Homeschooling

[Fly_Unity]

I finally convinced my Mom to let me do some "home school". It was a complete waste of time for me to go sit in a classroom for 7 hours a day when I would lose interest because the teacher's would 'dumb it down' if you will and had to keep explaining things over and over for people. It drove me nuts... I would completely tune out and just teach myself when I got home. I'd just go by the syllabus and work well ahead by several weeks. If you have a good textbook and you are in the top 10% if you will, it's easy to self teach... having your parent help or teach you is not needed.

I only wish I had been able to do that much earlier, say around 6th grade, I could have finished my state requirements to graduate by 15-16 instead of 18.

I did mine through correspondence courses at OU, you pay for the classes and books and they send you the course guide, text books, worksheets. You send the stuff back when you've completed your assignments and then they grade them, send them back to you with corrections. You study the sections for whatever test and I would just go over to OU and take my test.

If it helps at all... you could really tell the difference in my Soc. Studies/History grades (went from low Bs to high As) and most dramatically my English/Literature (went from low Cs and Ds to mid As).

I never understood why it took 8 hours in class to learn the same thing at home in 4 hours. I think I did the same high school curriculum as you, or something similar. I never once got anything lower then an A in high school. And only got one B in college. (not that I retained it all I probably couldn't pass an algebra test if I wanted to today)

 

[MFT1Air]

I was homeschooled all the way up until college. I think it was by far the best way for me.

You experiences are the ones that are best suited for the question many others ask. . .how were your experiences when you transitioned into college?

Yes, many pros and cons to homeschooling particularly when you discuss specific children's needs. I've wanted to know how many of homeschooled kids fared when they transitioned to college.

Was your college large or small? What was your degree program? Trying to gain a perspective.

 

[BoomerSooner77]

This might be on interest to you sir..

http://www.keystonehighschool.com/programs/college_prep.php

I just came across it, looks promising AND, they have educators who can assist you daughter should she need it and you and your wife aren't able to help her.

Also, looks like they have AP and Honors courses.

 

[Pilot2087]

You experiences are the ones that are best suited for the question many others ask. . .how were your experiences when you transitioned into college?

Yes, many pros and cons to homeschooling particularly when you discuss specific children's needs. I've wanted to know how many of homeschooled kids fared when they transitioned to college.

Was your college large or small? What was your degree program? Trying to gain a perspective.

I was also home schooled. I never had any trouble doing UVSC's Aviation Science degree program. (of course some here dont think thats a "real" degree)

Take a look at this link:

http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000017.asp

 

[SoonerATC]

We don't have children yet, but when the time comes, my wife and I are absolutely going to home school our children. We're in the unique position that my wife does happen to be a kindergarten teacher in a private pre-school already, though. We have a number of reasons for wanting to homeschool our children.

First, we both view the government run schools as purely institutionalized brainwashing. There is an agenda within the government schools and it is not the education of the child.

Second, we believe that we alone can give the best educational experience possible to our children. The student to teacher ratio will be 1: (insert number of children we have here), rather than the 1:20 that even the "best" government schools have. We will also be able to tailor our lessons to the interest, strengths, and weaknesses of the individual child, rather than forcing them to participate in the slow, watered down educational process common in traditional classrooms. Instead of field trips to the firestation, how about field trips to Washington, D.C. for history or going outside and actually looking through a telescope in the evening for astronomy.

Third, we look forward to the extra time we'll get to spend with our children. Think about all of the quality time missed during a child's childhood because they are pushed out the door for 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week, 9 months a year for the first 18 years of their life. Then you kick them out the door to become independent adults...but who was there to mentor them and help them become the adult you could be proud of during all those years? Their friends? Burned out teachers? I doubt the parents can claim much credit for it given they only spent about 4-5 hours a day with the child.

That's my point of view. End rant.

 

[WMostellar]

Go for it!

I have 5 kids - none have ever been to private or government school.

My oldest graduates this summer and is getting a lot of ubsolicted academic scholarships. He's planning to double major in music and mathematics.

