Is Home Schooling really a viable option today?

[Teresa]

We made our decision to educate our children ourselves because we are uneducated, illiterate, religious fanatics and decided we would try to undermine the "great" American society... beginning with our own children!

Obviously I jest, please forgive my sarcasm if I've offended you... but there's probably a reason.

We recently (last June) moved to Walton County from Georgia and have home "educated" our children for eight years. I'm obviously biased, but think that we have given our children an education that will prepare them for success in college and beyond. Our oldest is dual enrolled as a high school senior at OWC. The second is attending public school in Okaloosa County at the NWF Ballet Academie' in FWB. Both are performing on par or above their peers, as most home educated students do when introduced to an institutional setting. Many of America's elite colleges and universities now aggressively recruit home educated students (check for yourself). The other two children are still educated at home.

Since moving to the area we have met several other families that have chosen to educate their children outside of an institutional setting. None of them have any noticeable mental deficiencies... well, I'll admit it - one of the fathers is a lawyer. Their children aren't socially inept drooling morons; they are well adjusted, polite children that can interact with other children as well as adults. This was also the case where we have previously lived.

I often find that those individuals who consider themselves to be the most "enlightened" and "tolerant" are also the same people who are the least "tolerant" of someone else's choice to be different. I can say that from my own research, which was open-minded and unbiased, I was convinced that home education was the "right" choice for our family. I decided that as an educational model; instead of "filling a bucket", I wanted to "light a fire".

To answer your question as far as I'm concerned, today it's not only viable... it's desirable.

terrific post 30abob! you make your point perfectly.

I can relate to all of your points, i.e., institutional setting, "lighting a fire" - or instilling a love of learning, etc. I am a mom with a child on the verge of elementary school age, and certain things about today's schools are making me very anxious to say the least.

I am very happy to hear about your experiences. this is the kind of education children need and deserve.

We made our decision to educate our children ourselves because we are uneducated, illiterate, religious fanatics and decided we would try to undermine the "great" American society... beginning with our own children!

Obviously I jest,

crack me up.

 

[dunelover]

We made our decision to educate our children ourselves because we are uneducated, illiterate, religious fanatics and decided we would try to undermine the "great" American society... beginning with our own children!

Obviously I jest, please forgive my sarcasm if I've offended you... but there's probably a reason.

We recently (last June) moved to Walton County from Georgia and have home "educated" our children for eight years. I'm obviously biased, but think that we have given our children an education that will prepare them for success in college and beyond. Our oldest is dual enrolled as a high school senior at OWC. The second is attending public school in Okaloosa County at the NWF Ballet Academie' in FWB. Both are performing on par or above their peers, as most home educated students do when introduced to an institutional setting. Many of America's elite colleges and universities now aggressively recruit home educated students (check for yourself). The other two children are still educated at home.

Since moving to the area we have met several other families that have chosen to educate their children outside of an institutional setting. None of them have any noticeable mental deficiencies... well, I'll admit it - one of the fathers is a lawyer. Their children aren't socially inept drooling morons; they are well adjusted, polite children that can interact with other children as well as adults. This was also the case where we have previously lived.

I often find that those individuals who consider themselves to be the most "enlightened" and "tolerant" are also the same people who are the least "tolerant" of someone else's choice to be different. I can say that from my own research, which was open-minded and unbiased, I was convinced that home education was the "right" choice for our family. I decided that as an educational model; instead of "filling a bucket", I wanted to "light a fire".

To answer your question as far as I'm concerned, today it's not only viable... it's desirable.

I am thrilled to see others on the board that homeschool. I knew there would be a big presence in SoWal, but it is nice to "hear your voice" or read your words, rather. It is neat to hear about the ballet academy as well. I discovered it online and was interested for one of my daughters. Although, she has lost her love of ballet right now, I am hoping it returns.

Good post. I may look you up when/if we actually get to move to sowal this year.

 

[30abob]

I am thrilled to see others on the board that homeschool. I knew there would be a big presence in SoWal, but it is nice to "hear your voice" or read your words, rather. It is neat to hear about the ballet academy as well. I discovered it online and was interested for one of my daughters. Although, she has lost her love of ballet right now, I am hoping it returns.

Good post. I may look you up when/if we actually get to move to sowal this year.

The Ballet Academie' was a surprise for us, as we had intended to continue with home education (although, all of our children know they are free to become "institutionalized" whenever they like). She was originally going to attend the ballet school for a summer intensive and then regular lessons during the rest of the year. However, during the summer intensive she was invited to attend the Academie' which is a part of the Okaloosa Co. school district and offers a "regular" school experience accented by a focus on Ballet, French and Art (all of these "extra" subjects are right up her alley; the "regular" part, not so much). Her life's ambition is to become a Ballerina in a major company and the school is already providing great opportunities; she just found out this weekend her audition of several weeks ago earned her a slot in the summer program at the Joffrey Ballet in NYC. She's absolutely thrilled, as you might imagine, this is the "big leagues" of the ballet world. Now all we need are 40 - $100 donors and we're all set!

