Homeschooling

[wendy darling]

Personally, I think that if you want to homeschool your children you should have a Bachelor's degree. In every state, if you want to become a teacher that is the minium requirement, along with taking a few courses in Education. I think that you would cheating your child of a solid education without one. I am sure someone without a Degree would make a great teacher, however I do not think anyone should be exempt from the rules. Especially where your children are involved.

 

[aprilgail2]

They should have at least some college, if not a Bachelor's. I wouldn't hire a secretary without a BA; I certainly don't think someone with less should be teaching children. ?

Personally, I think that if you want to homeschool your children you should have a Bachelor's degree. In every state, if you want to become a teacher that is the minium requirement, along with taking a few courses in Education. I think that you would cheating your child of a solid education without one. I am sure someone without a Degree would make a great teacher, however I do not think anyone should be exempt from the rules. Especially where your children are involved.

 

[golfgal]

In our state you have to meet certain criteria. If you don't, you have to be supervised by the schools district.

Our state too, only the 'supervision' of the schools is simply having to report grades more often, mind you they don't have to PROVE that the kids can actually do the work, they can just submit grades. Oh, and there are no standardized test requirements other then the parents have to submit the scores of the test THEY administer to the children--don't have to prove the kids actually took a test, just a score. It's a great system . No, the schools are not perfect but there is SOME accountability and if your child can't read by the end of 1st grade, they are going to get some help (around here at least). Who is keeping an eye on the home schooled kids?

If you are doing your job as a home schooling parent, what is the fear of having your kids take a test supervised by someone other then yourself to make sure they are making adequate progress?

 

[Pixiedust34]

We're in our sixth year of homeschooling our children. Ds is in 6th grade and dd is in 5th grade. I know many other homeschoolers. Some parents excel at homeschooling and provide their children with an excellent education. Other parents do slack off and their children fall behind with lessons and progress. It's a crying shame to see parents who are not teaching their children well. Homeschooling is not the best option for every family.

I think that the success of the homeschool depends upon the education, effort, and organization of the parent who is doing the teaching.

Homeschool laws vary in each state. We have a mandatory oversight in our state. I am reviewed by a Christian school once a year. I have to show and explain my planning books and a portfolio of the kids' work. I buy our curriculum myself plus I weave in some extra books of our choice for fun. If we're still homeschooling when our kids are in high school, the Christian school who does our reviews will work with us to provide transcripts for college applications, and our kids can take the SAT and ACT through that school. They can have a regular graduation ceremony, too. And for those who are worried about socialization, there is a homeschool prom the kids can attend that is every bit as nice as a regular high school prom. In fact, it's held at the same reception hall that many high school proms and wedding receptions are held. : )

Homeschooling is working well for us. We know that our children are doing well with being educated at home and we work hard to provide them with a top quality education. BTW, my degree is in education, and my dh is a public school teacher. We're well aware of what the public schools have to offer in our area and strongly feel that homeschooling is a good choice for our family. Dh's co-workers have always been supportive of our decision to homeschool, and it's nice to get positive feedback from so many teachers. However, as I stated earlier, homeschooling is not the best choice for every family. There are good homeschoolers and not-so-good homeschoolers. The same is true in every profession. I do think of homeschooling as my current profession because it's a job I take seriously.

 

[kellyg403]

My sister homeschooled both of her children until they got to 10 and 11th grade. (This year). She is/never was the scholarly type, barely making it through high school. But, both of her children are doing really well in high school, so home schooling even with no credentials can be successful. I know that she did purchase the dvd's for the cirriculum she was teaching them once they started to get math questions that needed more explanation.

They are great kids and I think home schooling is a wonderful option for those who feel they could do it. We all really worried about the kids when sis said they were going to public school this year, but they have done really well academically. Now, the one area that my niece is having issues with are a little bit of immaturity or naivety might be the better word. They are a very religious family, my niece wore jeans/pants for the first time in 17 years this year. She has not been exposed, ever, to anything. I don't mean that has a bad thing, only to mention that for my dn this is an area that she struggles with on an emotional level. Its hard to be 17 without being able to fit in so well. Last night my sis told me she finally said that dn could go on a trip with her family members to WDW over Christmas break and she is having a hard time. DN and nephew have never gone anywhere without their parents.

Trust me, all kidding aside..my sister is probably the last person ever who should have homeschooled her kids. However, the kids were quick studies and didn't need a lot of hands on. So, depending on the children and what learning style they do best with it might actually be succesful. My personal thoughts are that only people with a college education or at least academically inclined should do the home schooling. But, my sister is one of those people who would prove me wrong!

Kelly

 

[mom2rb]

If you are doing your job as a home schooling parent, what is the fear of having your kids take a test supervised by someone other then yourself to make sure they are making adequate progress?

Because until last year my son would have failed. I have twins. One could read at 5, one started reading right when he turned nine. Now at ten they can read in English, Spanish and Japanese.
My little brother was a slow reader. The public school made him feel stupid for years. Some kids just take a little longer to click. I didn't want my son to go through what my brother did.

 

[Colleen27]

If you are doing your job as a home schooling parent, what is the fear of having your kids take a test supervised by someone other then yourself to make sure they are making adequate progress?

The problem is that if you have to submit to a state mandated test you essentially have to teach the state mandated curriculum, and many homeschooling parents do so to have the freedom to break away from that curriculum and not be bound by teaching what the state government has decided needs to be taught each year. In the long run, what difference does it make if a kid isn't reading at 6 or if they decide to learn fractions before geometry? None at all. But with state testing, you have to teach in the state-established order or the child will fail the test regardless of how much he has learned or how capable a teacher he has.

