I voiced my concerns to a school administrator she was the one who advised OHDELA (Ohio Distance Education Learning Academy). Which I later found out was very rare because OHDELA takes funding away from our public school.
OHDELA has some other excellent things that I want to mention, I am sure other states have DELA schools also. 1. it's totally free...computers and everything that goes with them. Their books are free...18 per child...no cost to me. 2. The second year they are enrolled we have $300.00 per child to use towards other educational experiences....music lessons....ymca membership,etc. That amount goes up every year with a maximum amount of 500.00 per student. 3. They even sent us $50.00 gift cards for each of our children to pay for school supplies, and they will be sending another 50.00 again at the beginning of the second semester to pay for ink and to help update our supplies. 4. Our cable high speed internet is only costing us $15. a month because of reimbursements.
All of that plus my children do have interactive classes with their piers and a master teacher, & nbsp; I can't ask for more, it's free.
Socially inept children!
Both my kids dropped out of highschool at our request and got their GEDs in about 2 months -- the highschool is nothing but a joke -- unless you are a jock or a brainiac the faculty ignores the average student and the drugs and violence and such are present no matter what the school says and I live in a small town.
I have no idea what parent would say high school is a joke unless you're a brainiac or jock. I could say more but I'd hate to ruffle the delicate feelings of CC.
For the record, I have a 15 year old in high school. You can have a happy, well adjusted kid who does well in school, avoids violence and doesn't do drugs. Do violence and drugs all of a sudden go away with a GED? What about college? Do they go to college after dropping out of HS?
I have a few things to add to this topic-- interpret them as you will. I am 18, first year in a smallish liberal arts college, (other larger campuses nearby) and I was home schooled for 2nd and 3rd grade. Basically, my parents took my brother (just finished 3rd) and I (just finished 1st) out of the public school because we were both bored and my parents felt we were not learning to our potential.
We did not have internet schooling. My mom taught us. We did many traditional subjects, as well as visits to museums, parks, and animal shelters.
Pros to this--
I loved it. I have very fond memories of those years. I was absolute best friends with my older brother. I have a perspective of the world that I feel I would not have had if I stayed in public school the whole time. I developed a passion for reading independently. I learned the importance of NOT working 9 to 5. I learned to obey authority if it is moral and logical, and to question authority whenever I feel it is not.
My parents decided to put me back in school because they did not want me to 'miss out' on it entirely; they were probably worried about the 'social aspect', and they also got very busy. So:
Cons that I discovered mostly later--
I was 'spoiled' with free time. Play time. School was exciting at first, but I just got worn out so quickly by going to school every day. I had many missed days of school in that first year back (4th grade). There were certain subjects I was very behind on-- the largest problem for me was learning to write script. The other kids had been working on it for years, and my parents just never thought to teach me. I still have trouble writing it! Ah well. I was also slightly bored, because I was used to being in a much more individualized learning environment.
However, it was not too bad-- going back to school was like an adventure. And despite the missed days and transition from 2 years home school, I was at the top of my class. I was a straight A student all throughout the rest of elementary school.
Did the social aspect affect me?
This seems to be everyone's biggest question. Yes, of course it did. I was never in the most popular groups, I was awkward in many social situations all through high school. I don't know if that is specifically due to the homeschooling. What I do know is that the positive benefits outweigh any discomfort I might have by not being 'experienced' enough. Mostly,
-I have always gotten along with adults very well
-I have always felt comfortable in an age group older than myself
-I find no fulfillment in meanness; I would never bully or hurt anyone's feelings on purpose
-I am less influenced by peer pressure than every other student I know
-I don't "cling" to groups. I can go places alone and be confident. I do not rely on 'crowd confidence'
-I KNOW THE VALUE OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS! I love my family. I am very close to them. They are an extremely important part of my life and a great support, and I am glad I can communicate with them and not rely on school counselors.
EDIT; I was a 'high school drop out' too. I did 1 year of high school, which was 9th grade, and then I left. I finished my high school years in the community college near us.
Now, doing my 1st year of college, I can hardly believe all the crazy things that happened to me before I got to this point. But I feel my education background is a valuable part of who I am. BECAUSE of the way my parents and I took control of my education, my experience with learning has been a positive one.
We started homeschooling this year. My children were doing great in school at least grade wise, but they were losing their desire to learn.
My wife and I are pretty well educated, and she doesn't need to work for us to eat, so we decided to go for it. We chose a curriculum that is very labor intensive on our part. So I can't really speak for any cyber based learning.
The results thus far have been really encouraging. The joy is back! We are all learning allot. We are becoming closer as a family, and many insecurities are being uncovered and dealt with.
We live in a great place to home school. My son plays on the home school basketball team, my middle one takes dance, and our youngest plays soccer. It seems we have friends over every afternoon. A large portion of his reading, has themes about gowning up and living an adventuresome, overcoming life.
