Homeschool?

My oldest daughter will soon be 5. We are strongly considering homeschooling for a number of reasons. The primary one is that we feel a home environment (the program we have chosen has plenty of ‘social interaction) is a more natural learning environment and secondly, because we know exactly what she will be learning.

I want my kids exposed to the classical education I was never exposed to. Heck, I never even read Machiavelli like our friend Constantine.

No, I don’t think Public Schools are evil, and no, we are not afraid of other viewpoints. What thinkest ye?

btw–homeschooling will make us anomalies in ECUSA.

12 thoughts on “Homeschool?

  1. I homeschool, or more specifically, unschool. Regardless of the “method” the parents choose, I think home is a more beneficial environment for children than an institution that must necessarily make the pegs fit the holes rather than the other way round. Especially children under 10 years. My opinion, that’s all.

    There are lots of sites and books around that address concerns about socialization, post-secondary education, employment, etc. You’ll be able to find tons of information online and through support networks if you pursue this course.

    Is being an anomaly within your denomination a concern?

  2. This may seem like stating the obvious …but I would just go with how I felt God was leading me. The education of my two sons is truly a lengthy testimony. I had real concerns, being that we moved to the inner – city,which is known for failing schools. I work for the Archdiocese therefore I make nothing as far as income. But regardless my oldest son just graduated from one of the top college prep high schools anywhere and my youngest is in his junior year there. It has been God the whole way. I think homeschooling can be great if you have the time, commitment and resources, and many top universities agree with that assessment. Being a single mother who had to work outside the home that was not an option for me.

  3. Angevoix,
    Interestingly, the program we are using is public school based. There will be one day of school for my daughter (taught by a public school teacher) and the rest we will be on our own. So, there are many in the program who are not Christians at all. We house this program at our church, so it is a good fit for us and very convenient.

    madcap,

    My wife would love to chat with you! Being Canadian, perhaps you understand the church anomaly (You might be Anglican?).

    Since I am already an anomaly in my denomination, one more thing won’t make a huge difference.

  4. In my province, 5% of all students are homeschooled, and that doesn’t include the ones who are doing the public school program at home, rather than “traditional” homeschooling. It’s still considered somewhat “anomolous” I suppose, but the public at large is becoming more familiar with the concept, if not with the day-to-day reality.

    I did attend an Anglican church for several years in my teens, followed by a few years of Pentecostalism, a slow conversion to R.C., and a slow burn out of religious practice. I’m just beginning to reconsider formal church. So, I have to be up front and say that I’m not in the neo-conservative boat, but I’m also not interested in shutting anyone down, if that’s what God seems to be calling them to. God seems to use any instrument at hand to accomplish the divine purpose, in my experience, and I’m learning to accept those differences. There’s probably a reason I wasn’t elected to the position!

    I just needed to make that clear, so there’s no confusion about my approach… I homeschool not for religious reasons, but because I think it best harmonizes with child-development and the learning process, both academic and social. Your wife is definitely welcome to contact me through my site if she likes.

  5. I would define neo-conservative as someone who advocates a return to formal, traditional practice based on liturgy; someone who disfavours the present widespread re-writing of historic liturgical texts and the concurrent liberalization of theology. Perhaps that’s a misnomer, or perhaps I’ve misread your intended meaning within your posts, in either case, my apologies.

  6. Unfortunately, when my kids were the age that yours are, I was totally ignorant of homeschooling (had never even heard of it…in fact, I was ignorant of a LOT of things!). But I later met, and now HAVE, many friends who homeschool their children for various reasons, and can very well understand their rationale for it.

    During elementary school, my son had constant disciplinary problems (in part due to ADHD, and partly to wishy-washy parenting), so I opted to take him out of public school his seventh grade year and homeschool him, not as a punishment, but as a learning experience for both him and me. I learned MUCH, believe me! I learned that homeschooling requires a huge commitment on the part of the parents, but is a very rewarding investment in your children’s future. I see that probably, in some cases, when parents send their children to public schools, they are taking “the easy way out,” because for me it was a lot more challenging to school my son myself than it was to pack him off on a school bus every day. The opportunities for one-on-one education in homeschooling are incomparable, and the flexibility is extremely convenient. However, I believe commitment and determination to succeed have got to be a priority before you ever embark on it, or it can seem overwhelming.

    If you are going to homeschool, I would advise you to make the decision now, and not opt to put them in public school for awhile just to see how they do. If you decide to homeschool them after they have been in a public school environment for a few years, they may resent being taken “away from their friends, etc,” and be uncooperative.

    As we had mutually agreed at the beginning of the year I homeschooled my son, if he cooperated with me as a teacher and made good grades, he could return to public school if he still wanted to, which he did. He will now be a senior, and many times I have witnessed over these past years how he would have still benefitted more from the one-one-one ed., for the reason that madcapmum stated: he’s a square peg trying to be jammed into a round hole. He has a very inquiring mind, and too many times, I think public school teachers feel threatened by such children.

  7. Aaargh. Having trouble getting my blogsite to accept homeschool articles, apparently. I’ll keep trying to post those links, and I’ll let you know when they’re there. Sorry about that.

  8. One more thing…the fact that you will be an anomaly among your denominational counterparts should not even be a factor in your decision to homeschool. If we always live in fear of what those around us might think of us, we will be unable to step out in faith, and faith in your ability to school your children (with the Lord’s help) is definitely required in making this kind of commitment. You CAN do it! There will always be those who may think less of people who decide to homeschool their children, but it’s only because they are insecure in their own parenting skills, and feel threatened or convicted in some way by those who are willing to break out of the mold that public schools represent. As for support in your prospective endeavor, most areas have homeschool groups of some type that meet on a regular basis. Whether they are of your denominational affiliation or not should be irrelevant (in my opinion, of course).

  9. SJ,
    You are spot on! We believe it is right and hopefully can stick it out.

    madcap,
    Thanks for defining terms and welcome to our webzine!

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