Dh and I have been considering home schooling for a number of reasons, one of them being that I feel that my children are being held back rather than encouraged to excel. Today the teachers were explaining to me how the report cards were being reformatted, etc. Now, dd's teacher told me there was a place for reading to check "on grade level' or "below grade level". She said at the meeting they asked what about kids that are above grade level and the board told them just to mark on grade level. They were also told not to give any kids straight A's the first making period to encourage them to work harder? Ds's teacher told me that ds was doing great and that he is always asking for extra seat work and harder spelling words. She told him they don't do that.I can understand there are children who need extra help etc, but I don't understand almost discouraging the kids who are able to go above and beyond. I also think kids who earn straight a's should get them if they deserve them. My kids also go to the best public school in our area, with teachers exceeding certifications so it's not that. I may look into the private school here, but we don't make alot of money. I felt like a social outcast when I went there and my parents were better off financially than we are right now. I also know private shcool doesn't mean no drugs, it means better quality, so I've been told. I think I'm going to go to our local meeting they have for people interested in home schooling. I wish I knew what is the right thing to do.

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, October 3, 2007 - 07:41 pm:

Bummer! I know that Emily's 1st grade teacher tried to give her extra stuff to do, but she didn't like being in the back of the room, by herself, working on things, so it didn't work out so well. She was capable of it, though. Then in 2nd grade, she usually got challenge words from her teacher and usually spelled them correctly on the test! In 3rd grade, they got challenge words, too. If they did well, on the initial spelling test, they could pick 5 words from a sheet of 500 commonly misspelled words. Emily usually did well on those, too! Our elementary school report cards had 3 designations, for under the level, at the level and above the level. That is rotten that they don't have an "above grade level" designation.

Maybe home-schooling would work better for you and your kids could fly, with the knowledge you give them, rather than being held back, as it seems they are in the public school.

By Andyjoy on Thursday, October 4, 2007 - 02:09 pm:

I'm going to home school my (future) children for various reasons, including the one you've mentioned--the inability of the heterogeneously grouped classroom to meet the needs of every child.

I don't think this is necessarily the teacher's fault--this is just the way the system works. I attended both public and private schools, and I was rarely (if ever) challenged. My teachers tried to cope with this by giving me more work, having me tutor others, letting me "free read" for half the day, letting me be a helper in lower grades, etc., but no one let me accelerate, which is what I really needed and craved.

I teach jr. high at a private school, and I struggle with this every day! I can't teach 3 lessons in one period (though I do teach 2 in 7th grade math) and I don't want to burden the strong students with extra work, but I don't want to bore them either. It is a delicate balance that I find few people can ever acheive. This not because there is something wrong with them, but rather the system. I believe that a child is too unique to group with 25+ others and expect to get the best education for him/her personally. We know that children within 1 year of each other physically vary greatly in development. Thus, the teacher can never teach every child most effectively for his/her particular phase of development--the teacher must teach to the majority.

Thus, I plan to teach my own children at home whether they are slow, average, or fast learners in comparison to their peers. I want to be able to teach my child as an individual, accelerating and remediating as necessary, rather than holding him/her back from his/her ability or overwhelming him/her with things beyond his current grasp.

I think home schooling works well for those who have strong convictions about its worth, treat it as a serious job, and recognize that while they may not have a teacher certificate, they as the parent are THE EXPERT on their child's development, character, and education.

By Yjja123 on Thursday, October 4, 2007 - 02:58 pm:

I am home-schooling my two children. My son is much like yours. He was reading at upper grade school level, in first grade. He simply was not challenged in public school. He now works at his level (He skipped two grades). The beauty of home-schooling is you are not required to be grade specific.
We have considered private school. We do not see the advantages of sending them. We use the same curriculum our private schools use. We belong to a large support group that has weekly field trips, etc. Why pay big $$$ for something I can provide myself? The $ saved is going into their college fund instead.
You have to do what is right for you. I do recommend challenging your son more. Being bored in school can cause a child to hate school.
Good luck!

By Nicki on Thursday, October 4, 2007 - 03:33 pm:

We are in the process of making this decision as well, Rayelle. No advice, but after reading your post I keep thinking how wonderful for you to have children so eager to learn. Just think how they might benefit from a homeschooling situation.

Andrea, you said it so well, "I believe that a child is too unique to group with 25+ others and expect to get the best education for him/her personally." I couldn't agree more.

Best of luck with your decision, Rayelle. I know it's a very hard one to make.

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, October 4, 2007 - 03:51 pm:

How about 23 kids in a classroom with one girl who giggles at everything all day long! I only see her for 20 minutes in the lunchroom and a little bit, while she's outside and the giggling drives me nuts! Also, in this classroom is one who loves to talk and would rather talk than eat her lunch and I'm sure would rather talk than do her classwork and gets off on crazy tangents, when she is talking. She is also easily distracted by the gigglepuss! I'm sure the two of them make life challenging for a teacher trying to keep 21 other students on track! LOL!

Today, when I was walking the kindergarteners down to their classroom area, so that they could put their lunchboxes away, before going outside, the gigglepuss was right behind me in line and couldn't keep quiet. I finally made her walk in front of me, away from the line. Then she was quiet.

By Rayelle on Friday, October 5, 2007 - 10:24 am:

Oh, I know it's not the teachers fault, and I know it's pretty much impossible to tailor to the educational needs of each child. Right now I am in college, and I need to figure things out schedule wise. I keep forgetting that they could be doing class work whenever it fits our needs if we homeschooled. I don't want to romanticize the idea of home schooling too much, because I know it will be hard, but I think of a lot of advantages also. We live within driving distance of Washington D.C, Annapolis, Baltimore, etc and Williamsburg is a reasonable distance, so we could always do a trip to coincide with a lesson, especially history. I also think of the time we could spend with science experiments and things to make it interesting. Oh, decisions, decisions.

By Andyjoy on Friday, October 5, 2007 - 10:41 am:

I hope you don't think I was implying that you blame the teacher--I was just stating my belief in general so others would understand my position. You're right about being careful not to romanticize it! Some home schoolers get burned out right away because they think it will solve everything, but it's hard work!

By Mrsheidi on Saturday, October 6, 2007 - 11:09 am:

I used to want to homeschool, but I just think that social interaction is just as important as the academic part of it. Connor has learned how to listen to other adults, learn the hierarchy of children/age, and learn to communicate with others his age and have fun! I take great joy when I pick him up from school and him and his buddy are chasing each other and giggling their heads off!

I've met a lot of adults that were homeschooled and all of them wish they weren't. They felt like they were so sheltered that, when they entered the real world, they didn't feel adequate. They also felt their social skills really lacked because they weren't aware of the vast difference in cultures around them, etc.

With the way the world is, with higher class sizes, if you can find a private school with lower class sizes and then do some challenging work at home that the teacher can recommend, I would do that.
Do they have any gifted and talented programs there? What does the teacher say about it?

By Debbie on Saturday, October 6, 2007 - 12:25 pm:

Well, when we moved to the Chicago area a few years ago, we moved into a neighborhood that was considered the best in the area for schools. It was a joke. We moved in the middle of the school year, and my oldest ds came home after the first week and said "he didn't need to go to school anymore because he learned everything the teacher was teaching last year" So, needless to say we moved our dks to a private school the next year. So, even though your school is considered the best in the area, that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Though I have never homeschooled, I have had a few neighbors that do. One of them loved homeschooling. Her oldest son was being bullied, and that is why she started. She ended up homeschooling all 5 of her children. Her dks were great, well rounded kids. Now, my other neighbor didn't seem to enjoy it as much, and I think she was really doing it because her dh wanted her too. I will have to say her dks had no social skills, and were very self centered. So, I have seen both sides. What I have taken away from both of my neighbors is that it is A LOT of work, especially when you are first starting out. To really keep your dks well rounded, you have to get them out and involved in homeschooling organizations, and activites. I would think that if you are already pushed to the limit with school, etc, that it will be very difficult in the beginning. However, only you know if you are up for the challenge. I do know that here they have seminars and such on homeschooling. If you are really serious about doing it, there are several moms here that seem to be very successful at it, that can steer you in the right direction.

By Mommmie on Sunday, October 7, 2007 - 09:27 pm:

I have an underachiever, with high IQ and learning disabilities. We went from public school to a specialized private school which was a huge improvement. He is ability grouped for every one of his classes.

He's in 7th grade now, been in private for 5 years, and sometimes I wonder if I should just keep him home and hire a tutor to come in 3x a week to just drill the basics into him. It would be way cheaper and we could just cut to the chase. My son wants that to happen. I work full time and he does not take instruction from me, so I would not homeschool him personally.