Husband doesn't want to homeschool?

[kitchwitch]

I have always been a big supporter of homeschooling. I even tried to convince my mother to let me home school myself in high school (that didn't happen).
DH KNOWS how I feel about public and private schools but he keeps putting his foot down that our kids will go to public school. He says we live in a great school district, despite the fact that he was in this district for only 2 years (1st and 2nd grade) and he's been out of high school for almost 10 years. By the time our kids would be in school he'd be out of the public school system for around 15 years.
He thinks they'll do just fine in public school and they'll be better adjusted and they'll be able to experience all that public school has to offer. He also hates the idea that he'd be paying school taxes when his kids aren't going to the school he's paying for. His idea is that they'll go to school for 6 hours a day and then come home and either he or myself will then go over everything the kids did in school and we'll discuss it and correct anything that needs correcting.

Let me tell you, I imagine there's nothing a 6 year old loves more than to spend 6 hours sitting still so they can come home and sit still for a few hours more while I RETEACH what my husband has already paid for.

DH had a great time in school, he did well, was relatively popular and went on to a great university. I was bullied and tortured from first grade on. I barely passed each grade and was always overlooked in classes. I had 2 friends. As you can see, neither one of us can offer an objective opinion.

What I want to know is if any of you had to deal with reluctance from your spouse when it came to homeschooling?
What are some other benefits to homeschooling over public school?

Any arguments you can give me in favor of homeschooling will be much appreciated!

ETA: income isn't really an issue, as I'm a housewife to begin with, so it's not like I'm giving up a 6 figure salary in the big city.

 

[Wifezilla]

I went to public school. I didn't learn much except that people are jerks. I am with you on this.

 

[sufficientforme]

Our "agreement" was let them go to elementary school (in a good district) and see how they do. They have done relatively well but now that middle school is approaching our youngest is having a lot of issues and is struggling in the social arena. We have chosen to home school next year for our youngest and will try to use other outlets for socialization rather than go through the torture of bullying and such. Our oldest is a social butterfly and is pulling in excellent grades and is doing fabulous so we will continue to use the public school system for now, it may change but that is how we are looking at it for our family.

 

[Wifezilla]

Hubby loved public school. Of course he was a football jock. I was a geek. TOTALLY different experiences.

 

[gettinaclue]

I say homeschool all the way. As long as it's done correctly, it will be a much better and much more practical application of knowledge.

Bullies are out of hand these days.

 

[FarmerChick]

I love the school system (well the ones I was in and the one my daughter is now in)

I wouldn't home school. I do think like your DH. I want my kid out there. I like what public school offers. I think your DH has valid points.

My kid just loves school like crazy. I take it one day at a time but my kid being only going on 6 we have a long way to go. I will never homeschool, but I will work thru all problems she has in school no matter what it takes or what the problem might be (hopefully none lol)

edited to say tho----it is truly all about the kid. some kids would benefit from homeschool. Think of the kid first, not your personal reasons about school. If you had a bad experience at school, doesn't mean your kid will. So evaluate the child then decide I would think would work well.

 

[patandchickens]

Unfortunately I think this is in the realm of "both people have legitimate preferences and have to just work it out". Personally I am squarely in your camp, but it does not sound like your husband is being actually *unreasonable*. That said, I think there are some things you could say in favor of your argument that you might not have brought up with him yet:

One thing I notice is that it sounds like your husband may have a very incorrect concept of what the greatest strength of homeschooling IS. He may think that it is simply feeding kids the same facts that they are fed at school, only making more certain they get learned.

Whereas, on the contrary, I think most people would agree that a (or probably THE) major strength of homeschooling is the PROCESS, the way that kids learn to take responsibility for their own learning. This is the main reason why homeschooled kids are generally quite sought-after by good colleges/universities... because they have learned HOW TO LEARN, which our public school systems frankly suck at instilling. Going over school notes/assignments at home in the afternoon is totally irrelevant to this and does not even BEGIN to provide this.

(Also, how many hours does your husband think are in a day? <g> If your district is like most, it will not be too many grades before your kid is having hours and hours' worth of homework every night, and between that and any outside-school activities and reviewing schoolwork with mom n dad every day, it will leave zero personal time and/or not too much sleeping time )

As far as taxes, it'd be the same if you were childless. That money is out of your pocket no matter WHAT, it isn't something you're paying for specifically.

As far as "better adjusted" and "opportunities" and so forth, I would suggest sitting down and figuring out what you would do in terms of activities and socialization opportunities if you homeschooled -- based realistically on family budget and what's available in your area, see if there are any homeschooling groups for instance -- so that you could sit your husband down and say "hey, it is not like our kid would be locked in the house all day with mom and never experience his peer group or the outside world, THIS is a sample of the things I'd be doing with him/her".

One other thing many homeschooling families feel is a plus is that kids are not so much JUST interacting with -- and being, essentially, raised by! -- their own peer group... they get out there and interact a lot with both younger and older kids and with adults, so their social experience is in a sense WIDER than for public school students (less biased towards just their own age, anyhow).

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[noobiechickenlady]

It really depends on your kid and your school.
You could have a kid who thrives on the school environment or one that it smothers. You could have a first rate school or not. You'll need to talk to lots of people to determine your school. Preferably parents of kids of many different ages & personality types. See how each is treated by teachers, classmates & other peers.
If he insists, give it a shot! Not all public schools are evil.

Our oldest is in public school (although we do pay for him to go to a level 5 out of district school that has our district beat, hands down, across the board) He's a rockstar in that school, all the kids love him and everyone takes care of him (He has downs, so of course a special case) We'd never let him go to the local school, it is simply deplorable.
Our youngest we homeschool, DH does most of the curriculum type stuff (Abeka) while I "un"school the rest (math in the grocery store & kitchen, science when outdoors, biology when slaughtering & the like)
DD is being HS because she was getting bored in class and not paying attention. They weren't moving fast enough to keep her attention nor teaching her how to pay attention for longer periods. We are doing both. BTW, she's 8 an is learning algebra and is DONE with her science, SS & math core curriculum for the year. The rest is all fun & games. This summer we'll be reconstructing a rabbit skeleton
You can fit the schooling to the way your child learns, you can go back over a particular subject as many times in as many ways to make sure your kid "gets" it, you can homeschool on the road, on vacation, you can skip a day when anyone is sick, you can skip grades or even total subjects, and you can add subjects in that most schools don't teach, animal husbandry & such.

 

[homesteadmomma]

We have did public education for our kids and I have homeschooled through a virtual academy. This year they are all back in school. Our 9th grader is doing great both academically and socially. Likes school and seems happy. Our youngest is 7 and has Rett Syndrome and she is in K. She has many many issues and school is working out great for her, however she is not mainstreamed all of the time. She as a great support system and her classmates are kind and thoughtful. THEN we have the 10 year old who is a 5th grader and will most likely be homeschooled again next year. She is smart but does not learn like the rest of us and bullying is a huge issue. She sticks up for the little guy and as a result pays a big price.

 

[mandieg4]

I think that when children are really young, it's not a battle I would choose to fight with my husband. I think homeschooling is great, but I also don't believe it is the best thing for every child. My kids are all in public schools and are thriving. We have never had any major problems with bullying or anything negative. If we did, I wouldn't have second thoughts about pulling them out to homeschool, but only if I thought it would solve the problem.