8 Reasons Homeschooling Is Superior to Public Education
Noah Cyrus (Miley’s little sister) trying to be a 24-year-old strumpet
6. Justin Who?
One thing I love about watching my kids grow up is how individualistic they are. They are so unique. They like what they like and they don’t feel pressure to change that based on what’s “cool” at the moment. They have no idea what that means. We spend a lot of time listening to classical music, Broadway favorites, and Christian music. My daughter has no idea who Justin Bieber is and I hope to keep it that way.
Unbelievably, I’ve been told the kids in first grade are already coming home from school demanding pop star posters and iTunes. Perhaps worse, some are already gravitating toward too-short skirts and creepily grown-up Halloween costumes. My daughter is oblivious to all of that and it allows her to just be her six-year-old self. She loves dressing up her bear in silly outfits and having tea with her sister. She loves drawing and dressing up in princess costumes. Childhood is short enough. I feel my children have a firm hold on their childhood and will for quite a while because they aren’t involved in school, where their peers are already racing to grow up and be like the cooler, older kids.
Another bonus is not needing to buy school clothes and worry about fitting in and wearing the right thing. I remember the pressure of having to have the right shoes and the right look in school. It was exhausting and expensive. My oldest daughter loves nothing more than hand-me-downs. You’ve never seen a kid get so excited over someone’s old clothes. And our school doesn’t have a dress code. We can wear pajamas and bunny slippers if we feel like it. It rocks.
I don’t even have kids and this article is so full of win. I would try to homeschool if I had kids.
Overall this is a fine article. Its eight contentions for the superiority of homeschooling are all dead on target. Were I ever again to have minor children to raise, I would certainly prefer the option of homeschooling, even over a private or Catholic education. But:
Oh, no argument — but what about the right of every individual to be referred to with a singular pronoun? Granted that government-school teachers don’t believe in that right either…
Problem is, we used to be able to say,
“Let it be understud that I believe in the freedom of every individual to choose how to raise his own children how he sees fit.”
even when the individual in question might be a woman.
The politically correct feminazi language gestapo has put a stop to that. I find it offensive to appease them by automatically substituting “she” for “he”, and it’s damnably awkward and verbose to use “he or she” every time.
Oops…typo. Meant to say understood.
That’s Muphry’s Law at work!
Yes, this is the problem. I refuse to use he/she because it’s absurd. But if one uses “he” or “his”, someone else is sure to comment and complain. I guess I could have said “I believe in the right of individuals to raise their children how they see fit.” That could have avoided the grammatical hand-wringing all together!
rights not right…stupid small keyboard
But not usage handwringing. This battle may be lost but it used to be recommended to use “individual” to mean a special person, with a lot of individuality, rather than a general person.
Only for grave reasons should children even be raised by individuals. They should be raised by married couples, and the couple should be free to raise their children how they see fit.
I homeschooled my eldest for three years because he was extraordinarily unhappy in school- was diagnosed with depression and ADD, and as an MD myself (though not a psychiatrist) it just didn’t seem right to me. Fortunately, I had recently retired and through a series of courses held by our local college aimed at teachers (but popular with homeschooling parents, much to the dismay of the teachers who were in the class) I found out that this isn’t uncommon with highly gifted kids. And with highly gifted kids, the optimal choice is homeschooling.
He did very well at home, though it almost cost as much as sending him to the Catholic he had attended, because he took an online course in mathematics from a well-known private West Coast university that has a special interest in gifted kids. It cost as much as a course at that university, but it was well worth it. There are a few programs like this around the country that cater to homeschoolers, and they’re growing. The really good colleges WANT homeschooled kids, and they want to attract them with offerings like this.
Eventually, he went back to high school, partly because he outstripped our ability to teach him. I can’t say he was happy there. However, he is NOW… studying physics engineering and enjoying life where being a geek is a compliment, not an insult. I shudder to think of what would have become of him had I not homeschooled him during those critical adolescent years, and I wish I could have had him at home longer. My other children have done well at their parochial schools, but for this one kid, I believe it literally was a life-saver.
