To Home School or Not

I do homeschool my daughter and have for four years. She is dyslexic and in AR they did not recognize dyslexia as a learning disability and therefore provided no help for her. The one subject we were able to get her in special ed. for was math and all they did was reduce her workload but did not spend any time helping her to understand it any better. She kept getting further and further behind till we made a decision to homeschool her instead of sending her forward to 8th grade severly behind. We have homeschooled ever since. She has plenty of social interactions with other children and adults. Just because a child is homeschooled does not mean we lock them in the house like a prisoner lol. If anything they get more socialization. In my two hometowns there are homeschool groups (lots of them) that meet every week and take field trips and have classes that the kids can enroll in. So even if a child is homeschooled there are plenty of opportunities for that child to interact with other people and most times more opportunities and the quality of those interactions is so much more than most of what you see in public schools. Quite frankly public schools are scary places to be nowadays.

my kids went to school until this year and we started home schooling. in school yes they get alot of social activity. in fact they get so much that you dont know who they are socializing with. yes if you are a good parent you know who they hang out with etc but do you really know who they hang out with in school. kids are not dumb they kow who you will like and who you wont so therefore some kids they dont bring around you. i know this because of my sister. she was good at hiding the kids i would not approve of. when you home school you get your kids in activities with other kids soccer, softball, dance, girl scouts, etc. also there are home school groups. those groups meet once a week usally and they plan field trips, dances, dinners, all kinds of things. so if you home school all you have to do is put in alittle effort and your kids get social skills. the only difference is you know every kid they are in contact with.

I was homeschooled until I was 8. My mother was a trained teacher and the local education system left a great deal to be desired at the time. Besides her own children, she took a dozen or so children of friends, so we had all the social interaction that was needed. Her education standards were very high and when her pupils were ready to enter a 'proper' school, we were all a year above the standard for our age.

I home school my grandkids, We all reside 3 miles from the bus stop and the bus schedule does not coincide with my daughter's and her husbands nor my husbands schedules. Winter time is dangerous with snow, ice and other problems such as cougars. The school felt due to the circumstances and location the children should be homeschooled at least until old enough to drive. The other option was day care but my daughter and hubby could not afford that. So they are homeschooled. The do get social interaction with other kids via the YMCA, 4-H, Walleyes club, Music Lessons, friends and relatives children and Church.

I would rather homeschool my kids. I mean you can always get them into karate or other activities for the social part. With so much violence in schools today, I would fear for my kids. But, good luck with everything you do.

This is a very good topi for me as I was home schooled as a teenager. We moved from a small town to a city, I had a hard time adjusting to a new school. By the middle of the school year I ended up in the hospspitl for a month. I had fallen so far behind my family decided to homeschool me. I finished my highschool education being homeschooled. I also believe that children need to socialize with other people, so I send my children to public schools. I do feel though that by the time they enter highschool if they want to be homeschooled it is not a bad thing for them. By this time they know how to interact with others.

I agree that they need to socialize and learn to work with others. I would rather send my kid to school when I have children versus home schooling

Kids can be socialized in many other ways than school. That is a ggod reason for home schooling. The kids that are home schooled get a better education bacause they are not restriced to a set of cerliculam. They do havecertian things that they have to learn but can choose how to learn them. You can keep you kids away from the bad influances at the schools. If I had had the choice when my kids were young I would have done it.

Homeschooling does NOT take away from socialization. In fact homeschool children are oftentimes better socialized than traditional school children. My daughter is homeschooled and knows how to properly talk to everyone of every age. The reason why I homeschool is because she's very gifted and yet has some emotional problems that would label her "special ed." She's only 5 and is doing 1st/2nd grade work but only acts like she's 3. Traditional schools would not work well for us. Brenda Marie http://homeschool4us.blogspot.com/

Home schooling has become more and more popular in the UK for lots of reasons. In some - the parents may be concerned that their children are being bullied because they have special needs that are not catered for properly by the local School. Or in some inner city areas here, children who speak English as their native language are often in the minority, and some parents feel this is holding back their children in the classrooom. Most of the kids I've known or heard about who have been taught at home are fine, and successful, and they can always socialise in the evenings, and weekends through lessons suc as sports/dance/music,karate etc.

Personally I think homeschooling is the best thing that ever happened to me. I was in public school until i got to highschool. Anyway things that happen in some public schools is just horrible. I was pushed, stick with pens and pencils. spit on, and other discusting things just because I was different. The school staff didnt seem to care. I was more than happy to get out of there. And so were my parents.

after working in the elementary school where i had my children i decided to homeschool them ,they were doing pretty good then i got sick so i had to send them back to school, well i regret it every day from abusive staff to being bullied i have seen it all they are in high school now , but i have to say i have a 3 year old and there is no way i will send her to school.

Home schooling does not have to be isolating. I had friends who were home schooled. Their parents would link up to the home school groups that are prevelant in all states in the U.S.,although I'm not sure about Alaska. There are organizations that have only have activities for home schoolers. Field trips, basketball teams, swimming lessons - all for home schoolers to get together and socialize. So it never has be a bad thing.

We home school for many reasons. We feel it's the best way to encourage our children's strengths & interests. They are able to spend as much time as they need to fully master a subject. Because clearly we know our children best, we are able to find what works best for each of them. No one else has the same emotional investment in our child's future as we do, and we feel it is our duty as parents to put that extra energy into our children. We value our family time, and this allows us to explore the world with our children & to instill our beliefs in them. I've explained it to friends over the years this way; if I won the lottery & could afford to hire a staff of private tutors for each of my children. Specialist who were able to enhance each of their special interests & special needs. Most would see that as a great thing. I am willing to be that specialist, that tutor,and to take on those responsibilities. The only difference is that I do it for free :)

I know we considered doing homeschooling. We had thought about it and still do at times when we see how the schools are being run. They push too much too soon and yet don't do the basics, at least in this area. The teachers are often uncaring and not doing a good job of managing the classrooms. The only reason we didn't is due to the fact we weren't sure we had the patience for it. That we wouldn't be able to deal with her 24/7. That we needed the break from her as much as she needs a break from us.

I think that if you really look into it, you'll realize that homeschooled kids get plenty of opportunity to socialize, and with many more than just a couple of teachers and the other 25 kids in the class. With activities and learning opportunities, they can socialize with kids of all ages as well as adults. DS is 15 months and while I used to be fine with public schools (and my stepkids are in public middle and high schools), but I'm deciding that I will be able to do more with DS's education on my own than if I let someone else handle it. He's already really smart and I don't want him to miss out because he has to wait for other kids to catch up to his level. There's lots more to it, but that's one factor.