I think that there has been major misunderstandings regarding "homeschooling"
there are many ways and many reasons why people homeschool. There is unschooling, traditional homeschooling, distance charter schools, internet schooling, and the list goes on. Some I feel are much better than others but here in AMERICA that is why we have a choice. We all have a reason for homeschooling, me personally I homeschool, I have spent many many hours and money on rescources, school books and learning manipulatives for my children. Both of my children(I have twins) have scored extremely high in testing. When they were in kindergarten they were tested on a second grade level. the school board and the school were against any type of classes for them to learn at their pace. In turn, both of my girls did extremely poor in kindergarten, they were bored and being held back. That is when I took them out and put them in private school. our little school has since closed and that is why I homeschool now because our public school system is not willing to work with us and my girls advanced learning pace as they are now 8 years old and on a 4/5th grade level. I also want to mention that with children that have an accellerated learning capacity, they are harder to keep occupied. For example a kindergartener may be perfectly content playing with blocks for hours but a 6 year old that is on a second grade level is bored within minutes and needs further stimulation hence the learning and teaching. In our kindergarten, all they did was play with blocks and play in the play kitchen area other than having story time.
Not to mention, there are many many children that fall through the cracks of the public schools and are unschooled even in public school. Children that just don't care and teachers that have just given up. There are limited funds, many teachers get discouraged because they are only allowed to do so much, they care so much and get burned out.
I thouroughly enjoy having my girls home with me, I can teach them things that they would never learn in school, things that pertain more to life than they would ever get out of a book. For example, kids coming out of highschool now cannot make simple change unless the cash register tells them what it is. My girls love homeschooling and are thriving very well. Socialization has never been an issue, they are the most social, polite children you could meet, and I am not just saying that because they are mine, now I am not saying that they are perfect angels, but because of the fact that they are with me all the time and I am able to live as an example for them, they do very well. My reasoning is also religious based.
The thing is, if all homeschoolers are lumped into one group, everyone gets a bad reputation, and in turn, all our rights, as parents whether or not you homeschool, to raise our children will be removed. We no longer will be able to make decisions about not just their schooling but their medical care, what they eat and don't eat, what they wear or don't wear, were they live etc, without having to deal with the government.
There is more at stake here than whether or not we are able to homeschool our children, it is whether or not we are going to be able to be parents to our children.
To a homeschooling family, the family unit is the most important thing in this world, before any outside entity and we should be allowed to promote this in our families and teach it to our children and not be punished for handing down to our children values that will serve them much better than generic "me" institutionalized values.
And just as homeschoolers should not be put into a box, neither should public schools but lets face it, our educational system as a whole in this country is in a downward spiral. If you live in a small country area, you are not going to get the funds that the larger city schools get. In our school system it is mandatory that all the children be there on a specific day just so they can be counted so the school gets their money. Granted I do not believe that just anyone is qualified to homeschool, there is much more than putting a book in front of your child. There must be perseverance, discipline and consistent committment from the homeschooling parent. Believe me it isn't easy to be a homeschooling parent but I feel that this is what I am meant to do at this stage of my childrens life and that is what I will do and I resent the fact that just because someone homeschools that they are not doing what is in the best interest of their child.
Parents want the best for their children, but what’s the best way to educate them? Dr. Phil’s guests face off in a debate about whether to school, homeschool or unschool. Dana and her husband, Joe, call themselves radical unschoolers. They say education happens as a side effect of life, and they don’t believe in tests, curriculums or grades. Are their three kids learning what they need to know? Then, RaeAnn says public schools are death traps and wants to homeschool her children. Her husband, Steve, says their kids are safer at school than they are at home. Can this couple reach a compromise? Plus, Nicole feels like an outcast at 26. She says she hated being homeschooled, and couldn’t relate to other kids. Share your thoughts here.