PM me if the move becomes a reality, my wife and I would be glad to introduce you around. The area really is a great place to live!

 

[30abob]

terrific post 30abob! you make your point perfectly.

I can relate to all of your points, i.e., institutional setting, "lighting a fire" - or instilling a love of learning, etc. I am a mom with a child on the verge of elementary school age, and certain things about today's schools are making me very anxious to say the least.

I am very happy to hear about your experiences. this is the kind of education children need and deserve.


crack me up.

I'm glad I could I could provide a bit of humor to your day...

I told my wife I was funny, she never listens!

 

[dunelover]

Thanks for the offer Bob, I certainly will get in touch. Congrats to your daughter on her accomplishment! It is probably really great to see her already living her dreams.

 

[scooterbug44]

Would fewer people choose to home school if there was a better gifted & talented or accelerated learning program at the schools?

Sounds like most people home school because the schools aren't challenging enough for their kids.

 

[wrobert]

Would fewer people choose to home school if there was a better gifted & talented or accelerated learning program at the schools?

Sounds like most people home school because the schools aren't challenging enough for their kids.

I wonder how Walton County ranks in number of students home schooled versus the rest of the State. If 600 is true that is almost 10% of the enrollment.

 

[Teresa]

Would fewer people choose to home school if there was a better gifted & talented or accelerated learning program at the schools?

Sounds like most people home school because the schools aren't challenging enough for their kids.

excellent observation. I think our school curriculum has been narrowed so much over the years with the cutting of music, art, etc., plus with testing as our standard the creative and inspiring part of learning kind of takes a back seat. In our quest to "standardize" education, the curriculum is now, "standard".

I believe this means that we overlook a bunch of kids who need to learn at their own pace, whether its a little slower or faster. It also leaves out creativity, exploration, self guided learning, individual attention, etc. The students are grouped and expected to learn the same things together and at the same relative pace.

95% of our kids are not gifted (contrary to what you may hear from most parents about their kids). unfortunately, parents view gifted programs as a way to make up for failing schools. and so we do everything we can to create a "gifted" child, starting at birth.

I believe every classroom should be a "gifted" level program (every child possesses unique styles and talents), offering a range of topics for exploration, challenging and self-directed learning, individual attention and respect for the child's readiness, learning style and pace. I think teachers would be amazed at how their students will score on standardized tests with a more dynamic curriculum and environment, and forget about teaching the test!

but, we've gone in the extreme opposite direction in many ways. oh, I'm getting depressed just thinking about it.

love this article: They're No Baby Einsteins http://www.newsweek.com/id/84554
it addresses one of my and Uncle Timmy's pet peeves about parents setting their children up to view themselves as superior, gifted, high achievers - and they grow up with very unrealistic self image and expectations from society.

 

[30abob]

Would fewer people choose to home school if there was a better gifted & talented or accelerated learning program at the schools?

Sounds like most people home school because the schools aren't challenging enough for their kids.

I can't speak for the unnamed "people"; but the actual school program was only one factor of many that we considered when making our decision. The school systems in this area, from what I've seen, are much better than where we previously lived in Georgia. However, just because the schools are better here doesn't invalidate our other reasons. I'm a product of the private and public school systems so I am intimately aware of the education I received in that institutional setting. I have also experienced the educational opportunities available outside of those systems. In my opinion neither choice is "right" for everyone.

If you are really interested in the process people go through when making these decisions there are many discussion boards, similar to this one, where people openly share their thoughts. However, I would caution you not to base your opinion on only one source because you may get a skewed view.

Unfortunately, some people base their perception of home educators on unfounded stereotypes; similar to people who are racists or homophobic. There are obviously some extreme cases, as with everything under the sun, but by and large I have found home educators to be of above average intelligence with the prerequisite skills necessary to educate their own children (they certainly have a passion for their own child's best interest that can't be rivaled in an institutional setting).

 

[scooterbug44]

That is one of my biggest concerns about home schooling - parents think little Fred is a genius and gifted and coddle him and control his schooling.

Then little Fred gets one puck of a reality check when he hits the real world/non home schooling.

The denial level I've seen with some parents when they have teachers and experts constantly telling them the reality of little Fred is downright scary - can't imagine it when there isn't any impartial feedback.

30abob - the idea of homeschooling on this scale is new to me, that's why I'm asking questions about it. I keep asking for feedback because I want to know more about it and the reasons why people are choosing that option. When I was in school there was only 1 kid who was homeschooled and if 10% of the kids in this area are being homeschooled that is quite significant IMO.