Why do you homeschool?

[mzteris]

Poll question: Why do you homeschool?

Let's get to know each other. Please go drag in (PM) the DU'ers you know hs, but may not post here.

(My first attempt at creating a poll on DU! Bear with me.)

[Robert Cooper]

1. Perhaps some definitions...

...just so I know what I'm voting for.

Educational Reasons ?
Learning Differenced ?
Fits with lifestyle choice ?

I think the others I understand well enough.

Thanks, Ma'am.

[mzteris]

2. hmmmm.....

I guess Educational would cover some of the others, wouldn't it? But 'round these here parts, "educational reasons" means NOT "religious" reasons. In fact, in this state, you have check one of the two as to what "type" of homeschool you are.

Learning Differenced is another name for learning disabled - but not all "disabilities" ARE, ya know? Just a difference in how the child learns. Some learning differences are just that - such as a Visual Spatial learner - those kids have a hard time in the Audio/sequential world of PS.

Lifestyle choice - well, there are those who are anti-establishment in general. Those who grew up being hs'ed themselves. Those who are the laid-back do your own thing types. World travelers. Or travelers in general. (There are some who "RV school" lol - as they travel around the country!) So hs'ing fits with their lifestyle.

[Robert Cooper]

9. I'd have to say "combination"...

...for many of the reasons I've given in this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5523251&mesg_id=5523251
"Democratic Underground - CNN (AP): Homeschooled boy wins national science contest"

Unfortunately my browser doesn't work very well when it comes to voting DU polls. I can never get my vote to register.

[thinkingwoman]

3. combo elaboration

We homeschool for the following reasons:

educational and gifted--two kids with genius level IQs (for whatever that is worth :eyes: ) weren't challenged in public schools

religious--we're jewish pagans here...and those definitely don't fit into Indiana public schools (which are HEAVILY xtian)

lifestyle--we're definitely anti-establishment and actually we UNschool rather than homeschool

Well that mostly covers it. Thanks for asking. :hi:

[mzteris]

4. Sound like you've got

nearly all the bases covered! :)

Jewish pagan - that's a new one for me, it sounds interesting. On one of my unschooling loops, we're discussing the pagan origins of the trappings of Christmas. Some people - only a few - are irritated by it. We're "unschooly-ish". We'd be more so, but I get panicked occasionally. LOL.

[thinkingwoman]

6. LOL on the panic!

My husband does that every 6 months or so, and I occassionally join him! Now that our kids are teens though, we've started work on their high school portfolios and transcripts so that they can attend college and wow, they have pursued (and mastered) so many interests that sound impressive when written down.

We're not pure unschoolers--we have required basic math (through algebra) and history--but methods and sources are about 95% kid driven. Without our prompting, however, one teen taught herself Japanese so that she could read and translate her favorite mangas and the other teen has self-taught 3-D modelling for video game design.

As for the Jewish pagan...I wish I could claim credit for the term but a friend of a friend started using it first. Most Jews I know would just call us pagans. :-)

[mzteris]

13. Foreign Language

Have you heard of Concordia Language Villages?

My son went for the past two years to the Chinese Language camp. It's really good. They have an excellent reputation and have been around forever! (I've met two women who were counselors there in their younger days.)

http://clvweb.cord.edu/prweb/

Speaking of manga - if you have a copy of ALICE 19 - look up the picture of Frey! He looks eerily like my kid.

[coffeenap]

7. We have a lot in common. Are you tuned in to the PG community?

:hi:

[thinkingwoman]

8. no, pardon my ignorance, but

what's that?

[coffeenap]

10. NP-people who support profoundly gifted kids. If you want to discuss it,

feel free to pm me.:hi:

[mzteris]

5. My own reasons. . .

Ooops - should have posted that originally, eh?

All of the above? :rofl:

Let's see:

Educational reasons - check.

"Religious reasons" - it wasn't originally but that COULD get a tiny check. As in my son's NOT and everyone around here IS. It had started to be a problem when he was in PS. In fact, it was the behaviour/attitude of some kids that helped push him towards his complete turn-off of "the Church".

Gifted: check

Learning differenced: check. Dysgraphic definitely. V/S learner. Challenged in visual sequential memory and some other "visual" things (which really sucks if you're a V/S learner.) A case can definitely be made for dyscalcula. Organizational skills? Probably - though that may well be tied to his VSM. *some* attentional control problems. The neuropsych said it "fell within normal levels" but - that for my son that was a problem. (Huh?) He can also hyperfocus. Some coordination issues. Motor memory is something he has to WORK at. I suspect there is some degree of AS - though at the very upper end of the scale.

(shoot - I can't remember the rest of my list and it's not showing up ...)

Schools aren't "bad" - well, IMHO - ALL Middle school students should be hs'ed - because the problems I listed do exist in the schools to some extent. And no, I DON"T think my child should have to "learn how to deal with it" - AT HIS AGE! He will be much better prepared to "deal with it" when he's older.

The methodology of the schools DON"T mesh, though. They're too slow and waste WAY too much time for this kid. Way too "writing oriented" and too "isolated-fact-sequential" rather than "global-theory-interconnected" based.


Oh yeah, I do still have one in PS - albeit a Charter Montessori Bi-lingual school. (Charters are free public schools but are not run by the state/county - although certain state/county requirements still have to be adhered to.)

[mzmolly]

11. Public School and my child did not "mesh." I think HS and PS both have

advantages, but for MY kiddo, HS is best. The reasons are instinctual, educational, and I want my kid to have a "childhood." I think 6 hours a day in school and 2 hours of homework at night is a bit much for a first grader. Additionally, I feel we can cover much more interesting subject matter at home.

We enjoy it for the most part, though we have our days. ;)

[mzteris]

12. Choices are great.

What works for one doesn't work for all.

I agree about the h/w load. We couldn't do all the things we do if ds had 3-5 hours of h/w a night - like some other middle/highschoolers I know. That's just crazy!

My son always pipes up when other kids talk about homework, "yeah, I know what you mean - all I HAVE is HOMEwork!" :rofl:

I just saw a GREAT quote that I believe sums up the hs'ing experience very well:

"Learning emerges from discovery, not directives; reflection, not rules; possibilities, not prescriptions; diversity, not dogma; creativity and curiosity, not conformity and certainty; and meaning, not mandates." - Stephanie Pace Marshall, PhD

[GoddessOfGuinness]

14. It's a combo platter for us...

1) Mr GoG and I are both musicians. Homeschooling works out much better for our schedules. It's such a joy to spend time with my son this way!
2) We feel our son's curriculum is much better than that of the local PS.
3) We can supplement that curriculum as necessary to provide more of a challenge for him in the areas where he excels. We can also take the time to focus on his fine motor skills, where he lags, while allowing him the opportunity to write compositions using the computer.
4) The amount of "classroom" time we spend is minimal, so his extra-curricular activities can fit into a sane schedule. We have lots of field trips, and since we know exactly what he's learning in school, we can show him how things are relevant to his work.