Since my daughter first started going to school, I’ve considered homeschooling her. She is a very bright child and she has always loved school. My husband and I have always been concerned with finding public schools that are able to meet her educational needs. When we have trouble finding those schools, we start investigating our options. It’s something we revisit almost on an annual basis because of how often we’ve moved since she started school.
Here’s a list of the issues that we’ve given thought to when making our decisions:
1. Will the school be able to keep her engaged and interested? Do they have a gifted program? Do they have programs to help students at all levels succeed?
2. What about socialization? I think this article really highlights some reasons homeschooling has an edge over public schools on this issue. Usually I hear the argument swayed more towards the public schools, so it was interesting to read a different point of view.
3. What if she and I can’t get along for so many hours in a day? Mommy doesn’t always do very well when both kids are home all day, every day, for endless stretches of time.
4.This article addresses the skills of the parent as educator. I generally have trouble explaining things to her, and I usually let my husband help her with homework because she and I seem to have problems understanding the other’s way of thinking. What it would be like if I was trying to teach her all day, every day?
5. Is the school safe, both from physical violence and from mental/emotional bullying? Lori mentioned that part of her decision to homeschool was the level of violence present in the schools in her area. I always worry about my daughter because she isn’t very street smart, but she also manages to be the “friend to everyone” so I guess she’s found a way around that.
6. How much will it cost? I cannot afford to lay out a lot of money for a curriculum and supplies, but then again, the field trips have been sapping money from us in incredible ways this year in the public school!
7. Will the school teach her what I think she needs to learn (or not to teach her what I don’t think she needs to learn?) The last school our daughter was in had a penchant for bringing other people’s religious beliefs into the classroom, which didn’t thrill us. If it had been a balance between various religions, we wouldn’t have batted an eye, but every bit of the exposure was from one particular religion…and this was a PUBLIC school! What happened to seperation of church and state?
8. Are the laws supportive of homeschooling?
9.Is the community friendly toward homeschoolers, with plenty of places to go to enrich learning?
So far, we’ve found in favor of public schools. Our daughter has greatly influenced this decision, since she loves going to school every day. As long as she is happy to go and is obviously learning new things, I’m personally happy to stick with public schools. A lot of parents choose to homeschool. It’s a decision that has to be made by each family, sometimes by each child in the family, according to the needs they need met. It’s a decision we seem to face every time we move.
