Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

homeschooling

smileyface cavy

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Feb 9, 2005
Messages
660
I am homeschooled, and from some posts I've seen, I know that *Piglets-Angel* and jaspers_girl are too! So anyone who's homeschooled please post in this thread. Nice to have some company here!
 
why do you homeschool?
 
I homeschool my 2 kids but was not homeschooled myself.

To answer Optimusprime's question: I homeschool to insure that my children are well educated, not subjected to negative socialization (i.e. peer pressure) and it is my duty as a parent to do everything I can to raise my children to be happy, well rounded, productive adults.

I started homeschooling for 2 reasons.

1. I live in the city. The public schools are HORRIBLE and we cannot afford private education...not that it's much better in private school (I went to private school myself)

2. My daughter was born with a vision defect that would have caused her to get left behind in a regular classroom setting. Her vision defect was not the type that would have allowed her to get into a school for the blind. She needed one on one attention.

Homeschooling worked so well for us that even after her vision problem was fixed and her brother was ready to start school himself we simply kept on homeschooling. I can go on and on but will limit myself.
 
That's great voodoo. Seems your doing whats best for your kids!
 
Thanks Slap.
 
thanks

im always really interested in why people homeschool. i have just seen alot of the bad affects when parents dont do homeschooling right. Here in alabama, the laws regulating homeschooling are terrible, and you can get away with not schooling your children at all. My cousins have been this way for years, they have absolutely no social interaction with kids their age, and they are 3 or 4 years behind because they never do their schooling, and find loopholes around the annual testing. I belive that it is a viable options for children with special needs, or if the public school standards in your area are bad, but i dont think that it should be widely used, or used for most kids, i think that public, and private (secular) schools are great for socialization and teaching kids how to function in society. I greatly respect people who homeschool and still get their kids into social activities though (through church and community sports and the such) because it is so easy to just let your kids fall by the wayside in these areas.
 
Opti (may I call you Opti?)

I run a homeschooling group. We get our kids together every week in the park, several of the members' kids take horseback riding, soccer or other activities together every week and we have group art or fun science classes almost every week. That's not counting in friends in the neighborhood that don't homeschool and getting out kids together with their best homeschooled friends.

I agree that homeschooling isn't for everyone and some people abuse the system. Louisiana (where I live) has very lax homeschooling laws...and I like it like that. I don't want the government or school system messing with my rights to educate my children how I think best.

Unfortunately there are always the people that use these lax laws to drop their kids off the radar. It's actually fairly rare for people who homeschool not to do an adequate if not exemplary job...but like with everything there are always the people that will abuse the system.

In the case you mention, if it really is as bad as you say, I feel a call to your local child protection agency is in order. Under educating children is a form of abuse. These children face no bright future and will most likely have a life of meaningless, dead-end jobs.

I only have one family in my homeschool group that I feel is not educating their children well. However she is attempting to get her children enrolled into one of the few good schools we have in this city. 1 child is already attending, another is starting next year...I believe the third is still on the waiting list. Meanwhile I keep a close watch on these kids and do all I can to encourage her and the kids to take a more active roll in education. She has made progress but in my opinion could still do more. It's frustrating to know what to do.

Here is my group's public website. It's just the beginnings but at least we have something up. (broken link removed)
 
I know that many military families opt for homeschooling for several reasons. 1) consistency: some families move so much that changing schools and teachers and curiculum can be devestating. 2) school systems: many bases are in or near large cities not known for good schools. One of the main reasons I asked to transfer from DC was the schools for my kids. THey were horrendous and their special ed system for my oldest stunk. I cant home school as I am active duty myself but I would have considered it if I were a stay at home mom while my hubby was active duty.
 
woah, I started a major discussion here! ;)
 
actually, i was schooled on army bases up untill high school, and feel like it was one of the best choices my parents ever made,
i definetly recieved a better education from the army base schools than i did in the public schools
 
Oh my goodness, it's amazing what pops up in the search when you type in keywords! I also homeschool my two older kids (13 and 7) in the state of Alaska for many of the same reasons listed already. I also am dismayed at the abuse that can happen. Fortunately, the homeschool population in Alaska is pretty large and it's actually not looked at as a "freakish" thing here. We are well-regulated (sometimes, too much so!) and are currently battling the state legislature regarding acceptable curriculum, allotments, and general funding.
 
My bestfriend is homeschooled but she is VERY far behind, in other words and literally, not too smart. Her spelling is horrific. Her mother isn't too strict with her about it.
 
