OT homeschooling

Old 01-12-2011, 08:18 AM
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OT homeschooling

just wanted to ask if anyone could throw some pros and cons out there about homeschooling. my two younger ones hate school, which i can understand that, but they are of the creative bent and i am sure the school has pretty much cut most of the creative arts programs, except the music dept. and we have to pay for all of it.....they aren't interested in the band anyway, although they both sing well. just seems the school they go to now is going on a more militaristic bent, and i want them to be more excited and interested in learning....any thoughts as to what i would be getting myself into if i did this? God knows i have plenty of desks in my house!
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Old 01-12-2011, 08:27 AM
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I am not at the point where my son would be in an actual school yet so I can't talk about the pros of homeschooling. Here's what I can say.

My son is 19 months old. We've been fortunate with dual earners to send him to Montessori/school since he was roughly 7 months old. He's well acquainted with kids, has manners, is becoming pretty independent, cleans up after himself, and in general shares well and is conscientious of other people.

He has a few friends that stay home or go to a families home. They do not play nice, don't know how to share, act rather clingy, bite, fight, cry, bully, etc.

What's my point? I think children need to be around other children to gain the greatest benefit in life. We're a social species and while they may get a better education at home, I suspect they will suffer in the socializing aspect.

I don't know the whole scene in your family but just because a kid doesn't like school, doesn't mean they should be home schooled. If you're interested in arts, there are plenty of opportunities to take that on yourself.
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Old 01-12-2011, 08:37 AM
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yes, that is the main reason why i sent them to public school, to become socialized. the school though, i mean the kids can be bad enough, but the teachers to me are becoming rather militant and oppressive and rather than promoting the accountability that they tout, they cut the kids out from their knees by implementing ridiculous punishment, for those who are being accountable.-kind of where they have blanket penalty whether or not you are doing what you are expected to do. self defeating and i have heard too many incidents where the adults in charge have no clue of effective discipline, rather they lash out on an emotional level towards kids! not good. and on the other side of course is the glorification of the athletes and strongarm tactics. not good.
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Old 01-12-2011, 08:40 AM
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I was a teacher in my former life, and I dealt with the homeschooling issue with my former stepson.

My opinion of homeschooling is similar to Shellcrusher's; I believe that children NEED socialization in order to understand how to function in a society where the focus isn't on them all the time. However, that sort of socialization doesn't necessarily have to occur in a school setting, but it means a lot of pressure on the homeschooling / unschooling parent to provide daily opportunities for socialization.

Generally, there are state or provincial guildelines you are required to adhere to, in terms of achieving certain skill sets. How and where you teach is entirely up to you. I'll tell you right away that it is A LOT of work, especially when your children move on to the secondary level, and you are required to provide them with challenge and complexity. Usually, in the first few years of teaching, a lot of time is spent researching, reading, designing lesson plans, trying out what works and what doesn't. When you are teaching your own children, you're sort of flying by the seat of your pants, unless of course you have set lesson plans and materials to begin with.

However, seeing as you probably won't have a class of 10, you can take your time and offer your children the individual attention they may need.

HOWEVER, some children may not respond well to having their parent instruct them...it's really up to you to assess.

Overall, the homeschooled kids I've met are generally way ahead of their public schooled peers, but they are completely lacking where working with their peers is concerned. This is a really important factor to consider, because at some point, your children will become young adults, and they may want to go back into the regular school system, where they will need those socialization skills.

Have you considered looking for an alternative school where there would be some freedom left to the student as to what they study?
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Old 01-12-2011, 09:02 AM
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[QUOTE=nodaybut2day;2827829]QUOTE] my one child does really well in the classes where they do not have to interact too much, ie. math and science, i think that is great, a couple other classes may be a task because some interaction is required and she is somewhat shy. On the other hand, they are being taught by males and i can't tell if it has to do with her inability to relate to them as teachers-becoz of her A dad, or what is going on. She has sung in front of crowds before, so i am not sure what it is. i try to encourage her to do things but she is just way too shy, plus she is at the stage where her body is changing, and she is also one of the youngest in her class. I am thinking if I take her out at least for a few years to get her up to par with the other stuff she struggles with and maybe get some self confidence with her womanhood. I may be also thinking in the small town we are from, that there may be a stigma because of her name and the alcoholic association with it.
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Old 01-12-2011, 09:19 AM
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I'm happy to be in this thread because you have me thinking about things down the road.

In the spirit of what we preach around here, I'd have to say that it's crucial for children to have the opportunity to learn things on their own. I'm a huge fan of getting out of your comfort zone in order for growth to happen. If your daughter is that age and is shy and is entering that new phase physically, it may be very important to be around other girls close to her age.

If by removing her from the male instructors because you believe she has issues due to an AH, aren't you limiting her ability to interact with males that could potentially be good? Do you think that may only enforce the concept that all men are bad?