 

[Colleen27]

Personally, I think that if you want to homeschool your children you should have a Bachelor's degree. In every state, if you want to become a teacher that is the minium requirement, along with taking a few courses in Education. I think that you would cheating your child of a solid education without one. I am sure someone without a Degree would make a great teacher, however I do not think anyone should be exempt from the rules. Especially where your children are involved.

If you want to become a public school teacher that is true, but many states do not oversee private schools or set credentials for private school teachers.

Personally, I don't think a degree matters much. Getting one is more a matter of money than brains these days, IMO. I know many college educated people who couldn't teach a dog to sit, and many people who never had the money/opportunity for college who make excellent homeschooling parents.

 

[Buckalew11]

My DD has never taken the state test (here, called T-Cap). She has taken a national test given throughout the US since K (she is a 9th grader). I doubt our PS kids would do well on the national test compared to the T-caps.

Why have a special test? Why do they have to "teach the test"? And they do. Every teacher I know complains about it. But they feel they must because if their kids score low it is a reflection on them as a teacher, their Principal, their school and the city or county school system. So, they teach the test.

DD will go back to her old private school and take the acheivement test there in the spring. I have no problem with that. But, we're not "teaching the test"--I have no idea what is even on that test. I want to know we are on task and I know testing is the way of education these days so I want her to be comfortable testing.

She does take tests through her curriculum. The writers make up the tests over their own material and it and the answers are included. Nobody needs to worry that I'm trying to make-up Biology tests for DD to take, LOL. We're not doing an on-line program but I'm happy with the decisions I made for her curriculum.

 

[chrisw127]

Because until last year my son would have failed. I have twins. One could read at 5, one started reading right when he turned nine. Now at ten they can read in English, Spanish and Japanese.
My little brother was a slow reader. The public school made him feel stupid for years. Some kids just take a little longer to click. I didn't want my son to go through what my brother did.

on the twin thing. I have boy/girl twins who are 21 months old. The girl is way ahead of the boy in terms of speech.

Congrats to yours--it sounds like you've worked really hard to get them where they are.

 

[LisaR]

If you are doing your job as a home schooling parent, what is the fear of having your kids take a test supervised by someone other then yourself to make sure they are making adequate progress?

Three reasons:

1. Those tests do not mean a thing. Studies show that these kids that take standardized tests year after year do not do ANY better on their SAT. The tests do not PROVE that the child is learning. They prove that the child can take a test.

I remember taking the SAT back in the days of the dinosaurs and I passed the math portion with a near perfect score. I am horrible at math. Because I did so well in math and my degree only required basic math, I was able to test out of taking a single math class in college. How did I do so well? I apparently guessed really well because I did not bother figuring out 3/4 of the problems. I did make it through Calculus and Trig in high school but someone *borrowed* the teachers book and made copies and that was the only way I managed to pass. Hey, I am not proud but I was young and stupid. The point is, according to the SAT, I was a math genius. That couldn't be any further from the truth.

2. Once again, what do you propose we do with the HS kids that do not pass the test? If they flunk, do we put them back in school? If so, do we take the PS kids that flunk and make them HS? My DD had two teen girlfriends that bombed the state tests last year. Both took summer school classes and just barely passed (actually one never even finished) and they both advanced to the next grade. How exactly are they better prepared now? What did the school do to help them? In my book, a C- is NOT passing but apparently the school thinks they are now well prepared for high school. But I can assure you that if the HS kid flunked the test, there would be outrage. The school board would demand that the child go back to school.

3. Because I do not want to stop teaching my kids history and logic and skim back on science so I can prepare them for the state tests. That is exactly what they do in my county and many counties across the US. Most kids never even finish their text books each year because they simply run out of time. Why? We manage to finish all of ours? We don't toss a subject aside so we can pump and prep for a test. We don't teach test taking and that is exactly what the schools do. I want my kids to have a well rounded education. That does not just mean knowledge in math and English. There is a reason that most kids can't tell you where Mumbai is or details about our countries past. They don't have time to cover anything but the basics because they are busy with the tests. There was just a story on Yahoo a week ago that said a survey was done in classrooms across the country and the vast majority didn't pick up their social studies books for three months of the school year because they didn't have time due to test prep. I don't have any desire to do that. My kids do fine with the self administered tests I have given them. I sleep fine at night knowing that I didn't take it for them and that the school system isn't involved in our life.

 

[Pigeon]

Like many other things, I think homeschooling can be well done or a total disaster, depending on the parents, the kids and the resources involved.

I don't homeschool, and it would be my personal version of hell. But now that I have kids in school, I can understand why people do it. Public schools today are structured to obliterate any natural love of learning, what with all the NCLB mandated testing and hours upon hours of valueless homework piled on top of a full day of school. I know people who do a great job of homeschooling, but they are well educated themselves, and do a huge amount of work to ensure that their kids get an enriched learning experience.

OTOH, I also know people who do a terrible job of it. They do it primarily for religous reasons, to keep their children ignorant and isolated from the real world, and are not particularly well educated themselves.

 

[alizesmom]

Homeschooling is a great option for parents and students alike. I would dearly love to homeschool my little ones but know I don't have the ability and seriously need the therapies they can get in school. What surprizes me here is the number of people who insist the HS parent should have a degree or some sort of testing done first. I look at it from another angle. My children require many complex medical proceedures, medications and close assessment using a variety of machines. I was not expected to have a degree and was not tested on these things. No parent I know has been. Does this mean we should not be allowed to care for our children? I know this is a different issue but it is the same premise. Parents can learn to do what is neccessary for their children no matter what.