Homeschooling? Have you? Pros? Cons?

[GSeybold]

Thoughts about Homeschooling?

If I had to do it all over again, I would homeschool my children. I did it for a year when my family was abroad and I should have continued. I'm getting really sick and tired of the government telling me what my children should learn and be exposed to. I'm also tired of my children being exposed to some extreme opinions of teachers. I just found out that my daughter's chemistry teacher is a major pot head and came to work high all the time. Lovely eh? School certainly has changed since I was child.

Thoughts?

[Shelley_c]

Funny how this thread was created, I think the problem lies with teachers, they seem to have a zero tolerance towards pupils these days. I can oly go by example only today (although it's been ongoing) is a specific teacher (some Australian +++++) constantly picks on my younger brother (11 years old) seems to hold a grudge. anyway. Because my brother has heart related problems with additional problems with his kidneys he constantly needs to go to the toilet. Each and everytime he asks this +++++ says no resulting in him peeing his pants. I took a visit to the school and the teacher always walks out and tries to talk down parents in front of everyone which she tried today (normally it would be my mum picking him up) but today I was furious with what my brother told me about this teacher so she came out to try and talk various parents down and I told her turn back and walk away (that was the nice version) and replied I'll be seeing you tomorrow (after making an appointment).

Anyway, that was just an example what happened to my brother. But in short, i think the problem lies with the teachers. In short, some of them are bastards and are on the borderline of being cruel. I only wish would have started homeschooling fir my brother, but seeing as he's settled down in school there's little point.

Suffice to say I will be at the school tomorrow with all guns blazing, I've never been so angry in all my life and see some teachers as bullies abusing their powers.

[smacklan]

My wife and I homeschool my two daughters and have since they the were pre-school age...best decision we ever made

[lasto]

Schools aint changed much - they changed a bit,but thats more to do with the times.
Schools have got a lot more softer over the yrs - afraid to upset the student incase they disrupt the class etc.A good smack is what half of these kids need.Would`nt be so lippy then would they - but its not to be,because the do-gooders have stepped in and deemed it a criminal offence to smack a kid,and these kids know that only 2 well,and that is why we are seeing such a rise in teenage violence because they know they are untouchable.
Teaching Kids at home is proberly not a bad idea but it certainly aint going to prepare them for the outside world,as they been sort of protected (mother cuddled if u wanna call it that).

[GSeybold]

Shelley, let me tell you I was pissed reading your post. How very said for your brother. Talk about scarring a kid for life. Oh no sista, I would be kicking some serious ass right there with ya. I'm not a violent person, but that a-hole of a teacher needs his behind kicked. Have you confronted administration on this yet? Also, keep a good record of this, pics and all. Then take it to the US and UK media. Uk's equivilent to the ACLU?

A few things come to mind. First, there is legal precedent here on several levels. Is your brother deemed disabled in any way? If so, this is a major violation, at least here the states it would be. Also, consider the long term mental health issues of this harassment. I would most certainly be getting a lawyer involved. Also my guess is that your little brother is probably on Lasix or other cardiac related meds making elimination almost constant (at least every hour or so) in most adults, so perhaps his cardiologist should write a note/letter to the school? I'll be thinking about you and routing for you on tomorrow. Go kick some serious behind.

Smaklan- Good for you. I wish I would have done this as well.

Lasto, I do agree that parents these days are pretty soft on their children. The argument of not knowing the "world outside" / socialization is a pretty difficult one to make, especially these days, these violent times. My daughter went to school with affluent kids living on the beach. Some of these kids were rotten to the core, very sexually active and a ton of drugs. Some drove Mercedes, BMW ... just totally spoiled loser kids who will never know what a hard day's work is. That is if the don't end of drugged addicted adults. Are these the kids I want my daughter's learning social skills from? No! Then there are those kids that are overly emotional cutters, or EMOs as the kids call them. EMOs are often discussing how bad the world is and how awful people are to them, frequently discussing suicide and often attempted it. Then there are the religious zealots my daughter has been exposed to. Then the teachers, OMG! Some are so fat they can barely walk-what is that teaching a child? Some are drug addicted, some are so mean and nasty that I wonder why they are even teaching, especially children, and some are just plain crazy. In the U.S., for a lot of teachers, education was not even their major. They went to college for something else, couldn't find a job and ended up teaching. That's really prevalent in California. A person has a Bachelors degree Basket Weaving, therefore they are qualified to teach my child? I don't think so. Public schools are so desperate for teachers, they'll hire just about anyone.

