Public School, Charter School or Homeschool?

me

[livianne]

Hi all,

I am years ahead of myself here, since I currently have no kids and am not planning to start trying until the beginning of next year. Even so, I've found myself thinking a lot about how my husband and I will educate our kids. The schools in my area are actually fairly well respected, but I've looked at their curriculum and suggested methods and it's a lot of stuff that seems completely irrelevant to an education. Mostly it's about teaching them to love everybody and to feel good. That's not what school is for - that's what parents are for. That and teaching them about sex, which I also don't think I want the school doing for me. But that's REALLY getting ahead of myself.

I had a couple of questions for anyone here who has dealt with this issue. First of all, should I just stop thinking about it until it's closer to when my yet unconceived child will start school, or is it good to start planning way in advance. Also, do people have any opinions on public charter schools in general? I know they are all different, but have people found them to be better than regular public schools? I like the idea of homeschool but knowing myself I think it may be more than I could handle, and I don't want to give my children a poor education and drive myself and them insane.

Also, is there generally a waiting period for charter schools? How far in advance should I start contacting people at the schools to find out about enrolling?

Again, I know I am way way ahead of myself, but I like to plan ahead so big things don't sneak up on me. The educational experience of my children is VERY important to me and I do plan to be very involved since I will be a stay at home mom, hopefully throughout high school if I can. So any input people can give me would be great.

Thanks!

[LiteKeeper]

should I just stop thinking about it until it's closer to when my yet unconceived child will start school, or is it good to start planning way in advance

Just a thought - Homeschooling, which I advocate, requires a very different lifestyle than the other two. Homeschooling means you may not be able to have a two family income household...are you prepared to live on one income? If not, is that something that you are prepared to shift to? One income households require a simpler lifestyle since there is less income. Alternatives? Home-based business, or non-standard business during other than normal business hours.

As I said, just a thought

[AZamericonnie]

If I had it to do over I never would have sent my son to a public school. I have always had to work so that would have been difficult but I have met others who work opposing shifts in order to homeschool.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

I think you are right to think about it now. I started researching homeschooling when my son was first born, and I am glad I did. We homeschool- which is the best for my family. I advocate homeschool, but understand it is not a perfect fit for all families.

IF you have the time now, get involved with the school district. Volunteer for something interesting to you and get to know the folks at the school. You will make many contacts and they will have some good resources for you... no matter what you choose to do, and even if you are not in that district when your children are school age.

Take the time now, because there is so much information out there it could take years to absorb it all. Then when the times comes you will be prepared , instead of rushed.

I think the best advice I was given was know the reason you are homeschooling. Sounds simplistic, I know.. but it is not really. Now that I understand the Why.. the how is much easier for me.

Good luck.. and freepmail me if I can help you.

Here is a link to get you started: HERE

[livianne]

We weren't planning to have a two income home anyway - I was planning to be a full time mom for my kids even if they were away at a public or charter school. My mom went back to work when i was in fourth grade and from then on I came home watched too much TV and put off doing my homework. I don't want my kids spending that much time without a parent around - I don't think it's healthy for them or for my relationship with them. Besides, whether they admit it or not, even teenagers want their moms around, just out of their hair. :)

[LiteKeeper]

Good for you...that is the first gate, it seems to me. The next gate is your commitment...your willingness to go the long haul. There are a number of great resources available to you. I teach a high school class during my lunch hour two days a week. Relevance? It is in a Homeschool enrichment program, serving 800+ kids (and their families) two days a week. I have 11 highschoolers, some who have been homeschooled all their lives...and they love it. They are well-rounded, bright, excited abouot education, and certainly "socialized" well.

The school also has a support group for the families, particularly the Moms...assisting them in dealing with all of the vagaries of homeschooling. Let me know if you need more information.

[katz]

They need to love every one and feel good? Then send them to a government school. If you want them educated, home school or use a private school.

[ZGuy]

Hi livianne.

Start doing your research now. You are right -- it is a “big thing” and you will be able to do a much more thorough yet much more relaxed job of choosing the path you and your children are going to take if you start now and just keep doing a little research here and a little research there.

