Posted on 10/15/2015 4:48:41 PM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear
You got it.
Respect is not a response you can demand.
It is an attitude you must command.
You had mentioned being confronted by your Freeper "friends" earlier in the post, specifically with the following comment:
My FR "friends" are going to excoriate me for scolding you...
This led me to believe that your parting invitation was inviting such commentary from the larger audience.
“friends who’ve removed their children from public school talk about the necessity of a “de-schooling” time”
Just posted on FR is a synopsis/video of the Common Core math being taught in public schools. You must see it; you’ll run screaming for the best homeschool program you can find.
The "hit me" was to the initiator of this topic alone, to whom my comment, though public, was alone addressed.
It's really saying something when an amateur teacher working from home, possibly on a shoestring budget, can do a better job than the very costly system run by professionals.
In that case, please forgive my mistake.
I doubt that your child is sitting at a desk with you standing in front of him for five hours a day lecturing. If so, you’ve just recreated institutionalized schooling at home. I don’t believe that that is what you are doing, even though you may be interacting with your child several hours a day.
And, for some children this may be the way in which they learn best, albeit on a smaller scale. It’s part of the continuum that is home schooling even if it is only a very small minority. IMHO those new to hs’ing need to keep all options open until they figure out what works for their family.
Many, many families have concluded homeschooling doesn’t work because they think recreating government school at home is HSing, and they burn out. The suggestion is toxic to prospective homeschoolers. I still very much doubt that you are doing what I am talking about. You may have a lot of structure and a lot of interaction, but think back to being in school (I assume you were like most of us), are you really doing that? I suspect there is far more flexibility in what you are doing, even if it is far more time intensive than most.
I disagree that the idea is toxic. I don’t think it’s what works best for most families, but it will be for some.
What I do think is toxic is telling new/prospective homeschoolers they can’t do it this way or that (unless there are legal requirements, but that’s another topic altogether). We struggled for years because the standard hs’ing methods didn’t work well for us. Telling new hs’ers that recreating gov school at home typically is not what hs families find works best for them is certainly necessary information.
New hs’ers need to find out what works for their family. The fewest hurdles in their way helps them the most. Certainly most families won’t find lectures are what works best for them, but it’s not a “no one does this” case either. Hs’ing goes from unschooling on one end to recreating school at home on the other. I contend none is more valid than any other.
I’ll second the Classical Conversations suggestions, my grandkids are doing great with this.
Also: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/
I did homeschooling but it was a tad too far back to help you now. The programs change with new editions. There used to be a homeschool book sales fare every year in my area of Massachusetts. That is how I picked my programs along with talking to parents at the book fare.
We loved it. The son I pulled out of public schools told me in college that I saved him by doing that. He really enjoyed it and he’s close to his dad and me.
You want to get legal protection from the Homeschool Legal Defense (Fund or Aid) group (not sure I am remembering that name correctly.) If you ever need legal assistance in your community, i.e. are being harassed by local or state officials, they are proactive of protecting your rights. It does not cost that much and you need it. There are also certain requirements for your reporting about your intent to homeschool that vary from state to state. I found my State’s requirements and just parroted what they wanted to hear.
So glad you decided to do this. I can give you moral support. For us there was an adjustment time as my son had to get used to facing the immediate truth of his performance rather than the p.s’s self esteem nonsense and long periods of time that passed between taking tests and getting the feedback of correction. Also, he was responsible for doing his day of work no matter how long he dragged it out. He had to learn to buckle down and focus so he could complete his work correctly. If it was wrong, he had to do it over again before his school day was finished.
In no time, he was done with a full day’s work before noon. (it’s not that much and twice as much as a public school covers.) Then he could go to drama, music, swimming, karate lessons, read, or we would go out to lunch, on field trips or run errands. No television or video games - we were too busy for that.
I cut out all pc lessons and suggestions. He was taught that our family does not believe in the meaning of skin color like racists do and that racists can be any color or ethnic tribe who hate and blame others for no real reason. I did a start up small businesses in pet sitting while homeschooling him so he got experience in creating, building and running a business. Then, when he was older and more independent in schooling - was using tutors from Harvard for math and science - I went back to rebuilding my contract and grant business. We sold the pet sitting business so he saw that it was really worth his while to work hard and build his own business.
The fun thing about home school is you can be creative and do whatever works for you and your children.
I’ve talked to many hundreds of homeschool families and have spoken in front of thousands. Nobody does what you claim you are doing except for those who burnout after 2 months and re-institutionalize their children. The idea is toxic because it encourages new parents who have only known the government factory model of schooling to think that it is model they can replicate at home. Because it is what they know, they do it because it is what they are “comfortable” with. Then they crash and burn. Let’s assume you are succeeding, if so you are such an extreme outlier that it is irrelevant, and the example is vastly more likely to do extreme harm than good for NEW families.
It’s nice to know that such a highly-esteemed person such as you considers me and my family irrelevant. Sounds a lot like the government school mentality.
Could be you’ve not met hs’ers like my family because you are so caustic toward anyone who doesn’t fall in line with your dictates. It’s been very unpleasant chatting with you. Still I wish you well.
Good day
Look, you can do whatever you want, and I understand the sensitivities here. The point is not to hurt or “validate” your feelings, but to help a new family succeed. If you are spending five hours a day lecturing to a child stuck in a chair, you represent an approach that has a real world success frequency among homeschoolers that asymptotically approaches 0. Suggesting that someone consider what you are doing is not all that different from one in which a parent asks for advice on teaching his child to play the piano, and someone says that playing with your feet is one model. After all, you can find a few people on YouTube doing that. Of course, the “model” is irrelevant in the real world and a recipe for failure. Newbies should not be encouraged to consider doing what doesn’t work, ESPECIALLY when what doesn’t work is their experiential default.
Happy to help if you need. I homeschooled, now tutor kids 1:1. Just think of the basics: reading, writing, arithmetic, geography. Let your child lead - what does he love? He can read, do math, research, write, do geography — all in that field, whether it is cooking, science, sports, etc.
Drop me a private query if you have questions. You know more than he does, and you know what he needs to become a successful adult. Travel, read, play games, cook, go on field trips. It is a WONDERFUL adventure.
Thanks so much. <3.
Bless you, my child (/smile)
Six years ago, we homeschoolers put together information to help other parents here get started...
Here's that old thread. Click on the link, and scroll to the 3rd post:
FREE REPUBLIC HOMESCHOOLERS' FORUM 2009-2010
After the 4th post, there is a list of homeschool resources with links. Yes, it's an old thread (that I never had time to update in later years), but it's a start.
I know many families who removed their children from junior high school to start homeschooling.
Personally, I'd recommend that, first, before taking your son out of school, look into your local homeschool cooperatives and organizations. You could check for support groups on HSLDA's Support Group Search, or just google "homeschool support" or "homeschool co-op" for your state.
Then contact the people in charge and arrange to visit those cooperatives. Find one that you like. Then, if your son does start homeschooling, you'll both have a support network, and he can meet new friends, and there will be classes and extracurricular activities for your son to enjoy right away.
Just my 2 cents. Good luck!
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