The Glade 4.0

I was thinking about homeschooling my son in the fall...I like the idea of academic freedom and not being tied to a desk all day for learning. If we wanted to study bugs, we could go outside and collect specimens and then look them up. If we had a day where we had too much energy we could do our learning outside with something active.
If there was a particular subject he was really interested in, we could spend more time on it. Trips to the library, field trips, etc.
There is a big home school network here, and even organized sports for them. A lot of support is available and my son would not be socially stunted by being alone all day.

I still wonder though, if being an active parent at his school would accomplish the same thing....but I can't very well go to school with him everyday, hahaha! There are a few things that I really like about the public school system, and just as many, if not more, that I don't like.

Thoughts?

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

I have not researched formally but I have heard children who are homeschooled have issues socializing when they are older and their immune systems are lessened by the lack of exposure to germs.

With that said most of the studies I have seen conducted were conducted by proponents of homeschooling and showed a much higher learning curve.

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Home-schooled kids, generally speaking, end up more knowledgeable but less socialized.

A number of factors can alter both of these outcomes.

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“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.” - Thomas Paine

Homeschooling is a rarity up here in the midwest. Partially, I believe that is because of the quality level of our public schools. I have a hard time not having a knee-jerk reaction to the idea of homeschooling, as everyone I've ever met who's been homeschooled comes from a family that I put in the "nutty fringe" category.

I also believe that there is much more skill involved in being a good teacher than most people give credit for. It's quite possible that you have the ability to be a great teacher, but even if so unless you've taught others already, you don't have practice. Obviously over time you'd get better and improve, but there is a very large time investment there.

It sounds like there is a lot of support for home schooling where you are, so I would suspect they have information for you so you can understand what level of effort it takes to do a good job of it. Most definately not something that you want to take on without doing a lot of research first.

Were it me, and the local public schools were decent, but had a few deficiencies, I'd spend my effort focusing on filling in those gaps and being a very supportive parent. Both to my children and the school. Through those actions you could also potentially improve the overall school as well as just help your own children.

My teaching experience is not much....a little tutoring and a short 2 week summer program when I was working with hispanic kids as a recruiter for the Migrant Education Program. I enjoyed it, but often wondered if I had the patience to do it full time. Of course, I had several kids and only half of them spoke English so I was doing it half the time in Spanish.

I am sort of torn though, because even though there is a big support network here, I don't want my son to miss out on anything socially...I want him to be well prepared for the real world. My one and only concern with homeschooling is that with it being me and some kids from church, he might be too much in a bubble where everyone is nice and treats each other fairly and that would be a harsh awakening to reality later on.

But he seems to need more than the public school system is offering him. He is a bright child and full of energy and school is boring...he finishes his work quickly, is ahead of his grade in reading, and gets into trouble for not sitting still or paying attention. I think kids should be more active and have their natural curiosity be a factor in their learning.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Having done no real research into it whatsoever, I'd say if you got the appropriate curricula, taught it, and stuck him to it he'd learn enough about failure and whatnot to be sufficient, plus gain the adequate knowledge.

The social issues can most likely be overcome by ensuring that the kid is involved in lots of social activities, including with people he doesn't know, like sports leagues and such.

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“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.” - Thomas Paine

Are there advanced classes that he can take ahead of his grade? I know when I was going through school there were some programs that catered to kids who were ahead of the curve.

I think they have a gifted class that meets for an hour every day, but the testing process to get them in takes forever.
They sent home the permission slip a couple of weeks ago and I signed it, so I'm just waiting.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Yeah, we had an Academically Talented curriculum where I went to school as well. Problem is, that it only met a few hours per week, and the rest of the time we were stuck with the main stream students, who even at the highest levels we were leaving behind and becoming bored.

Your solution might be more workable, Aizle, if funding were directed to the brightest kid's education instead of to the most developmentally challenged, or at least in proportion to it.

Instead, if you want your bright child to have his or her needs met in a way conducive to learning and curbing laziness, you are best advised to do it yourself, in the comfort of your own home.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

I did limited reading of the other replies, but here is my take:

I was homeschooled from 7th grade through highschool.