Agreed, agreed, agreed times a thousand. I’m the fourth of five children, and by the time my little brother came along (when I was ten), my parents had had ample opportunity to see what public schooling had done to the rest of us. We all had private grade schooling, but to be honest, the private schools weren’t much better than the public ones. (This was in Chicago.)
My little brother is probably the nicest, sweetest person in the whole family, and Mom and Dad knew that the school system would tear him to pieces. So they homeschooled him from sixth grade onwards. Socialization? No problem–he takes karate and piano classes, is an enthusiastic Boy Scout, and loves hiking and camping. He just transitioned into an excellent Catholic high school, and is doing very well.
As for American values? He used to do his homeschool lessons at the kitchen table, while drinking coffee and listening to Rush Limbaugh. Another bitter clinger in the making, I’d say!
I have no problem with parents doing what’s best for their kids but I do have a problem with homeschooling parents making assumptions about public school education across the board.
My kids are in public high school. They’ve not been stifled, socially programmed, taught to obey like dogs or indoctrinated into pop culture against their will. They’re independent, free thinking, patriotic, intellectually curious students who have benifitted from some amazing teachers, and learned to be tolerant of others and advocate for themselves as needed. They’re both taking AP courses this year and neither has been bullied or abused. In fact, they’re surrounded by caring individuals and have a solid group of friends.
I am all for homeschooling if that’s what you want to do, but please blow your own horn without making unfounded assumptions about publicly schooled kids. Us parents are still in their teachers from 2:20 pm till the get on the bus in the morning.
Thank you for your comments. To clarify, I’ve said nothing about the kids in public schools, but about the state’s treatment of them…a big distinction. Further, I would suppose that your children are patriotic and well-adjusted in spite of the public schools because they have fine, involved parents who made sure of it. That your children are in high school right now could also have something to do with it. The schools are degenerating every year and test scores and reading levels prove it. Yours may have escaped the worst of it which is yet to come. I’m glad your kids are great. I’m sure they will give you much joy in the future, but that’s your doing, not the doing of a state institution.
Well, you suppose my kids are doing well in spite of the state’s involvement but I am telling you they’ve gotten a terrific education in the 5 different schools they’ve been in. Of course part of it is my involvement but most parents do try to be as involved as they can be. I am tired of homeschoolers attributing every single success to their homeschooling. For example: “Wow Susie’s so good at math!” Response: “Yes, that’s because she’s homeschooled!” Really. This is the crap I have to listen to.
My kids are taught about global warming but they research and challenge their teachers. They learn about nutrition and personal finance and classic literature and have never put a condom on a banana. They study history about George Washington and Jefferson and no, they are not indoctrinated about Che. Please, this is utter nonsense.
Of course public schools are not perfect, but neither are homeschools.
And yet, you can attribute your child’s successes to the public schools…I see how this works. My child’s success cannot be attributed to her education but yours can. I’m glad for you that your children have escaped unscathed. Others haven’t been as lucky. Google molestation in the public schools sometime. A congressional study found more widespread abuse in the last 10 years in public schools than in the Catholic church in the last 50. In Chicago, over 70% of 5th graders can’t read. They are illiterate while their teachers make an average of $76,000 a year and march and whine for more. That a few children escape these sad statistics is not proof that the whole thing is peachy.
Ms. Fox, please don’t be coy. You know I was countering your assertion that the state was the problem and that my parenting had averted their influence, not
insinuating that your children aren’t getting a great education at homeschool.
As to molestation, why don’t you ‘google’ molestation by neighbors and family members? I believe we’d both find plenty to talk about. I was molested by my best friend’s father, a church-going family man.
I agree that all is not ‘peachy’ in public schools nation-wide, especially in Chicago, but many schools do a fantastic job teaching millions of students under difficult circumstances, just as most homeschoolers do a fantastic job teaching their kids. However, the students who are most at risk of not learning to read and write would not benefit from being homeschooled. Just be honest about that. Inner city, low income youth would be just as disadvantaged either was, just as my kids would succeed either way.
