Writing report on home-school, any help?

Question

Does anyone here have home-school instead or regular classes? If so, can you tell me why you chose home-school instead of class-school? And some advantages and disadvantages that come with it?

Answer 1

My son homeschools, he is in the fifth grade.  He has been homeschooled since age 6.

He chose homeschool at first because we moved to an area that lacked a school that could adequately meet his needs.  He tests as highly gifted, nearing profoundly, and attended a gifted school for his early elementary.  By age 6, he was doing at least 2nd-3rd grade work in every subject.  He was also understanding abstract concepts in literature that we read aloud (6th grade + level) and solving math problems by performing algebraic functions in his head instead of learning the simple arithmetic.

When we moved to a different state, we found that the educational system was completely different and not willing or prepared to accomodate his needs.  There was no school with a true gifted program within an hour's drive for under $15,000 a year (which is way outside our budget), so we tried an "advanced" private school.  Due to our state laws, they placed him in first grade solely due to his age.  He spent the first day of school learning to write the letter "A" and the number "2".  In his previous school, he was reading early chapter books and learning multiplication.  He came home crying his eyes out, begging me to homeschool him.

I talked with the teacher the next day and was informed that not only does my child have severe behavioral problems (gasp! he talked when he was bored, at age 6), but that he was severely ADHD and WILL be medicated if he's to remain in her classroom.  Funny, at age 9 he can take on a research project by himself, stay on it for hours at a time, and devise his own evaluation project.  Darn problem kid. :-)

After finding out that the administration's position was to blindly fall in step with the teacher's recommendation, and that it would be easier to align the cosmos than get my son accelerated (due to those lovely state age/grade correlation laws), I went to the library and checked out every book I could about homeschooling.  I took them home and devoured them, and I found out that homeschooling is so very different than what I thought it was.

For the third day of school - a Monday - I taught my 6yo son to daydream without being caught and spent the morning observing a friend of mine who homeschooled.  Again, I found out that it was so different than what I had previously seen it as.  I spent the early afternoon at the curriculum supply store (we have one in town that carries several strong hs curriculum choices) finding out what our options were.  Then, I went to my son's school, filled out the paperwork to pull him out, and went to pick him up.  You should have seen the look of joy on his face as he packed up his school supplies.

We went to Borders after school, where I let him pick out some books that would be his for "after school".  He was so excited!  We went to the curriculum store and picked out his curriculum, and the next day we got started.

It hasn't been a cake walk - keeping up with a gifted kid never is - but it has been so, so worth it.  I got to know him better in the first 6 months of homeschooling than I did in the previous 6 1/2 years of his life.  We made mistakes, and we learned from them.  We had successes, and we celebrated them.  

Advantages...wow.  Where do I start?  He is truly thriving in all areas - academically, socially, physically, and spiritually.  He is above grade level in nearly everything (we found out last year that he's dyslexic, so the physical act of writing is kind of glitchy for him, but he's easily at grade level even in that).  Some subjects, he's several years above grade level.

I determine his core subjects, but he gets a say in the curriculum and format of his day.  His dad and I have the final say, but he is largely independent in nearly everything.  I determine his lesson plan, hand it to him, and he does everything.  When he's finished, he has time to work on extra projects, electives, new skills, and Scout badge work.

He also gets to go at his own pace.  Most things, he picks up right away, and honestly doesn't need the review.  Whatever he learns - which is a lot - is in his brain permanently.  There are things that we read 3-4 years ago, one time, that he can still summarize the finer points of the story for.  He can tell me about experiments that his kindergarten teacher led him in performing, what the point of the activity was, and what he found out from it.  He's almost done with 5th grade!

He gets to learn according to his interests and future plans, and in a way that makes sense to him.  He's teaching himself Greek, taking Spanish from a native speaker, and he writes either a full story or a research paper every other week.  He researches things that interest him and decides on electives that he'd like to take.  He has a monthly job delivering flyers for a local businessperson, is active in Scouts and AWANA, and plays competitive baseball.  There's no way that he'd be able to take these things on if he weren't homeschooled.

He also gets the schedule that he needs.  He contracted SARS about 5-6 years ago (Feb. of '02), which left him critically ill for several weeks.  It also affected his immune system to the point that he can't fight off illnesses if he's around a lot of them (like he would be in any of the large schools where we live).  He needs a specific sleep pattern and diet in order to stay healthy, which really doesn't correspond well to the logistics of a school schedule.  He has grown steadily more healthy over the last few years...which his pediatrician attributes to him being homeschooled.

He can choose his own friends according to their personality and choices/behaviors rather than just who's in his class.  He has the choice of hundreds of kids that he's around on a regular basis (through our neighborhood, homeschool co op and activities, Scouts, AWANA, and places like the library) to be friends with.  He doesn't choose his friends based on how much money they have, which gaming systems they like, how they dress, or how popular they are.  He chooses his friends according to whether or not they are good friends to him and others.  Are they kind? respectful? loyal?  Do they help others, or make fun of them?  Do they accept him for who he is, or do they expect him to follow the crowd just because it's there?

These are just some of the benefits we've found in homeschooling.  The only disadvantage was the financial shock of both my husband and I having very nice paychecks (before we moved) to my husband working time and a half to keep things afloat.  There have been times it's been rough...but it's been completely worth it.  We make it a point to spend quality time as a family whenever we have it, and we make the most of everything we've got.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

I agree with everything the first person said(way to go graduating and all) because i too am home schooled but i would say a disadvantage with me is that when i stopped going to a private school  in 7th grade i stopped talking to my friends so now i don't really have any.

ADVANTAGE:

I'm graduating a year earlier than expected.

Answer 3

Homeschooling is much better than either public or private school.

