My husband and I have decided to home school our children because we do not feel that the public education systems are very good these days. When we were in public school the teachers spent more time trying to control and disipline the class or individual students then they spent teaching. I also feel that the public school system is too focused on passing standardized tests then on real education. And it seems to be getting worse as the years go on. (I have a 13 yr old sister in the public education system and I am appalled at her reading/writing skills!) My husband and I feel that education is important and we want them to have good and strong educations, as they are already very bright children and at three years old, my twins can already spell a few words. Since there are four of them, we're not very concerned about their social skills. My kids have great social skills already, and besides, the husband and I decided we are going to get them involved in other activities that they show interest in (such as music or sports or art) outside of a school setting so they can make other friends and explore their interets. We also live in a neighborhood with lots of families who have young children as well.

However, my mother is so ANTI home school that she says it borders on child neglect and that parents who home school are lazy and bad parents. Yet, she always comments on how smart my children are and she's amazed by how much they know. And I ask her where she thinks they learn everything from? She quickly changes the subject and gets angry if I tell her it's because I'm already home schooling them on a pre school level. She's convinced that public school is the best way to go and I'm horrible for thinking otherwise.

So my question is - for those who home school, AND for those in the public school system to share your thoughts and experiences and how you think it's positively or negatively effected your children? Or if you are a child who has been home schooled/public schooled - your thoughts are welcome too.

I'm just looking for outside input to share with my mother because this is an issue she and I both get very heated about.

Thanks!

*EDIT* My kids already have Florida Prepaid set up so they can go to college when the time comes for that and my husband and I agree that we both feel college is important to their continued education so they can have good careers when they become adults.

shygrneyzs

Given the current conditions in the public schools, I would homeschool. Homeschooled children are not nelgected, their parents are not abusing them by keeping them out of the public school system. There are homeschool associations in many cities and towns, where parents and children get together for meetings, activiites, field trips, etc. I just do not see the downside of homeschool. That argument people throw at the parent about how isolated the child will be is not true, for the vast majority of children.

There was just an article in our local newspaper about local teen being accepted in Dartmouth and she was homeschooled! Parents who are dedicated to their children's education will make homeschooling work. Your school district will no doubt present you with a curriculum to follow and their standards. Find other parents in your area who homeschool and get involved in that network. There is soooooo much information and resources out there now to help parents. Thank heavens for the web! lol

I congratulate you and your husband on your decision. Wishing you the very best and these are your children, not your Mother-in-laws, and it is your decision to make, not hers. Good luck.

CaptainForest

I myself went to a public school here in Ontario, Canada.

I found it to be quite good.

But in the earlier years (Kindergarten – Grade 3), my mom would sit down with me every day after school, and go through math or english since she felt the amount of work done at school was not enough.

However, once someone has the basics down, the rest is just more stuff.

I can’t speak for the Florida public education system, but I found it quite good.

Something else you should consider….can you handle being with your kids like that all the time?

My mom said while she loved us, she loved it when we all were in school so she had a bit of a break from us.

Perhaps you can keep them in school, but go over certain things with them everyday after school.

Also their ages should play a role in your decision as well. If they are teenagers, I think being in high school will provide a good experience, and even being in elementary school when they are younger provides a good experience, and a way to learn.

J_9

The only thing I have to add is for the later years of homeschooling. I have friends in my college that were homeschooled. They were going into the nursing program with me and it required Chemistry. However, the chemistry credits did not transfer so they had to take chemistry over again.

So, remember when you get up in the later years of school to find out if your particular homeschool credits will transfer.

shygrneyzs

J_9 is correct. I know several families from where I lived that did get their children enrolled in high school for the sciences like biology and chemistry. Always good to check those things out.

rankrank55

Look into some charter or magnet schools; they are great!

michealb

Don't forget to socialize your kids. I have seen many home school kids who were very smart but socially retarded. I personally feel it is better to send your kids to public school to learn how to socialize and spend an hour a day with them outside of school to actually learn what they were taught in school. Book knowledge is great but is useless if your as social as a house plant. Your kids though do what you feel is right by them, I know there are some public schools around here that I won't think about placing them in that environment.

michealb

Comments on this post
PixieMama agrees: There are 4 of them all under 4yrs old. Our neighborhood is packed with kids. They are very social kids.

Good that there are neighborhood kids, there is a show on one of the discovery networks about some congressman that has 16 kids that were all home schooled all of them have very visible social issues. It is a sad show to watch.

Fr_Chuck

We home school and would not even consider sending them to public school, When we lived in Atlanta, we had school teachers and school officials tell us personally if we could get them into some private school or home school they would.

But while social issues can be one issue but not if you keep your kids in social setting, of course they do get ot miss out of the social issues of being bullied, being abused, being harmed by the system.

Except for some of the special programs I would not highly advice most larger school systems any longer.

** anyone with 16 kids, they should be socialised with that many other kids at home, that sounds more like parenting issues, not social issues.

michealb

I feel thats a lot of the problems with home schooled kids is that they don't know, what it's like not to have people looking out for there best interst. Being bullied and learning the proper way to deal with it is exactly why it's a good idea to send kids to public school. Life is hard and kids need to learn how deal with these hardships. Otherwise they react like a child does when faced with difficult situtations even though they maybe in their 20s.

The reason it is social issues is because you have 16 kids who all grew up in the same house with the same parents who taught them all the same thing. They know how to socialize with each other but when if comes to dealing with people who don't think like they do they come up short. Also compare 18 people who they regularly talk to with 100 to 150 that a child who goes to public school will socialize with.