If there is any sort of homeschool community in the area, or you do any work at it, socialization is not a problem.

I got into college with full scholarships, graduated outstanding graduate, was involved in almost every organization, and got into a top 20 graduate school with a full fellowship.

The people who ended up non-socialized were those whose parents were homeschooling them to protect them.

Those of us whose parents were homeschooling us for academic enrichment ended up not only socialized within our peer groups, but also socialized well with adults and older kids, much more so than my friends in school.

I kept a job working at a Vet's office 2 days a week all through hichschool, and it was the best educational experience I had. I had to learn to work with and for others, handle people's problems in sensitive situations, and I also got to learn the whole 'work hard, do well' thing. Not to mention getting to list a laundry list of surgeries I'd performed solo on my resume after that.

Really, don't worry about socialization. If you are not by nature anti-social, and are not homeschooling in an attempt to shield your son from society, he will get plenty of socializing.

If you want to know more, PM me. I ran classes and was the advisor for several local homeschool clubs while I was in college, and my mom ran a newsletter of events that kept most of our part of the state tied together.

Homeschooling (done right) is not necessarily about doing more advanced work, its about taking the time to round out your education. Learn how to take care of your house, your car- learn how to apply what you're learning to things you might actually do by doing them.

::edit:: Read the rest of the thread.

In regards to how good of a teacher you are: the goal is to help him learn how to teach himself. It's the most useful skill he'll have for the rest of his life.

Don't worry about covering enough material- if he can read and write well and do basic algebra well, he'll be well above the majority when and if he decides to go to college.

My mom had been a highschool science teacher, but I don't think she ever actually taught me a lecture on it. I read, I explored, and I asked her when I had trouble. You are more the guiding force that helps get references/find someone for your son to talk to, or at least you can be. You don't have to know everything you want to teach him- you can learn it at the same time.

You say you have a big homeschool network- that's great. Even if it's predominantly religiously based (most are), you can still expose him to the community in other ways.

Maybe my group was special, but of the homeschoolers that I hung out with, one went on to be on the SGA at our university all 4 years, one organized the local and then state "Invisible Children" group. Two started their own businesses straight out of highschool and are doing great, one started his own business and did a degree in nursing at the same time. One is now touring with a cruise ship as an entertainer for a year before he goes to graduate school in physics...

What set them all apart is that they were self motivated and well rounded. Some of them were not very academically talented, but had the common sense to start a business and make it work. It's the flexibility of homeschooling that's so beneficial.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

This.

This is very much the case in our state. Our schools are focusing on the very bottom portion of the students because if those students do not do well, if affects the school's funding. The top percentage of kids academically are not focused on because our state does not see this as a need. I am not sure of the numbers, but I am quite certain that a large percentage of our top performers are in private schools because their parents see that their kids are not getting their needs met in the public school system.
Public schools in Mississippi suck.

Heh, my son just got off the bus and handed me a slip that said if he makes a $1 donation to the American Heart Association he can come out of uniform on Friday. They do this once a month. (Followed, invariably, by a letter to the parents the next week about how bad the students behavior was as a whole on that day, "due to being out of uniform.") It really bugs me to no end that I have to pay money to allow my child to wear his own clothing.....and on any other day, the school will actually call me if he forgot to wear a belt and tell me to either bring him a belt or pick him up and take him home for being out of uniform. What does your clothing have to do with learning? Are jeans really that distracting?? Grrr!!! Paying to wear his own clothes!!

Neph, thank you. I may take you up on that. I was homeschooled for 2 years and it was awesome.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

My cousin just got a schedule approved for 3 days home school, 2 days private school. If you could work something out like that, I think it'd be beneficial.

I have never heard of that. Huh. Can you tell me more?

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

My family has found that local public schools will generally allow your kids to travel and train with them, while competeing for themselves or a home school collective in individual sports like track, swimming, and gymnastics in interschoolastic events. No such luck with team sports, however, for fairly obvious competition reasons.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

This sounds like a good approach. My biggest concern with homeschooling is that the kids only get exposed to one teaching style and one perspective - the parents'. I think there's a definite benefit to learning how to navigate different teachers' approaches. The 3/2 split would allow for that while still letting you add all the benefits that homeschooling can bring too.