If you do homeschool, don't just move away from something, but rather toward a goal. Figure out what your child or children need to know and what they need to become on the inside.
My observation is that Jules is right, if children are being externally or religiously controlled with the primary use of fear, they will rebel when they find "freedom." Of course we don't give them complete freedom either. One thing we do is set before them an ideal for peaceful, joyful living, and encourage them daily to take hold of a full, abundant life. We encourage them to use their minds to make good decisions, to exercise their will in order to bring into being their best thoughts, and to use their emotions to understand human nature, their deepest desires, hopes, and fears.
All this to say, that I believe that homeschooling can be a great way in, but that it isn't a great way out. If you desire to impart to your kids the very best - go, go, go. But if you are doing it out of fear. First, deal with the fear, then you will see clearly whether or not home schooling is right for your family.
That's about all I can tell you without getting into spirituality and Chirstianity. If your a Christian and wan't to discus it more, you can e-mail or post me.
Go for the best.
-goodbrownies
hi chix,
I wasn't homeschooled for ;12 yrs but am now - kinda, I live in ge rmany where (in rare&nbs p;cases) you can homeschool&nb sp;yourself (yes ladies and&nb sp;gentlemen, yourself, no tea chers, no school, no book s - you have to do&n bsp;all yourself and still be as good or actually better than the average student)
I do this for a year now and I realized pros first:
+you can inform yourself much more about certain t opics and improve youself ;in a totally different l evel,
+you also learn to be&nbs p;more independet because you& nbsp;have to motivate yourself to learn
+you don't have to deal&n bsp;with social idiotismn like "your fat" or "your a smartass" (o r whatever kids are confr onted with)
+you have the possibility ;to learn in a comfortabl e and well known envirome nt
+less social concerns (e.g.&nb sp;you are a girl and&nbs p;try to figure out if&nb sp;that new pair of jeans flatter your backside or your a guy and try& nbsp;to figure out if you 're cool enough to hang&n bsp;with the "in" cr owd)
but there are minus point s too...
- most longterm friendships are& nbsp;made in school, if y ou like it or not it is true (my real friends are from school times)
- the competitive enviroment, discussions, arguments, debattes are missing and maybe infect the social competence and (for me) the different view we all need sometimes
- homeschooling let you s pend alot of time with&nb sp;your parents... and that isn't always a good thing when they try to be the best for you but over-care
- the absolute biggest contra point of homeschooling = you NEED to have the drive to study at all times, most people have major problems kicking their own butt
But how somebody said bef ore, you are obviously de cided already, so I hope& nbsp;you asked your kids too! And really gave them a factive and rational&n bsp;outlook of they have to expect in the near future, because the main thing is that they WANT to be homeschooled even when they know the bad points.
If you will homeschool th em, I HIGHLY recomment non-school activiti es for their social compe tence, put them into spor t clubs, let them learn&n bsp;a music instrument so ;they can play in a band or orchestra, ask th em if they'd like to ;do some volunteer work e tc etc don't don't don't let the m isolate themselfs, seriously.
best wishes for you and&n bsp;your kids
Kitty
Original Post by giggle_puppy:
-CON-
Socially inept children!
thanks, but i've been homeschooled all my life and am now in college at sixteen and seem to be doing fine. :P
Original Post by nomoreexcuses:
I'm using this book to help my daughter get more out of her education, even while she is attending high school.
That Teenage LIberation Handbook is a must read for ALL teenagers - or even pre teens. I read it and gave it to my oldest daughter.
We unschooled for many years. It was such an awesome experience for us all. I remember one day trip we took to Kitt Peak obervatory in AZ outside of Tucson and becaue there was just the four of us mom dad and the 2 girls we got this private tour by an employee who saw us having lunch and we got to go inside one of the radio arrays and he showed us how it was part of the very large array in NM and chile searching for sounds of the universe. there were other field trips we took that because we were a small group we got to see and do things a public school could never offer. We were able to go on a excavation dig of indian ruins.
Original Post by giggle_puppy:
-CON-
Socially inept children!
I think my kids could could prove you so wrong. My oldest daughter has so many friends of all ages - in fact she is better friends with my boss than me -- she has a boyfriend of 2 years who is 10 years older than her. Seems all her really close friends are all more mature and well adjusted adults vs the young adults who are just into partying all day and night. She just turned 21 and is very well know as a wondeful person in this small town we live in.
