Why do you home school?

[graygables]

Evidently we have had VERY different experiences of high school. I never heard of anyone being beaten, a drugs bust or any kind of assault on teachers. I'm sure they all happen, but I'm not sure they're a common occurence in the majority of high schools.

I guess things are very different in the UK. There are no metal detectors. There are no drug tests. There are no "lock downs". The kids go to school, attend their classes, meet their friends, get an education and on the whole have a great time doing so.

I guess the UK is dramatically different in that area. 14 years ago, I left the teaching profession after being choked by a student. I was in the premiere district in my state and drugs were a very common problem as were weapons and bullying. Even in my jr high days in the late 70s, I was threatened with a knife (by the asst principal's DD) and "jumped" in the bathroom more than I can remember. I had acid thrown on my hair in the early 80s when I was in high school while walking home. I did my best to stay invisible, but with my very long hair and having grown up in a different place than my classmates, I was an easy target. Drugs were very common and easy to acquire if someone wanted them.

Our local school here has been locked down for drug sweeps and bomb scares. Last year, a bomb scare was called into the school saying that they also had snipers in the woods behind the compound (all the district schools K-12 are on a single campus). Try to move the kids from one building to another and expose them to potential threat. Now 19yo DD had a kid threaten to kill her in the 2nd grade b/c she spoke up to the PE teacher about playing Korn during gym class. and we won't even begin to discuss what happens on the school buses. Incidentally, I live in a small district in a "suburb-rural" area that has a fairly high tax basis. The district is rated "excellent" by the state.

 

[JunieJay]

I guess things are very different in the UK. There are no metal detectors. There are no drug tests. There are no "lock downs". The kids go to school, attend their classes, meet their friends, get an education and on the whole have a great time doing so.

Pretty much that way in most of the U.S. too.

 

[va32h]

I guess the UK is dramatically different in that area. 14 years ago, I left the teaching profession after being choked by a student. I was in the premiere district in my state and drugs were a very common problem as were weapons and bullying. Even in my jr high days in the late 70s, I was threatened with a knife (by the asst principal's DD) and "jumped" in the bathroom more than I can remember. I had acid thrown on my hair in the early 80s when I was in high school while walking home. I did my best to stay invisible, but with my very long hair and having grown up in a different place than my classmates, I was an easy target. Drugs were very common and easy to acquire if someone wanted them.

Our local school here has been locked down for drug sweeps and bomb scares. Last year, a bomb scare was called into the school saying that they also had snipers in the woods behind the compound (all the district schools K-12 are on a single campus). Try to move the kids from one building to another and expose them to potential threat. Now 19yo DD had a kid threaten to kill her in the 2nd grade b/c she spoke up to the PE teacher about playing Korn during gym class. and we won't even begin to discuss what happens on the school buses. Incidentally, I live in a small district in a "suburb-rural" area that has a fairly high tax basis. The district is rated "excellent" by the state.

Well I grew up in a suburb of Phoenix, AZ, attended a public high school from 1985-1989 and never saw or experienced any type of violence or drug use. The most scandalous activity I ever witnessed was the Physics teacher's house being TP'd.

I live down the street from a high school in a suburb of Dallas, Texas and in the five years I've been here I have yet to see a single shooting, drug deal, assault, etc.

Not every high school in the US is a hotbed of drugs and violence and I certainly hope our UK Dis-ers don't get that impression.

 

[hentob]

I guess the UK is dramatically different in that area. 14 years ago, I left the teaching profession after being choked by a student. I was in the premiere district in my state and drugs were a very common problem as were weapons and bullying. Even in my jr high days in the late 70s, I was threatened with a knife (by the asst principal's DD) and "jumped" in the bathroom more than I can remember. I had acid thrown on my hair in the early 80s when I was in high school while walking home. I did my best to stay invisible, but with my very long hair and having grown up in a different place than my classmates, I was an easy target. Drugs were very common and easy to acquire if someone wanted them.

Our local school here has been locked down for drug sweeps and bomb scares. Last year, a bomb scare was called into the school saying that they also had snipers in the woods behind the compound (all the district schools K-12 are on a single campus). Try to move the kids from one building to another and expose them to potential threat. Now 19yo DD had a kid threaten to kill her in the 2nd grade b/c she spoke up to the PE teacher about playing Korn during gym class. and we won't even begin to discuss what happens on the school buses. Incidentally, I live in a small district in a "suburb-rural" area that has a fairly high tax basis. The district is rated "excellent" by the state.

Wow. That is quite some school

Good News!! I am happy to report that what you and your children went through (although it is bizarre and tragic) does NOT happen at a typical elementary, middle or high school

If it did, us loving parents would NEVER send our children to school

 

[Jedi Master Gonzo]

Wow. That is quite some school

Good News!! I am happy to report that what you and your children went through (although it is bizarre and tragic) does NOT happen at a typical elementary, middle or high school

If it did, us loving parents would NEVER send our children to school

Well said.

