Home schooling.

[Axl4Prez2004]

Okay, I just figured I'd toss it out there.  Any thoughts?

My knee-jerk gut reaction is that it's not ideal for kids.  It's tough to miss out on the social component that can't be re-created at home.  That said, does anybody here have any experience with home schooling?  Does anybody here know anybody who was home schooled??

We are seriously considering this option for our 2 young 'ns.  Any thoughts?

[loretian]

I was home schooled for my first year or two, then I went to public school.  I think there are certainly real benefits to home schooling, but you are right, there is a social aspect of life that must be learned later in life because of it.  There are benefits too; many place too high of a priority on social ability, and home schooling can help refocus the priority on learning and improving oneself in meaningful and important ways.


I don't have much more to add, just wanted to throw in my small two cents and say that I think homeschooling can be a good thing.

[$$$$]

Ive met quite a few home schooled kids and honestly they are all...... shall we say "unique"

put your kids in school or they will become socially lost.

[D]

I personally wouldn't do it.

I just think if u can afford to send your child to a good school, they will learn from people who are trained to teach, plus the experience and social interactions and life lessons learned can't be underestimated.

home school seems a bit sheltered for my tastes. I'm sure some have had great experiences with it,but I would never do it.

[Smoking Guns]

In theory, I am against it.... BUT, school is fucked up these days.  Drugs, gangs, rapes, sex on the school bus, pressure to "fit in", columbine, lack of education in public school, and more pressure seems to make it more and more dangerous for our youth.  For the most part, Pot was as bad as it got when I was in HS.  We had some rednecks, but no real gangs.  We had some pregnant chics, but who doesn't.  But it seems like so much has changed since I left HS.  We didn't have cops in the hall then.  People didn't blow people up at school.  Everyone wasn't texting 24-7, we didn't even really have cell phones that weren't the size of a backpack and didn't cost $3.00 per minute to use.  I would say send your kid to private school, but drugs and cliques are even WORSE there.  However, the education is MUCH better along with the discipline. 

I say beat your kids so they won't piss their life away and pray they don't get killed at school.  There is still a lot of good that comes from going to regular school.  Just seems like the little shits today are too damn spoiled.

[Axl4Prez2004]

Alright, here's the scenario. (and before I forget to add this, thanks for the feedback folks!)
The little guy is incredibly advanced.  In his 2's he was repeating verbatim, stories that we read to him weeks earlier...and now, these weren't Hop on Pop stories, they were Thomas the Train stories that went about 5 or 6 stories in a 60 page book...with multi-syllabic words.  It shocked the shit out of me one day.  It was while he was playing with the engines...and I mean verbatim!  Not one word missed!  
Fast forward to now.  He's a very advanced reader who enjoys science books, Garfield books, between a 3rd and 4th grade reading level.  He is in Kindergarten...guess what they cover in school?  Sight words.  GO.  WE.  HIM.  The teacher tried giving a couple extra projects...but she doesn't have the time to cover chapter books with him.  It's very frustrating.  In math, they count to 20...and he's doing addition, subtraction, etc.  

His behavior is amazing.  He follows all the rules...but he did mention being angry when all they were doing was counting.  "I know how to do that."  He doesn't voice this in class, he's not a boisterous kid.  He's nothing like his dad!  Seriously, what do they do in class?  They color and they do "worksheets."  It is very frustrating.

D, I'm sure you might think my boy's "unique" already, and he hasn't been homeschooled, unless you consider that his environment at home has fostered a love of learning.  It's crazy, when he reads it, he has learned it...and he doesn't forget it.  He loves it!

We are looking into what the area schools have to offer...it's tough though.  The district we live in has a talented and gifted program that begins in 3rd grade, BUT, it consists of meeting once a week for 4 months, after school, and it's not part of the school's curriculum.  So...it seems like there's 8 hours of socialization/reviewing shit I learned when I was 5 at home, and a couple extra projects a month after school.  ...as opposed to a curriculum that actually challenges him on a daily basis and allows him to learn at a pace that is best for him.

I never, ever, ever thought I'd be leaning toward home schooling my kids...but that's where we are right now.  My wife will be meeting with his teacher tomorrow...we're still feeling things out.

May I also add one more thing.  One big red flag about the home schooling is that the local home schooling "networks" seem to be flooded with religious extremists.  Ya know, the ones who don't want their kids taught evolution, sex ed., etc.  Grrr, right now, there just doesn't seem to be a perfect solution.  

The more feedback from you folks the better!  Thanks again.  

