Topic : 11/24 Great School Debate

Dr. Phil,

When my daughters first mentioned to me that they were going to homeschool all my grandchildren I was somewhat apprehensive but did not get in their way.  All my grandchildren have now been home schooled for years.  One of the oldest just sat for for SAT exam earlier this year and scored at the 92 percentile.  As a senior (still being homeschooled) she now is taking college classes in her local community college as well as completing her senior year of high school.  In college she has been pulling down A grades and is probably being recommended for the honors program.

Having watched my grandchildren being homeschooled all these years I have been become a believer in homeschooling.  My grandchildren are involved in drama, sports, and many classes taught by homeschooling mothers in special subjects..  I would match any of them against any public school child of the same ability and grade and feel comfortable they would come out on top.  They study in a structured setting in their home, but have many experiences with other children so are well socialized.  And they have learned positive values that will be helpful to them all their lives. 

It may not work for all families, but it is sure working for my grandchildren.

Rey

Before listing some of these people, do some more research into the history of education.  The reason a lot of these people are on this list is because they grew up in a time when education was not readily available to all.  For a very long time in our nation's history, only rich white males were educated.  Some educated themselves just because they so desperately wanted a proper education...most of them really wanted to attend a school.

I have 4 children from 26 to age 7.

I am the daughter of a Fl public school educator and public schooled myself. My older two boys were public schooled. My 23 yo dropped out because the system that was worried about him dropping out more than about how he learned in the environment he was in. he was hit by a car at the age of 9 and had Federal laws backing his education rights but I could not get the system to put those rights and THEIR psychologists recommendations into place for my son's benefit. He got what they focused on ...him dropping out of school.

My now 14 yo daughter was to start school in that same school system. Because of being military we didn't have much choice about where to live and where my daughter could go to school. so we home schooled her as opposed to putting her in a school where the principal was more concerned about her brother's choice to not take medication because it effected his sexuality than he was my son's education. They moved that principal away from his school ( I forced that issue) and he became principal where my daughter was to start Kindergarten. NOT on your life was she going to be near him at that age if I was not going to allow my 15 year old to be around him. Small rural school district...firing does not occur!!!!

I homeschooled her until 3rd grade…she was not learning phonics and it was effecting her reading..>School would not test her to see why let her struggle because she started in the 2nd half of th school year and they needed to observe her more couldn’t test yet. Which by the way she took the 3rd grade standardized test and exceeded the states average score for 3rd graders and she was only in the school1 week before the test was administered called the FCAT and parents HATE IT!!!!) I had her tested by All Children’s hospital…she has auditory processing deficiencies and can’t process phonics which is why she could not understand it no matter who taught it!!! But I’m just a mom I don’t know what I am talking about when it comes to educating my child because I am not a certified teacher. NOT >>>>>.

I homeschooled her again in 4th grade because the school would NOT further test her nor work with her speech therapy needs proven by a private evaluation. 5th grade I thought OK lets put her in this charter school that had a lot of art focus and see where we can get with getting her educated and identified for a scholarship that would pay for private schools that specialize in teaching children with my daughters issues so she could learn. That was a disaster..>Not only did they not test her like they were suppose to ( kept making promised and excuses) I lost my child’s bright cheery soul and positive outlook on life. There was no more sparkle in her eye. Teacher conferences were NEVER documented in her file an when the principal was an the last one and said she would never survive in middle school I just came unglued…..she was in a public charter school and would not survive in public school 6th grade!!!!! So much for the theory that public school makes the child in more than just education.

I pulled her out and brought her back home. That was 3 years ago. In  8th grade she takes online classes that public school kids take ALL The TIME to apply to their transcripts. Is in her 6th year of Baton (and her younger sister that oogeled her for years joined her this year) She is in Girls Scouts at the level most girls leave Scouting…Cadette and going into High School.Goals of earning her Gold award (Boy Scout equivalent of Eagle Scout) She is ACTIVE in church youth groups, travels in the summer months on mission trips (next year plans on going to Jamaica for a service project with the deaf) Takes an additional writing class and is great in drama. At 14 she will start college classes for sign language that her present sign language teachers ask me “why don’t you just let her test out of that class. She could……” My statement to that is…she could and I know she could but she needs the experience of college classes without having to stress the material with her learning challenges. Making her GPA be 4.0 while she learns how to be a college student without having to have job responsibilities added to it. Funny thing…her auditory processing issues are not an issue in college…the college bends over backwards providing note takers for her as well as tutors free because of it…>Why doesn’t that happen when she needed it when she was learning how to learn!!!?

Oh yeah social skills…..mmmmm I want my child to learn about rational thought process social skills not teenager social skills that lack common sense. She had 25 kids at her birthday party last weekend so I would say she is well socialized!!!!!! I can be confident that my child’s homeschool experience is well rounded. She can take college classes at 14 because she has proven her knowledge base can handle the college classes without remediation like MANY high graduates need before taking college classes that apply toward a degree. My daughter will be making $28 an hour at 18 or 19 because I homeschooled her. (and that is the pay rate now. Will climb before she finished her college degree while others are finishing HS). What high school graduate can say they make that much money a that age? You say she missed prom, we have homeschool proms with all the same frills. You say she misses sports- no she plays for the city league and is eligible for HS sports if she chose to participate in them. She can take band if she wants to.  YOu say she will miss graduation ...Fl has a HUGE statewide homeschool graduation for anyone that wants to participate.  Many counties have their own as well.

