Homeschooling

We are homeschooling my son and will probably homeschool any other children we might have. I was homeschooled for awhile as a child and can see some pluses and minuses. Homeschooling isn't for everyone. It takes a lot of time and commitment on the part of both the parent and the kids involved. It also takes patience and may take money depending on the type of homeschooling that's decided on. Most special needs kids do better homeschooled from what I've seen.I know a special ed teacher and the standard classes tend to usually be more of a babysitting situation. Public schools offer a more varied social enviroment, but depending on the school system it may also lead to a dangerous situation for your child.If a child is going to school each day only to be beaten, robbed, threatened or otherwise harrassed they won't be learning and will be emotionally stressed which can eventually lead to health problems. Some school systems are better at addressing bullying behaviors than others. In some cases the bully needs to be separated from the victim and it's not done or the situation may simply never be addressed as some teachers may see it as "kids just being kids". In my son's case we initially decided to homeschool partly because of a congenital heart defect. There are times when he would miss months of school in a standard school sytsem due to health concerns. It's just not practical. My younger sister had to go to being homeschooled when she was in elementary school due to catching meningitis at her school. We tried private school for a year when she was better but her immune system was too battered and she couldn't do it. We went through an internet homeschool so she could have access to teachers (and because she was a stubborn kid who didn't want to listen to family...hehe). She stayed with my husband and myself through most of middle school and highschool. In that time she was involved in horseback riding, guitar lessons, a spinning and weaving guild, girl scouts,etc. We had to be sure she was on a schedule for it all or she never would've had time for school.lol.I get asked about the socialization stuff a lot. It's not as much of an issue as most people would think.There are a lot more homeschool groups out there than there used to be and LOTS of opportunities for kids to join different organizations. One of the benefits that homeschoolers have that kids in standard school situations don't is that they can usually work with people of different ages as well as backgrounds. Schools tend to separate kids by age and you are only really learning to socialize and work within that age of people. My sister and I both did work in our community. Oh, don't play cards with my sister. Some little old ladies at the nursing home she used to volunteer at taught her. She's a shark ;) My son will be starting into "school" age stuff this fall. The area we're in has a heavy homeschool population and so as he starts into the first step of real school he'll also be signing up for 4H and music classes at the local music studio with a bunch of the other homeschoolers in our area. He's turning 6 this coming year so we're taking it slow for now. He wants to take the homeschool lessons they offer at the skating rink nearby, but we'll see.He's still a bit of a clutz.By the time he's in 3rd grade he'll be able to go through the state sponsored homeschool program if we decide to go that way. The only thing they really offer is some extra field trips. The homeschool association we belong to already offers those and more(chess team, sports teams, spelling bee, geography bee, Oddessey of the Mind teams,student newspaper, etc.) so we'll see.We might just decide to continue with the online homeschool we're going through already.These are my experiences. Everyones mileage varies though and so I truly believe that every parent has a responsibility to look at all of the options of schooling before deciding what may be right for them and thier kids. I actually know of several parents who homeschool one or two kids and the rest go to public or private school.Oops...sorry about being so long winded.

I've seen wonderful things from homeschooled children. They are usually better educated, much better verbal skills and better socialized because they have to learn how to get along with children of all ages. Children in public schools (Government schools) sit with kids their own age for most of their twelve years of schooling, usually have poor verbal skills and social behavior. You don't need more money to educate children, time and love are needed. Go homeschoolers, good for you and better for your children and the nation!

I am againt home schooling for a variety of reasons. All to often those who are homeschooled are far too sheltered and are never given the tools to deal with the "bad" that is in society becomes they've never had to face it. I also feel that children will benefit much more from being around good qualified teachers, who are masters of their given subjects. That is not to say that a parent could not do a good job, but often times teachers are better because the students are exposed to a variety of different view points, from different teachers instead of just the one or two that come from their parents. The most important reason I see to avoid homeschooling is the social and socialaztion issues that are involved. Kids who are homeschooled do not have the same social skills as kids who go to a regular school and are confronted with different people and situations on a daily basis. This leads to a huge social clash when they enter the real world, or go off to college. They will often feel like a fish out of water and not know how to deal with the common things that all the other students are used to. The interpersonal skills are just not there. I was not homeschooled. I did have friends who were when I was growing up. I saw these things first hand. They may get great marks being homeschooled, and a lot of personal attention. But they will be hurt in the long run as they are far too sheltered and not prepared for the real world when they enter it.