What are your reasons for wanting to be homeschooled? Teens/kids and ex homeschoolers?

Question

I'm really surprised and happy to see how many children decide to drop out the system and ask to be homeschooled. I think it is a demonstration they are mature and know what is good for them. It is also surprising as it is, in a way, go against the flow. It takes strenght and awareness to decide it. The kids need to have clear what their reasons are, what are their options out there, how are they going to manage schedules, commitment, socialization, house chores and so on. And still, they have to convince their parents, that may be worried or just opposed (because of ignorance or because legitimate reasons).

What were/are your reasons? Tired of a system that does not respect your pace and style? That imposes learning outcomes that you don't like/share? Bullying? Excesive competition with peers? Intolerance? Bad teachers? You don't feel safe? Beliefs? I would like to know...as I asked my two kids (if they wanted) and they accepted right away!

Answer 1

I've always wanted to homeschool my girl.  We put her into PreK for the "socialization" while we continued to think it over.  Within 2 months of PreK, her class had issues with EVERYTHING except drugs (I think).  Physical and mental bullying, cursing, innappropriate touching from other students (which was the clincher for me)...All without any notification by the teacher or principle because "it's not required by law".  Principle's wife (who also worked at school) brought MERSA to share with the little ones.

Within 2 weeks after withdrawal... teacher hitting 4th grader with book...broken skin, major bruising; teacher leaving bruises on top of 2nd grader's shoulder because she was physically and repeatedly forcing child to sit in seat after child had an "accident" in pants because parents did not know they sent their child to school with an active virus and WERE NOT CONTACTED when vomiting and diarrhea started.  

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEM????????  AND WHY DON'T THE PARENTS CARE???????

Thanks for letting me get that out of my system once again!

WHEW!

Answer 2

Homeschooling allows you to get more one on one time with the teacher who will help you learn more.

Answer 3

My kids have always been homeschooled, so I suppose they aren't what you are really looking for.

However I know two homeschooled kids really well who used to be in the public school system. The older of the two was in school from K-6. She wanted to be homeschooled as of gr. 4 when she first heard about it. Her grade 3 year, she had a teacher who made her feel absolutely stupid--and treated her that way. Grade 4 went fine. Grade 5, bullying and snobbery started, plus she had one teacher who would just get into fits and even threw a book at her once, and another teacher who would send her to the office for talking (she was talking because the teacher never seemed to go to her desk to help her out, so she was asking her neighbour how to do the work). In grade 6, the bullying and ostracization was really bad and the school had shown themselves incapable of giving her an education (she was *3* grades behind in reading, writing and math skills, despite being of average intelligence). Her parents had had enough, as had she, and they pulled her out. (I'll add that she started homeschooling in gr. 7, 3 grades behind essentially, and when she did standardized testing at the end of gr. 9 for LA and math, she was at grade level--a gain of essentially 6 years in 3 years time of homeschooling.) She has never had any intention of returning to school and has said that she wishes her parents had pulled her sooner or that they had never put her in school in the first place. She loves going her own pace, having things done in different ways, having some freedom to her learning, being able to be herself...

Her brother wasn't doing much better. He was put into a program for kids with learning disabilities, but still finished grade 3 only at a beginning gr. 1 level for reading, had picked up some nasty behaviours in his special ed. class, had had the same teacher for 2 years who punished the whole class for almost any transgression that one of them made... It was so bad, he ended up on anti-anxiety meds at the age of 7. When the school happily announced at the end of his 2nd year in the LD program that his testing showed he could stay in the program indefinitely, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. He was pulled at the same time as his sister. He got off meds in the middle of his first year of homeschooling and went up 2 grade levels in reading his first 6 months. He's thinking about going to school for high school, but he's not sure. He's got some public schooled friends and hears both the plusses and minuses of it. The plusses sound great, but the minuses (both social and academic) kind of outweigh the plusses at the moment.

Answer 4

I did it to learn on demand and to be allowed to do things.

I wanted to write but my mother wouldn't let me use the typewriter until I learned with all my fingers so she taught me at home when I was 6.

They didn't teach that in brick school until 8th grade, that's age 14!

Answer 5

To me, school was a mandatory social club meeting. I hated it. Being in public school taught me nothing. I was bored in school and the counselors would not allow me to take more advanced courses even though I was very much capable of doing so.

Being homeschooled also provided more one-on-one attention. In public school, you do your work, turn it in, and then just get it back with your grade in red ink. While I was homeschooled, if my siblings or I missed a problem, my mom would send us back to the table to work on the problem until we got it right.

The teachers were terrible also. Evey student learns in their own way. With that being said, teachers should not expect to be able to teach one way and every student understand what is being said.

I was homeschooled for a year, and then had to go back to public school when we moved and my mom got a job. I dropped out in March of my 10th grade year. That was last year. I got my GED, and will be starting college in March of this year to pursue a degree in Criminal Justice. I am only 16.

If I ever have kids, I will never send them to a public school.

Answer 6

It really had nothing to do with the system.  It has to do with our family.   I have 2 with special needs which was a push but it's the lifestyle for us.   The freedom, the love of learning, the fact we can travel, and that the kids can learn the way they learn best.  

We love it.

Answer 7

My son begged to be homeschooled, the first day of first grade...he was bored silly and hated his new school.  Turns out, they were making him retake almost 2 years of school, and the teacher wanted him medicated because he was bored and <gasp> talking.

That's why we first started...we've kept doing it because he absolutely loves it.  He's in 5th grade now, and he loves being able to study things in-depth, have a say in his lesson plans, and to be able to learn according to his learning style (which really doesn't fit well with most classrooms).  He tests as highly gifted, and there really isn't much in the way of gifted programs where we live.  Through homeschooling, I can tailor a curriculum that both interests him and challenges him.  Well worth it!

Answer 8

hmm...my sister had a terrible time in 7th grade and that's why my parents took me out just before 7th grade. i was okay with it, but still really wanted to go back to school, i think it was partially that the work didn't have any structure, as in i got away with doing a lot less. the following year though we were introduced to a home school school and it is awesome. I go two times a week, it's small, we get homework to do the rest of the week and then bring it in to class and get a lecture. it's really hard but i should say challenging. it's amazing, the best education ever.i stopped wanting to go back to school too.

Being home schooled has also helped me discover myself--i know that if i had gone back to school the first year of homeschooling, i would have conformed completely, and now I'm stronger and more sure of my identity.

:)