Why Some people should not be allowed to home-school About This Page:

[Minniemouse27]

In PA any homeschooler has to file paperwork w/ their "home" school district once the child is 8yo, then they have to submit a portfolio of the child's work for the year to a third party evaluator (must be a certified teacher and they are chosen by the parent). I'm not sure if the portfolio is submitted each year or every so many years.

I have a ton of friends that homeschool (using a variety of methods..including "unschooling") and hear them talk about it all the time!

If our school was realy awful (and I didn't work full time) I would homeschool w/o hesitation... if it was the right thing for my kids. It helps that I'm certified to teach K-8 though!

Dd's (7yo in 2nd grade) school is AMAZING though so there is no reason for me to even contemplate it.

One of my friends actually homeschools her eldest and two of her others go to public school. She decides what is the best way for each of her kids individually. Her eldest was in public school until 3rd grade and he's doing MUCH better learning at home...but her next two kids thrive in public school. It really is dependent on the child, the school district and the family...whatever works best for each!

[KMB733]

Very Scary!

[ripkensnana]

I decided to homeschool DGS when I took him to register for High School, and was totally appalled by the behavior of the students....pushing, shoving, general rudeness, and one kid was actually riding his bike up and down the halls, and the teachers and administrators did NOTHING!!!!!

In Michigan, you only have to send a letter to the school your child would normally be attending. You're supposed to teach English, math, science, and social studies (but there's no checking by the school districts, so how do they know????). You can give report cards and grade in whatever manner you choose. You can even issue a diploma, if you feel the student has earned it. There are few guidelines in place, and as I mentioned, nobody checks up.....

[awitelin]

I don't have kids yet, but if I did, I'd want to homeschool, because the school system here is... well, awful, and we don't share many of the same "cultural values" as are common around here. Unfortunately, both DH and I work, and I don't see that changing, so I guess we'll have to figure something out later.

Major props to those of you that can and do homeschool - I think that's great, and shame on the people who use homeschooling as a cop-out instead of an opportunity to better their child's life.

[KTSabie]

A friend of mine recently did a research project on homeschooling standards. Some states have no standards at all. Others have minimum standards. And a few states have very rigorous guidelines that are in place for all in the state to follow. Even with that said, different parts of a state can have drastically different standards. Here in Illinois the standards very by county. Some counties have a strict registration standard that requires curriculum be submitted to the regional (multi-county) superintendent. Other counties have no registration standards. As with everything in life, homeschooling is what you make it. It can be necessary in many circumstances (military comes to mind). If the homeschool "teacher" doesn't do his or her job, then it fails the students. There are great successes that can be seen from homeschooled children as well.

[Huntermom]

I have been involved in several custody cases where home schooling was an issue. My DS also has a close friend who was home schooled and is now attending community college. He is a nice, intelligent kid, but has some gaps in his education.

I agree that there are a lot of good home schooling parents who dedicate themselves to their children's education. They also give their children an enormous amount of time and attention.

I have also been involved with a few home schooling families that I wish I could have sued on behalf of the children. They are not dedicating the time they need to teaching and one family had 6 children in grades 1-10, with the children not knowing even rudimentary punctuation (capitals begin a sentence, use of a period and question mark). They were enrolled in a very small Christian school, where the appalled teachers were able to try to get them caught up.

Another mother used it to meet her own needs to keep her children to herself. The children had no friends and were basically not let out of her control.

Like everything, there are good ones and bad ones. I think that we need a way to protect children and somehow weed out the bad ones.

Diane

[mom2twingirlies]

I've never actually heard of anyone here homeschooling their kids. I don't even know if it's something that can be done. Although for whatever reason, we don't seam to have the same problems in our schools either.

[graygables]

Originally Posted by Huntermom

Another mother used it to meet her own needs to keep her children to herself. The children had no friends and were basically not let out of her control.

That totally describes my SIL! The question we keep asking is if there is anything at all we can do to help transition the kids out of that environment. My 19yo niece JUST got her driver's license, but it's only to shuttle the younger ones around. My other SIL and my parents have privately offered to let her live with them so she can get a job and try to get her GED, but she just has no backbone to stand up to her mother. My brother is as much of an idiot as my SIL, "We have gun control in our school. We teach 'em how to control 'em" yeah. They also have a little pyro; we have a ptetty good idea which kid it is, after my parents barn burned down a few years ago, but despite the continued random fires, no one can seem to do anything.