 

[sha_lyn]

Good News!! I am happy to report that what you and your children went through (although it is bizarre and tragic) does NOT happen at a typical elementary, middle or high school

Those things happen at the schools around here.
Heck even when I went to school around here there was a lot going on that I would not want my children around. Drug deals, pot smoking and sex in the bathrooms, under the bleachers and on the busses. Teachers having sex with students. The horticulture teacher was having sex with his student aid during his free period. In 7th grade in and highschool I had male teachers sexually harass me. Rumors are that the one in highschool did have sex with several girls. I OTOH laughed at how ridiculous he was and walked out of the room (he said something about wanting to stick his tongue in my mouth). A classmates older sister got PG on the school bus. Student shot in the bathroom. Knife fights etc. It's only gotten worse. Shooting in the schools, a kid beaten to death at the bus stop. Drug deals, gang fights. Students rioting when not allowed to play inappropriate music during warm up before a basketball game.

Yep, around here safe school is an oxymoron

 

[sha_lyn]

In a nationwide survey of high school students (CDC 2004):
33% reported being in a physical fight one or more times in the 12 months preceding the survey.
17% reported carrying a weapon (e.g., gun, knife, or club) on one or more of the 30 days preceding the survey.
An estimated 30% of 6th to 10th graders in the United States were involved in bullying as a bully, a target of bullying, or both (Nansel et al. 2001).

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/yvfacts.htm

 

[sha_lyn]

Six percent of students had not gone to school on one or more of the 30 days preceding the survey because they felt they would be unsafe at school or on their way to or from school. (2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results, Center for
Disease Control, 2006)
http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/

Incidents of crime are reported at 96 percent of high schools, 94 percent of
middle schools, and 74 percent of primary schools. (Crime, Violence, Discipline
and Safety in U.S. Public Schools: Findings from the School Survey on Crime and
Safety: 2003-04, National Center for Education Statistics, 2006)
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007302rev

Over 78 percent of School Resource Officers attending the annual NASRO
Conference reported they had taken a weapon from a student on school property
in the past year. (NASRO 2004 National School-Based Law Enforcement Survey,
National Association of School Resource Officers, 2004)
http://www.schoolsecurity.org/resources/nasro_survey_2004.html

Nationwide, 29.8 percent of students had their property (e.g., car, clothing, or
books) stolen or deliberately damaged on school property one or more times
during the twelve months preceding the survey. (2005 Youth Risk Behavior
Survey Results, Center for Disease Control,

all the above and more statistics on crime and violence in public schools
http://www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv/Acrobatfiles/statistics_2007.pdf
Crime is prevalent in US public schools. No if ands or buts about it.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Those things happen at the schools around here.
Heck even when I went to school around here there was a lot going on that I would not want my children around. Drug deals, pot smoking and sex in the bathrooms, under the bleachers and on the busses. Teachers having sex with students. The horticulture teacher was having sex with his student aid during his free period. In 7th grade in and highschool I had male teachers sexually harass me. Rumors are that the one in highschool did have sex with several girls. I OTOH laughed at how ridiculous he was and walked out of the room (he said something about wanting to stick his tongue in my mouth). A classmates older sister got PG on the school bus. Student shot in the bathroom. Knife fights etc. It's only gotten worse. Shooting in the schools, a kid beaten to death at the bus stop. Drug deals, gang fights. Students rioting when not allowed to play inappropriate music during warm up before a basketball game.

Yep, around here safe school is an oxymoron

So I guess your neighborhoods are also unsafe.

These kids don't live in the school, they have to go home some time. Aren't they members of your church, scouts...

How do you manage to keep your kids away from the drugs, sex, gangs, fights when school is out? Do they not interact with the kids in community. Do these kids only behave this why when they're in school?

Do all the awful kids live in one area and all the good ones live in another?

Maybe the awful kids only act out 180 days a year, between 9:00am-3:00pm, Monday -Friday.

 

[graygables]

all the above and more statistics on crime and violence in public schools
http://www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv/Acrobatfiles/statistics_2007.pdf
Crime is prevalent in US public schools. No if ands or buts about it.

and yet homeschoolers are the ones accused of burying our heads in the sand...

 

[sha_lyn]

So I guess your neighborhoods are also unsafe.

No not my neighborhood. Also I can lock my doors and shoot an intruder etc.

These kids don't live in the school, they have to go home some time. Aren't they members of your church, scouts

Nope no gang members, drug deals etc in our coven or homeschool girlscout troop

How do you manage to keep your kids away from the drugs, sex, gangs, fights when school is out? Do they not interact with the kids in community. Do these kids only behave this why when they're in school?

Easy.... you don't frequent the areas with drug viloence, gang fights etc.
I'm sure "those students" act that way outside of school. In school you are "captive" in real life you can avoid areas, leave if feeling threatened etc.

 

[Karel]

all the above and more statistics on crime and violence in public schools
http://www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv/Acrobatfiles/statistics_2007.pdf
Crime is prevalent in US public schools. No if ands or buts about it.