It would seem to me, based on what you're saying that this would be a temporary thing. If that's true, let me present this to you.

Being that my son is a toddler and unsteady on his feet, he falls often. It's winter time so he wears his boots which make him fall more often. Just because he falls more often in his boots, doesn't mean that I should stop putting his boots on. I believe he needs to learn how to walk in them. Guess what? He's learned.
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Old 01-12-2011, 09:32 AM
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I think homeschooling is pretty awesome and have seen some really great examples of that in three families that I know. One whose kids are adults now.

Google for home-schooling co-ops in your area. They are a great resource and were heavily used by these three families. Lots of activities, events, sharing of resources and expertise for these three families.

Disclaimer - not a home schooling mama (in my dreams!) and not a teacher so my opinion is worth --- about as much bandwidth as this took to send, lol. >.<
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Old 01-12-2011, 10:31 AM
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Side note:
My wife is an art teacher so I kinda get to see both sides and I understand what you're saying about bad teaching.
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Old 01-12-2011, 10:48 AM
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I homeschooled my oldest 1st-5th grade. It was an absolutely fantastic experience for both of us. He learned at his own pace, was able to focus on one thing at a time (which worked better for his learning style than going from one 40-minute class to the next), and did not have to deal with a lot of social bs that he was not emotionally ready to handle.

I got the "but what about his socialization?" question 400 times a week. It never worried me, because I never isolated my child in a house without contact with other human beings -- nor do I know any other homeschoolers that do this. On the contrary, he learned to relate to other people as an individual rather than a flock animal. We would do a Biology project, and work with our 70-year-old neighbor lady in her garden, looking at the development from seed to plant. We would talk about the life cycle of salmon and spend a day at a hatchery. We would do statistics projects together with other homeschool families, counting cars on the highway and comparing our results. We would go orienteering with other homeschool families, etc.

The transition into middle school in 6th grade was rough -- but mostly because he couldn't understand why the other kids were not focusing on learning, but were goofing off and disrespecting the teacher. He went on to have a 3.78 GPA in high school and hold a leadership role in his high school community.

Homeschooling was amazing and awesome for us. But I have two other kids who have been in public school from K on. They fit fairly well into the public school system, at least where we live, where we have plenty of optional/alternative programs. For them, homeschooling would not have been ideal.

I think the most important thing to realize is that children are individuals, and what works for one child might be a disaster for another.

The best resource I found was the Home School Legal Defense Association, here: Homeschool: HSLDA-Home School Legal Defense Association If you click on the top where it says "About Homeschooling" you can see what's required in your state. Depending on where you live, you may not be required to do a darn thing, or you may be required to have a teaching degree.
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Old 01-12-2011, 10:56 AM
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Pretty good data right there.
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Old 01-12-2011, 11:05 AM
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Oh, I just had one more thought: Some homeschooled kids I met really were lacking social skills and it was often blamed by outsiders on the fact that they were homeschooled.

In some cases, the causality was the opposite: The kids had bad social skills (for whatever reason -- Asperger's, Autism, late emotional development) and that's why their parents had chosen to homeschool -- because in school, those kids spent all their time in the principal's office and didn't really learn much, except to label themselves as "bad kids"...
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Old 01-12-2011, 11:34 AM
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escape artist, I homeschooled my 19 year old son. He had been in a private elementary school until junior high. I started homeschooling him from the 7th grade on. He started being bullied and constantly being picked on by a group of boys. The school authorities were notified but didn't do anything. He wouldn't stand up for himself and defend himself. He went to therapy to learn how to stand up for his rights. One day this group of boys started beating him. He even ended up with a broken foot. Well, he finally stood up to these bullies and he gets in trouble, along with the bullies, with the school authorities. This was my breaking point with the public school system. This was part of the public school's zero tolerance policy. There is no "grey" area! Another thing I didn't like about the public school system was teachers teaching to the "standardized tests". It seemed to me, the teachers were more concerned with their students passing the "standarized" tests than ensuring the students were actually learning.

You wrote "God knows I have plenty of desks in my house!" Part of learning that education is fun and a lifelong adventure is not conducted at a desk, but actually the doing and visiting the historical monuments, shows, museums, and thinking out of the box. Doing the things that the public school system doesn't have the money or time to do!

Home schooled children won the first-ever GSN National Vocabulary Championship. This garnered the winner $40,000 towards his college education. A homeschooler won a $50,000 scholarship as one of the "best of the best" in the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair. A homeschooler won the National Geographic Bee. My son has had no problems gaining employment.

Home schooling is more than just a commitment......but it's a life style change!

I suggest you make a list of the pros and cons of what home schooling would mean to you and your children!

There are a lot of ways to teach socializing to children, like Co-ops, and play groups. I'm just not sure you really want your children to socialize with every child in the public school system.

