Husband doesn't want to homeschool?

[chandasue]

Thank goodness you all have the energy to argue the pros of homeschooling! I know people mean well but I just have to shake my head sometimes at how little people understand about the purpose and origins of the public school system... Start with reading some John Holt if anyone reads books anymore.

 

[lorihadams]

Yeah, there are a lot of people that don't know how public schools originated...pretty interesting stuff.

My thing is this...I am going to homeschool until we decide it would be a benefit for my children to try public school or they express the desire to go themselves. I was a teacher in a public school system and it just doesn't work sometimes for some kids.

I'm supportive of people that want to have their kids in public school but I just don't think it is good for my children's personalities....my DD is a daydreamer and my son is difficult and headstrong. I know that he would probably have problems at this age and if he wants to go later on when he can sit and focus for longer periods of time then I'm okay with that, disappointed but okay.

I also don't like the SOLs here in Va, (standards of learning)...I think too much emphasis is placed on testing and not enough on the actual learning. You literally have to teach the tests....you end up missing content because you have to teach the children what they have to know for the tests and not the entire spectrum of information on a particular subject. It is just not an effective way to teach.

The thing I like about homeschooling is the flexibility it offers different kinds of learning. If your child doesn't do well learning audio or visually then you can do hands on learning. There comes a point in time when learning with manipulatives isn't time effective, even if it is better to learn that way for some and if you are homeschooled then that is an option.

The other thing is that not every child is destined to go to college and homeschooling is a good way to find alternative careers and embrace that early on with apprenticeships and volunteer work.

 

[KaboomAngel]

My only problem with homeschooling is that there are bullies out there in the workplace, and people who are bad influences are everywhere. If you shelter your kids from these things all of their young lives, when are they supposed to learn the skills to deal with these things as an adult? The world is not going to go away, unfortunately.

My child went to public school, as did I. It was often trying, and there were things that we both had to deal with that were difficult, but I think we are both stronger people because of it. I am glad that my parents did not shelter me from the world.

But in any event, I hope you find the right solution for you and your family.

I was in private preschool and then went to one of the better public schools in kindergarten and first grade... Then we moved and the school district was HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!! I had acid reflux and one boy would always RAM his desk into mine, the teacher knew and every time she would rearrange seats she would put him either in front of me or behind me. During recess on the "play"ground I was forced to run like mad otherwise I got beat up. When I moved into town I happened to pick the kid no one liked (she came from an abusive home and acted it out in her relationships) and NO one else would be my friend. The school bus was HELL! I remember clearly that one day, not too long after 9/11, the other kids were really bad and the bus driver pulled over and said "Behave or I will never take you home" I at 8 with a dad whose motto was "Say what you mean and mean what you say" believed her! My mom, desperate due to my health and emotional state, pulled me half way through the year. In fourth grade I went to a private school for the first quarter, got straight A's and we decided as a family that I was going to be homeschooled again. We have not looked back!

Now if you are worried that I am some ignorant backcountry antisocial hermit (and if you happen to be I am passing no judgment ) I have been involved in 4-H longer than I was homeschooled. I raise llamas and when a 17 year old girl walks into a show and gets Best in Show she does not get a lot of congratulations, more like "it was because he has bangs" Yeah right like that is what one of the most honest judges looks at! LOL I have also been involved in "non competitive" activities too. Here is my "lets see how we can condense all these things for my college application" list

My llamas have been a passion in my life and I have been involved with them for 10 years. I have owned llamas for 8 years, 5 of which I earned my own board through manual labor.

I now run my own llama farm, which entails: purchasing (I hand pick all my stock), health care, breeding, birthing llamas for myself and others, boarding, shearing for myself and others, showing for myself and others, and marketing. I have delivered 8 crias, 5 of which were difficult deliveries, and in two of those difficult deliveries I was assisting other owners.

My herd is one of the top 3 llama farms in the country and it is the home of 2010s #1 Argentine Llama in the country.

Also as we plan on opening a yarn shop at some point, we are researching the best yarns and raw fiber to have in our shop, how we want our shop to be organized, and other fiber animals to add to our farm for our signature yarn line, such as silkworms and angora rabbits.

I have attended the following shows, and have put only my top placements.

I have showed in 56 local and regional shows, receiving either grand or reserve champion 60 times (this includes Halter, Performance, Youth Judging, and Showmanship placements). And I also received one Best of Show in Halter.

At the Grand National, which I attended for five years in performance, I received one reserve grand performance champion, three 3rd overall performance champions, one grand pack champion, and one reserve showmanship champion; and in youth judging I received two reserve champions, and a 4th place, also in three years of Skillathon I received two grand and one reserve champion.

In six Futurity shows I received one grand champion, four reserve champions (once tying for grand), two - third overalls, and three top ten placements (one of which was a 5th place out of 21 with my first homebred animal).

