Misconceptions about homeschool families.....

Thank you for your testimony, Molly! We're going to homeschool, Lord willing, for many of the reasons you cited, but would include that children are exposed to philosophies in public school that we would rather our son not be exposed to. Hey, I'm only 26 and was public schooled my entire childhood, I can remember some of the stuff they tried to do to us (ask me sometime about the extracurricular transcendental meditation class).

We still have awhile for our son, though, he's six weeks old tomorrow!

 

Molly,
There is an increasing number of Christians who are opting to home school, and this is an honourable thing. You certainly appear qualified to do it.

In the small church I am working with on an interim basis, there are 20 families that home school. I just set up a weekly meeting for the mothers at the church where they can discuss their progress, problems and just plain old-fashioned fellowship. They are looking forward to it.

They can bring their children, and another volunteer will work with them in the church gymnasium...sort of an hour-long recess. They will get to mingle with other children of like-mind, the mothers get a break and we all learn together.

Blessings on you, and great success.....it is not easy, but with God, all things are possible.

Cheers,

Jim

PS. I'll try to remember to let you know how the meetings go.

 

Excellent idea, Jim!

 

Naw, your jes' one of them ignorint homeskolers what don't know there grammar and all.

Julia
Homeschooling mom of 5

 

With the poor quality of education many schools have to offer lately, I'm also noticing non-religious people opting to teach their children at home.
So another misconception would be that all homeschooling families are Christians. Unfortunately that's not true, but fortunately the increasing popularity of it within the non-Christian ranks will be noticed by the government and they'll quit targeting Christian homeschooling families so often.
Gina the dreamer

 

Molly, misperception IS a word.

Great post

My wife has been homeschooling my 3 boys 16,14 and 10 for 5 years now.Its very hard work!
Many of our family members look down on us for teaching our Kids, but can't figure out why our kids know so much and are so well behaved.

Keep up the good work.

In this case the ends justifies the means!

 

It IS a word? OH GREAT, I don't even wanna know what misconception means then! I meant what misperception implies, but since she doubted the word I changed it.
I homeschooled the girls until last year (not very long), when they entered public schools at grades K,1, and two. I now "supplement" the curriculum from school. The first is still quite beyond what they teach there, so for her it pretty much just involves all different materials (we use Christian Liberty Academy's curriculum for the most part), for the second two it involves just enhancing what they learned in school during the day. In the summer we spend a few weeks reviewing and preparing for the next year.
I would have liked to continue homeschooling, but as I couldn't I find this to be a good way to handle it. Two love going, the one doesn't, but she just doesn't like schooling in any form, lol. For our family, this is the best of both worlds, and works with our situation.
I never could stay within the lines.
Gina

 

Great post Molly!

We are homeschoolers of nine children!

Merry CHRISTmas to all!

 

One of the biggest problems of homeschoolers is the way the "others" want us to be monitored by the public school officials. They want us to be tested because thats they way they do schooling. They look at us as incompetant or slackers. Being under the scutinous eye of all the traditionalists, this should be a test in itself.

Sometimes I go out of my way to avoid people, just because I don't feel like explaining "how it works".

 

I have come in contact with many home-schoolers in my church and through other contacts. And I am generally supportive of it. However, I am not sure that every misconception is a misconception.

Some home-schoolers in my acquaintance really don't do a very good job. Some of them with several children including newborns and toddlers rely too much on the older kids for housework and babysitting instead of school work and then call it "domestic science".

A number of home-schoolers have told me personally that they realize that their same child who is really ahead in reading and spelling is way behind in science and math. From what I have read on several home-school web sites, it is a recognized problem that in the neo-Amish part of the home-school movement,math and science are not being taught as effectively as other subjects. And math and science are involved in most modern jobs.

In OK, it is very easy to home-school. There are home-schoolers that have no real standards or measurements for their kids. If the worksheet or two a day doesn't catch it, oh well, they will catch up later.
Sometimes kids that have been home-schooled enter the private Christian school in my town. NOT every one of them is way ahead of his peers. A number of them are behind.