One of my distant relos also have this arrangement, albit its 2 days at home and 3 days at school. However it is also with a private school... i don't think I've heard of public schools allowing this though.

Why do homeschooled kids only have to be exposed to a single teaching style? Sign them up for community college courses, art classes, take them to learn from local craftsmen, etc. You can get them as many teaching styles as you want.

It seems like lots of people focus on the 'home' portion of homeschooling. I personally spent most of my time outside, working, doing things around town, or at the library. Very little of it was at home.

I guess I should technically say there are two styles of homeschooling: one is what most people think of- you teach your kids at home, they take classes, etc.

I got tied into a pretty big 'unschooling' group- this style is basically that your kids will learn what they need to with very little time needed, and they should spend the rest of the time exploring- reading newspapers, watching the news, getting involved in the community, taking up crafts and hobbies, etc. This is definitely the type of homeschooling I suggest- don't just get curricula and run through them by rote. Teach them via experiential learning.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

1. Homeschooled children outperform public schools by a significant margin in most cases.

2. Every state in the Union has standardized homeschooling curricula so that they aren't in violation of certain Federal statutes. Please check with your state Department of Education for the rules in Mississippi.

3. The socialization canard is exactly that: a canard. Home schooled children generally have access to broader groups of people with less homogeneity than their public schooled compatriots. There are a couple of sociological studies out of the U.K. showing they actually end up better socialized and more socially adept than public schooled individuals.

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Unfortunately, I can't. I really don't know how she worked it out.

For Department of Education rules, I can't speak to Mississippi, but in Louisiana you have 3 options:

1: You are a certified teacher, and you present/follow a set curriculum
2: You have a certified teacher look over a portfolio of your work and certify it at the end of every year, or
3: You take a standardized test at the end of every year. Personally, I just started taking the SAT in 7th grade- they accepted it, and it was great practice. You can also take the California Achievement Test, or any other state accepted standardized exam.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

Have you gotten input from your son on what he would like to do? The child's opinion should carry just as much weight as the parent's IMO.

Seems to me that each schooling method has its pros and cons, but I think that the student is just as in control of (if not more so) his/her quality of education as what the educational environment he/she is in offers. You can get a great education coming out of a public school in the Bronx, and a mediocre education coming out of a private school in Massachusetts.

Good point.

Granted, I was older at the time, but I was given the choice between a good private school, public school, and homeschooling when we started, and the decision was left up to me whether I wanted to continue every year or not.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

Ok, just got back from church and choir practice and got some info from one of the moms who homeschools...apparently in Mississippi, all I have to do is go to school and withdraw my son and tell them he is going to be homeschooled. Then I have to go to the truancy officer and let them know. And thats it. There is no set curriculum or required standardized testing.
My son (who is 8) is ready to start homeschooling now, but I told him we are going to wait until the fall. I would like to get everything in order and have a lesson plan. My friend has been homeschooling her children for 9 years and they follow a very rigorous curriculum but it only takes the kids about 3 hours to finish all their work. The rest of the time is free for recreation, reading, and other projects. The have a 4 day school week and Fridays are for field trips and running errands.
They have a group of women who get together with their kids for field trips, sports, etc. Its a parent led group and membership is only $20 a year.
I really like what I am hearing so far...these women have homeschooled their kids for years, and several families have already had their kids go on to college and get jobs without any problems whatsoever.
I'm really looking forward to this, especially the hands on and active stuff...my son loves those kinds of things.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Like I said about the group of homeschoolers I went through highschool with- out of 30 or 40, I only know one that isn't doing really well about 4 years after graduation, and he's starting to get on track too. Most went to college, or started businesses, the ones that went to college by and large are getting law degrees/medical degrees/graduate degrees at the moment.

And since you have such a good group to lean on, he'll have other people with similar schedules to play with.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

Thanks for all the support, Neph. Its reassuring to hear from someone who has some experience.
I'm really excited and so is my son.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth