Violence in the schools was my reason for home schooling. What are other reasons for home schooling?

Question

Violence in the schools was my reason for home schooling. What are other reasons for home schooling?

Answer 1

- choosing curriculums that mesh with the individual strengths and interests of the students

- ability to instruct from the perspective of the family's morals and worldview

- ability to adapt to nonstandard schedules

- to minimize exposure to germs and communicable diseases

- to allow children to participate in a family business and learn important economic and life lessons

Answer 2

transportation probably high on peolples list.  i wish i would've been home schooled.  the first school i went to (mind you this was late 70's) we had lots of violence from race riots.  the 2nd i transferred to was no better.  the kids were doing drugs right in the classroom

Answer 3

Md dd has asthma and allergies.....when she was in school she was sick all the time.

When she has an episode she gets sick for 11-12 days. While too sick to send to school with other kids she is perfectly capable of working at home.

She is also a an advanced learner working above her grade level. She would be bored in a regular classroom.

She enjoys many social activities with other kids.

And frankly...I love spending the quality time with her.

Answer 4

Well, I had several reasons.

1. Peer pressure - the other kids thought I was g*y because I didn't have a steady boyfriend at thirteen

2. Lack of learning - in public school all they're teaching is regurgitation. they tell you the answers, you spit them back out in the right order.

3. Crazy rules - I used to get detention every week because I was late to class four times (my class was at the other end of the school). I mixed up my dates, missed detention once, got ISS for a full day.

4. Homeschooling is much easier, simpler, and more fun!

Answer 5

I was home schooled because of teacher neglect. My parents had taught me most of the early information (such as basic math how to read and properly write) before i started school. once in school, my teachers moved me to the back of the room and ignored my questions or utterly refused to have anything to do with me because i already knew most of what i was supposed to be taught. So basically my parents said "whats the point" and pulled me out.

Also, statistical comparisons between HS and PS students exist on topics of violence, manners, ACT/SAT scores, etc. The general consensus being of better results for HS students.

Answer 6

Freedom, lifestyle, teaching to my kids learning styles, spending time as a family, traveling, fostering a love of learning instead of a hate of school.

Answer 7

So that I can teach and openly discuss, if I choose:

God

Santa Claus

Tooth Fairy

Easter Bunny

Cupid

Buddha

Moses

Mohammed

The Consititution

The Declaration of Independence

Rock and Roll (drum solo here, please)

Capitalism (oooh)

Responsibility (aaah)

Creationism (gasp)

Evolution (sigh)

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Why does anyone trust the government to pick and choose the beliefs to instill in our children?  Why is that right?  To me, that is crazed.

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Seriously, we chose to homeschool for

- health reasons

- academic reasons

- social reasons

- flexibility

- non- revisionist history (we really heavily on primary source documents and not just text books)

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There is a thunderstorm here.  I think I'll have my son go stand under a tree.

***UPDATE:

#  In a nationwide survey of high school students (CDC 2004):

    * 33% reported being in a physical fight one or more times in the 12 months preceding the survey.

    * 17% reported carrying a weapon (e.g., gun, knife, or club) on one or more of the 30 days preceding the survey.

      From 1999 to 2006, 116 students were killed in 109 school-associated incidents.

      From 1999 to 2006, most school-associated homicides resulted from gunshot wounds (65 percent), stabbing or cutting (27 percent), and beatings (12 percent)1.

      Among the students who committed a school-associated homicide, 20 percent were known to have been victims of bullying and 12 percent were known to have expressed suicidal thoughts or engage in suicidal behavior2.

      Most school-associated violent deaths occurred during transition times such as the start or end of the school day, or during the lunch period2.

     30% of children grades 6 - 10 report being involved with bullying.

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Every year, an average of 73 people are reported killed by lightning and 400 survive for a total of 473 deaths or injuries.

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I'm not going to calculate the numbers but without a doubt 30% of the public school children in grades 6 - 10 adds up to a lot more than 473.

Or perhaps only death counts?  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger?

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My point is: Violence and potential for violence is a valid reason to choose an alternative to public school.

And, lightning is a good reason not to stand in a field or under a tree.

Answer 8

My son is profoundly gifted so no B&M school setting will work for him.  He takes courses over too many grade levels and completes work in the courses at varying speeds.

FOR SUZMCOSSEY:

[Quote] "They need to have their heart broken at least once, have an argument with their best friend, feel the stress of studying for a test, being invited to friends' houses, my fiance' was home schooled and he lacks a lot of things that he would have gotten experience in had he gone to a real school. These children are going to have social issues in the future. They need to experience rumors, and being cut or making the team at school. They NEED these things to deal with life when they're older. You can't keep them away from violence forever." [end quote]

Hmm, come to any of our HS'ing activities and you'll see these same things.  My son is only 9, but he's had his "heart broken" once already, and I'm sure more will come.  Who says going to a prison-like environment for 7 hrs a day is the only place you can experience that?

My son has arguments all the time with his best friend - who is in public school.

