Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Public school vs. Home school
Ok guys, this is a poll I'm conducting because I'm in a guilt trip right now and would like to hear your opinions. My husband is dead serious about homeschooling our children and I'm dead serious about not doing so. We both have our opinions about this topic and had many long discussions about this matter but we would like to hear your opinions and any other comments you have on your preference. I suspect you will see Dan's comment on why home school is better, too. Right honey? :) Please post your comments. Thanks!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
March 2019 Prepping for our return home to America
Better Late Than Never...(2+ years later...feels like a dream...a long deep intense magnificent dream) When we got home from Hong Kong it wa...
-
Oh my heavens I don't think I've been this late to recording our history, like ever! Thankfully when I'm slow, my other better h... -
This just happened to me. I wrote a blog post last Monday and have been adding a few things to this blog entry and in one short clicked I l...
9 comments:
This is an important issue between you and your spouse that will take much discussion and prayer, but since you ask my opinion lemme chime in.
Public school especially during the early years of life will be far more a social education than an academic education. Especially since you're one of those parents who actually interact with your kids. You'll teach them reading, writing, math and other things at home before school even starts.
School is both social and academic. General perception is that public school is heavy on social and weak on academics and home school is week on social and depending on who your talking to is mixed on academics. With your family the academics will be pretty good. Question is, do you want your kids to learn some of the social education at public school? You can shield them for years, but at some point they must interact with society. Think of all those shell shocked Utah and Idaho Missionaries when they finally get out of their protected bubble. It was painful to watch them interact with the real world.
There are other options -- charter schools can be an excellent choice. There are a few here in Pittsburgh that are absolutely outstanding. Camden is 2nd on the waiting list for one of them. In ABQ, there is a "Family School" in the public school district where kids meet at school for 1/2 a day and then parents are expected to spend a certain number of hours with their kids the rest of the day. There is also group home schooling.
Also, the quality of the school is dependent on many factors. The schools around us in ABQ are the top in the state. I don't see any reason to home school. At the judging of the school science fair, most of the judges had MS or PhDs and I knew quite a bit of the 55 parents who came out to judge.
Good question- I have friends that have home schooled and they have really enjoyed it. They felt more in control of what their child was being exposed to and what they were learning. It was easier for them to teach their children according to each child's learning style. It gave them time to add other things into their children's schedule- music lessons, special programs etc. I understand that there are lots of resources and materials available and I've heard of home school mom's coordinating play groups so children still have the social aspect. The flip side is that it requires a lot of planning and work for home school mom's to make sure they are prepared, have a set schedule, are covering all the necessary curriculum, and keeping accurate records for what is required. Depending on the age of the children being home schooled, they may not be able to participate in school extracurricular activities. I have known two families in our area that did home school for one year and their children were enrolled the following year in public school. I'm not sure how it is where you live, but there are options around here of Charter schools, private, etc. My boys have always been in the public school and things have been fine. I think a lot of it depends on how comfortable you feel with the school in the area of your home. I have an education degree, but for myself, I would not do home school. I personally feel like they would get tired of me being on them all the time. I feel it is good for them to meet other children and to have time away on their own to learn. When Braden was in kindergarten, he often sat by himself on the bus. I asked him if he felt alone and he said that he didn't because the Holy Ghost was with him. I realized that he was having new experiences to help him learn and grow to be independent and to make decisions for himself. Good luck with the decision- I guess the best advice I have is to weigh the options and pray about it.
As an educator I wouldn't home school. For me, I am just far too aware of what I don't know and wouldn't feel comfortable teaching my kids when I know there are so many amazing and very qualified teachers out there.
That being said, my best friend home schools her kids and loves it. She does it for very different reasons than most people. Her husband is in international construction and they have always wanted to travel with his job. So she began home schooling as soon as her kids were ready for school. She wanted to make the moves easier on the kids - always have the same teacher with the same teaching style, etc. They moved to London in December, but their schooling wasn't effected in the least.
I know there's very specific curriculum to help you teach (but, once again, I just wouldn't feel comfortable). She also keeps her kids involved in lots of social things - she has found home schooling groups every where they have lived, they take music lessons and/or participate in sports, and there's also Primary and Young Women. Her kids seem to have quite a few friends.
The social thing is very important in my eyes. We had a family in our Ward in Arizona who home schooled their kids and they were/are VERY socially awkward. Their parents did not get them involved in any activities to help them. I know at least one child has really struggled in life because of this (he's in his 20's now).
