Why do you homeschool?

Question

just curious, not attacking anyone here.

Answer 1

I didn't really have a choice in the matter.

Now the only reason why is because with basically one year left, I see no point in going back.

If it was a few years ago, knowing what I know now, I'd go back so fast, the fastest jet in the world couldn't catch me!

Answer 2

Funny you should ask!  I get a lot of parents saying "I could never do that!"  After 2 years of homeschooling I am asking myself if I am going to do it another year.  It would be so much easier to send my child to school.  Then, I get that uneasy feeling that prompted me to homeschool in the first place.  I homeschool because when I married my husband we agreed our children would have a christian education that was centered around our christian beliefs.  My husband was an educator and even taught in a Christian School.  Then 9/11 happened.  He quit teaching and joined the military.  The military sent us to Europe.  There were no christian schools to send our children too.  So , I choose not to send my children to the Dept. of Defense schools because I want to give them a christian education.  But honestly now that we have homeschooled I value the time with my children and love the time we can pick up and go to Rome when we study Rome, or visit Castles and medievil history.  It has been amazing seeing the world through the eyes of my children....

Answer 3

Two words - school sucks.

Why would I want to inflict the low educational standards, the boredom and the negative socialisation of school on my child when I have a choice?

Answer 4

My husband and I initially thought of homeschooling due to the social atmosphere at school--I had been teaching elementary school and my husband still teaches junior high. What about the social atmosphere bothered us? For me, one thing was seeing how clearly kids were influenced by the age level they spent the most time with. I had a 3/4 split class and next to us a 2/3 split class. The 3's had all been together in a single class the previous year. The 3's in my class, by the end of the year, were much more like 4's going into grade 5 in terms of their level of maturity, way of speaking, etc. The grade 3's in the other class, however, being outnumbered by the grade 2's, were more immature than other classes that were just grade 3's. The whole idea of having kids lumped together according to age like that struck me as highly unnatural. I also was very aware of just typical school behaviour shouldn't  be considered normal and acceptable (like girls being snitty and ostracizing a single girl for no real reason) and that kids would be so much better off if their parents were with them more to guide them. Realizing that *I* was their part-time parent became very clear. I spent more time with those kids than most of the kids did with their parents.

My husband saw a whole different type of social scene in jr. high--girls focused on clothes and impressing boys, majority of kids thinking it not cool to want to do well in school, just typical jr. high stuff that he just really didn't want our daughter to grow up in and believe was normal and okay.

So, that was our first desire. When we saw how quickly our daughter learned and how advanced she was, we knew that academically, school would not really fit her needs. We were already somewhat convinced about homeschooling that this just helped cement our decision to homeschool.

As time has continued, we added a son, who, academically, needs homeschooling and the academic flexibility even more than his sister, and we just like being the ones to raise the kids. We love that their social activities include a variety of ages and people, that they are growing up in a more normal social setting than if they went to school. Our kids are happy and doing well, so we see no reason to change it!

I know some people think homeschooling parents do so to "keep their kids from bad influences", but that's really not our goal. There's a difference between knowing about war and living in a war; knowing about drug abuse and living with a drug abuser. We have no desire to keep them shielded from what's out there, just not have them grow up within it and it think it's normal and okay.

Answer 5

Most people home school because their  parents don't want them to get into trouble or bening bullied by other kids, or just having teachers picking on them. sometimes this may not always want to b the answer but most parents want to stay close to their kids they dont want them getting hurt or raped or into fights gangs or do drugs. hope this worked out for u

Answer 6

The school system had nothing to offer our highly gifted son (except a lifetime filled with Ritalin, of course).  Now, he's anywhere from 2-5 years above grade level, in every subject (science he supplements with college courses) at age 10.

He contracted a near-fatal case of SARS (from a kid in his class, no less) at age 5, it took until 6.5 to get to the point where he could stay awake for an entire school day.  Needless to say, this left his immune system in a lowered state.  He can't be around all of the illnesses that go through a school without ending up in the ER - or ICU.

He chose to (read: begged to).

And a host of other reasons...but those are the major ones :)

Answer 7

-to preserve my child's love of, and respect for, learning.