Oh and let's not forget teachers sleeping with students. Just lovely. And Columbine, Kentucky, Los Angeles, stabbing, shootings, rapes that happen in public schools and private ones too.

So having said all this.... is this the socializing, "world outside", I want my kids to be exposed to? Nope. All they have to do is turn on the TV and learn all that crap.

All the basics can be taught at home while still integrating the child into things like band and choir at any local or private school, at least here in the U.S they can. Also, a parent can teach the child far more advanced education at home as well because they have the time. All of the stuff we learned as a kid, such as cursive writing is just brushed over and kids aren't getting a good education now.

Imagine how much money the U.S. would save if we did away with public schools and gave the responsibility back to the parents? Heaven forbid there be any parent responsibility these days.

Originally Posted by Shelley_c

Funny how this thread was created, I think the problem lies with teachers, they seem to have.

Originally Posted by smacklan

My wife and I homeschool my two daughters and have since they the were pre-school age...best decision we ever made

Originally Posted by lasto

Schools aint changed much - they changed a bit,but thats more to do with the times.
Schools have got a lot more softer over the yrs - afraid to upset the student incase they disrupt the class etc.A good smack is what half of these kids need.Would`nt be so lippy then would they - but its not to be,because the do-gooders have stepped in and deemed it a criminal offence to smack a kid,and these kids know that only 2 well,and that is why we are seeing such a rise in teenage violence because they know they are untouchable.
Teaching Kids at home is proberly not a bad idea but it certainly aint going to prepare them for the outside world,as they been sort of protected (mother cuddled if u wanna call it that).

[RedeemedWarrior]

I was homeschooled, I intend to homeschool my kids

[lasto]

I could read and write before i went to school at 4 yrs olds.Pople are leaving school these days unable to read or write.Is this a fault of the school(s) or just the person ?
Myself i believe its down to the person unwilling to learn because u cant tell me that thoughout all of the schools they would of gone to,all of them ignored this person and never taught them anything.

[Shelley_c]

Originally Posted by lasto

I could read and write before i went to school at 4 yrs olds.Pople are leaving school these days unable to read or write.Is this a fault of the school(s) or just the person ?
Myself i believe its down to the person unwilling to learn because u cant tell me that thoughout all of the schools they would of gone to,all of them ignored this person and never taught them anything.

There's so many factors you cannot pinpoint a childs education to one thing or any one personal. not sure why I type personal there when i meant person. Regardless of my typing error, forgot what I was going to say now so I'm agreeing with you lasto.

[Magnumutz]

Depends on the country, county and school.
If i were to send my kids (when i'll have any) to the school that's closest to home... i think i'd do it.
It's a pretty quiet neighborhood and since the new principal took over, even I can see the changes... to good.

[Wayne Luke]

What passes for home schooling here in California are actually charter schools that provide you with books, materials, curriculum and standardized tests. You simply become the teacher instead of sending your student off to class. You still have to take the children to the charter center at least once a week and the charter center grades the children based on their test scores. Now you can elaborate on particular subjects and keep to the basics on others but you still have to follow the state mandated curriculum.

Personally, I would not home school. I have worked from home for most of my children's lives and it would be too disruptive and I wouldn't get anything done. I am far less productive when they are "off-track" than when on. Add to this that I probably don't know certain subjects as well as their dedicated teachers (middle school and higher) such as English, Literature, probably even math. School is taught faster now. By the time kids graduate now they are expected to have a year of trigonometry. Whereas when I was in school, not many took math classes past basic geometry. I was the first graduating class that actually has a calculus class on the High School campus. Not to mention the fact that I probably wouldn't be able to teach my kids the Advanced Placement courses they need to get their first year college courses out of the way before high school graduation. Then there is socialization, extra curricular activities, student government and many other things that are really needed on today's college applications. Sending them to school provides all of this a lot easier.