Our philosophy is to teach them to teach themselves. My wife had to unlearn everything she was taught when she got her teaching certifercate after a biology degree. He's currently taking college courses online. We haven't "taught" him in years.

As to socialization. Most home schooled kids are more adept at dealing with other kids and adults than their peers. Two reasons - they're rarely around a group exclusively comprised of kids their age so they learn to recognize younger kids who are more mature and older kids who are less mature, and they typically have more interaction with adults other than their parents.

I've been involved with youth for years (coaching soccer, basketball, etc.). Those kids with the least social skills are more influenced by their parents than their peers and would likely be the same regardless of their schooling.

School is for school. Get her involved in extra-curricular actives with a diverse group of peers and give her opportunities to interact with adults outside of your family. She'll get more socially out of that than anything she would learn in school.

Homeschooling allows you the opportunity to tailor her currculae to her needs and desires. If you fl for an airline, you can actually take some pretty cool field trips and travel while all the other kids are in school (beats fighting all the others for the non-rev seats).

PM me if you have more questions. We've been doing it for 14 years.

 

[Roger, Roger]

You experiences are the ones that are best suited for the question many others ask. . .how were your experiences when you transitioned into college?

Yes, many pros and cons to homeschooling particularly when you discuss specific children's needs. I've wanted to know how many of homeschooled kids fared when they transitioned to college.

Was your college large or small? What was your degree program? Trying to gain a perspective.

I went to a small, Christian University (~1500 traditional students). I lived in on campus housing all four years, the first two in a dorm and the last two in an on-campus apartment. My degree program was Aeronautical Science. I did Instrument, Commercial, all the CFI ratings, and A&P. Before anyone says anything about my degree program being "soft" or easy, realize that with the A&P laboratory classes I took and the flight ratings I did, I was often in class or some other iteration of it for 30+ hours a week. Also, when I did take hard courses (like my Calc 1 class), I was beating or equalling the grades of the engineers. I also participated in NIFA and worked jobs including tutor, airplane washer, mechanic assistant, and part time CFI in school.

As far as socialization, I've always been kind of introverted. I think working as a CFI has changed that more than anything else. With living in the dorms and spending hours at a time with small teams in lab classes, I had little trouble making friends and getting along with people. The social thing is, IMHO, no big deal. Make sure your kids have friends and participate in various activities-homeschool groups, volunteer, etc. Make them live in dorms for a few semesters in college.

 

[WacoFan]

I really appreciate everyones input and the links - thanks a ton for this.

 

[EDUC8-or]

My mom was a teacher, and she freely admited hat they teach for the middle 70%. The top 10 is seriously under challanged, and the bottom 20% is left behind. It's the nature of public shooling.

If you do, there is a ton of support on the internet. Regulations vary considerably from sate to state.

I spent 8 years in the classroom, I made it a point to challenge every student and make sure no one was left behind. I spent many unpaid mornings and evenings either tutoring or working with a Think Tank to make sure everyone's needs were met. (BTW, I'm not bashing you mom here )

If you have a good textbook and you are in the top 10% if you will, it's easy to self teach... having your parent help or teach you is not needed.

There's so much more to teaching and learning than sitting down with a textbook and reading. As a matter of fact, I rarely used textbooks when I taught.

We don't have children yet, but when the time comes, my wife and I are absolutely going to home school our children. We're in the unique position that my wife does happen to be a kindergarten teacher in a private pre-school already, though. We have a number of reasons for wanting to homeschool our children.

First, we both view the government run schools as purely institutionalized brainwashing. There is an agenda within the government schools and it is not the education of the child.

That's pretty extreme, but to each their own.



I want to preface what I'm going to say with a disclaimer, this is not directed at anyone who was homeschooled or parents homeschooling their children: When I taught the biggest thing I noticed about homeschooled students was their difficulty adjusting socially and fitting in. Sure, you can teach you child how to act appropriately and get the day's lessons covered in 2-3 hours, but there's so much that's missing. P.E., recess, lunch, music, art, etc.. just aren't the same without your classmates. That's not a scientific study, those are just my observations.