-to use superior and more varied resources than those offered in many public schools

-for the flexibility

-because I've heard what often happens with advanced readers

-because I'm appalled at PSs' declining standards and ridiculous polices (you were the victim in, thus "involved in" a fight, therefore you, too, are suspended)

Answer 8

B/C    PUBLIC  SCHOOL   SUCKS

Answer 9

This exact question is asked probably 3 times a week.

I HS because my daughter was beat up 3 times on the school bus and the school wouldn't do anything to stop it. She was in second grade for the second time and still couldn't subtract and was coming home with 4 hours of home work (that I had to sit down and teach her) daily. It got to the point of why were we sending her to school?After all we were teaching her everything anyway.

Our son was in preK and the teacher couldn't control him. He is a busy boy NOT ADHD! He is immature for his age and developmentally and speech delayed. At first we thought that PS would be great for him. He needed speech and occupational therapies and the school could give him that right? Well after requesting him being evaluated for months the teacher finally told us that they couldn't test him until almost April that year! Well that does him a lot of good. We pulled him and started private therapies and have since been released from it. It didn't take long to correct his problems. The teacher also wanted him on ADHD drugs she couldn't control him therefore must be ADHD.  Where is her medical degree? Oh yeah she doesn't have one!!! What gives her the right to put my son in a box? OK I'm not being nice about that.

We also believe that PS is not giving a "true" education. Most of the ones around here are too busy teaching the test. We believe that true education allows a child to question what is written. Have you ever questioned a teacher? Do you know what happens when you do? Most kids are ridiculed if they do. What if you have evidence that the text book is wrong? I was told I'm wrong and the text book is right even though scientists had proved the text book wrong almost 100 years earlier. It was still in the book! Why? Because it makes a stronger case for evolution. Heaven forbid the state religion be questioned!

Answer 10

To be honest, we only turned to homeschooling when we ran out of alternatives.  Our kids are profoundly gifted and needed a faster pace and higher level than the local schools could provide.  We tried various forms of public and private school for our two oldest kids, but once we started homeschooling, we realized that it was the best solution for our particular family.   My kids are happy, they love to learn, and they have MORE time free for socializing than their schooled peers.

Other families we know homeschool for this reason and also many others.  The beauty of home education is that it can be tailored to be whatever the student needs.  Parents can design a program to fit the child, and take into consideration things such as learning style, interests, strengths and weaknesses.   It's a big commitment, and not for every family, but it is one of the single best decisions we've ever made.

Answer 11

because i was dealing with hysterical blindness, and when i finally got that resolved and was ready to go back to school, i was assaulted and now have an extreme anxiety and fear of being around lots of people.

Answer 12

My mom and dad started home schooling first with my oldest sister in 1987, she got done way to fast in regular school, so they decided they would home school her. We're also kind of bigger people, and they don't want us to get bullied. Plus, when they started, they were super super religous. Now, my dad says the way public school is and the way the kids are, he doesn't want us to be that way. And we can learn at our own pace.

Answer 13

We home schooled because we cared about the quality of our son's education.  The public school system is failing our children miserably.  We wanted our son to learn how to actually think and have problem solving skills, not just memorize answers for standardized tests.  We wanted him to have social skills, which you just can't lean in the public schools.  How can you learn socialization when you are stuck in a room with 25 other kids exactly your same age group that you are not allowed to talk to?

Answer 14

We began homeschooling after our child had an abusive teacher who made her suicidal at the age of eight, followed by a classmate at another school who tried to murder her (this is in one of the top school districts in the country).

We continue because we see our child getting a superior education, with opporunities she would not have in a school setting.

Answer 15

Gosh - I could write several pages but I'll be brief instead.

The gifted program in ps was not very robust (I'm being kind).

Better positive social / socialization opportunities in the real world.

Better education.

More and better educational opportunities.

Flexibility.

Ability to concentrate in areas of particular interest or need.

And a host of minor reasons.

Answer 16

I'm homeschooled because I have Chronic Fatigue and cannot attend face to face school. It's just the best option for me now and I have to say that I really enjoy it.