Over 78 percent of School Resource Officers attending the annual NASRO
Conference reported they had taken a weapon from a student on school property
in the past year. (NASRO 2004 National School-Based Law Enforcement Survey,
National Association of School Resource Officers, 2004)
http://www.schoolsecurity.org/resour...rvey_2004.html .

That was based on 758 surveys from 1,100 attendees at a conference for School Resources Officers. Considering that there are 865 High Schools in Arizona alone, where the survey took place, that seems like a very unreliable figure.


Yes, there is crime in public schools but there is crime everywhere. There is crime in DisneyWorld but I still take my kids there. There is a wide range of crime too.

Yes, there is violence in high school but again, you can find violence anywhere. How about the shooting in the Amish schoolhouse last year? That's the last place anyone would expect it. There's also violence in the work place; adults with grudges against their boss, their co workers, former relationships.

There's crime, violence, drinking, sex in college too. I still want my kids to go to college, if they choose.

I felt 99% safe sending my children to our elementary school. Anytime you send your children out in the world there is a risk. Yes, there were kids that some people would term bullies but there are bullies everywhere, even in the adult work place. I think it's good for kids to learn how to stand up to a bully. I don't think there is drug use, sex or gang fighting in our local elementary school

I teach my kids that crime is bad and to keep themselves safe. I don't want them to be scared of people. (ETA: please do not read this as : homeschoolers teach their kids to be scared of people...but if you have such negative views of public high schools, that has to be rubbing off on them to some degree.) They know that not everyone has the same beliefs and values as our family. There is fighting, there is probably drug use, teens having sex but I hope my kids are making better choices. I know it is not as bad as others here have said.

 

[Ellester]

I've noticed that several posters seem to imply that homeschooled kids are afraid of people. In my experience, nothing is further from the truth. While I'm sure there are homeschooling families that keep to themselves, possibly creating some "stranger anxiety" I can assure you that the majority are not socio-phobic. I do find it interesting that so many of the posters assume that their schools are very safe. I hope that they are. As I stated in my original post to this thread, my child's safety was not a major reason we chose to homeschool. In my mind it is just a welcome side effect.

 

[JennyMominRI]

I think it's clear. Homeschooled kids = afraid of people
Public schooled kids= afraid for their lives

 

[Karel]

I've noticed that several posters seem to imply that homeschooled kids are afraid of people. In my experience, nothing is further from the truth. While I'm sure there are homeschooling families that keep to themselves, possibly creating some "stranger anxiety" I can assure you that the majority are not socio-phobic. I do find it interesting that so many of the posters assume that their schools are very safe. I hope that they are. As I stated in my original post to this thread, my child's safety was not a major reason we chose to homeschool. In my mind it is just a welcome side effect.

I know homeschool kids who can talk my ear off and others that are scared of their own shadow.

Of course I have to assume my school is safe. If not, our lives would be so paralyzed with fear they wouldn't be allowed to leave the house. Why should I assume negative things when I have no proof to that effect?

I allow my kids to go on carnival rides and do not assume it's going to come crashing to the ground. I allow them to go to the mall and don't assume some crazy person is going to start shooting ( and that has happened at our local mall) In four months, I'm going to send my 16 year old with his freshly printed license off behind the wheel alone. I can't assume that some nut is going to crash into him.

It wouldn't be much of a life if I assumed there were bad people in every shadow.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

So I guess your neighborhoods are also unsafe.

These kids don't live in the school, they have to go home some time. Aren't they members of your church, scouts...

How do you manage to keep your kids away from the drugs, sex, gangs, fights when school is out? Do they not interact with the kids in community. Do these kids only behave this why when they're in school?

Do all the awful kids live in one area and all the good ones live in another?

Maybe the awful kids only act out 180 days a year, between 9:00am-3:00pm, Monday -Friday.

Honestly I don't see this as a valid defense to send your kids out to school.

Seriously--my kids interact with plenty of other kids.

But it is less likely they will be exposed to the "not so good things".


There is this thing floating around the homeschool community about the defense of sending the kid to public school.

"So my kids will know how to say know to drugs."

They don't need possible exposure to that environment to ever learn that it isn't a good thing.

I smelled pot smoke in my high school (verified it with a friend as I had never smelled it before).

Yeah--I think I am good without having my kids potentially exposed to such an experience.

But that isn't WHY I homeschool.

 

[meandtheguys2]

I think it's clear. Homeschooled kids = afraid of people
Public schooled kids= afraid for their lives

Jenny, you have a grand sense of humor!

Crime isn't real high in the local schools, unless you count the bullies who are out of control.

Drugs, otoh, are surely an issue. The stats are nowher near the 98% quoted, but kids are still experimenting with alcohol and drugs at an alarming rate. They are also using their free time for sexual exploration better left for when they are more mature. can HS kids screw around? Of course. They have the same inner motivation. However, oftentimes peer pressure is a part of those decisions.

Homeschooling makes sense to us. There are only benefits as far as time efficiency, and, for our family, experiencing life in the real world as opposed to the contrived school envioronment.