It can be difficult to think of sending your kids to public schools when you hear about all of the awful things that can happen or the bad influences they can become friends with. However, it is important for them to learn to stand up for what they believe and be examples to other kids and choose the right path.
Overall, I'm a huge fan of public education. I feel that my education was great (particularly my Indiana education) and that the 4 schools I have taught in are doing a really good job. Sadly, public education is getting a bad rap lately. I think it's because the public schools are a reflection of society and we know how well society is doing right now. I've found that the kids that do best in school are those whose parents are involved. So if you choose to send your kids to public school and stay very involved in their education, who their friends are, etc., they will do well.
As a side note, I think my brother would've had the same problems in his teenage years even if he had been home schooled. It was the friends in our neighborhood that helped to send him down the wrong path and he would have been friends with them without the public school system. So problems can happen no matter what. You do your very best to teach your kids the right way to go and pray that they choose that path, remembering that they have their free agency too and may not always do what is right.
Continuing...
Overall, I'm a huge fan of public education. I feel that my education was great (particularly my Indiana education) and that the 4 schools I have taught in are doing a really good job. Sadly, public education is getting a bad rap lately. I think it's because the public schools are a reflection of society and we know how well society is doing right now. I've found that the kids that do best in school are those whose parents are involved. So if you choose to send your kids to public school and stay very involved in their education, who their friends are, etc., they will do well.
As a side note, I think my brother would've had the same problems in his teenage years even if he had been home schooled. It was the friends in our neighborhood that helped to send him down the wrong path and he would have been friends with them without the public school system. So problems can happen no matter what. You do your very best to teach your kids the right way to go and pray that they choose that path, remembering that they have their free agency too and may not always do what is right.
As an educator I wouldn't home school. For me, I am just far too aware of what I don't know and wouldn't feel comfortable teaching my kids when I know there are so many amazing and very qualified teachers out there.
That being said, my best friend home schools her kids and loves it. She does it for very different reasons than most people. Her husband is in international construction and they have always wanted to travel with his job. So she began home schooling as soon as her kids were ready for school. She wanted to make the moves easier on the kids - always have the same teacher with the same teaching style, etc. They moved to London in December, but their schooling wasn't effected in the least.
I know there's very specific curriculum to help you teach (but, once again, I just wouldn't feel comfortable). She also keeps her kids involved in lots of social things - she has found home schooling groups every where they have lived, they take music lessons and/or participate in sports, and there's also Primary and Young Women. Her kids seem to have quite a few friends.
The social thing is very important in my eyes. We had a family in our Ward in Arizona who home schooled their kids and they were/are VERY socially awkward. Their parents did not get them involved in any activities to help them. I know at least one child has really struggled in life because of this (he's in his 20's now).
It can be difficult to think of sending your kids to public schools when you hear about all of the awful things that can happen or the bad influences they can become friends with. However, it is important for them to learn to stand up for what they believe and be examples to other kids and choose the right path.
I'm opposed to it - I would only do it as a last resort. I know too many families where the kids don't learn the social skills that they would learn at school. The whole world seems to revolve around them and they can't seem to relate to anything or anyone. And they haven't learned about the real world - they stay very sheltered at home. They don't know how to sit in a room with 25 other kids and not have the teacher/leader focus on only them because at home there are fewer kids and they always have mom's attention. Teachers are not moms and help the kids deal with the real world - punishments, tough assignments, not always acknowledging you when you want...
Kent and Gloria are dear to us, and I found your blog and read it from time to time. Just saw this post. Thought I'd chime in. I have done both public and homeschool. The best thing I can say is that homeschool is to public school what the LDS church is to other churches. It has the whole of the Gospel, and homeschool has the whole of education.
I have read, and highly recommend, the book "Revealed Educational Principles and the Public Schools". It is a fair explanation of how the prophets have always felt about 'free government schools.'
I call the public school system a "robot factory" for that is basically what it boils down to in a nutshell. I don't think all the teachers are "bad." I think the "system" is corrupt beyond repair. It is more a vehicle for cultural indoctrination, than anything else.
I have also heard all the arguments on "but what about socialization?" That is an old argument that has been debunked over the years. The fact about socialization is that our children are learn socialization skills *in the home*, not at school. At school they learn all the *bab* habits. Think of it: the teachers spend the greater part of their days teaching kids how to be kind, polite, accept others that are different, to accept *everything* as "ok", to never be rude, etc.etc. And what do a great number of the kids do? They do the opposite? Why? Because that is what they live with *at home*. Any serious study on socialization shows that the family is where socialization is learned. There's also the argument that by homeschooling you'd be keeping them in a bubble - isolated. Nothing is further from the truth. You will have your kids with you 24/7 - everywhere you go. Some of our best remembered Math lessons were in the grocery store when they had sales. Is it cheaper to buy the gallon of ice cream at X price? or is it cheaper to buy these four quarts for Y price when they are on sale?