Children who are most at risk for illiteracy are those with learning disabilities who would greatly benefit from the one on one attention that home-education provides. As for inner city situations, you are not giving enough credit to the parents who do care about the education their kids are not getting. Here in Chicago, thousands of low-income parents show up at lottery nights for their chance of getting their kids into the good schools. The ones who lose out leave weeping. Those parents are just as capable of teaching their own children better than the crumbling cesspools they are forced into. I hope those parents read this article and try their hand at educating their kids instead of sending them to a place they know is failing them.
I have no doubt that many parents would love to homeschool their kids but it’s simply an economic impossibility as it is for me (although I still wouldn’t have homeschooled) and I disagree about the special needs kids being better off in a home environment. This is simply not true across the board. There are many kids who need early intervention they simply wouldn’t get at homeschool.
I believe you are well intentioned but justifying your solution for your family by claiming it would solve the educational needs of a larger group when it simply would not. We need to fix the schools that are broken and there are ways to do so, all that’s needed is the political will.
“…part of it is my involvement.” JMarie, I would venture that MOST of it is your involvement. Perhaps your kids were not exposed to the horrific teaching – or lack thereof – that many government schools offer, but that doesn’t negate what Ms. Fox is saying. I am over 50 and was exposed to this kind of indoctrination in what was supposed to be a social studies class (when Nixon ran against McGovern, we were told how superior McGovern was – along with what astrological sign he was and why that made him a better candidate – seriously!) I was enrolled in what was supposed to be one of the “best” school districts in the county. I now help support homeschooling efforts with a small subsidy from my business.
Ms. Fox hasn’t made her point. She tried but hasn’t presented a convincing argument for homeschooling and yet is implying that it would work for many more parents that reality allows. Ms. Fox refuses to acknowledge that public schools are loaded with some fantastic teachers who will go the extra mile to do what is needed to get through to kids with or without the assistance of parents, and she’s unwilling to acknowledge that most parents cannot afford to quit working to homeschool their kids.
So, she’s left with “I like homeschooling my kids because public schools are icky and other people should like it too!”
First, it’s Mrs. Fox…I am clearly married. Further, you seem very angry. You are the person I have written this article for. You are clearly offended that I think homeschooling is a superior form of education but you have no reason to be offended by that point of view unless there is some ring of truth to it for you and it is needling you. You can’t defend public school in any way that is truly meaningful in light of my arguments and so now you turn to attack me and proclaim I have said something I haven’t. I actually did say there are many great teachers in the public system (you missed that part in your rage to negate my point.)This doesn’t change the fact that I believe parents are the best teachers to their own children. After an entire year of preschool and teachers attempting to teach my child to skip without success, I taught her in less than 20 minutes in the backyard. That was another clue that I could do this teaching thing far more efficiently than any teacher unrelated and unconnected to my child. Are you aware that some working parents do homeschooling in the evenings? Where there is a will, there is a way. My point, which you refuse to hear, is that the public school system is a failing, crumbling mess which is evident almost everywhere you look. Where does the United States fall in the world in education? 25th out of 49 countries and that’s just in Math. I shudder to think where our science skills rank. That’s outrageous. How many numbers, studies and statistics do you need to see that it isn’t working? 70%, I REPEAT 70% of Chicago’s 5th graders are ILLITERATE. This is a point you have not addressed at all. Instead of trying to fix a system that already is “fixed” against students and parents, it’s time to withdraw. You disagree. That doesn’t mean I haven’t made my point. Further, if one were to simply read the New England Primer and see the vocabulary words required of 2nd graders in the 1700′s one would see how absolutely disgraceful current curriculum requirements are for public institutions. It is a laughable disgrace what passes for “education” in these places.