Just my personal opinion. Take what you like and leave the rest.

Phoenix
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Old 01-12-2011, 11:42 AM
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s. One day this group of boys started beating him. He even ended up with a broken foot. Well, he finally stood up to these bullies and he gets in trouble, along with the bullies, with the school authorities. This was my breaking point with the public school system. This was part of the public school's zero tolerance policy. There is no "grey" area!
I don't know whether to laugh or cry about this, Phoenix. My son went through a similar thing. Even the principal acknowledged that it was ridiculous, but that she had no choice but to suspend him for 2 days for fighting. (We refer to it as "the time my son got suspended for getting his nose broken.")
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Old 01-12-2011, 12:55 PM
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Phoenix and Lillamy, that the schools would do that to your DS's makes me sick and mad... Grrrrr. Kids should not be penalized for being bullied! I'm happy that I've found the school I found for my DS.

Escape, I don't have any experience with homeschooling, so... IMO, though, children live what they learn. So if your home environment can teach them self-confidence, manners, how to interact with and treat other people (which I have full confidence it could), then homeschooling would not be a negative on that aspect. I also think that homeschooling programs tend to include various social activities, but I'm not sure about that.

When DS got to preschool age, I did a lot of research into the local programs available. I ended up waivering between a Montessori program and Waldorf program. Then I went to an informational meeting at the local Waldorf school and fell in love. They teach the whole child; they recognize that young children learn through play, through movement, through art, not just sitting and reading/listening. They also stress social inclusion and the child's role in society. The class room schedules are all about rhythm, not schedules, it encompasses daily/weekly/seasonal rhythms.

I have to admit that what really, really closed the deal was looking through the kids lesson books (subject notebooks that they do their homework in). The first was an example of an 7-8th Grade lesson book for math. It looked like an art notebook but still contained information and a very strong base for stuff I worked on in high school and start of college (I was a math major). It wasn't just this book that looked like art and it wasn't even samples from just a few students; it was every notebook, every student, history, math, English, Russian, Spanish, science....

An additional bonus was that there are a lot of physical activities done outside, cross-country skiing, nature walks that include aspects of each subject, building a green house.... There is no chance that the school will be cutting those or charging the families for 'special' subjects that only last a week like my nephews' public school is doing, or where the kids only get 20-30 minutes outside regardless of the weather.

Music is also 'required' not an optional elective that families have to pay for. I went to an 8th Grade graduation ceremony and the kids are amazing on that front, too. Singing, each seemed to play at least 3, if not more instruments, and play each of them well. They blew me away with their talent and poise. The environment just seemed to nuture their specialties and personalities.

So I probably sound like a walking advertisement for Waldorf, but I love our school!

Best wishes on finding a program that works for your family!
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Old 01-12-2011, 07:58 PM
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I homeschool my son through a cyber charter school. It is a lot like homeschooling because I do most of the teaching. But, he does have to turn in papers to teachers for a grade, and has to participate in things such as state testing.

I pulled my son out of the public brick and mortar school 6 years ago. It has been a wonderful experience for both of us. My son has Asperger's, and the one on one teaching works very well with him.

In the beginning we had relatives asking the "what about his socialization" question all the time. However, now that they see how much progress he has made they fully support our choice.

Homeschoolers and cyber schoolers often have social opportunites through things such as co-ops and outings. Besides kids are involved in many social events outside of school such as sports and scouts.

Homeschooling laws are different from state to state. So, you may want to research what the laws are in your state. Also, there are many ***** groups with people who homeschool and cyberschool. The people in these groups are great. They offer tips on organization, share opinions about curriculum, and share teaching ideas .

I hope you find something that works for you and your kids.
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Old 01-12-2011, 08:25 PM
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I homeschooled my son when he dropped out of high school. That went fine, but it was really the best solution for a bad situation. The best thing he did (at that point) was get a full-time job.

I wonder sometimes if homeschooling can be a control tactic. Is public school SO bad that we have to keep our kids away from the masses? It's not easy. You have to be diligent, focused; you have to have a curriculum, a plan. You can't just get up and say, let's make eggs and talk about converting measurements today. You can, but I just feel that being the ONLY teacher in a kid's life can be problematic. They only get to see one set of strengths and weaknesses. Only see a narrow POV.

I did it because my son simply didn't fit in to the public school system, so I totally agree that school is not for everyone. But if I hadn't truly felt that school was doing him HARM I wouldn't have approved his dropping out. I ordered a curriculum through the mail (internet was not widespread at that time), and I did add my own twist on it to reflect what I felt he needed to know, but it wasn't easy.

