questions about homeschooling

[andviv]

In our case, we decided to go with public school system and then come up with plenty of extra-curricular activities at home to stimulate more their brains.

Our issue is not as much with the intellectual part of the equation. I was an A+ student pretty much all of my life and those that are having the great life were C students, so I am not that strict about grades anymore. My life lessons have made me change my perspective about that.

My big issue is with the no-child-left-behind and cut-and-dry rules that simply mean a gifted child is forbidden of moving forward. The system is great for those that fit in there. Problem is, there is no system to support those that can read before kindergarten or those that only want to read when they are 10.

By growing up somewhere else, I have no real frame of reference about life in the public school system. I only know what the movies show, the bullies and the cool kids and all that stuff, but, being movies, I don't believe it is really like that. We are still watching and learning, and hoping our decisions are the correct ones.

 

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[andviv]

I recall one very smart kid I ran into that was homeschooled.

Problem is/was, he was completely socially inept. I mean bad.

So were his parents.

Good point. I need to pick up that book where they talked about the different types of intelligence (which one was again?).

I am trying to stop focusing on just academic intelligence (hard, being the nerd of the class all my life) and focus on social skills. After all, it is not that much about what you know, but who knows you and who you know.

 

[AroundTheWorld]

A couple of years ago, a lawmaker here in decided he wanted to change homeschooling laws. He had a story.

A girl from his district had a dream of becoming a nurse. She was home schooled. When she was a senior in high school, she took the SAT, ACT and applied to college. She was not admitted because of her low SAT scores.

How sad, said this lawmaker, that she was unable to get into college just because she was home schooled and could not pass the SAT exam.

Later that day, it was time for public comment.

A woman stood up, and told us her story and the reason she home schools. When her daughter was very young, she realized that she was mentally handicapped. In grade school, this mother was told by teachers that her daughter would never learn to read and that she would never be able to live independently. This mother refused to accept that answer. She pulled her daughter out of school and began teaching her at home. she told her daughter never to believe the expectations other people put on her. Time and time again, she told her daughter that she could be anything she wanted to be.

Fast forward several years. The daughter had learned to read, write, and do math. She had developed a dream to become a nurse. She took the SAT and ACT. While her scores were too low to get admitted into college, they were still remarkable considering that when she was young, her teachers said she would never even be able to read.

Though she did not get into college, she did not give up. She spent the next year studying harder. She took the ACT and SAT tests again. This time she passed, and was the admitted into college. As of that hearing, she was a sophomore in college and doing well in school.

Of course, you have probably figured it out. It was the same girl.

Why is it that stereotyping is not okay when it comes to race, religion, sex, etc. but when it comes to schooling choices, we still face this all the time?

I could never say "he was (what ever race) so it was no surprise that he was a criminal."

but, all the time, we hear "he was home schooled, so it is no surprise that he had no social skills (failed the SAT, didn't get into college, etc.)

 

[Runum]

I agree that the stereotypes need to change but they also need to change about all education systems. Public schools do some things well, private schools do some things well, homeschooling is a viable option for some people. Most people will bring up the failures of each system and then want to overhaul a whole system for the single failure. There is no perfect system of education and there never will be because kids are all individuals. My hope is that each kid gets what they need, when they need it, to succeed in life.

Andres, I'm glad to see that you are not so anal about the grade thing. I frequently tell my kid that an A+ in public school means that you play the education game well. You give the teacher what they want and you get the grade. However, that grade may not mean that you are able to use your intelligence for anything else. I want my kid to do well in school but I want her to be able to use her intelligence for areas outside of school. That's the real sign of learning and education to me.

 

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[andviv]

I notice my kids (one of them in particular) are very content with reading a book but then may struggle when talking to adults. I have been working with them on being less shy and more open to communicate.

I let them pay for what they want to buy, but I make sure to be close by so the person attending the store knows I have their back. This simple act helps them to have more interactions and start living the real world.

However, I can't guide them in any way about life in the school, as I never attended school here in the U.S. That is my fear, as I am completely unaware of how things really are.

Because of that we have decided to be cautious and let the system work but not rely on it exclusively, and not having the principal and teachers replace us in our function as educators and guides in their lives.

Another concern is that teachers are being forced to prepare kids to just pass the tests, so analytical skills suffer. To work on this we play riddles and silly games where they have to analyze situations in order to stimulate more their brains...

 

[Runum]

Andres you might try getting your kids involved in a local theatre group. Most of them have age appropriate acting or singing classes. They usually have plays that the kids can perform in. This will encourage your kids to interact with other people but in smaller groups. If theatre isn't it you night try any other after school activities that move them out of their comfort zones but won't endanger them.

 

[kurtyordy]

Andres,

Try chess and checkers to develop critical thinking skills. My 5/6 years olds love to play.

 

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[Russ H]

Go and Othello are also good "thinking" games (I speak from experience here-- loved them as a kid and as a teen).

I also liked concentration (the card matching game). Great for memory building.

-Russ H.

 

[BeingChewsie]

We have decided to take the homeschool plunge though with a little more structured curriculum. Our son will be attending an online virtual academy. It gives us the flexibility we had been looking for and gives him an opportunity to work at a faster pace than his NCLB peers in the classroom. We are so excited! It feels so good to know that he won't be so limited in what he is learning(he will be taking mandarin chinese and latin this year as a 5th grader!), we won't be chained down by the school calendar, and we will get to spend so much more time together as a family finding teachable moments that you just can't get in a classroom setting. We will be a fully virtual family, I'm doing my graduate program online, Robert teaches online and now our son will attend school online. I just want to say thank you to Sonya and Diane for this thread, I'm so glad we found it!

Sue

 

[andviv]

Bump....

As around this time of the year in the US schools resume activities and we fastlane parents need help to provide our kids with the right education.

 

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[BeingChewsie]

As around this time of the year in the US schools resume activities and we fastlane parents need help to provide our kids with the right education.

We are entering our third year of homeschooling! We absolutely love it and so does our son.

Sue

 

[Thrive]

Well, Ive been homeschooled for 7 years now, so Ill give in some small thoughts.

If you are going to homeschool, or are thinking about it, in my opinion DO NOT try to recreate public school in your house. All you ended up doing was worse because its still the same boring stuff but without your friends. I did it for 2 years and hated it. It also causes parents to be micromanaging the whole thing.

When you have kids at home all the time, messes are inevitable. You'll have to assign "daily jobs" and stuff like that.

Try to get all the important stuff done in the morning, because usually you will plan all the extra stuff (sports, classes, friends) in the evening when public school gets out.

The point of all homeschooling is to create a Love of Learning environment and help your kids see all the possibilities this world has to offer. Look around at all the methodologies that are like this and follow one as best as you can. Our family does TJed for about 4 years and we love it.