Oh man, now that I’ve started I simply can’t stop. I also wanted to address this notion that “not all parents can afford to stay home.” This is the “staying home is a luxury” meme. We are a one income family. I am currently standing next to a laundry room with no ceiling and buckets catching the rainwater that is pouring into my 140 year old house that I can’t afford to fix. My toilet sits on broken tiles that may or may not fall through the floor at any moment. I buy my clothes at Goodwill. We eat out very rarely. This is not complaining, I chose my life. We live within our means as a single income family because our children were more important to us than any luxury. I cannot afford to stay home. I do it anyway. And because of it we buy generic food and we don’t have cable. But we do have many MANY blessings for which I am thankful every day. Most of all for the time I have with the babies we made who are such wonderful gifts from heaven…even though they drive me to drink. All of these earthly things people think they have to have like big cars and bigger houses and vacations every year…those are choices. Some people choose to have those things and some people choose to sacrifice those things in order to be home. But please don’t ever tell me that I can “afford” to be at home. I have a hole in my roof to prove it.
Who’s angry here? Clearly not me. I am completely at peace with my parenthood and the education choices I have made for my kids. You have not made the case that homeschooling is superior. That is my point and my only point. I’m actually amused that you say I haven’t addressed the issues in Chicago’s schools. You haven’t either!! Homeschooling is not a viable option for the masses, that’s what you’re not getting. Yes, we need to fix the failing schools but there are loads of schools that are succeeding and my kids go to one of them. I do not need to homeschool my kids! They’re receiving a stellar education already.
And there’s no need to brag about how poor you are and how much you sacrifice…it doesn’t matter in the least. We are a single income family since I am a single mom so I literally have no choice but as I said before, even if I had the means I would send my kids to public school.
I don’t know why you have such a problem with people who politely disagree with you.
I can assure you that my definition of “excellent” and yours are quite distinct. My children DO have an excellent education because they are homeschooled, and this education is NOT offered in institutional schools. My 9-year-old is in high school Biology I, Spanish I, Latin II, Mandarin I, Honors Geometry, and a college-level course on the history of China. He is also studying two instruments. Yes, all this because he is homeschooled.
Ma’am, you have been anything but polite to Mrs. Fox. If you did not intend to be rude or angry then you should know that those sentiments are all you have managed to convey.
If public schools are so wonderful, why do American public school students consistently score between 21st – 25th compared to other countries, even though the US spends more money per student than almost any other country?
Bingo! When people tell me their children are receiving an excellent education in their public school I have taken to honestly pointing out that their standards must be much lower than mine. I have yet to see one public school curriculum that meets my standards. As Mrs. Fox has pointed out so well, just a cursory glance at curriculums of old will show how far we have fallen and I don’t believe it’s accidental. Hoiw do you fight intentional dumbing down?
Homeschooling is a superior lifestyle. I believe it and I have every right to say it. If that offends people, so be it. I am constantly offended by others and they don’t care one bit.
With four children spaced well apart I had my belly full of public “education” in three different states before discovering homeschooling – what a Godsend! My Grammy Award-winning son scoffs at the socialization meme-and they really mean sexualization but haven’t quite gotten up the nerve to admit it. We’re not fooled though, are we?
Currently I have 10 grandchildren, none of which has ever darkened the door of an “institution”. We are a raucus, fun-loving bunch with a fierce loyalty to God and family. There was a time I would have said country, too, but times being what they are we might have to skedaddle somewhere else in order to survive…..
I don’t think enough people understand what kind of lifestyle change it really is and how freeing it is to be out from under the thumb of the state! I think many believe it to be drudgery when it is actually the opposite. We spend much less time on school and have more time for fun because of how streamlined it is at home. The freedom to pick up and go have school in the park on a nice day is awesome! Or to take a trip to the Grand Canyon in September or go to Disney in November! There are so many things open to us that would not be if we were tied down to a school schedule. I just wish more people saw the benefits of home-education instead of the perceived, and wrong, stereotypes.
I have no regrets, Megan, and neither will you. You are giving 100% to your children and that’s what really bothers those who are bothered by you. The honest ones admit it and have made peace with their choices but those who want the career/leisure/material goodies and want to pretend they are putting their children first, hate you because you make them them look selfish.
When people tell me their kids are getting an excellent education in their public school, which is somehow never as awful as all those “other” schools, I just look at them and say, “No, they’re not.” They can lie to themselves all they want but I will not be a party to it.
Don’t cave, Megan. Stand your ground and we will save the world one child at a time.
I like you!