1) It allows one-on-one education without the distractions of the other kids who don't want to learn, but would rather just play around.

2) Most homeschool curriculums are much more advanced than what the public schools use.

3) Homeschooled students know more about real-life situations than do students in public school.

4) Homeschooled students have much better relationships with their parents and siblings than do those in public schools.

5) Homeschooled students usually have much better manners and are way more polite than those who go to public school.

6) With homeschooling, one can learn God's Word in school, and pray in school.

7) Homeschooled students get a much better education, and that has been proven by comparing SAT/ACT scores with those who are not homeschooled!

There are no disadvantages of being homeschooled!! I love it!! I've been homeschooled since 6th grade, and I'll be graduating this year!! I'm so glad my parents care and love enough about me to homeschool my brother and me!!!

Answer 4

I'm not homeschooled personally, and don't plan on becoming so anytime soon(or ever, for that matter), but I just had to drop my two cents on the matter - you, I'm sure, want your paper to be balanced.

I know several kids around my age(14) who have been homeschooled, and I'd say that its far from the best things their parents have done for them. By and large, its the parent's fault, though - the kids in question that aren't exactly socially-adapted didn't have very much social interaction outside of their family for a while, and it shows. Also, their academic skills were somewhat lacking compared to that of the rest of my class when he came to regular school(well, semiregular - Catholic school, and we're a pretty advanced class), and he is very elitist about his belief in himself. I hear constantly from him about how my algebra skills are lacking and his are so much better, when its really not true.

Of course, if you are willing to put in the time and effort in making sure that (A), you child is being educated, and educated well, (B) that your child is gaining acceptable social skills AROUND HIS PEERS(adults are not the only people around, and a sense of humor is almost required - the kid in question has no sense of sarcasm or humor whatsoever), and (C) is not being outright shielded from the more negative aspects of society, so that your child doesn't go into shock when he leaves mom and dad and goes into the real world, homeschooling is certainly a good option for educating your children. The problem is that not all parents who homeschool are able or willing to meet all these criteria.

Answer 5

I will give you an answer from a different perspective.

I'm a senior about to graduate highschool. I've been homeschooled since grade one and have come to realize many things about homeschooling.

It is extremely useful when handled correctly, but even handled correctly, it is still one of the most unpleasant experiences you could possibly put your children through. I understand that kids will be kids and the endless humiliation I experienced until around 8th grade could have just as easily happened in school. But for the past 3 years about 1 out of every 4 days has been spent in depression because of the lack of company. I've spent days never leaving the house and even now with my 3 out of home classes I'm still susceptible to days of depression.

Another problem with the lack of company is one that, thankfully, I've overcome. When barely exposed to the world around you, you lose touch of whats considered "normal" and socially exceptable.  Much like a person with a learning disorder, I was shunned until age 14 or 15 when I started making friends with public schoolers.

I will never, under any circumstance, EVER homeschool my children. I'm looking back on my childhood now, as I'm getting ready to graduate, and I'm starting to notice that I did NOT have a pleasant childhood until about age 15. While most non homeschool people got to enjoy their entire childhood, mine was clipped to a mere 2 years. And there is nothing to blame but the homeschooling...

If any parents reading this are thinking about homeschool their children, ask yourself this:

Would you like to sacrifice your children's ability to interact with people, their knowledge of the outside world, their ability to react to that experience, and all the other benefits of a social life? Would like like to sacrifice all that for the sake of slightly more knowledge? Would you rather your child be able to recite the states' capitols or know how to deal with a bully? Would you rather him be a whiz at calculus or know from experience why its not a good idea to give his heart to the first girl that comes along?

These are things that a homeschooler WILL find out eventually, but more than likely he/she will discover them in college or later when the ramifications of such mistakes is way, WAY more severe...

Answer 6

http://homeschoolanswers.blogspot.com

Answer 7

I've gone to both a physical high school, and been homeschooled for 7 years each and I've found that, if you're willing to apply yourself, that homeschool is far better. If you can not discipline yourself however, you will do better under a more forced environment such as at a physical school.

As for "social" issues that homeschoolers have, the issue is far overblown. I've been with homeschoolers who've been homeschooled since first grade and are going to go to college (which they did well at) and had zero issues "getting along with people". Yes, there are some wacky people out there, but I know from personal experience that the same is true of any school district. ;)

Answer 8

I Home School for several reasons.

The first being that I was raised in the same city has I am raising my son.And I have been through this school system.It is a very poor school system here.I knew a lot of kids growing up that gratuated from high school without knowing how to read.They were pushed through the system.And given diplomas because they were good at sports.So I knew even before my son was born that I would home school him.

My second reason is my son has medical problems.And I don't trust the school to follow throu and give him his meds.And they will not allow him to carry him meds with him.Which is against him rights.But they don't care around here.Just a couple months ago a small boy with the same problems my son has died.He passed away at school because the school failed to get the child medical help in time.

My third reason is our schools are to violent.We have 8 year old carring 9mm handguns to school.And they only get a short term punishment and are allowed to go back to the same school in about 10 days.

Some of the atvantages of home schooling my son is. I get to control the quality of learning. I know exactly what he is being taught.And I can see were his weak points are and give more help when needed.I also know were he is and that he is safe.I know he is getting his breathing treatment every 4 hours.And that he not being mistreated.Anthor atvantage is you get to see the excitement on your childs face when they learn something for the first time.Or finally get something that they had trouble with before.

The only disatvantage I have found is that sometimes.Being homeschooled is hard on my son.Because other children and their parents will make rude comments.Because they don't understand our ways.Or they just don't agree with the choice to homeschool.Although I have found that most of the parents whom disagree with homeschooling.Are the ones whom take no intrest in their children whatsoever and use the school system has a baby sitting service.

I hope this info helps.