[aurora1982]

Originally Posted by mom2twingirlies

Although for whatever reason, we don't seam to have the same problems in our schools either.

I feel the same here. We hear about some rough inner-city schools in East London, or in northern cities, but usually only insofar as they have metal detectors on the school gates so that weapons can't be brought in.

I have met a few American teachers and was horrified to learn that they earn so little that they often have to take summer jobs in order to make ends meet. It seems crazy that the government would pay so little to those who do probably the most important job their is - shaping the future of the country's children.

[tndisneyfam]

Originally Posted by aurora1982

I just feel that although I may have got good grades at my A-levels (our equivalent of SATs), I certainly wouldn't be comfortable teaching them. Also, what do you do about the social interaction you miss being out of school?

Thanks in advance for explaining

In our area, we have a large homeschooling group and we try to do a lot of activities or trips together to help our kids socialize. I take my kids to the library every week for story time and we usually go out with the group for lunch and play time at the park or Mc Donald's. And at church, they get to interact with people of all ages. My DD and I will be starting Daisy Girl Scouts next year, too. I feel that I can only properly teach my kids until 4th grade and then we will send them to school. But for right now, this has been an absolutely wonderful experience for us and I am sure will only get better.

Our school system couldn't even open on time this school year and is still struggling. So my DH and I decided this was right for us until our county could get it's act together. And believe me, that will take awhile. Education is just not a top priority here and it's a shame.

Like Teresa said there are good and bad homeschoolers out there. When you hear the bad ones it does make you worry about the child's future.

[Huntermom]

Dawn,

Do you have any concerns about sexual abuse in your SIL's home? Your post raised a red flag for me with the firesetter and the closed environment.

Diane

[happyhedgehogs]

Originally Posted by graygables

Sadly, you are correct about Indiana laws AND that some people shouldn't be allowed to homeschool. My SIL is one of them. My niece is 19, still not done with high school and JUST got her driver's license. She can't work anywhere b/c there are too many "evil" people. Ugh.

Unfortunately, it's people like that that get homeschoolers painted with a broad brush of stupidity.

I have almost the exact same situation! My SIL has homeschooled her 5 kids, and they've all ended up one or two grade levels behind where they should be because she doesn't really take it seriously. They're not brilliant kids, but they're at least average or higher and should be able to keep up with other kids their age. I've really resented the damage she's done to them but I don't have a close enough relationship to be able to say anything about it.

I've seen homeschooling work great in many instances. Two girls I grew up with were homeschooled until they started high school. By then, they were fluent in French, played various stringed instruments beautifully, and had been exposed enough to social situations to be able to hold their own. Since then, I've seen several families at church have a lot of success with homeschooling. It's just that someone who doesn't take the time and effort to do it right isn't going to get the right results from it.

[graygables]

Originally Posted by Huntermom

Dawn,

Do you have any concerns about sexual abuse in your SIL's home? Your post raised a red flag for me with the firesetter and the closed environment.

Diane

No one is allowed in their house and we have very little contact with them, so I couldn't say. I do know that CPS has been called, but their response is that no one meets their definition of "neglect" and they have bigger problems to worry about.

[koalamom]

Originally Posted by happyhedgehogs

It's just that someone who doesn't take the time and effort to do it right isn't going to get the right results from it.

You would be surprised by what I see. However, on the whole, the group I am with are very proactive in their children's education. Nothing compares when you can be there and see when they "get it", especially a hard concept you have been working on. The relationship I have with my girls is wonderful and I know it would have been a lot different if they were still in PS.

As for regulations, we have some pretty good ones in TN. We register with an "umbrella school" which in our case is a local private Christian school and we become a satellite or extension of said school. I turn in grades quarterly to them and they keep the transcripts. We do standardized testing each spring (nice to help you to see where your child might need more work). In TN, we have to educate in a 180-day school year with at least 4 hours a day (more as they get older). We also have specific classes we need to cover (right now we are doing Math, Bible, Language Arts - grammar, literature, spelling/vocab and poetry, history, science, art and PE).

If anyone is interested on the particulars of your state, go to hslda.org for more information.

[LuvMinnie]

Very, Very Sad...I've seen parents that have done a lousy job.
But to be fair I've also seen parents (small in number) that were excellent teachers.
For the childrens benefit...this needs to be revisited with tight guidelines.