In the National Performance Top Ten I placed 21 times in six years. In ALSAs (Alpaca & Llama Show Association) Lifetime awards which include 5 Superiors (Showmanship, Obstacle, Public Relations, Pack, and Youth Judging) and an Ultimate, I have received them all. And I have 20 ILR (International Llama Registry) lifetime awards in Halter, Performance, and Beyond the Show Ring.

In fleece/fiber competitions I received 18 grand champions, and five reserve champions in 29 shows. These included items made out of llama fleece by knitting, wet felting, and hand spinning along with evaluations of their fleece.

In local fun events I received grand champion in the following: Skillathon, Llama Jeopardy, MLAs Youth Art Contest, and on six different occasions in Quiz Bowl. I also received reserve in a poster contest and MLAs Youth Art Contest. National fun events I received reserve in art (one year) and in record books (for three years).

With my dog in AKC we earned 2 Canine Good Citizenship Awards (CGC), 2 Companion Dog Titles (CD), and a Rally Novice title (RN) (when I received my 3rd leg we got 100 out of 100).

I have not been active in 4-H since 2009 although before that time I had been active in 4-H as long as I could remember and I completed over 200 projects in everything but market animals. These are some of the highlights:

Llamas: 2004 2009 Fair Overall Grand Champion, 2004-2009 Fair Overall Performance Grand Champion, 2006-2009 Fair Overall Performance Reserve Grand Champion, County Medal Winner, and I earned my slot with my llama to Super Star Showmanship in which I earned 2nd place.

Dogs: 2006 Fair Overall Obedience Grand Champion, 2007 Fair Overall Obedience Reserve Grand Champion, I earned my slot with my dog to Super Star Showmanship in which we placed 2nd, County Medal Winner. At the state fairs: Agility 6th place with a score of 95 out of 100, and 5th place with a Poster at Michigan State Fair; and at the Ohio State Fair we received 19th out 69 in Showmanship, 6th out of 64 in Obedience Novice B, and 14th out 34 in Skillathon.

Textiles: Style Review 2005 Rosette Winner, 2006 Fair Knitted, Felted, Stuffed Llama Received an Ingenuity and an Honorable Mention, County Award for Craftsmanship, County Medal Winner, and qualified and attended Ohio State Fair once.

Woodworking: County Medal Winner, Honorable Mention, and qualified for Ohio State Fair and received an Outstanding of the Day.

Creative Writing: 2006 Fair Honorable Mention.

Miniature Roses: 2006 Fair Reserve Champion

Cake Decorating: 2006 Fair Honorable Mention

Pisanki Eggs: 2006 Fair Grand Champion

Through 4-H I completed 125 service projects ranging from taking my llamas to nursing homes to teaching clinics to volunteering for a special needs dog 4-H club.

I have also been active in AWANA in which I was in TNT and Trek. I completed all six of those books and all of the extra credits. I also have two Take it to Heart awards, a Silver and a Gold Salvation Bracelet, and a Timothy Award. To receive the Gold Salvation Bracelet I Recited 148 Bible Verses in one sitting. I also received a most original derby car one year.

I have attended the following learning experiences: two Llama castrations, the Mid West Llama Conference at Perdue University by Dr. Toni Cotton, a MSU Vet-a-visit, 2 years of 4-H Livestock Camp, 2 years of 4-H Exploration Days, Camelid Neonatal Conference at Ohio State University Veterinary School with Drs. Lakritz, Walker and DeWitt, a Marty McGee Bennett Camelidynamics Clinic on llama handling, a 9 hour Parasite Clinic one on one with Dr Pamela Walker DVM, the 2nd International Camelid Conference on Genetics and Reproductive Biotechnologies, a Neonatal/Parasite clinic at Alpaca Jacks, two Youth Judging and Showmanship clinics, one fleece showing clinic, one fleece dying clinic, LECOMs (Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine) M*A*S*H program (Medical Applications of Science and Health) for high school students (during which we did 5 experiments in the lab, learned from the cadavers, worked on our knowledge of anatomy, and learned about Osteopathic Manipulations), and visited too many museums to count.

I have shadowed two veterinarians (Dr. Holly Shaffer DVM and Dr. Pamela Walker DVM) and one physician (Dr. Donald Hampton D.O.). Also I helped Dr. Shaffer put on two Camelid classes at Andrews University, and helped Dr. Walker prepare for Alpaca Jacks pen sale/neonatal and parasite clinic.

I have also been a part of over 100 other activities ranging from youth group to fiber arts, bell choir to vocal choir, theater to conventional arts, fencing to baton twirling, swimming to horseback riding, and many things in-between.

I hope this has given you a taste of who I am and I thank you for your time and consideration,

Name here

Oh and did I mention that I got a 30 on my ACT?

Also I live in a family with 50+ people in it, trust me, if my mom sheltered me she would have to relocate us and never talk to anyone again! LOL

This list only got sent to one college (Cedarville University - my top choice) which I got in and will be attending next fall!

So do you want the kid who commits suicide from bullying, or do you want the well rounded kid who knows that yes there are bullies in the world, but also knows that one can work through/around them?

