I've never met a dumb home-schooled kid

I left the failing public education system after 6 years as a teacher because of the lack of support and the lack of accountability. Mr. Pitts, you would not believe what people posing as teachers get away with. It's no longer about learning, its all about accepting.

I love this article. I home school 3 of my 4 children. I'm afraid to comment much, because "outsiders" like to pick apart the grammer of a home school teacher.:D
My oldest went to public school for 4 yrs, and my second oldest for 2 yrs. In that time, teachers had torn apart my oldest's self esteem and he no longer enjoyed learning as he was convinced he was "dumb." I pulled my second child out along with the first to keep the same thing from happening to him. It wasn't until I started teaching him that I found out, at 7 yrs old, he couldn't read, write, or do simple math. I'm happy to say, both are doing great now and have grown back that love of learning. I started teaching my daughter this year, who began Kindergarten. At 5 yrs old she already knew everything that he brothers were being taught at her age in the LCPS system. She's finishing Kinder now and already reads alone, has great spelling, has beautiful handwritting, and adds large numbers. Better than all of that, she has a "can do" attitude because she knows nothing she wants to learn is out of reach.

I also have to say this in defense of PS teachers. There are good teachers and bad teachers, and teachers are limited by the budget of the schools and districts they are in. I came across a small handful of good teachers, but even contact with one or two bad teachers is enough to rot a child's educational experience. I wasn't willing to take the gamble anymore.

KokopelliMOM wrote:

I also have to say this in defense of PS teachers. There are good teachers and bad teachers, and teachers are limited by the budget of the schools and districts they are in. I came across a small handful of good teachers, but even contact with one or two bad teachers is enough to rot a child's educational experience. I wasn't willing to take the gamble anymore.

Look up what the buget of a one room school house was and what the average home schoolers buget it then add up what the public school system waists. See where the real problem is.

littleone wrote:

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Look up what the buget of a one room school house was and what the average home schoolers buget it then add up what the public school system waists. See where the real problem is.

True. Let's say this, teachers now are limited by what they are permitted to teach. School isn't as fun for many of them either, just a means to their paycheck. As it was for the couple/few teachers that tore down my son.

I want to home school my kids to if somebody can guide me please this is my e- mail address zfajardo@ nmsu.edu thank you.

It's not all success with home schooling. A good friend of mine, a teacher for 26 years, keeps herself as busy as she cares to be tutoring home schooled kids who enter public school, getting them up to speed after years of caretaker parents not teaching what the kids need to learn

Public school isn't equipped for a balance between the kids who need advanced instuction and the slower learners who need more help. All kids learn by different senses (visual, hearing, participation or a combination). Home schooling can be tailored to individual students needs with far less distractions and more time for lessons. The need for socialization is more difficult to address in a home setting.

I do not agree with this.

They may be smarter but they have no social skills and usually are behavior problems. They are some huge chichi babies!

Lazy people sux wrote:

They may be smarter but they have no social skills and usually are behavior problems. They are some huge chichi babies!

I beg to differ, yet I guess I can see where such an assumption comes from. I've been home schooled for about 5-6 years, and I have wonderful social skills and a good head on my shoulders. I'm also very independent, but I can see why you say what you said in a way, because 75% of other homeschoolers I've met I can't connect with at all. I don't get along with them, they're far too closed minded for me, or just too immature. However, you can't just toss that cliche on everyone that home educates.

Lazy people sux wrote:

They may be smarter but they have no social skills and usually are behavior problems. They are some huge chichi babies!

spew

My daughter went to school in a LCPS school for her first year and we found a great teacher that year. However before she was placed in the next grade, we knew the options were not good, and we were able to put her into a private school in LC. We are out of state now, and she is in a charter school where she has the best teachers yet, but I had to comment because I do have first-hand knowledge that there ARE a few great teachers in LCPS.

I've never met an uninformed columnist. You should go into the schools and see what is being taught before you write a piece like this. Once the parents and students are made accountable,then things will change.

Michele Bachmann home schooled all of her children and her 23 foster children. In her speech in New Hampshire where she praised the state for being the first in revolution: "What I love about New Hampshire and what we have in common is our extreme love for liberty. You're the state where the shot was heard around the world in Lexington and Concord."

With Bachmann for their teacher, her home schooled students must have bombed geography and history on the college boards.

Meh- wrote:

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I beg to differ, yet I guess I can see where such an assumption comes from. I've been home schooled for about 5-6 years, and I have wonderful social skills and a good head on my shoulders. I'm also very independent, but I can see why you say what you said in a way, because 75% of other homeschoolers I've met I can't connect with at all. I don't get along with them, they're far too closed minded for me, or just too immature. However, you can't just toss that cliche on everyone that home educates.

I have met countless homeschooled kids in my career, the vast majority are social misfits.

Please don't home school your kids. My kids will need to hire them.

In this instance, either side has a case. There are both several positives and negatives on either side and as a parent it is difficult to know what to do. The first factor in deciding should be whether or not the parent truly has the skills and the time to effectively teach their child. Being honest about whether or not they are really helping their child. I have two children in public school and one getting ready to enter. I have thought about taking them out several times, but I want them to be able to enjoy sports and to have the experience of knowing how to handle social situations. I have opted to offer extra support at home. I have them play educational games and have online sites where they can go to practice. I also feel the area that our schools are most lacking is in history and georgraphy, so we discuss and learn about those things together at home. I simply hung up a world map on the wall in my room and we all started studying, picking a country, seeing where it is at and looking it up to learn a little history. Easy and interesting. The schools aren't great, but if the parent doesn't have the time to fully home school, just being a good support system can go a long way.

Nice, now the true crazies come out.
Yet another benefit to home schooling. My kids learn to treat others with kindness and respect. HS'ing isn't for everyone, but don't assume that it doesn't work for some others. My children participate in activities with other kids outside of the home. They are more outgoing now than they were when they were in PS. I am complimented all the time on how well mannered and mature my kids are. You come across lazy parents on both sides, that has nothing to do with whether HS'ing vs. PS'ing work.

Nice, Lee! We didn't miss out on social skills either. When my folks took my sister and I out of public schools in 1985, our friends and family argued that we wouldn't receive the socialization needed to make our way in the world.

The problem was that we were already socialized to speak, think, and act like little adults, so we never really fit in with our peers in public school. Instead, we became more active in 4-H, our church youth group and our horse associations and left the poor kids who had to "stay in school" far behind.

Today, my sis and I both have masters degrees. Being home schooled didn't make us value learning any less--we were home schooled because we were part of a family that valued learning over the convenience of the paid babysitter. It was hard work, on top of everything else they had to do, but my parents made the commitment and stuck to it until we were both in college.

By the way--we were both valedictorian of our respective classes!(We joked about it, but in case another reader should think it a laughing matter, we both won academic scholarships.)