Long story short, he thrived at the full-time job he took after dropping out. He became a golf pro. He then decided to go back to school, so he got his GED, went to community college, transferred to a state university, was the valedictorian at his commencement, and is now in law school. Sounds great and of course I am so proud of him--but he told us at Christmas that a lot of his drive comes from the feeling of having to prove himself.

Really examine your motives and don't do it unless you are sure it's the best thing for your particular child. Just MHO.
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Old 01-12-2011, 10:08 PM
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Let me start by saying I hated school and when I was young, I dreamt I was a princess that had a private tutor.

I have a good friend who is a former second grade teacher who homeschools her two boys. She is organized and creative and type A. The kids do a few hours of school work a week (literally) and are ahead of their grades. They do tons of creative things - visiting museums and watching historical movies and reading and creating their own plays and art and different classes...
They get TONS of social time with kids that have interests like theirs. (School kids don't really know what they want till they are older, but homeschool kids have time to define themselves earlier).
I heard the socialization thing, too, but what are you socializing them to? That kind of freaked me out. There is no reason homeschooled kids can't be socialized.

I am a sign language interpreter and worked in Jr. High for a year.
It was a fascinating experience to sit in the front of classes every day and see what classrooms are really like.
Tons of time spent managing.
Kids are rewarded if they obey.
Did you know the bell system was instituted by early industrialists (like Ford) who got involved in compulsory schooling to churn out good factory workers? (No joke). They came up with the bell to break up the kids self-direction and make them obedient (like they would need to be later in life). That's the reason for having little views of outside. That's the reason for bland colors on the walls. This is all documented.
My observation was just when the kids were getting engaged, the bell would ring and they were required to put aside any natural interest and go to the next place they were ordered to go (YUCK).
It was that year I was trying and then got pregnant.
I did a TON of research on alternative education and homeschooling/unschooling.
I had decided (before I lost the baby) that homeschooling was the direction I was going to go (unless it didn't work for my child).

I was floored by the book Dumbing Us Down (and many others).
I read and heard great things about Waldorf and Montessori. Pros and cons for each.

And then, some kids thrive in the modern school system. It is not one size fits all.

Homeschoolers get together.
Find out where a local group gathers and go interview them.
Let your child interview them (if s/he is old enough).
And try it. You can always go back.
peace
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Old 01-12-2011, 10:21 PM
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I am an educator. I seriously considered homeschooling & researched it thoroughly. I think it is a great option. It depends on your child, your reasons, your commitment & your effort, etc. I had a lot of misgivings & prejudgements about homeschooling (& people who homeschooled their kids). It depends where you live, but the homeschooling movement is big & well developed in some states & there are ample opportunities to get together w/ other homeschooled kids. (YMCA, for example has phys ed programs for. For homeschooled kids). Homeschooling can vary tremendously just as private schools, charter schools & public schools.

In th end after having really researched it, I chose for my child not to be homeschooled but I came away with a newfound understanding & respect for homeschooling as an important & viable educational option for many children.
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Old 01-12-2011, 10:38 PM
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I am planning to homeschool my son. We will be out and about as much as possible-- zoos, museums, galleries, aquariums, sports games, etc, and have lots of social support. I don't worry at all about socialization. From what I remember in school, socialization was discouraged because we were supposed to be paying attention in class. I am more of an eclectic-style homeschooler/unschooler, so what my son learns will be based around his interests. I learn so much on my own, and he is learning in leaps and bounds now at 2 1/2, so what makes me think that at age 5 kids suddenly stop being self-motivated learners and need to go to school and be force-fed information and taught to regurgitate it onto standardized tests? I believe in child-centered learning. I think back to all of my interests as a kid. What did I want to be when I grew up? Heck, it changed every month! Astronaut, Surgeon, Astronomer, Midwife, Rock Star! lol! I want my son to keep his passion for learning. I learned at an early age that learning was no fun, and independent thought was not important. I went to public school where test scores were most important and we could only learn about our own interests in our spare time-- if we had any between school, homework, and chores. Now I have learned more in the last 6 years since I graduated than I ever did in school. I want my child to have time to pursue his interests and be what he wants to be, not what I or anyone else thinks he 'should' be.
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Old 01-13-2011, 12:06 AM
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I taught high school for seven years, have been in Al-Anon for eight years, have a child in 9th grade, and have several nieces and nephews who were homeschooled. Based on that experience I would say this-- Absolutely do not homeschool your kids because they hate school or want to be homeschooled (their reasons). It's codependant enabling in my opinion. Absolutely do homeschool your kids if you want to homeschool your kids and believe it's the right decision (your reasons). That's making a decison because you think it's best, not codependancy.

There are a ton of resources out there to help you do this well, and as Noday pointed out you can homeschool and socialize your kids too-- it's not mutually exclusive. I'd add that my nieces and nephews all chose to go to public high schools, but were homeschooled up to that point. All good kids.

Take what you want and leave the rest.

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