Knowing the schools in the area, unless my half a decade or more down the road future children absolutely HATE homeschooling (after trying multiple curriculums of course) then I might let them go to school... Depends on how many guns/what types of drugs are in the elementary school at that point...

Please excuse my rant if you happened to get through it all!!!!

(kindly steps off soapbox now)

 

[lorihadams]

I think that if you stay involved and give the children opportunities to discover what they are interested in and good at in a loving healthy environment then homeschooling is great.

I also think that public school curricula is too segmented. Separating things into different subject areas just isn't practical in certain situations. Math and science are so entertwined that it is difficult to separate the two sometimes. Same with english and history. I also think that a lot of what they teach is geared towards what is most easily assessed (tested for). One of the most effective ways of assessing whether a student gets certain material is to do essay work but that is the most time consuming way to grade so it gets put to the side in favor of multiple choice tests or fill in the blank. Problem is that sometimes when teachers write a test they don't word those questions effectively and answers are either easy to figure out based on the choices given or the questions are so confusing that the possible answers don't make sense. Children end up guessing the answers or figuring them out based on process of elimination instead of actually thinking about the material in question.

Teaching now is geared towards rote memorization and not practical application. You get children that come out of school that don't know how to talk to a group, research projects, or create a plan for something and then carry it out to the end because they aren't given the opportunity to do so in a public school setting. Homeschooled children tend to be more creative and more thoughtful planners when it comes to real life situations.

The thing that burns my butt is when you constantly get the "well, what about socialization?" Well, what about it? My children have plenty of opportunities for socialization and they tend to do better in mixed age groups than their peers because they aren't segregated day to day. Day to day life is not segregated into age groups. My younger child has had the opportunity to learn more advanced information because she hears me teaching it to her older brother. My oldest gets a chance to reinforce his learning experiences because he explains and reteaches it to his younger sister, mostly without prompting from me.

Do I still have to teach my kids about bullying...yes, because when we are out in public and someone bullys them then I have to explain how to best deal with it. They are still exposed but typically we address the situation immediately versus dealing with it when it has already had such dramatic effects.

That also applies to mistakes made on their "schoolwork" we are able to address mistakes as they are made and discuss it then instead of finding out about it when they are so far lost on certain material that it is an even bigger problem. They get one on one instruction and revision instead of getting a test back filled with red marks and no explanation as to why the questions are wrong. They also get the chance to try things and fail without getting ridiculed about it. Instead we can be objective, figure out why what we did failed and then try it again until we figure out what works. You don't get to do that in public school because there are too many kids and too little time.

We are also able to embrace their interests as they come and incorporate other subject matter with it. If my kids are interested in woodworking then we use that as a way to introduce more advanced math work in a practical way. Same with quilting or cooking.

We chose homeschooling because I recognized early on that my son is a tactile learner and that kind of learner is not embraced in a public school. We do the same subject matter but in a different way to better help him understand and apply it. Last night he read a book on his own for the first time. He was excited and we didn't push him to do it any earlier and that is why he is excited about reading. Had he been in public school he would have been labeled "behind" in his grade level and that would have turned him off to reading altogether. It happened to my brother. I firmly believe that if he had been taught in a different way his life would have been much different in terms of self esteem.

Homeschooling allows for subject matter to be learned when a child is open and accepting of it. If my son wants to learn about satellites and what they do at age 6 then should I teach it to him then (which I did and was told that it was too advanced for him but he got it anyway) or tell him "oh, we can't study that now, that's what you'll learn in the third grade." That's what happens in a public school. If kids ask questions about material that is more advanced than what they are learning they are told that we can't discuss it. Then they think that asking questions is pointless and that makes them complacent. I think that is why a lot of kids in high school now have no initiative. They have been taught that being inquisitive and curious about life is not acceptable and they should just do what they are told. They also have no work ethic largely because they aren't expected to do anything on their own. There are exceptions to that of course, but in general it is true.

There are merits to both but I think that public school has become more about social acceptance than actual learning.

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

I did both. I taught my 3 kids at home, then sent them to public school. Of my 3 kids, (now adults), the 2nd is Aspergers, the 3rd, she had a speech impediment. I did send mine to school for the socialization aspect....but taught them at home because there was no way they were getting 1 on 1 teaching at school. I used all sorts of different daily living aspects for education. Cooking..for math. Love of books, for reading. Gardening etc for science. I did what I did because I felt they needed the extra opportunity. They all 3 have dyslexia. Now, they are all productive adults in society.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Just thought I'd check in because its been some time and I was wondering how this played out. I put my 4 year old in homeschool Kindergarden, because she was such a handful and if I had to pay her that much attention, I might as well teach her. Kindergarden can be drug out for 2 years with the school we in, so as long as I'm done by age 6, we fine. I was thinking, depending on the age of the child in question, if they 4 or younger, you not even required by law to put your child in school until they 6, so if you do as I have and jump the kindergarden gun a little, you can treat it as playing school and see where it takes you. Then if it doesn't work out, you can still go public. I have used most of her 4th year though and by the time she is 5, I want to get really serious with her studies.