I have seen a few Moms writing about why they homeschool, or do not homeschool. I thought I would jump in and give my story.
My Main Reason:
Here in our State, Washington, they have what is known as the WASL Test. The idea behind this test was to see how the schools are doing in the education of our children. In other words it was suppose to test the performance of the educators. The test has been very controversial to say the least. Teachers teach according to the material covered on the WASL test, and pretty much that is it. On the flip side of this coin, is no matter how well a student is doing in school, even if they have been a strait A or B student, if in their Senior year they do not pass the test with a C + they do not get to graduate from High School. Instead they have to go to Summer school and retake the test. I am unsure if this is the last chance they have or if they are given another opportunity to try again. I feel as do many others here that this test has been a flop, and what it was intended for has turned out to be a hindrance to our children’s education.
Another Reason:
As I see class sizes on the rise, I am seeing less qualified teachers in the field. This is not to say there is not good teachers teaching in our schools, but I have seen teachers who are teaching grade levels that they are not equipped to be teaching, such as a third grade teacher who should be teaching cursive writing, but doesn’t because she can’t cursive write herself.
Lastly
Because I can! I know many families who want to homeschool their children because they are unhappy with the school system here but can’t for economic reasons. I am blessed to be able to be home with Selena and to have this opportunity to homeschool her and teach her the true life skills she will someday need. I am truly thankful that through homeschooling I can establish some great Christian morals and we can learn together through the Bible.
*It has also been highly recommended by her Pediatrician that due to her advanced IQ that we should not put her in public school as she would get bored.* (this was said to us after we had made up our minds to homeschool her but it is still a strong reason why we do)
It's interesting to read different people's reasons for homeschooling. I think it's so neat you get to homeschool your granddaughter.
ReplyDelete"Teaching to the test" has me worried too. However, some of my friends have "advanced" children in good public schools, and they are happy with the attention that the kids are getting. Maybe it's different here in the Silicon Valley - there is big attention to raising next generation of technologists, and a lot of kids in good schools come from the highly educated families. The situation is very different in not-so-good schools - they have a high percentage of children from less advantageous backgrounds, and therefore they are faced with so many challenges early in life. For now I am very resolved to send Anna to our public elementary school that is rated one of the best in California, but I really respect all homeschoolers with vary different reasons for homeschooling.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post. My thoughts line up quite a bit with yours, and I always enjoy reading this sort of post because, as you know, we are in the discerning process regarding whether or not this is something we want to do. Thankfully we have a couple of years to decide. Anyway, thank you for sharing your thoughts about this!
ReplyDeleteI also agree that standardised testing can be dangerous. Content becomes idolised and certain important skills are never considered, or valued.
ReplyDeleteIt is so sad to know that some teachers do not differentiate their curriculum and only cater to the average (with is less than half of their class).
Selena is very fortunate to have a Grandmother like you.
I enjoyed reading through the books you enjoyed last week. I am in the process of trying to add more poetry books to our collection for our three year old little girl. I really like the sound of the Winter Poems book that you discussed.
I am considering homeschooling the boys when the time comes. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, teaching to "the test". This drove me crazy the last few years Hanna was in school!! Although I do plan to have Hanna tested each year throughout our homeschool years, I will not be teaching to any tests here!! I could go on and on, but maybe I'll do my own post soon....
ReplyDeleteLOVE your reasons and enjoyed reading this post too.
I love the Canadian system in British Columbia because they only get tested in 4th, 7th, 10th and 12th grade adn if you ask me, that is enough testing to know whether children are learning what they should.
ReplyDeleteWe will most likely be homeschooling Bear, because, although we have not had her IQ tested, we feel she picks up things very quickly adn will likely get bored sitting in a classroom setting.
http://theadventuresofbear.blogspot.com
Oops. My previous comment makes it look like I can't spell "and"!
ReplyDelete