Okay, before the homeschoolers jump all over you, I am going to give you my perspective of the REAL DEAL. I have a B.S. in English Education and a M Ed in Educational Leadership. I taught for about seven years in some pretty tough schools. I was an Assistant Principal for a few years.

While I completely understand your point of view, I do not agree with you completely. Some of the theoretical coursework you are studying, you will barely use. It may be useful information, and no knowledge is ever wasted, but I think once you start teaching you will find some of it to be impractical. Furthermore, teacher training is focused on teaching to a relatively large group. One on one learning is different as you don't have to simultaneously cater to different disabilities, learning styles, etc.

I do share your concern that nobody should portray homeschooling as an "any parent can do it" endeavor. My concern reading some of these posts and listening to homeschool advocates is that there is very little concrete information being given about the commitment that is required. It seems like there is a lot of defense of the right to choose and talk about success stories, but not much practical information for anyone considering homeschooling. Hopefully, that is just the nature of a debate board.

I wish you much luck as you pursue your degree. Kudos to you for considering Special Education. Those children truly need teachers with enormous patience, compassion, and PASSION.

You wrote.....

You can't homeschool if you're not adequately educated to do the job.

this is not totally true.  The resources are out there ...one simply has to find them...degree not needed....desire to get what is best for your child and go after it .

This staement is correct as well.....Squeaky wheels get the grease

I can suggest starting at www.wrightslaw.com and   gleen what you can from there and seek advocacy groups for your concerns and get the help you need.  Parents just need to be more knowledgable aobut the rights of our children adn DO NOT TRUS THE SCHOOL SYSTEM TO GIVE YOU THE TRUTH if you child is not progressing accoring to th e age markers they are supposed to.  Remember NoChild Left Behind?      Read the website adn pass the message along...too many children arn'e where they could be in their learning becaue parents are NOT really told the whole story  regarding their child's education!!!  I KNOW>>>Been there DONE that and homeschool because of it becasue it works  fo rus.

I was public schooled and no one ever discussed with me what I would be when I grew up.  I think my parents just intended for me to find a nice man and settle down...I had what I needed to do that (good looks) so they didn't worry about me being educated, I was a girl, it was very different for my brother though.  I wasted many years in college and a lot of my parents money.  I switched 3 times while they were paying only to return 5 years after dropping out to pay my own way through a four-year program.

I think you missed out on a lot of what is available through our homeschool groups.  There is so much for teens that I get irritated trying to weed through all the emails that don't apply because my homeschooled kids are not yet teens.  Our groups offer 10 times the social and extra curricula activites than that of the local high school.  I wish I had homeschooled our oldest who is now 27, I think it would have changed his life in many positive ways.  He, like me, was miserable in high school because he couldn't afford the clothes he needed to be accepted by the groups he *almost* fit into.  He didn't fit in any group and continously tried...I remember it being the same with me.  In homeschooling, I have not seen kids group together in the way they did when I was in high school.

When I listened to the program Friday, I was shocked and appalled at the lack of understanding that unschoolers and home schoolers have about public education. 

I will commend Dr. Phil for making one thing clear first - us students (me included - graduate in May 2007) who are studying to be teachers spend 4 to 5 years learning to become teachers.  It is an ever changing field, and we are constantly updated and trained on every research based and tested educational program. 

Now back to my soap box.  I can understand why parents want to home school or unschool their children, because lets face it, there are schools out there that cannot educate a turnip. However, this is not their fault.  This is the state and federal government's inability to fix that school with proper training and funds needed to upgrade the school.  As for protecting your kids from danger, I will say that you have a higher risk of a child getting hurt badly at home that getting a knee scraped on the playground.  I have been in the Air Force for almost 10 years before being medically discharged, and I have seen lots of bad things that could happen to just anyone.  How do you expect your children to handle situations that happen in the real world when they are not given the opportunity to learn right from wrong as they attend school?  I don't like some of the things our schools do in their curriculum, so I buy SRA kits, and other educational tools that they can use during the school year and over the summer.  It is my responsibility as a parent to help promote the future of my kids, and I can do that best by augmenting what the school has to offer if I am not satisfied. 

I have one good example that has happened to 4 of my best friends over the years and then I am off the soap box:

Smith family (not real name) is home schooled family.  Father is a well liked man and his wife home schools all three children.  Oldest child graduates high school level and decides to go to college.  Oldest daughter gets a part time job and attends school.  In about 3 months, changes occur.  Daughter is now taking drugs, is pregnant, and dating a well known thug who has a rap sheet a mile long.  This family decides to move away instead of facing the issues their daughter has by getting her help.  The other children begin to rebel. 

Have you read textbooks and newspapers with the same evaluttion.  I have seen textbook errors AND newpapers have become horrendous with the writing clarity, spelling and even grammar errors.

I'm with you being held to the same standards.  Much of what one reads is because we have become internet "literate" and what is acceptable here is not in "print" which creates a mixed confusing standard.  And one wonders why the kids can't right!!!.......  oops write!!! LOL