My son stresses just fine about tests.  Just b/c he's HS'ed doesn't mean he doesn't have tests.  He also participates in the Online Academic Leagues, which are tests every two months.  He just took his 4th of 5 Math Olympiad tests, and he's taking the EXPLORE (an ACT test for 8th graders) test later this month just like last year.

HA!  Invited to friends' homes?  He gets many invitations WEEKLY!  And guess what - he gets to go to other kids' homes during the "typical" school day.  He's not stuck to "after homework is done" or on the weekends.

Hmm, my son was the victim of viscous rumors in the neighborhood.

He also was cut from a sports team, too.  He participates on leagues with public and private schooled kids - wow!

Sorry, but children do not NEED these things for their future lives.  My husband was victimized over and over and over in his K-12 schooling years.  Guess what?  It made him a agoraphobic.  Guess where he went to school?  A public school.  So all those years of torture were GOOD for him?  That was *his* main motivation for NOT putting our son in a B&M school.  BTW, our son gets picked on quite enough, thank you.

End of rant.

Answer 9

The social atmosphere at school, a desire to continue raising your children, academics better suited to the child are but a few.

Answer 10

My family's reasons:

1) Boredom in school

2) A bureaucracy that threatened to tear the family apart

3) My school -one of the best in the area- had gotten a grant to teach math in a very stupid way. You had to keep on using manipulatives well past third grade and therefore couldn't learn much in the way of multiplication, and long division was impossible. But, they still tested us on long division, and expected us to learn about borrowing and carrying at home.

My mom figured that whatever time she'd spent teaching us -we ended up being pretty hardcore unschoolers- couldn't possibly be more than the time she was spending arguing with, begging with, and bowing and scraping for the school, as well as the other things that the school was making us do that I won't get in to here.

Answer 11

you could be a fundimentalist christian and not want any of that Evilution to be taught to your child. Lots of people like to keep their kids home and school them there so they can raise them with crazy beleif systems...god, santa claus, the tooth fairy.

I respect your decision to home school as I was the victim of alot of violence all the way through school.

Answer 12

Homeschooling is great to bond with your  children and you also know whats going on in their life and if they are stumped on something they can take their time on it or if they catch on to something really fast they can move on in their school work.

Answer 13

Germs

Religious beliefs

transportation issues

poor education in public schools

Answer 14

I homeschool my two boys for a verity of reasons.  1) I don't like the school system with teaching to the test so they never really learning anything but what those test have on them.  2) my children will learn about real life living in it instead of being in a school with all the same age kids which isn't real life.  3) I want my children to love to learn new things instead of being force fed whatever the schools are teaching.  4) with homeschooling as a family we are a lot closer.  5)  homeschooling will teach them to be properly socialized with people of all ages.  6) My children are individuals and they don't learn the same way.  My oldest loves to read and learns things quickly where as my youngest is a very hands learner and needs to be able to move around.

We have many reasons why we homeschool.  These are just a few of those reasons.  I would run out of space to post them all here.  It has been very good for us to homeschool but I know homeschooling isn't for everyone and everyone also has their own reasons why they do homeschool

Answer 15

Really? Is it that bad where you live or are your parents overprotective?   Better education because not all schools are great.

Answer 16

Do you know how many students in public school are diagnosed as ADD? Professionals are baffled as to why we now have so many learning disabled and emotionally disturbed children. There is no reason for it, other than teachers, not doctors or parents are in the business of diagnosing children. Did you know that the new popular diagnoses is bi-polar disorder? If they can't teach your kids, they label them and shove pills into them. The meds they prescribe have unknown long term effects of children. That is what we went through. We left school so that learning could actually take place.

As for school violence being less likely than being struck by lightening: that may be true of shootings, but what about the other forms of violence that are so prevalent that homeschoolers are often told that getting beaten, sexually harassed and verbally abused on a daily basis are integral parts of childhood that we are robbing our children of? If shootings are so unlikely, why do our local schools have metal detectors and only allow clear or mesh back packs to prevent weapons from being smuggled into school? Do you know something, DHC, that the public schools do not?

Answer 17

you're anti-social.

riding a school bus is on your list of things not to do.

homeschoolers can be their own best friend

date for the prom, no problem... there is no prom.

football team of 1, play any position you want

with luck mommy cooks better food than a school cafeteria

no bells every hour

no stinky locker room, just your stinky room

Answer 18

I'm not saying public schools aren't violent but by pulling your children out of school and teaching them at home is keeping them from experiencing SO MUCH.  They need to have their heart broken at least once, have an argument with their best friend, feel the stress of studying for a test, being invited to friends' houses, my fiance' was home schooled and he lacks a lot of things that he would have gotten experience in had he gone to a real school.  These children are going to have social issues in the future.  They need to experience rumors, and being cut or making the team at school.  They NEED these things to deal with life when they're older.  You can't keep them away from violence forever.

Answer 19

Sure, some schools are in areas that are more violent than others...  But, studies show that your child is more likely to get struck by lightning than be in a school that is involved in a school shooting.