My youngest attend public schools longer than my eldest - her choice - and she has had nothing but problems since 8th grade when she was being bullied by a boy and brought a knife to school for protection. Then she got involved in the drugs and all the other "socially acceptable" behaviors of all the other kids in the school. She is now 18 as of Sept and lives in a halfway house with women who have done hard prison time. Shes a wonderfully bright and beautfiul person who unfortunately got involved with kids her own age and fell into that peer pressure. I wish now we had not let her return to public schools after she was expelled for the weapon. Thing is we told the school she was being harrassed and threatened by this boy for months before and they just said - well if she wants to stay inside during recess she can-- why wasn't the boy the one punished by not being allowed to go outside.
Original Post by giggle_puppy:
-CON-
Socially inept children!
This seems to be the biggest arguement people have against homeschooling. I was homeschooled from 5th grade until graduation, and I don't think I am socially inept. I had quite a few friends growing up, participated in functions with other homeschooled children, and also attended many public school functions as well. I know there are the odd homeschooled kids out there, I have met them. But I think as long as homeschooled childen have exposure to other children(in public schools, private, and homeschooled) they will be just fine!
A few of you have mentioned taking kids out of school because of violence, drugs and bullying. How do kids cope with this when they are out of the home school environment? People don't walk down the halls of work threatening to kick my ass, but as an adult you certainly do deal with bullies all the time. Are kids able to cope with the things they were shielded from as they still exist out in the world?
Hope that made sense
Original Post by spirochete:
Question for those who have been successfully homeschooled or parents of kids:
A few of you have mentioned taking kids out of school because of violence, drugs and bullying. How do kids cope with this when they are out of the home school environment? People don't walk down the halls of work threatening to kick my ass, but as an adult you certainly do deal with bullies all the time. Are kids able to cope with the things they were shielded from as they still exist out in the world?
Hope that made sense
umm, well, homeschooling is not as sheltering as one may think. drugs are not limited to the public schooled kids. i mean, i'm friends with kids who do drugs all the time. so i'm definitely not sheltered. as for bullying, i have siblings. so, i deal with difficult people every day of my life (:
I also went to public school & never drank or did drugs, got good grades, etc. Although, I did learn to enjoy cursing at a fairly young age, but it was understood that that was a behavior that was not to be exhibited around adults, unless I wanted to have my mouth washed out with soap.
There are many ways to be active in your child's education that do not include becoming their entire education. I am bringing these alternatives to light, for your consideration. My parents were both teachers -- one at my middle school, and one in my high school. They always knew where I was and who I was hanging out with & always made sure that I had classes with the best teachers. Even if you do not have the option of teaching or substitute teaching at their schools, you can still become involved in their education through the PTA / PTO, by picking them up from school, getting to know their friends, and talking to their teachers.
Teachers are generally required to stay after school for a certain period of time every day of the week in order to be available for students / parents to talk to them. Even when I was in elementary school, my dad took an active part in my education by making up weekly behavior / educational progress logs for my teacher to fill out, to let him know whether I was paying attention in class & I also had to write all my homework down in a planner, starting in 4th grade. Teachers are required to work with parents in order to make sure that their child is receiving the most effective education possible. It is up to you, however, to take the first step.
You know it depends on the person too - I went to public school, I never allowed myself to be bullied, I had friends from all groups, never gave into peer pressure, I didn't touch drugs, cigarettes or alcohol (I still have no desire for smoking or drugs, I drink occasionally in moderation) and the only time I swore was by accident when I said five f****s instead of five bucks.
I think you also have to make a decision based on what your kids are like, I had bad attendance, maybe homeschool would have been good for me in that case, however I lost interest in activities I was involved in (gymnastics, soccer, swimming, etc) and was very shy, so I probably would have had no social life.
Interesting. I only brought it up because several people in this thread said that's why homeschooling was introduced (drugs, violence, bullies). So basically homeschooling does NOT alleviate those issues? Why not let kids stay in school, then?
Original Post by spirochete:
umm, well, homeschooling is not as sheltering as one may think. drugs are not limited to the public schooled kids. i mean, i'm friends with kids who do drugs all the time. so i'm definitely not sheltered. as for bullying, i have siblings. so, i deal with difficult people every day of my life (:
Interesting. I only brought it up because several people in this thread said that's why homeschooling was introduced (drugs, violence, bullies). So basically homeschooling does NOT alleviate those issues? Why not let kids stay in school, then?
the main reason i stayed homeschooling is because it's very flexible. i get my stuff done in about 3 hours. no wasted time doing nothing like i hear is common in public school. also, homeschooled kids have a good sense of self-discipline (most of the time). i've learned to motivate myself to get my school done and that's carried over into my college work too. it also looks good on college apps (:
the thing about homeschooling though is that once you leave public school it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to get back in. seriously. i mean, i'm not sure about in other states, but in my area in texas they make you take these literally impossible tests to be able to get into your grade. alternatively, they let you in as a freshman (no way would i do that). so i recommend anyone who is considering homeschooling to find out what it takes for homeschooled kids to get back into public school BEFORE you do it, just in case your kids hate it.