 

[KLB]

Sure, you can teach you child how to act appropriately and get the day's lessons covered in 2-3 hours, but there's so much that's missing. P.E., recess, lunch, music, art, etc.. just aren't the same without your classmates. That's not a scientific study, those are just my observations.

That was my initial thoughts of what would be negative about homeschooling.

I believe that there's a lot more to a solid education than whats in the books. Studying those other areas not only broadened my horizons, but also helped me define who I really was and eventually what I have become.

 

[ASpilot2be]

When I was homeschooled, I was only homeschooled for certain subjects. I went to the actual school for stuff I couldnt learn at home like art, PE, music, but learned math, english, and other subjects at home.

 

[SoonerATC]

I want to preface what I'm going to say with a disclaimer, this is not directed at anyone who was homeschooled or parents homeschooling their children: When I taught the biggest thing I noticed about homeschooled students was their difficulty adjusting socially and fitting in.

That is the biggest fallacy there is regarding homeschooled children and also the first one that pro-government school pundits like to use. Regarding their ability to adjust socially, homeschooled children are more likely to be socially-adjusted because they are not around the mal-behaved delinquents that populate every government school classroom. Second, they will get a more balanced social education by being around not only other children their own age, but also adults and children of other ages as they do things with their parents most children don't get to do (grocery shopping, visiting doctor's offices, going out for lunch, etc).

Sure, you can teach you child how to act appropriately and get the day's lessons covered in 2-3 hours, but there's so much that's missing. P.E., recess, lunch, music, art, etc.. just aren't the same without your classmates. That's not a scientific study, those are just my observations.

You can't do P.E. at home? Or take your child to the park for recess? Or eat lunch? You can't teach your child music through private piano or violin lessons? (where they would actually learn to READ music, and not just play the triangle or smash cymbals). You can't take your child to an art museum or enroll them in an art class at the local community center? (most government curriculum art classes consist of essentially the color wheel and free drawing anyway).

Many towns and cities have homeschooling groups that meet regularly for homeschooled children to interact with one another, developing the social skills they supposedly miss out on by not being in a government school.

I would say homeschooling provides even more options than government schooling does. If my future teenage son or daughter had a particular interest and was ready for it, they could even enroll in classes at a local community college to take more diverse or simply higher level math, science, or history courses that are not offered in generic government education curriculums.

When I was homeschooled, I was only homeschooled for certain subjects. I went to the actual school for stuff I couldnt learn at home like art, PE, music, but learned math, english, and other subjects at home.

Again, I reiterate what I said above. Those subjects could have been taught outside of the government school system. Your parents might not have felt qualified to teach them, but they could have been accomplished through the examples I used.

 

[ASpilot2be]

Again, I reiterate what I said above. Those subjects could have been taught outside of the government school system. Your parents might not have felt qualified to teach them, but they could have been accomplished through the examples I used.

It was more so I could get a chance to see my friends. I come from a town of 2000 people, and the school was less than a five minute walk from the house. I always enjoyed going to school to see my friends.

 

[WacoFan]

Am getting closer and closer to homeschooling. I will paste an email that I had to send to Maggie's school today which will explain why - I am livid.

Greetings-

My name is Jim and I am Maggie's father.

Maggie came home today with some news that distressed her and frankly it distressed me as well. Previously a series of books Maggie read and tested on for AR were disallowed. On top of losing the points, Maggie did not understand why, if the books were available for an AR test, she wasn't allowed to test on them. I disagreed with the position taken as well, but we let it go. This weekend, we decided to get Maggie some books that would not only fit the AR testing, but also be books that she would enjoy reading and would engage her. We looked on the AR website and checked books that we thought she would like as well as test over. The books that we bought were:

1) Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
2) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
3) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain
4) Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
5) Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell

She was thrilled with the books and started on Gone with the Wind into which she made a substantial dent in last night and fell in love with the story as millions have since its publishing in the 1930's. Today, she came home and gave the news that none of these books were allowed for her under the AR program. She said that she was told to "wait" on a couple of them, and that Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn had "social issues". This was bad news to us, and I told Maggie that she was to keep reading Gone with the Wind, as well as the other books that we purchased regardless of the decision made at school.

