In the Home school community board I belong to online and a few blogs I have read this has been a hot topic. I believe that Home school is not for everyone and neither is public school. There are so many reasons that people choose to home school. But I see no reason to trash one or the other. Both can have there downs, but they both can so much have there ups. Now if I was to use my experience with the reason I decided to home school it would really sound as if I was bashing public schools. (But I'm not.) I'm going to give views on both.
Before I started home schooling my 3 kids I never thought I could do it and until I started I didn't realize how many people really home schooled. ( I guess because I'm from a small town and if you travel out West or up North you can easily tell that we are a few years behind everyone else. HA!) Most of the people around here that I knew that said they home schooled was using home school as a way to "protect "their child but really didn't home school them, and I didn't want to be labeled one of those parents. (I guess that is why I pushed so hard when I first started) Since I have started homeschooling I have found that there are so many ways to do so. I also think that my kids and I need to De-school more, but don't want them to get to relaxed, so I haven't found our "click" yet.
When my oldest started school he was very smart and didn't struggle, but the teachers picked on him because he would take for ever to get his written work done. Even thou I was at my wits end sometimes I still didn't think much about home schooling him. When my middle child started they just accepted him as a hyper child that needed time to mature.( I started thinking of home schooling but didn't really think I could and didn't want my kids think they could take the easy way out) Yea, I was still dumb to the idea. Okay, my little KB came along and I really thought she was going to do very well because verbally she knew her ABC's very well and had a vocabulary out of this world. Boy, was I ever schocked! Her 1st kindergarten teacher drove me insane! I fought her and the board till they decided to go with my wishes and hold her back that year. I blamed a lot on the teacher. Her 2ND year in kindergarten she had a wonderful teacher that really cared, but still was way behind. I thought the 1st year was because she finally had some friends to play with and the teacher was a night mare. She really was! I started thinking she had a learning problem but didn't know much about this. I had her tested twice and it showed she had an high verbal IQ, but when it came to books, well you get the picture. I still had no clue what I was fighting against or fighting for. When she got placed in first grade I found out that they had put her with a teacher that would knock her down and help with her behavior problem. Wait! She don't have a behavior problem she has a learning problem. I fought the school board all year! They wouldn't even take the test scores that showed she was smart verbally but had some kind of learning problem. They hired 2 behavioral specialist and fired both because they both said that KB didn't have a behavior problem, but a learning problem. I just didn't know what to do. I got so tired of fighting the school. Not only was I fighting them for her that year, but it seemed that they were fighting me with all 3 kids and one was in elementary, one in middle school and the other in upper middle. All 3 schools were in different locations. At the end of that school year her teacher came to me in private and told me if I didn't intervene that she would fall through the cracks. Well, that hit home because I was a child that fell through the cracks. JB's school also called me the day we was to pick up his report card and told me they wanted to do a test, I said ok and allowed it. After a five min test they came and told me that my son couldn't read well or spell. Okay hold up. I ask you all year and you told me he was doing great and he was on the honor roll. I had my belly full. I didn't know what the grap I was doing and still don't but it looked like I was going to home school.
Am I doing the right thing for my kids? I feel like I am. That is what I think people should ask them self about their kids schooling.
Yes, I was a kid that fell through the cracks, but there still a few teachers that believed in "me". When I was in the 5th grade I was going through a change in life and that is kinda a awk-ward age any ways. I had 2 teachers that no matter what was encouraging me and always there. I didn't think much of it back then, but now as I'm older if it hadn't been for these 2 teachers making an impact on me I don't think I would of had the confidence to go back to college when I was older. I was one of those hyper kids and didn't know till I was grown that I had dyslexia also. Even thou there are a few good teachers that will go way and beyond for kids, sometimes you just have to do what you think is best for your kids and not all parents are able to home school, I'm sure glad I have had the experience of both.
kitten
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