I'd like to homeschool my children when I have them. My husband and I both spent our school life doing horribly at one subject and excelling in everything else. Since everything is alotted equal time in normal school there is no chance for a bit of extra or one on one help in a single subject unless you can afford a tutor.

My math was horrible untill my husband sat down with me and taught me. I had to take a math test for a graphic design course and he taught me in two days what the teachers couldn't in a whole semester.

I also want my children to learn a non Canadian language as well. French is nice, but they teach you Canadian French in public school. It's not the same French the rest of the world uses. It's close but there are many small differences. My husband and I are leaning towards teaching our future children Japanese and we are learning Japanese right now.

Even if we send our children to public school we will probably spend alot of time outside of school teaching them. I don't want them to become board and frustrated like my husband and I were.
 
I was homeschooled in High School with an ACE program. Fist at home, and then was put into a Christian school. I was able to complete four years of classes in three, and graduated with high marks. But don't be fooled, I ended up there for a reason. Most kids in Private School have been kicked out of the public schools in their area. (I have grown up since.) Then went off to college for five years with a double major. (Business Administration and Secondary Education) Now I am a public school teacher. My son attends the elementary school in the same district I teach in.

There are some good and bad things about homeschooling. In the earlier grades I think it is beneficial, but once they get to be in the 9th grade, they really need interaction with their peers. There may be peer pressure in high school, but it is the same in college, and in the work world.

It does not matter if it is homeschooling or public education, if the parents are involved the kids will do better. Those kids that are most successfull are involved in after school activities (band, sports, art club, student council, etc) and have parents that know their kids are not perfect and will help the teachers/school when needed.

Even the special needs kids are served well in public schools. Really hate the reputation people give public schools, but that puts money into private schools and that is a business. My cousin is a teacher at a private school, and that bothers me. She has a high school diploma, and that is it. She likes to "rub it in" that she did not have to go to college to be a teacher, and I did. But that makes me wonder about the quality of education the kids are getting. People really need to know the hoops it takes to be certified, and they need to check into that.

Same with homeschooling. Parents love their kids. They are willing to spend the time it takes and give the attention their kids need, but when the subjects get to be harder than they can handle, they need to get the kids into a school with specialized teachers. You won't find me teaching my kid higher level math, I know when it is better to let the math teacher with 20 years experience do it.

Before my son reached 5, I became certified in General Elementary. Now I "homeschool" him during the summer, and tutor him after school. But he likes to interact with the other kids at school, play sports, and just get out of the house.

I believe every parent can be a good teacher, just make sure you know what you are doing. Even the best of intentions can go wrong. The common belief is: "I know what is best for my kids." Hopefully, that includes knowing when you can not do it yourself.
 
Poodles, I'm still in shock after reading about your cousin. I've heard of private schools often not requiring certification in education, or for instance, hiring people with masters degrees in a certain subject to teach only that subject, but I could never find only a high school diploma acceptible! I know that I could never have taught anyone with only having a basic high school education. If I could have, I certainly couldn't have done a wonderful job. I know it must annoy you that she rubs the "not having to go to college to do the same job" thing in your face, but at least you know that you have an educational foundation, training, and certification, and hopefully all of that helps you to provide a higher quality of education to your students.
 
I wouldn't want to homeschool my children, I think it's quite healthy for them to interact with some people their own age. I would put them in a private school though, because by going to one, I know that I have clearly benefited.
 
I'll add my tuppence....
I had a normal state-school education, but seeing what state schools are like now in our area (anyone out there heard of Hull?) from having taught in them, my son goes to a private school.
His infant school was a Montessori school, absolutely brilliant, but none of the teachers had a "proper" teaching qualification. A lot of people questioned us sending our boy there, but I could not have been better pleased with the standard of care and education he got. His new junior school is a more traditional "prep" school, and is wonderful as well, but a bit more grown-up. The Secondary school, though is foul. I used to work there, but left because I was bullied so badly by the head of department, and the Head teacher acknowledged the problem - I was not alone - but refused to do anything about it. Imagine what it's like for the students there!
Home education may be the way forward, as the alternatives will involve a 2 hour round trip for us twice a day.
I have also provided specialist science tuition for home-educated pupils. Before doing this I had very grave doubts - would the children socialise properly later, were they missing out? However, all the children concerned had either been attacked so many times in school that they were terrified to attend, or were genuinely ill and couldn't attend. I came to see that in the right circumstances, home-ed can be a wonderful thing, with way more parental interaction, and if you but-in what you can't teach yourself then you get to choose your child's teacher and the child misses nothing. Your child can still have friends - after all my son has several friends in our street and none of them go to his school anyway!
 