[GNRreunioneventually]

don't do it

i don't know about the rest of you, but my encounters with home schooled kids haven't been good ones. When i was in 5 or 6 grade i remember there were these 3 boys that lived up the street from me. one was my age and the others were young but anyway me and this girl that used to hang out all the time and this home schooled kid were jackin' around one day and the subject of reading came up and all of a sudden he got real quiet. The kid couldn't read and he was about the same age as i. Most likely it wasn't all his fault (even though he was dumb as fuck) but more his parents (they were even more dumb as fuck).

another case, i work with one. Even though he exits while i show up ya just can't talk to him like you would other kids that age. given he's about 15 i think, he has no sence of humor at all and he's a nark which i hate.

So of course i'm going don't home school your kids or else they'll grow up to be a mix between butters, mr slave, and that ginger kid on south park

[GNRreunioneventually]

Alright, here's the scenario. (and before I forget to add this, thanks for the feedback folks!)
The little guy is incredibly advanced.  In his 2's he was repeating verbatim, stories that we read to him weeks earlier...and now, these weren't Hop on Pop stories, they were Thomas the Train stories that went about 5 or 6 stories in a 60 page book...with multi-syllabic words.  It shocked the shit out of me one day.  It was while he was playing with the engines...and I mean verbatim!  Not one word missed! 
Fast forward to now.  He's a very advanced reader who enjoys science books, Garfield books, between a 3rd and 4th grade reading level.  He is in Kindergarten...guess what they cover in school?  Sight words.  GO.  WE.  HIM.  The teacher tried giving a couple extra projects...but she doesn't have the time to cover chapter books with him.  It's very frustrating.  In math, they count to 20...and he's doing addition, subtraction, etc. 

His behavior is amazing.  He follows all the rules...but he did mention being angry when all they were doing was counting.  "I know how to do that."  He doesn't voice this in class, he's not a boisterous kid.  He's nothing like his dad!  Seriously, what do they do in class?  They color and they do "worksheets."  It is very frustrating.

D, I'm sure you might think my boy's "unique" already, and he hasn't been homeschooled, unless you consider that his environment at home has fostered a love of learning.  It's crazy, when he reads it, he has learned it...and he doesn't forget it.  He loves it!

We are looking into what the area schools have to offer...it's tough though.  The district we live in has a talented and gifted program that begins in 3rd grade, BUT, it consists of meeting once a week for 4 months, after school, and it's not part of the school's curriculum.  So...it seems like there's 8 hours of socialization/reviewing shit I learned when I was 5 at home, and a couple extra projects a month after school.  ...as opposed to a curriculum that actually challenges him on a daily basis and allows him to learn at a pace that is best for him.

I never, ever, ever thought I'd be leaning toward home schooling my kids...but that's where we are right now.  My wife will be meeting with his teacher tomorrow...we're still feeling things out.

May I also add one more thing.  One big red flag about the home schooling is that the local home schooling "networks" seem to be flooded with religious extremists.  Ya know, the ones who don't want their kids taught evolution, sex ed., etc.  Grrr, right now, there just doesn't seem to be a perfect solution.  

The more feedback from you folks the better!  Thanks again.  

if your kid is that smart congrats secondly, even though i'm just a senior in high school, i think i'd pull him out of that school immediatly or else the stupid will get to him and he'll be normal. put him in one of those smart schools or something like that. That is if its not gonna cost you an arm a leg and part of your penis. and if it does well then to keep him learning something get him those rosetastone tapes that teach you new languages. Given that he seems really smart from what you say get him manderin (sp?) or chinese or something like that, translaters in the business world make it pretty good.

[kmorgan]

My best friend went to public school until about 3rd grade, then her parents home-schooled her until 10th grade, and then put her back in public school.  She had to take some freshman level classes to catch up when she returned to public school because she was very behind credit wise.  Luckily for her, she is very smart and was able to catch up and even graduate in the top ten percent of her class.

She hated being home-schooled, mainly because of the social activities she never got to be a part of.  She missed out on ever getting to be in the band, cheer, UIL, sports, FFA... the list goes on.  It was too late for her to pick up and join things once she came back because where we are from, back then, teams and other groups pretty much got started in jr. high, and remained basically the same through high school.  She is 35 years old, and still feels a little cheated over it.

The world was a different place back then, though.  From what I understand, home-schooled kids today have all kinds of activities offered to them, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad.  As far as education itself goes, if you're gonna do it, you have to do it right.  My friend's mom didn't exactly stick to a set curriculum or schedule.  It was just too easy to sleep in and not worry about it.  The teachers in a public school are going to know methods that parents may not, but then, you can't always count on them to use them.  So, you would really need to do all you can to educate yourself or whoever would be doing the teaching in more than just the subject areas.

