The principal, a first grade teacher, and the superintendent of our public school recommended homeschooling or private school for my son because of learning differences. A family member had warned me that he needed to stifle his curiosity before he started school. He asked too many questions. He had learned to read on his own at 2 1/2 and could read his Alice in Wonderland lines at 4 1/2. He just loved to learn.
He started half-day Kindergarten at 5. He told me it was fun but not very educational. They wanted him to do lots of coloring (and it better be in the lines) and he hated coloring. He couldn't understand why the others couldn't read. The other kids liked sports; he liked science museums and musical theater. The Kindergarten teacher suggested sending him to a transitional first grade so he would learn to color in the lines. At least that is what I was told. I found out later that they routinely recommend T-1 (a year in between kindergarten and first grade) for all kids with spring and summer birthdays like my son. It didn't matter that he could already read well and do math. I thought that was crazy, so I talked to the principal.
The principal arranged for me to talk to a first grade teacher with training in special ed (including gifted). I showed her samples of my son's work. She told me it was my duty as a parent to see that my son received an appropriate education and made it sound like it wouldn't happen at that school. She recommended homeschooling and told me about her friends who had homeschooled their child through high school. This kid went on to do well in college.
I had a choice to make. Let him go to that school to receive a mediocre education and no accommodation for learning differences, let him learn to stifle his curiosity and learn to be bored, let him deal with the bullies at the school who pick on kids who are different, or figure out how to teach him myself without any training.
After homeschooling for one year, my just turned seven year old son was given an individual achievement test by a certified educational psychologist. He tested several grade levels ahead of agemates in both math and reading. He also was found to have visual-motor integration problems as well as hypotonia which contributed to his handwriting difficulties. They don't provide any kind of help for this kind of problem at our public school, so this was another reason I needed to homeschool my son. He can now write legibly but can't write as much as they would require in school because his hands still tire quickly. His developmental pediatrician suggested teaching him to type and he is learning to type at home.
Because we homeschool, my son has more time to learn. In school he would waste a lot of time doing busywork and then have to bring more of it home as homework. Coloring is not part of our curriculum, so he has more time to learn history, science, literature, etc. He and I enjoy reading and discussing classic books with rich vocabulary instead of the usual 3rd grade books he would have to read in school. On one of our field trips, a motel employee was surprised to see my eight year old reading a newspaper article out loud. I told him that it was because he was homeschooled. He can read the newspaper and comprehend advanced material because he was allowed to learn as much as he wanted. He is very interested in current events and likes to listen to the news. I believe it is wrong to hold back children who want to learn.
When my son was first grade age we didn't use a curriculum and some might say what we did that year was similar to unschooling because I let my son choose his reading material and let him learn what he wanted. But I realized he would never learn to write more legibly if I didn't make him practice every day. That is the only thing I have to make him practice. He enjoys learning math, science, history, etc. We use the "What Your __ Grader Needs to Know" series as a guide and get extra information on the internet and the library. He reads historical fiction like Johnny Tremain to go along with the historical period we are studying. We watch lots of educational shows on the History, Discovery, National Geographic and Science channels together. He and I have fun learning together.
My son would be considered a problem in school because he has way too much energy (but not ADHD) and needs to move around a lot during the day. He needs breaks. He learns better this way. This would be a problem in school. He is used to asking lots of questions and looking up the answers. I don't want him to have to stifle his curiosity.
He has more friends than I ever had in public school because he is in a children's musical theater group with kids of all ages and he is also involved in church activities. He is happy and learning more than he would in public school so I know we made the right choice.
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.
