Is home schooling a good think ? whats your theory?

Question

I have always been against it but after this year with my son I am considering it .. I live in Indiana and it is becoming more and more popular.. Our school system keeps cutting teachers this year we are losing close to 60 and some classes already hae 24 kids in a class . I am not just worried about my child's education but his safety . He is in 4 th grade and theur are kids carrying knifes and beating up kids .. My son is a diabetic and the school knows it but they don't make accomadations for him .. He came home from school and told me he got to candy bars for learning his multiplaction tables ..and there is many other times this has happened . I have called them and told them about it many of times but they ignore it and I guess hope I won't find out .. I am looking for pros and cons to homeschool and public school ... thanks

Answer 1

Your number one priority is your son.

The school sets him up to have a medical crisis.

There is violence, even at this young age.

The school doesn't do anything to protect its students.

You can homeschool him now, before there is a tragedy, or you can have him stay in school and hope for the best.

Those are your choices.

Answer 2

The question is not whether home education is a good thing. The question is what is best for your son and your family?

I am not sure why you would be against home education. You might consider asking yourself, why exactly am I against home education? Have you had an experience that would prejudice you against it, or are you simply assuming that public education is better because YOU went to public school and there is a majority in our country that says parents aren't capable but teachers are? What exactly is it you are against? Perhaps the answer to this question will help you make a decision.

I don't think anyone has to give the pros and cons of public education. You list the cons yourself. Ipersonally can't come up with any persuasive pros to public education. I guess the only pro might be that someone else has the responsibility for educating your child. Home schooling is work. I guess the child has more access to sports? Frankly I think the negatives far outweigh any positives.

Home Education affords you the opportunity to find out who your child is and then nurture their abilities and their interests. Like it or not public education is designed to teach a large group of children and usually teaches to the middle ground. Home education puts you, the parent, in authority over your child, not the state and the educational bureacracy. On the other hand home education requires that you the parent commit to actually teaching your child. You must take the time to figure out exactly how you are going to do this.

There is a wealth of information available today regarding both home education and institutionalized education. You can find information online, at the library and most likely in your community and/or state where you live.

I suggest before making a decision you simply learn more about it, then you will be better able to decided if this is something that might work for you and your family.

If you want my straightforward opinion, HS is an excellent educational choice. I have done it for ten years. I would never send my children to an institutional school unless I absolutely had to. On the other hand, it has not been easy. When we first started I was sort  of against it but my husband suggested we try. I have done a great deal of reading and research and I have intentionally sought out others who could help me.

It's your child. I believe as the parent you are uniquely qualified to make decisions in his or her best interest.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Homeschooling is a wonderful thing.  My family enjoys it very much.  The many pros are really too numerous to list, but for you would include the ability to protect your son's health and give him adequate instruction.

There are very few cons, but it does take commitment from the parent, and not every person is willing to make that kind of commitment.  The only  real con I have found in my 11+ years of homeschooling my kids is that other people sometimes give you a hard time about it.  People who know nothing about it at all assume that they know exactly what goes on and what is wrong with it.  Usually they are so far off it is laughable.  It seems many assume that we keep our kids locked in the house 24/7, never allowing them to go out into the world and make friends, of course that is not true, but those who believe it is are hard to convince otherwise.

Here are some links you might find helpful:

http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/comp2001...

http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/rudner19...

http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/20...

http://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/de...

Answer 4

home schooling can be great the reason many have a problem is because they don’t realize the responsibility they are taking on by chousing this, being home schooled I learnt a lot and was more educated then others my age, but I didn’t do many social things or have many friends my age so if you can keep him involved in the fun social things in your town than it could be great for him, some schools will allow kids to enroll into some sports an activates even if they are home schooled so that is something you can consider if needed. Good luck to you and your son

Answer 5

I'm looking into homeschooling too. From what I've read, homeschooling can be great and provide some fantastic opportunities if the homeschooling parent is committed. (But the same goes with a school teacher). If your child has a great teacher, then they'll have a great year at school.

Safety is a problem in schools. But unfortunately it can also be a problem for some children in the home.

So if you can provide a safe and stimulating learning environment at home, then in my opinion homeschooling is the better option. Socialisation is a concern for me (especially since my hubby and I don't have our extended families nearby) however there are so many activities in the community for children that I think it will be OK.

Good luck.

Answer 6

If it were me my number one concern would be my child's health.  If the school is endangering your child why would you keep him there?  

As for homeschooling, i can't say enough good about it.   We've been homeschooling 5 years now and none of my kids have any urge to go back to school.    They are enjoying the freedom of learning at home, of being close as siblings and of being close to their parents.  

We enjoy each others company. The only reason I look forward to the end of summer is that all the public schools are back in session and we have the zoo, science centre, etc. to ourselves. :)    

I'm so thankful I started homeschooling even though I was afraid of trying it.

Answer 7

Homeschooling is a great thing. You have more opportunities, and it teaches independence. You really have a better, more comfortable education. But on the downside, you don't see other kids as much. But you could always sign up for separate groups with friends. I have so many friends that are home schooled, and I met them through library activities, and sports.

Answer 8

I was nervious about home schooling too, but what I've found out it... it rocks!! My kids love it. And not to sound corny, but to be there when my son learns something new and the "lights come on" in his eyes is truely amazing. We are closer as a family and I never have to worry about unwanted influences bombarding my child.

And incase you haven't done a lot of research into the advantages of HS, let me tell you every study done on the topic of academices shows HS kids surpass PS kids every time. Depending on the subject HS kids are 15% to a whopping 45% higher scoring on tests!!

Now for the even better news. A lot of anti-home school voices will yell, "They don't get proper socialization" or "Home school kids are weird 'cause they don't know how to socialize." Well I'm happy to report new studies are proving them dead wrong!! In several double blind studies, where the reaserchers were not told which kids were HS and which were PS kids, the HS kids scored higher in all but one catagory, in that it was the same.

Whats being discovered is that HS kids are happier, have higher self esteem, less likely to sucumb to peer pressure, have less behavour problems, connects with others on a deeper level, mature quicker, and handle things like bullies and disappointments better. So that old "socialization" argument is moot.

Find a local home school moms group in your area. They can be very benifical for info and supporting you on your new noble indevor to home school.

As far as a pro for public school?? I'm fresh out of ideas....