I teach in a public school, and my kids both go to public school, and it is an entirely different world than when I was a student.  There are a lot more bad influences out there, and your kids will absolutely be exposed to a lot of stuff you probably wish they wouldn't, but I have to say, at least it creates the opportunity for communication between parents and their kids.  If you stay involved, and do all you can to stay on top of what's going on with your kids, they are gonna have a much better chance of being  well-rounded, well-behaved adults one day coming out of public school.  They are going to experience the "bad" things one day, regardless of schooling.  My friend was lucky enough to come back to public school early enough to experience those things and learn how to handle them before she went to college.  If she hadn't, I can promise you, she would have gone wild on her own.

So basically, I think either way could work if it is done right.  You just have to figure out which way you can handle.

[norway]

Depends on family-situation. If we were living more in tribes it would work better. There's private schools too.

I'm more down with a as good public school as possible atm tho.

[Albert S Miller]

Alright, here's the scenario. (and before I forget to add this, thanks for the feedback folks!)
The little guy is incredibly advanced.  In his 2's he was repeating verbatim, stories that we read to him weeks earlier...and now, these weren't Hop on Pop stories, they were Thomas the Train stories that went about 5 or 6 stories in a 60 page book...with multi-syllabic words.  It shocked the shit out of me one day.  It was while he was playing with the engines...and I mean verbatim!  Not one word missed!  
Fast forward to now.  He's a very advanced reader who enjoys science books, Garfield books, between a 3rd and 4th grade reading level.  He is in Kindergarten...guess what they cover in school?  Sight words.  GO.  WE.  HIM.  The teacher tried giving a couple extra projects...but she doesn't have the time to cover chapter books with him.  It's very frustrating.  In math, they count to 20...and he's doing addition, subtraction, etc.  

His behavior is amazing.  He follows all the rules...but he did mention being angry when all they were doing was counting.  "I know how to do that."  He doesn't voice this in class, he's not a boisterous kid.  He's nothing like his dad!  Seriously, what do they do in class?  They color and they do "worksheets."  It is very frustrating.

D, I'm sure you might think my boy's "unique" already, and he hasn't been homeschooled, unless you consider that his environment at home has fostered a love of learning.  It's crazy, when he reads it, he has learned it...and he doesn't forget it.  He loves it!

We are looking into what the area schools have to offer...it's tough though.  The district we live in has a talented and gifted program that begins in 3rd grade, BUT, it consists of meeting once a week for 4 months, after school, and it's not part of the school's curriculum.  So...it seems like there's 8 hours of socialization/reviewing shit I learned when I was 5 at home, and a couple extra projects a month after school.  ...as opposed to a curriculum that actually challenges him on a daily basis and allows him to learn at a pace that is best for him.

I never, ever, ever thought I'd be leaning toward home schooling my kids...but that's where we are right now.  My wife will be meeting with his teacher tomorrow...we're still feeling things out.

May I also add one more thing.  One big red flag about the home schooling is that the local home schooling "networks" seem to be flooded with religious extremists.  Ya know, the ones who don't want their kids taught evolution, sex ed., etc.  Grrr, right now, there just doesn't seem to be a perfect solution.  

The more feedback from you folks the better!  Thanks again.  

Have you thought about at least advancing your child to the next grade level, rather than bore him with what he has already learned?  My own girls were passed kinder when they started as well, seeking all of their reading and early math skills at home, daycare/preschool even offered small amounts of foreign language (French) mostly, so they were definately ready for more of a challenge by kinder, they still needed to advance in the world of social skills and so on, all of the rest was just a review for them.

As far as the dangers in school are concerned as of today, me feelings are that we have to teach our children how to live in the world as it is today, dangerous or not, they have to learn to deal, to live in it safely, not be sheltered or withdrawn from society, as there are still alot of great and safe things that do still exist over and above all the turmoil we face.  This education for my children came from home, and started as early as they were able to understand the ways of the world, as I have mentioned before, I feel we owe ourselves a pat on the back, they have grown into smart, respectful young ladies, who never fell into the traumas of the public school bullshit that is so abundant as we know it today.

Good luck with the choices you end up making Axl4prez, each household is obviously different and what works for one may not be good for another and so on.  As a parent you are obviously on the right track though!!

[Mal Brossard]

I've known a few home schooled kids.  Some were perfectly normal, others were completely fucked.  It varies depending on the parents really.  Two of them were good friends of mine in high school-- one was pretty well rounded, good with computers and just went into the Navy this month to work with communications and some other computer-related things.  The other was good with languages (spoke fluent French and is living in Paris now), history, literature, bad with math and only about average in science.  Some others I knew were extremely backward socially and in dealing with non-parental authority.  My church group took a trip to Boston and he seriously tried to go off on his own around the city-- he was 13 at the time.  When we were on the USS Constitution, he actually got yelled at by one of the personnel on board because he decided to go climbing on stuff that had "do not enter" signs on it.  Basically, he thought all the rules were for everyone except him.  His two younger brothers were the same way.  So really, I think a lot of it comes down to the parent educators more than anything.