It largely depends on the demographics in your particular public school. In that, I mean the ethnic makeup of the students and the social expectations of the students as taught by they mamas and baby-daddys. Urban schools are despicable and dangerous.
Why do you think that Obama sends his children to private schools?
Any given public or private school can be fine, or even great, but home schooling is definitely the gold standard against which they must be measured. Far from looking at home schoolers as odd, I am reluctant to admit that we did not home school our children. If we could go back in time and do things differently … but that’s water under the bridge.
There are many fine teachers in public and private schools who truly care about their students and seek to educate them in the best sense of the word. Sadly, you rarely see examples of them in the press. Instead you mostly see the sorry, greedy bunch of incompetents such as those in the video clip above who are loyal only to their unions, who apparently don’t give a rat’s ass about the kids. You can hardly blame the public for holding bad stereotypes about public schools given all the bad press. But apart from that, I was a student in the public schools when I was a child, and as a parent I have seen enough of the bad side of public education to know that there is more than a grain of truth to the stereotypes. Yes, few schools are rotten to the core, many are merely mediocre, and many students at these schools do just fine in spite of this. But you can’t ignore the statistics that demonstrate that on the whole, across the nation, our schools are failing — and that home schooling generally yields better results, by a wide margin.
Thanks for writing this Megan. Some days I don’t feel like I have the courage to take on the challenge of homeschooling my children, but accepting public school as it is is not an option for me. My children are not even school age yet (my oldest is four but has always been tall for his age) and we have been getting the nosey neighbor treatment since he was two (is he in school yet? Blah, blah, blah). It already frustrates me and I am losing my patience with polite responses. Perhaps I would feel energized by attending a homeschool conference. Could you point me in a direction?
Yes! A conference will refresh you! Email me at intolerantfox@gmail.com and we will talk. Here in IL the conferences are run by ICHE
Great article! My daughter homeschools her children also and runs into alot of intolerance even from her in-laws. She originally began due to peanut allergy issues(they serve it daily for lunch). However, in two years the accelerated growth of learning has absolutely astounded me! This also frees up a whole lot of “grandma time” which is an added benefit *grin*
Rock on Mrs. Fox!
“One thing a homeschooling parent will never have to worry about is their child being mistreated by other students.” Only if they are an only child. . All right, cheap joke, I know, and I realize that she deals with it right after that, but I still think it is funny.
Homeschooled siblings who can’t get along are the exception. Without the age-bigotry of institutions, they learn to be much more accepting of others.
Megan,
What books do you recommend to teach the children about true American history and the values of our Founding Fathers?
Thank you
I have one book I think is a necessity, the rest I like to pick through the library. The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States by Benjamin F. Morris is a must. Newer copies have a dvd teaching aid that comes with it. It is over 1000 pages but it covers all of the founders and what specific writings and philosophies of ours came from the Bible and how our Founders incorporated the Word of God into the great American experiment. This is a fantastic book and I would recommend for everyone (even if you’re not homeschooling!)
Get a copy of Life of Washington by Anna C. Reed. It’ll light up your world :~) She was a niece of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence – originally published in 1842. One great side effect of homeschooling has been the reprinting of many wonderful volumes which had been neglected for too long. When it come to teaching character, GW is the gold standard.
“comes”….sigh….It’s late, I’m old, sleep is beckoning….fight again another day…
My children attend public school. My second oldest is in a computer skills program at the Vo-Tech Center ( the schools are now some trendy name, but I still call them vo tech!). Anyway, they were doing a long term planning worksheet. Where will you be in 5 years? 10 years?
One of the choices included, committed relationship with 1 child, committed relationship with 2 children, etc…..Am I the only one who sees the problem with this sheet? Absolutely NO mention of marriage. I have spent two days on the phone writing and sending letters about this long term planning exercise and pointing out that marriage is STILL a societal norm.
The response I’ve gotten thus far? I am the only parent to have complained. To bad, so sad, I am not letting it drop. So, while we do the public school thing, I spend a lot of time reviewing everything and we “supplement” the curriculum quite a bit, with our country’s history, etc….