To start, read this (ignoring the typos) :

Home Schools: The Hope Of America

If this approach seems interesting to you, here are links to some other articles by the same author :

1 2 3 4 5

Your comment that you think it may be more than you can handle etc. is a concern of most parents looking into homeschooling. One way to avoid the pressure on you and still get a great education for your children is to use a style similar to that used in the Robinson curriculum. In short, the key concepts are :

1. That the you teach the child to read and then the child becomes educated by devouring books rather than by mommy standing up in front of them and lecturing them every day.

2. That they use great books to learn from. Example - Why have them learn about the civil war by reading a modern book written by some unknown and probably indoctrinated post-grad student when they could learn about it by reading the autobiographies, etc. of those who actually were there and led the war efforts?

3. There is no reason to spend a fortune on homeschooling materials since most of the great literature and books are now public domain. Thus you can either get them for free via the internet or get a compilation of them on CD for a comparatively nominal cost. (Robinson Curriculum is set up as every book needed for K-12 (except math) for $200 (plus costs to print out materials on your printer at home)

Listen to the audio files here to learn more.

By the way, if you are interested in this approach you can get more for less cost here or as I said earlier, you can find your books online at places like this where you can access over 20,000 books online for free.

My wife and I have a two year old with a daughter due in July. Our decision is to go with a combination of the two philosophies I’ve mentioned above. Our goal is not just to have well-educated children, but to develop leaders in the process.

There are literally thousands of other educational options available for you out there. Some are great, some not-so-great. Some are teacher intensive, others are not. And of course, you can find materials focused on anything : Christian, character-building, etc.

I’m sure that whatever you choose -- you’ll do fine, because the research you are putting into it now will result in a great education for your kids later.

[livianne]

They need to love every one and feel good? Then send them to a government school. If you want them educated, home school or use a private school.

My problem with how they try to get kids to feel good is to tell them how good they are, not to challenge them and help them feel good by achieving more than they thought they could. I don't want kids that walk around telling me how special they are and how everyone is worth JUST as much. Bunk

[livianne]

That article is great! I have the other five opened in other windows and I'm going to read them all. THe more I think about it, the more I am sure that homeschooling is the right option for me. I've never really liked the idea of sending kids to public school, but for a long time I bought into the idea that keeping kids out of school somehow damaged them. Now I see that often it's exactly the other way around.

One thing I'm going to start doing is checking out the different curriculums for cost, content and style. That way I'll be able to find the one that fits me best so that I can be the most effective teacher possible.

I do really like the concept of having the kids do a lot of reading to learn rather than lecturing.

Thanks so much for the advice and the links!

[katz]

My problem with government schools is that they push the International agenda and teach American children to be good little globalists. American history and culture is lacking in the government schools. America = Bad, Immigrant Cultures = Good. Keep them out of government schools. A good many winners of awards and academic contests are granted to home schooled children. I remember a young boy, home schooled, who won the National World Geography Contest.

[mean lunch lady]

You are really smart to think about it ahead of time. I have two adult children (huh?) but if I had it to do again, I think I would seriously consider homeschooling. As long as they still had some activities where they were around other kids and learned to interact with their peers. I think most people who homeschool their children do make sure that they have opportunities to socialize with others. My daughter left high school convinced she could never do math. Some (not all) of her lack of confidence could be traced to a teacher who told the kids things like, "If you don't know that, I guess I'll see you here next year", etc. No help at all. Today she works for a large hotel where she is involved in convention billing and payroll. No thanks to the teacher who was supposed to be helping her.

[livianne]

From what people have been telling me there are lots of support groups and activities for homeschooled kids - plus there are sports and scouting and all of those things. Not worried about socialization - most of the socialization in public schools is the popular kids picking on the rest of the kids anyway. I remember teachers who would tell us (the honors class) that they would show us things they wouldn't bother teaching to the classes who were at a lower level. That always seemed patently unfair - how do you know what someone can learn if you never even try to teach it to them?

There are some wonderful public school teachers, but they are far to few and far between to really make a big difference.

[mean lunch lady]

There are some wonderful public school teachers, but they are far to few and far between to really make a big difference.

I totally agree with you, I work at a school and I know this to be true, also that teachers often end up spending their own money for supplies and materials even though the pay is very low. I think many of the problems are caused by the system, rather than the teachers. People get tired and discouraged and they try to stick it out til they can retire but their hearts are not in it. Also in the school district where I work the administrators pay is about 30th in the state but the teacher salaries are 57th in the state, obviously there is a great discrepancy here. I think there are many more administrative people than are really needed.

[cgk]

placemark. Good advice, thanks.