First, let's discuss the "wait" comment, and the basic age appropriateness of Maggie's reading materials. Maggie has always been a voracious and skilled reader. She was reading things at the fifth grade level in first and second grade. Her latest Iowa Basic Skills Test show her in the 99th percentile in Reading with a Grade Equivalent of 12. Her Language total is also the 99th percentile and a Grade Equivalent of 13+. Her reading gifts have always created problems in that it is hard to feed her voracious appetite for books. We walk a fine line because things that are "grade appropriate" for her bore her to tears because they do not challenge or excite her. This is not a new problem for Maggie, but what is new is school administration limiting what she can read for credit. This seems unacceptable to both Maggie as well as to me. I do not want to diminish Maggie's enthusiasm for reading by making her read things that are on an equivalent level of what she was reading three years ago. Age appropriate and Maggie are not compatible terms because in academic areas she is not her biological age.

Second, and more troubling to me personally, is the decision regarding Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. I understand that there are some "social issues" in these books - namely the use of the work "######" as well as a character called "###### Jim". In the books, Tom and Huck are actually friends with Jim - remarkable character development given the racial climate at the times the books were written. Many view Jim's inclusion in Huck Finn to be an attack on the racial themes in society at the time it was published (1884). Humanizing Jim, as well as Huck's struggle between accepted norms in society (racism, lynching's, second class status) and his own feelings of Jim as a friend are important in understanding the overall picture of race in my opinion. Reading those books, as well as Gone with the Wind, will give her a greater appreciation for the history of the time and also helps her understand where we have been as a country to give her a proper perspective on where we are today, particularly with President Obama. Further, with the coarseness of our times - from music, television and movies - to be able to discuss these issues as raised by Huck Finn is a welcome change rather than having to discuss the same issues as they would be raised by other, less intelligent sources.Additionally, as a bottom line, Nancy and I should be the final arbiters of what Maggie is exposed to and what she is not.

All of these books are on the AR site, and all of them have been deemed appropriate by someone for testing. If all of the books on the AR site are NOT available for Maggie to test on, then a list should be made basically banning those books from Bethany's use of the site. I see little value in banning classic American literature, but it is your school.

We are also somewhat unclear on how the AR "points" system works (we have never had to worry about it). My understanding is that Maggie needs 20pts per quarter to meet objectives. She said that she thought that she needed 20 pts every mid-quarter. So, it would seem she needs somewhere between 80-160 pts for a year - we are unsure which. She did say she has around 190 pts now, so my advice to her was to be done with AR points for the year, since she had accomplished more than the annual goal already, and simply read what she wants. She said that may not be acceptable.

In summary, I would like some resolution on books that Bethany feels are "unacceptable". We will take this information and see if it fits our goals and needs for Maggie. We feel that to limit her reading based on her biological age as opposed to what she can enjoy and comprehend is not acceptable. Also, we feel that as parents we are the sole deciders of what is or is not appropriate reading material regarding social ideas as expressed in literature. Finally, we do not send Maggie to a private school so that she can be denied AR points for what amounts to stifling political correctness. Denying AR points for a great work of American literature just because groups of people (that have probably never read the book) have been offended by it in the past is not a reasonable or wise decision.

I welcome any communication from you on this matter and very much look forward to it.

Thank you all for teaching my daughter, and for making this a good year for her.

Warmest personal regards,

Jim

 

[MQAAord]

Don't expect a lot of sympathy from the schools on the reading issue....