I did have success with Accelerated Christian Education (ACE). Think they are still around. You can work at your own pace, and they do not allow grades lower than an 80. If I did not make above an 80, I had to redo the whole packet until I "passed" it. They would not let us use calculators for math and they required us to quote Bible passages before we could take our english tests. The required reading did not help me in college, as I had to read a lot to catch up, but my math and english skills are stronger than most. (Even if I do talk Texan.) So both avenues have advantages.
 
I went to a large elementary school, a large junior high, and a large high school - also, the best in the city (at the time). I thought my education was pretty good through elementary school, although, my mom is a first grade teacher, so learning how to read by the time I was 4 and a half probably helped...

My problems with the education system have to do with all the standardized testing. My mom has to test her class 6 times a year - SIX! These 6 year oldes who don't even know how to read have to take a test a MONTH after school starts. It's ridiculous. The entire public education system in Texas is geared towards standardized tests. Thus, the kids learn how to fudge through the test rather than actually LEARNING the material they need to know! Way to go Dubya!

*huffs* This is a topic that makes me MAD. Anyways... Seriously, you learn how to eliminate answers, that "the longer answer is usually the correct one" if you have NO clue, and you learn a formula for writing a paper. So, rather than learning how to write a GOOD, well-thought out paper, you get cardboard cutouts of the same thing from thousands of students. I NEVER learned how to write a good opening paragraph, and it's hurt a LOT since I've gone to college. I honestly do NOT know how to research well, how to organize, etc. The topics given to us are so open ended and shallow, it doesn't matter how you divide up your paragraphs.

The other issue I have with MY schools in particular is that the wealthier, popular kids are ALWAYS favored. I remember hearing ONE kid's name over the morning annoucements who ALWAYS won the art aware, and another kid's name who ALWAYS won another one... and then at the awards assembly at the end of the year, the same FOUR (most popular) kids were ALWAYS given the "star student" awards. It doesn't matter, honestly. It doesn't mean a thing, but it's depressing for a kid to always hear the same names being associated with "the best." FOr me, it always send across the message, "These kids are brats and I dont' like them, but everyone is ALWAYS going to think they are better than me, so I shouldn't even try."

In junior high, all of my teachers but TWO (my eighth grade math teacher and my history teacher) were sour and made students feel like idiots. If you didn't know how to write an introductory paragraph, you were a fool. You were never offered one on one time with the teacher.

In high school, the honors teachers favored girls over the boys, and always favored the students that spoke more often. They took every opportunity they had to make you HATE the subject they were teaching. Out of all my classes, (8 each semester, each year for three years and 6 each semester, each year for one year), I had four classes that I actually enjoyed. As in, I always looked forward to attending. My Chemistry class was actually taught by a man who KNEW his stuff, had his degree in it, and LOVED teaching it. Absolutely LOVED it. My Physics class was taught by a man who knew his subject was horribly difficult, and adjusted his grading system so if you did all the extra credit, came in for help, and tried your best, you couldn't get lower than an 80. He was also working on his PhD. My Philsophy teacher had his PhD. My Calculus teacher just plain loved teaching - she didn't have to do it to get by, she did it because she loved it. Three of those classes were AP - Chemistry, Physics, and Calculus. They taught us the SUBJECT, rather than the test. I did badly in all my AP exams (2's) where the teacher taught us the test (just History and Government), but did excellent (3's and 4's) on the tests where the teacher taught us the subject (Calculus, Chemistry, Physics, Economics).

So based on a lot of what I've heard from my friends, my mom, and from my own observations, our public schools are filled with teachers who don't enjoy their job, are teaching subjects that they never got their degrees in (i.e. my Algebra II teacher had her degree in English), or who just don't care about their students (my Junior English teacher loved telling us we were stupid).

So when I have kids, they're going to be homeschooled or the teachers are going to be closely monitored.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

joys_cavies
Replies
384
Views
32K
animalmadlover
animalmadlover
kathrynj
Replies
5
Views
1K
kathrynj
kathrynj
BabyGrl
Replies
4
Views
1K
BabyGrl
BabyGrl
Top