I applaud your homeschooling. And for those of us taking the public school route, please remember to be ever vigilant. We live in a conservative area, but political correct garbage, like a thief in the night, is always looking for a way to break through.
I come across this type of thing occasionally and use it as a teaching tool with my kids. They’ve become quite good at debating teachers and fellow students on all kinds of issues. Turn it into a positive!
Dart, I’m sure you’re not the only one to complain! That is the standard answer to parents who complain about things in the curriculum that go against their values. I would bet there were other parents who got the same response as you–”no one else has complained about this….”
Megan, I found this article linked from Hillbuzz and I have to say thank you, thank you, thank you for writing it! My daughter is only 11 months but my husband and I have been tossing around the idea of homeschool vs. private school since before we even started trying to get pregnant. I have experience both with public school and homeschool as a student and with public school as a teacher. When I was teaching I would come home daily and tell my husband, “Forget it! Our kids will never, ever, EVER be in public schools. Ever. Period.” In my experience it became all about standardized tests, CYA, documentation, and being a good little drone. I was miserable. Teachable moments all but disappeared because of a rigid schedule. We were informed that standards and schedules had to be posted at all times. If an administrator came into the room, looked at your posted schedule and you weren’t within the block it said you should be in, you got called on the carpet. It wasn’t about the kids anymore. I was under an incredible amount of stress because I felt like I was failing my students and turning out dumber kids.
At this point I have several friends with little ones my daughter’s age that homeschool their older children. I’m excited about the possibilities. To those who have children that have thrived in spite of public schools, good for them. I was a kid who thrived in spite of public schools (I was only homeschooled for 3rd and 4th grades because we were overseas and the schools were *horrible*) but the public schools of my childhood are NOT the public schools of today. The public schools of today have become bloated by bureaucracy and ruined by unions. Even “good” school districts are spiraling the drain. I for one am thankful for the ability and opportunity to offer my child what I know will be best for her.
Yes, yes, YES! You have said all that I already know to be true and done it brilliantly! I am so weary of public school proponents feigning outrage at our suggestion that homeschooling is superior to the government run institutional system. The real offense comes from what they believe to be an insinuation on our part that we are better parents than they. In fact, they are inferring an imaginary slight where none was given. I especially enjoyed your responses to jmarie. Of course we think homeschooling is superior, that’s why we do it.
And, perhaps I should have pointed out, I believe most parents would be better teachers to their own children than any public institution. It isn’t that we are better parents…but that parents are BETTER TEACHERS. That is the material point.
CL, there is no resentment here; I know I’m a good parent and teacher to my kids. Homeschooling can be a terrific choice but it isn’t a choice that’s economically available to all of us. My kids are in a public school because that is my only option. However, I have had a very positive experience and have worked with some of the most incredible teachers and administrators over the years.
Institutions don’t teach children, teachers teach children. The majority of my kids’ teachers have been parents. Those that have no children, such as my son’s AP American History teacher, have been fantastic as well and seem to be even more devoted to their students.
There are many ways to educate children; homeschooling is one, public school is another. It’s possible for students to succeed in both settings, and their parents get to choose which setting is best for their family. The choice is the point!
Some public schools have become intolerable messes. Some are wonderfully nurturing, safe places for kids to learn and grow. Generalizations serve no positive purpose.
Take a look at the GO PUBLIC Project for an inside look at a day in the life of an American School District. There is a great deal of richness and blessing in that choice as well. http://www.gopublicproject.org
I agree with your article. I wanted to learn more about Che but the link went to an “about me” page for a history teacher. Could you send me a link to learn more about him? I saw in the video that the teachers were wearing shirst depicting him and they didn’t seem to even know who he is. . . Thanks!
This is a good link: http://www2.fiu.edu/~fcf/che.html. Factual with lots of references. He was a bad man, not someone you want your children trying to emulate.
The page you found at the link Ms. Fox gave is the home page for a history teacher in a school in an affluent suburb of Chicago. He’s posted his “heroes” on his home page. Frightening that people with this type of persuasion are in charge of so many children’s education.