HOMESCHOOLED KIDS GROW UP IN "THE REAL WORLD" - they are surrounded by it. Can't escape it. Public schooled kids, in reality, are the ones in the "bubble." They are locked up within 4 walls, with no one around them but other kids their own age, and they learn all their bad habits from these kids, who learned it from their older sibilings who learned it from other kids *their* age in older schools...etc.etc. and so goes the merry-go-round. Public school is the most unnatural environment for children. If you study anything about John Dewey (the "father" of modern public schools, you will know that he INTENDED to separate the siblings, and keep the kids away from each other. It's just not good for them. (continued)
(continued): We graduated our oldest daughter (who just turned 20 yesterday) from our homeschool high school. She attended college one year, took off one year, and is now saving to go back and finish college. Our second will be in 11th grade this year, and our youngest will start 3rd grade this year.
It has been a *blessing* to have the kids at home and to teach them. If you can read, you can teach. There are as many curriculum providers out there, as there are families in this world. You choose the curriculum that best fits your family and your child. It is a blessing to be able to taylor the curriculum to the child.
When our two oldest attended public schools, I can't tell you the frustration I felt at trying to actually stay on top of what my kids were learning. The public school system "says" it needs parents to be involved, but they don't really mean it. What they mean by that is that they want the parents to do all their errands, copying, stapling, glueing, and PTA-ing, but when you start poking further and really trying to get a good look at the curriculum they use, or what the scope and sequence is of the curriculum, or you want to know what they'll be learning NEXT week (as opposed to three weeks ago), then you run into walls. Our kids would learn stuff at school (both educational as well as social) that perhaps is not quite in alignment with the Gospel, and it would be weeks or months before we found out they learned it, and by that time it was too late to try to "undo" the learning that the child already had ingrained into their head. The entire system is set up (and the "undercurrent" is created) in order to teach the child to trust only the "certified teachers" and 'experts" and to NOT TRUST the parents. (continued)..
Another thing we noticed: the entire system is set up to cause a separation within the family. The kids are purposefully kept segregated according to age... so that they will not interact with their older/younger siblings. At home, the siblings then have nothing in common and nothing to share. The are much more rude to each other and to the parents, than when they are homeschooled. When homeschooled, it natural "breeds" sibling companionship, hence lessening the rivalry. They also tend to TRUST the parents more. And I cannot even begin to describe the joy of knowing exactly what your child knows and what he/she doesn't know and exactly what you need to teach them, and then to see them learn it and to BE THERE when the "light goes off" inside their head!!! It is an amazing experience.
Above all else, it feels like the most natural thing in the entire world. The way the Lord intended. By far, homeschooled children far exceed their public school counter parts in grades, but mostly in socialization. Some folks complain that younger homeschooled children are "immature". I would happily say that yes, they do seem that way when compared to today's kids who are pushed to grow up so fast. I have noticed that homeschooled children are able to grow up at their own pace, and a slower pace than the world forces upon them, BUT that by the time they reach 18 they are also far more mature than their public school counterparts. Why? I assume it must have something to do with the fact that they've been allowed to live out their childhood and are ready to move into adulthood; whereas the public schooled counterparts have, from birth, been pushed into "growing up" so fast that they end up "extending" their teens into the 20's because they didn't get enough time to be kids. It is so evident everywhere we go.
Homeschooling is the hardest thing a parent will ever do. It is not for the fainthearted. And it MUST be done with the Spirit's confirmation. Otherwise I cannot imagine having the strength to see it through.
Is it worth it? YES!
Is it hard? YES!
Would I highly recommend it? YES!
You can also check out local homeschool support groups and make great friends through that as well as have great field trips, outing, and co-op classes. I know WA is a HUGE homeschooling state. You should be able to visit a local LDS homeschool group and "try" it out too.
Definitely homeschool.
If you want your kids to just turn out like all other kids, to learn to not trust his/her parents, and to follow the modern cultural indoctrination, then there's no better way to accomplish that than to send them to public school.
But if you want them to learn to think for themselves, to not be "sheeple", and to grow up on their own timescale, then there's no better way to do that than to homeschool them.
It's the greatest adventure of your life!!! :)
You can check out:
www. waldsfe. org/
Post a Comment