As I said, I am actually supportive overall. But sometimes there is a real basis for concern.

Karen

 

Are the children in reality behind, or just not accustomed to the school system? In my experience, the children are quite learned, but lack the regimen of a regular school disciplne of learning.

They tend to pick up quickly, and soon pass many other students.

In the public school system (private boarding all-boys school in England), we covered all the basic subjects, but I was not used to mixed classes, and it took me awhile to get used to it.

I think the same may be true with home-schooled children who eventually integrate into strange systems of discipline.

Cheers to the homeschoolers,

Jim

 

After my daughter's disastrous second grade in
public school, I home schooled both her and my
son, then age 5. I took her out of public school
because:
</font>

• witchcraft books which remained on the
  library's recommended reading list in spite
  of my complaints</font>
• her teacher never learned her name
  throughout the whole year</font>
• my daughter wept every morning because
  she had to go.</font>

My displeasure with the witchcraft books is prob-
ably self-explanatory.
.
The teacher called her by her aunt's name (the
aunt had been in her class @ 7 years earlier), and
I believe this was symptomatic of other deep-
seated problems. I never got a note home with
"To the parents of ____" with the correct name
upon it throughout that year.
.
My daughter's kindergarten and first grade teach-
ers were wonderful, and she was an excellent
student; however, her grades that year dropped
from straight As to Cs and Ds.
.
We were diligent with the classes, and I also
used Christian Lliberty Academy's curriculum.
But I had concerns about how long I could
continue home schooling, because I had no
confidence in my own education then.
.
We were doing fine, though, until my daughter's
old principal reported me to the authorities,
accusing me of child neglect, because I was
home schooling. As a newly widowed mother
with NO experience being in trouble with the
authorities, I was Very Afraid! Unfortunately, I
was frightened enough that they won, and I
put them in a school.
.
However, the school I put them in was wonder-
ful--Bryant Avenue Baptist in Minneapolis.
The people there were fabulous, the teachers
cared, and they were a great and highly-needeed
witness to us all.
.
When my daughter started classes, she was right
on target. However, while i declared my son
ready for first grade, they put him in the kinder-
garten curriculum--for a week. 8o) He was
far advanced, especially in language and math
skills.
.
I regret not continuing home schooling to a
point, but had I not met the people at the Bryant
Avenue Baptist Church, our lives would have
been far poorer spiritually and emotionally.
.
Anyone who can successfully stick to the
schedules and demands of fastidious home
schooling should be commended.

[ December 22, 2002, 10:09 PM: Message edited by: Abiyah ]

 

Are all the kids in the school system A students? Do none of them get D's or F's?

I know that it is common practice not to hold back children anymore. This is not good for them, socially. Not every child is a mathemetician, or a writer. Rocket scientists? How much do I remember from school? I can probably remember being taught a few things from each grade, but because some homeschoolers are behind in certain subjects doesn't mean they aren't being taught. My kids know how to change diapers, clean house and cook. They drop what they're doing to help me. Is this wrong? When I got married, I knew nothing about a baby. I couldn't cook, and definitly couldn't clean the house. And mom wouldn't come over to clean it for me.

Because homeschoolers don't follow a trditional way of teaching doesn't make them bad parents, and they really aren't abusing their kids. Why do we think it's wrong to teach them homemaking skills? In our house we are a family. We help each other and take care of each other. We trust each other. We are a family. Too much of the family values is lost today, and alot of it is because we are afraid to tell our kids to help around the house.

 

Me too Olive. Took me a while to learn too. I want my children to learn homemaking now, not after they are married. What a blessing they can be to their husbands if they can learn it before.

HCL

[ December 22, 2002, 11:53 PM: Message edited by: Headcoveredlady ]

 

Sounds like you do fine. Nothing there for me to disagree with. My point was that SOME homeschoolers that I have personally met overdo it, in my opinion, and do not get around to teaching academics enough because they OVER-emphasize the family domestic side. Both are needed.

Karen