When I was in 1st grade I was reading at a 6th grade level. I was light-years ahead of my classmates in reading. I remember being taken into a big room with old reading texts that the school was just giving out to the students.... I actually had the workbook to one of the texts from the 4th grade level, and wanted the textbook to go along with it, but being in 1st grade I wasn't allowed to have it.

Reading "class" bored the ever living #### out of me. I would finish the class reading assignment in a matter of minutes, and would sit bored off my ass for the rest of the class time. I was not allowed into any advanced reading classes.

Let her read whatever she wants. I read Gone With the Wind in 6th grade and loved it.

 

[pullup]

FWIW I was also a "gifted" child. Was able to walk/talk at 9 months, taught myself to read at 2, scored just like your daughter in standardized tests, had an IQ test done (scored a 158) and also skipped a grade. I was offered a full ride for the local "smart school" and told that it would be a disservice to keep me where I was. I was bored with school, not challenged, but otherwise doing well.

Well, my parents wrangled with this decision and decided to keep me where I was. They toured the school and saw so many eggheads that didn't seem to be able to socialize very well (NOT saying that your daughter would/will end up like that). They wanted me to be a regular kid and tried to challenge me with advanced classes, competitions, etc. I was a happy kid who loved sports, reading, was friends with everybody, etc and they just didn't feel that the benefits outweighed the risk.

Grade school was a joke, as I didn't study a lick and still was first in my class. I went to a college prep high school and still didn't study. I also rebeled a bit in this time period because I was so bored. Ended up graduating with a 95% average and it was cake for me. Went to college and grauduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a BS in Aerospace Engineering, some semsters never going to class (Except for exams)...went on to get a MS in Mechanical Engineering as well.

The whole time I was in school (Kindergarten through grad school) I was always waiting for it to get hard and unbearable as I had always heard...it never happened. I guess I am trying to say that your daughter will thrive no matter what decision is made. If she really really wants to be challenged then she has plenty of programs at her disposal. The only thing I would be concerned about is how quickly you or your wifes lead will run out in intellegence. She may eventually find you guys to be a bottleneck in her quest for intellectual dominance.

Good Luck!!!!

 

[WacoFan]

The only thing I would be concerned about is how quickly you or your wifes lead will run out in intellegence. She may eventually find you guys to be a bottleneck in her quest for intellectual dominance.

Good Luck!!!!

She has already surpassed my wife a while ago (I married her for her looks). I still give Maggie an intellectual beat-down once in a while so she knows whose boss.

 

[WacoFan]

Don't expect a lot of sympathy from the schools on the reading issue....

When I was in 1st grade I was reading at a 6th grade level. I was light-years ahead of my classmates in reading. I remember being taken into a big room with old reading texts that the school was just giving out to the students.... I actually had the workbook to one of the texts from the 4th grade level, and wanted the textbook to go along with it, but being in 1st grade I wasn't allowed to have it.

Reading "class" bored the ever living #### out of me. I would finish the class reading assignment in a matter of minutes, and would sit bored off my ass for the rest of the class time. I was not allowed into any advanced reading classes.

Let her read whatever she wants. I read Gone With the Wind in 6th grade and loved it.

That is what I told her - you read what you want, or what I want, and I will deal with the school.

 

[Fly_Unity]

By the way, our homeschool group outplayed the public school and won the local school district in a tournament back in the day.

I know people say Im not as sociable because I was homeschooled, however in my view its just that when I was in school, my public school peers seemed sooo immature. It was that reason that I enjoyed being around older adults. To those that say "they will have difficulty adjusting socially and fitting in" That may be partly true in their own age group, but only because from my observation was that the homeschooler's was much more mature then their age group.

I have visited some of the smaller town public schools, (one room classroom type) and I thought they were pretty good.

 

[Roger, Roger]

Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer are excellent books. I first read them in grade school (homeschool FTW) and again in a college literature class. I'd forgotten what an excellent writer Twain was.

Good job to you giving your daughter an appreciation for good literature at an age where most children are reading Captain Underpants, and at a time when most adults read nothing more challenging than the news ticker.