Yes that webpage was of teacher here in IL on the school’s website (William Fremd High School) where he posts stuff “About” him..on it, he has photos of Karl Marx and Che Guevara. To learn about Che, simply Google “Che murderer.” You’ll find plenty. The teacher in question has been contacted by parents and has refused to take down the photos. Further, he has posters of many dictators on his walls and has tried to shut down conservative students in his class. Also, he spends 23 days of the year on evolution in a Social Survey class…what evolution has to do with Social Survey, I will never know. I have all his class materials…they are rife with Leftist indoctrination. I have attempted to contact Mr. Spoor to debate his teaching technique but he has denied all attempts.
Anyone who believes public school (or even private schools for that matter) is good, and not harmful to their children, needs to see the movie, “Indoctrination”. The same goes for colleges – even so-called “Christian” colleges are teaching old earth, evolution, liberalism and contraception to the students.
“If class size was really a concern for teachers they should admire an environment where the teacher gets to spend one-on-one time every day for several hours with the student. But they don’t, because it’s not really about class sizes, but about union power, job preservation and money.”
I appreciate your assertions, but I am hurt by your conclusion at the end of this sentence (not arguing about class size, but teacher motives). I felt a ‘call’ upon my life to serve in a small community school as a home-economics teacher, to ‘serve’ children and their parents in public education. At no time in my career was my priority union-building or money, since in fact, my district was the lowest paying in nine neighboring counties, and the fourth lowest paid district in our state. I was not there for the money, and I have never heard of very many teachers who go into the field for the paycheck. In the union of my former district, I promoted a 5% across the board pay cut when our community faced extreme budget problems. I don’t think it is quite right for you to lump ALL teachers in unfavorable motive labels; that’s a pretty negative stereotype. I hope you don’t teach that to your kids. Other than that, I promote homeschooling, and both my children homeschool their children; yet both maintain that they received a fine public education in my building. We are just as ‘for’ homeschooling as ‘for’ public; it depends on many factors which environment is chosen for each family. Individual choice is correct, and so should be individual teacher ‘calling.’
I completely agree. Generalizations are unproductive.
This is the problem when you try to have a conversation about education. Suddenly the teachers feel attacked and anyone criticizing education is criticizing teachers! That is not the case. Here in Chicago, the teacher’s strike was about nothing BUT MONEY and POWER. They make an average of $76,000 a year and 70%of the 5th graders can’t read. This is absurdly abusive behavior.
We’re all glad you are not this kind of teacher. As a parent, I wouldn’t find out if you were until it was too late.
Loved this article and all the discussion it has provoked. I wish I had homeschooled my children. School wasn’t as bad then as it is now when they were going through, but it was bad enough! All of them suffered persecution of some sort, either by students or teachers and administrators (YES! I said teachers!) My oldest had some learning disabilities and was mercilessly bullied and mistreated by several of her teachers. She came home crying every single day. I wish I hadn’t been so stupid as to leave her there. When I learned that her sixth grade teacher (the one who had been the worst at ridiculing her in front of her peers) was moving to 7th grade, I finally got a clue and took her out of the public school system, sending her to a private Christian school. Things were a lot better there, so I moved my second daughter as well, and started my youngest in the system at kindergarten. But homeschool would have been so much better. Two of my daughters now homeschool their precious little charges and I get to see them more often, since they can bring school with them when they come to visit! I love it. Great article Megan.
I know 4 homeschoolers that have speech and learning disabilities. Now entering middle school so did they have problems or did the homeschooling cause the prooblems. My s-i-l has had many poorly educated homeschoolers enter middle school way behind public school kids. I have know many who excell again can’t paint witha broad brush…
LOL! I will be sure to show your comment to my 11 year old homeschooler so that he can correct the syntax, grammar, and spelling errors. I do thank you for illustrating an important point and providing a good laugh for us homeschoolers.
This is my favorite “sentence.” Have him deconstruct this one.
“Now entering middle school so did they have problems or did the homeschooling cause the prooblems.”
Prooblems….classic.
Very classy, Ms. Fox. Make fun of the person who’s not responding to your posts with perfect grammar. That’s what bullies do.
