The scary part of homeschooling

Even though I love homeschooling the girls and have found nothing more rewarding in my life . I always know that there is always going to be someone out there who doesn't agree with the way Tim and I choose to educate our daughters . Alot of the times its out of ignorance to what homeschooling really is and what it entails . I read an interesting article about how the state of California is trying to strip the rights of families to home educate their children . Forcing them to put them in their substandard schools . With this I have to say :

Alot of people out there donot understand homeschooling and see it as some 'hippie' 60's thing that only wacko religous people do to keep their children shielded from society . And those thoughts are so far from the truth . Children that are homeschooled , or schooled at home have such an advantage to their brick and mortar counterparts . Children that are taught at home , if done right that is , can experience life more then a child does stuck in a building for 8 hours a day . We can dwell on the things that interest us, and we can stop and work on those things that seem the toughest . We can move on if things are too easy, and we don't have to wait for the class to 'get it ' before moving on . Homeschooled children are very socialized and dare I think we socialize a bit too much . But I know my family has definitley dispelled that myth . Marilyn , Katie and Hannah can relate to children their age, younger , older . They aren't afraid of adults , and are polite . We even have the chance to take the girls to the nursing home that their grandmother works at to meet with some of the older folks . Letting them know that old people really aren't creepy . They are social little butterflies that haven't let learning at home keep them down .

We do believe in God , but we don't shield our children from society . We present both facts , then always let them know what we believe in . But we aren't spookie , creepy , jumping up and down , handwaving relgious wackos either . We also don't homeschool for relgious reasons, which believe it or not in today's society its the least common factor anymore anyways . More and more families are pulling their children out of brick and mortar schools because of violence in the schools , and poor substandard education by the 'credentialed' teachers that some aren't even fit to teach their own child let alone thier own as well . It is amazing as one night I sat and watched Jay Leno and he has a spot on his show where he goes out in the public and asks people simple questions and they show how "smart" they really are . The one that stuck out at me and even scared me was a 5th grade English teacher that didn't even know what the world alfresco meant . Me , in my limited non credentialed education knew immediately what this word meant . Of course it meant : outside . This woman didn't even know . He also asked her several questions you would of expected a certified teacher to know and she just laughed away with a chester grin only to say " I don't know ? " It was scary to even know this lady taught in the school system . It just goes to show you that going to college doesn't always means your more educated then someone else . It just means that you spent more money on something someone could learn on the job . One person in the comment section of the article tried to compare us with trying to be doctors . To that we don't feel we are doctors . Home educators know we are not medical doctors nor do we want to be . That the medical field is definitley something you MUST go to college for . Teaching your children . You really donot . Alot of families don't even realize that they teach their children from the very beginning . From the time you hold them in your arms your child is learning from YOU . Not a credentialed MOM .

Of course there are some families who have the wrong notion of homeschooling . Believeing that they can throw a book at their child and they are going to learn on their own . Sometimes we don't know the whole story and a child or children can have learning difficulties that make homeschooling a bit more of a challenge . Not all children are textbooks and not all children master material at the same time at the same level . My 10 yr old is finishing 4th grade this year . Her 8 yr old sister is finishing 3rd . Only because that is the level they are at . Some children at 8yrs of age are just finishing 1st grade in some homeschooling families . And you know what ? That's alright too . Being able to tailor our children's education so they are learning is what is important . Not if a child is 1 or 2 or 3 grades above or below their level .

Even brick and mortar school children are behind . I have a hard time believeing that its alright for a child to go to brick and mortar school and be behind . Why is that ? But a child at home could be working a level or two below grade level , and still be thriving and its not alright . I can say that you can get similar results from both sides of the spectrum . There are some homeschooled children who just don't do well at home . Maybe where mom isn't the best person to teach because of whatever issue there maybe . Not everyone is cut out to homeschool . But then not everyone is cut to be a teacher in a brick and mortar school either . I can remember many times being in classrooms with burnt out teachers who just were mean and scary and feeling like I had to protect myself rather then sit and learn in the classroom . All of this really goes both ways . The only difference is brick and mortar teachers get paid . I don't .

Just like small children . Not all children walk at age 1 . Not all children crawl . Not all children are eating table food at 9 months old , and not all children know their ABC's when they go to preschool . Why does it need to be so different once children begin their educational journeys ? Why do we hold our children up to a textbook then , and tell them that they have to be and do things like everyone else does now ? Why can't we let our children grow and thrive at their own pace ? Isn't that what life is really about ? Today we read in history about many famous Americans who have been schooled at home . Benjamin Franklin , Patrick Henry , Nathan Hale , Abraham Lincoln , George Washington , Thomas Jefferson , Woodrow Wilson , Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison , Margaret Mead , Frederick Douglass , Helen Keller , Emily Dickinson , Mark Twain , are all just to name a few . I mean really , such wonderful , intelligent people whom alot of them weren't given any credit as children because they were either labeled "stupid" , or " slow " , or some families didn't have the money for education because along time ago there wasnt' free education . Where these families terrible and horrible like the parents of today are for wanting the same freedom ?

Homeschooling is a choice . A fundamental right , and dare I say Constitutional Right as our children are given " fair and equal education ?" Where is the fairness in cheating our children out of a good education when sending them to substandared brick and mortar schools ?... and hey , since we're on the subject .. why are those schools so substandard ? I mean really .. credentialed teachers teach in them . In the end our children will grow up , go out and get a job and in the end does it really matter where they learned what 2+2 equals ?

If your wondering here in the end what I am talking about . Here is the link : http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/comments/view?f=/c/a/2008/03/07/MNJDVF0F1.DTL&o=4