Messages By: princess1

I graduated from an upper-middle class high school in 1990.  I thought I had learned what needed to be learned so that I could go on to college.  WRONG!  In college I had to pay for REMEDIAL math classes!!! I was so angry.  But then I looked around at who was in my remedial class and they were all students from North Hills High School!!  I wanted to bill the high school for my remedial classes, but my parents said I should just drop it.  I wish I had sent the high school a bill.  Maybe it would have caused them to take another look at their sub-par cirriculum!!

That was all hapening 16 years ago!  I now live in New Mexico and the schools here are horrific.  Graduates can't read, write, do math, spell....nothing!  My niece is in the 9th grade and probably reads on a 4th grade level.  She can't spell correctly if her life depended on it...and it does.  No one wants to hire someone too stupid to spell or add or divide correctly.  And her speaking is just as bad.  She sounds like a dullard.  This will haunt her for the rest of her life.  People will assume she's an idiot, not the kind, sweet, beautiful girl that she has become.

New Mexico ranks 43rd out of 50 for our inadequate schooling, yet our govenor refuses to address it.  Yes he's trying to throw money at the problem, but we need to start requiring more from the teachers and principals before we can make such demands on our children.  New Mexico also has a "don't ask" policy about if a child is an illegal or an American citizen.  Therefore our schools are flooded with illegals who only speak Spanish.  This adds to the teachers' burden---the teachers must learn and teach Spanish to "accomodate" these illegals.  No wonder we rank so low!!  New Mexico is like a 3rd world country in many ways.

Home schooling sounds like the way to go so long as the parents meet all the required credentials and they are diligent about teaching at home.  Home schooled kids should have some kind of network so that they can be around like-aged kids.  That way they can learn the socialization skills needed out in the real world.

For our retirement we are looking to go to the mountains of Montana -- maybe we'll find some smart people like us up there!!

 I will agree that homeschooling is not for everyone, it is only for people who truly care about the education their child recieves.

So parents who don't home school don't care about the education of their children. Wow!

As a former school administrator who has watched countless children revolve in and out of homeschooling, I can tell you that your evidence is purely anecdotal and completely biased. I am sure you know many successful homeschooling families, but that doesn't mean there aren't many unsuccessful homeschooling families. You don't know them because they are not joining your network and keeping active in all the work and commitment it takes to educate a child.

I am glad your state has some sort of regulation. My state pretty much lets any parents simply say they are homeschooling, fill out a withdrawal form, and that's that. many parents pull their kids out of public schools because they are tired of the school informing them that children are not behaving or participating in their learning. Then they get them home and realize that their kids will misbehave, not cooperate, and refuse to learn at home too! HUGE surprise!

I have a Masters in education, and I have no plans to home school my two children. I take great offense at you insinuating that I don't truly care about my children's education.

 I know that statistically home schoolers do much better both academically and socially.

Those statistics are largely invalid. In terms of statistical research, validity refers to the extent to which a study measures what it is supposed to measure. You have to be able to eliminate all possible variables that may effect the results. In most educational studies, it is very difficult to control all the variables.

When measuring the success of home schooling, not all home schooling families are required to participate. It is almost exclusively the ones who are doing a bang up job who participate in the research. It makes the data extremely skewed and it does not really measure whether or not the homeschooling is responsible for the success or the fact that those parents are so dedicated to their children. You cannot with any certainty attribute to success to the homeschooling as those students would probably do well in ANY educational setting. In fact, studies that separate students first by socioeconomic factors ( parents' income and education level) and THEN by schooling show that public school children tend to outperform both private school kids and home school kids.

Thank you for your manners and etiquette. Using either the literal or implied meaning, your statement is incorrect because NOT all home schooling parents are those who 'truly care about their child's education'. If you had read my entire post, I explained that many parents grow frustrated with the public school system because they resent being told the truth - that their kids are undisciplined and unmotivated. They get tired of being called when the child will not behave or when he refuses to learn. So they pull their kids out of school to avoid the reality that they are NOT doing their jobs as parents. These are the kids who don't show up on your statistics.

Bottom line, a parent is the child's first teacher, and I believe the most important.

I am in agreement there!

Hello,

My name is Allison and Im new here. I am a mother of 2 boys ages 10 and 7. My oldest is in the 4th grade and my youngest is in 2nd grade. They both attend our local public school.

My 7 yr old has been having some behavior problems this year. It is my opinion that he is being negativly influenced by other children in his class.  My husband and I are seriously considering pulling him out of public school and homeschooling him.  My husband would be the one to actually do the teaching. He works for UPS overnight and is home during the day, whereas I work during the day.

Have any of you experienced such negative peer pressure that would cause your child to act out...not be themselves? We have been in contact with the teacher almost daily, and my son's behavior is spiraling steadily downward. He has now started lying to us and stealing  money from family members. And obviously his grades are not where they should be. He is too smart for this.

His classroom teacher is concerned about his behavior, but says that there are other kids who are worse than he is. My son is constantly getting into trouble. He has not had a "green light" day since September. He has not been tested for ADD/ADHD but he is controllable at home, so I dont think that is the case with him.

Ive just started researching what it would cost as far as cirrculum and am entirely overwhelmed by the options. How do you know which one is good and which isnt?

Any feedback or suggestions would be welcomed.

Allison

When you say most professional educators have a chip on their shoulders about homeschooling I have to laugh a little because where I am from most professional educators homeschool!!

I so agree....except with your religious constrictions.  In Al-Anon, I have learned to respect all people's paths to spirtuality.

One is not better than another.  I love that.

It's given me freedom to love everyone, regardless of their religious persuasions.  It's given me an open door to exploring my own spirituality.

I appreciate that freedom.