Mrs. Fox’s response is NOT bullying. We have become a hyper-senstivie society peopled by those looking for and finding offense in everything they don’t like or with which they disagree. Just because offense is taken does not mean offense was given.
Nice try, but yes, she was acting like a bully. Especially inappropriate on her own blog. Very immature.
Neither home schooling nor public schooling would be a cause of speech or learning disabilities. Students who have these disabilities often need extra help or accommodation to maximize their opportunity to learn. Again, home schooling has the potential to provide a better learning environment for such students since the teacher/parent can work with the student/child one-on-one, and no one knows the child better than the parent. If the learning disabilities are significant, it may behoove a parent to learn about such disabilities and perhaps seek training for working with these disabilities. (Any home schoolers out there who know of such available training for parent?) Some might object that if the disabilities are severe enough, then no parent can realistically expect to be able to provide appropriate teaching, but in that case public schooling is also ruled out, so it is a moot point.
Sometimes the parent is so used to accommodating the disability they no longer see it. Early intervention is most effective but unfortunately not all children will get the help they need.
Because there are no disabled public school students.
I usually don’t comment on sites but I have to say…
I would consider homeschooling however, we could never survive on my husband’s $9/hour job. Also, as far as homeschooling in the evening, Mrs. Fox, you would have to be nuts!!! Any women who works a 40 hour work week would not have the time or energy to do her children justice homeschooling. Between making meals, keeping up with house work, Awana, organized sports, etc. Factor in commuting to work, having personal time with the Lord, having time with your husband…the list can go on, you would need a 48 hour day!
While I undertand that homeschooling under such circumstances can be very trying it is possible. I have a friend who is a single mom and has successfully homeschooled her children for several years, including high school.
I can see where it would be possible to homeschool older kids as a single parent, especially in situations where the local high school is unacceptable. If the parent didn’t have an especially long commute or had a home business it would be easier to handle. Younger kids, no.
Britt,
I have a very good friend whose husband makes around the same as your husband, yet she knew that homeschooling their youngest was what God was calling them to do. So she changed her hours and started working nights. She comes home in the morning and her teenager makes breakfast, they clean the kitchen, start laundry, and do any chores that need to be done. During the time of her boys are doing their morning activities, she’s sleeping. She gets between 4 to 6 hours of sleep, then gets up and they do school, go to sport practices, etc. She makes dinner and then takes a nap before she has to go to work. It is possible, when there’s a will there most definitely is a way and I also want to add, that dad’s can also be very involved in home education. No reason why when mom is making dinner or having her quiet time with the Lord, that he can’t be working on science or math or which ever subject he enjoys helping with!
Please excuse any errors of grammar or punctuation, it’s 1 AM here in Germany and I’m wiped out.
Are either of your parents up to the task? Homeschooling can be a great opportunity for grandparents to spend time with the grandchildren and pass along their wisdom.
The good Lord never gifted me with children, but I did teach school for a while. As a middle and high school teacher, it was pretty much an every day experience to deal with students who were taking drugs, sniffing paint, or in and out of juvie. Most teachers are good, caring people, but you burn out after a while. I was talked to after telling a student not to hit another because it’s wrong, since right and wrong are “religious views,” and we don’t teach religion. I was yelled at after getting a knife away from a student who was threatening his former girlfriend because I’d raised my voice to him in the process, and the attacking student’s guardian found that unacceptable. One of my co-workers at the same school was told it looked bad for the school because she taught there, but chose to home school her own children. Her reply probably didn’t do much for her career. Many parents say they prefer to use the public school system so their children get the socialization, but they really need to take a look at the whole picture of what’s going on at school and what’s involved in that socialization.
Take a look at the statistics, and you’ll see that home schooled kids do better on average than their public schooled peers. Today’s schools are not what they were 10 or 20 years ago. While we couldn’t teach them “right” and “wrong,” I was expected to behave as though lifestyles that I, as a believing person, view as wrong were right.
It’s a choice that the parents have to make. I think that those parents who choose to home school are making a good choice, and I think that if you were to talk to some teachers away from the school where they have to act like they support the system, you would learn a good deal about what goes on in public schools today.