My advice: go for it, or as a second option look into some private schools.  While the drugs and cliques can be a problem, the education is far better.  I went to private schools my whole life.  I was pretty well accepted by all the cliques, though didn't exactly fit perfectly into any of them.  Drugs and drinking were a problem, but I just never got involved in them.  If money is a problem, many offer financial aid programs.  My school for Pre-K through 8th grade did not (it came out to $6,000 a year), but the high school I went to did ($17,000 a year, we paid about $5,000).  Most are need-based, some are merit-based as well.

I was slightly advanced as a youngster-- not quite as far along as your kid appears to be-- but for the three or so of us who were advanced in my kindergarten class, they had a tutor work with us on some advanced things for about an hour one day a week so that we didn't get bored doing what everyone else was doing that we already knew.

[lynn1961]

Axl4Prez,

It's too bad that you couldn't find a nearby school which actually taught children at their own
"comprehension" levels rather than by age levels.  There has to be schools that do that - the trouble is finding one. 

As for home schooled kids, it really is about the parenting and the home environment.  Many home-schooled kids I've known have been very well-rounded, great kids.  I could definitely see where those who are being home-schooled because of religious extremist reasons might be sheltered from everything and therefore end up being socially inept.  Again, it's all about environment. 

I have heard of where, in certain areas where there's enough children being home-schooled they routinely get together for "class" trips and may even have enough kids to form sports teams etc. 

Hopefully you will have more answers after your wife meets with his teacher - maybe the teacher or the school will be able to come up with a reasonable solution.   Maybe just advancing him up a grade level or two might help, although then you have to consider whether he's ready emotionally to fit in with an entire classroom of kids who might be at the same education level but may be more advanced in other ways just because of their age (a 5 yr old in a class with 8 yr olds might set him up for being teased).   

I wish you luck!  Let us know what happens! 

[D]

U definitely need to send him to some type of private school IMO.

Don't waste his gifts. School can be very hard for gifted children because it becomes boring and when a kid isn't being challenged, sometimes it is easy for them to lose interest. So I'd make sure his mind stays challenged even if you do a home school hybrid thing.

I would get him involved with music lessons also just to further develop his brain.

your kid has a very bright future and I say do whatever necessary to make sure that his full potential gets unlocked.

[Bodhi]

Okay, I just figured I'd toss it out there.  Any thoughts?

My knee-jerk gut reaction is that it's not ideal for kids.  It's tough to miss out on the social component that can't be re-created at home.  That said, does anybody here have any experience with home schooling?  Does anybody here know anybody who was home schooled??

We are seriously considering this option for our 2 young 'ns.  Any thoughts?

it depends what kind of school you send your kids to...If it is possible to afford a good private school then go for it,I think that is the best option.  As far as public schools go, they are pretty useless, and only getting worse.  The teachers don't give a shit about anything except their summers off, benefits and snow days.  The education at a public school(if you can call it that) is going to be pretty weak.  However, the social interaction is very important.  So I would be willing to have them get a weaker education at a public school just to get the social interaction..Remember you can always teach your kids the things that public school teachers fail to teach them.  Have your kids read some history books, do some math problems etc...

[D]

I do know Prez that the YMCA and other community places have activities for home schooled children to make up for the social deficiencies.

[Drew]

Home schooling can be a lot better off for your child if you and your wife are willing to put forth the full effort. Private school would be just as good, plus he gets the benefits of being around other children. Anything is better than a government school system. PERIOD!

Do it Axl4Prez2004! 

[mrlee]

Okay, I just figured I'd toss it out there.  Any thoughts?

My knee-jerk gut reaction is that it's not ideal for kids.  It's tough to miss out on the social component that can't be re-created at home.  That said, does anybody here have any experience with home schooling?  Does anybody here know anybody who was home schooled??

We are seriously considering this option for our 2 young 'ns.  Any thoughts?

Theyd probably be smarter from it, if you properly enforced it.

However, theyd miss out on the social skills developed, and the learning curve of what life and people can be like.

[AtariLegend]

I can't speak about the best way to raise kids, since I don't have any.

..But I know I wasn't going to learn more about life from one person at home even if their Steven Hawking, than I did from experiencing the world myself which included school, involving interacting with people.

[kmorgan]

If you do opt for public school, check out that Gifted and Talented program.  My daughter is in the one here, and it's awesome.  It really provides a good outlet for students that would otherwise get bored, or those that need more creative experiences.  They take trips, and have a special class in the morning about three times a week.  They also get to go to a competition called Odyssey of the Mind, which is incredible.  It has been wonderful for my daughter, and makes her very excited about school.  They work with other advanced kids that are in the same grade, so you don't have to worry about problems with fitting in that may come with advancing a grade.