Why I chose home schooling

There are good things with home school and good things with public school, so every family needs to weigh priorities and what they want for themselves. These are some of the reasons I chose to home school.

1- Time. Kids grow so fast, but time is needed to establish relationships and teach values. When going to public school, we rushed in the morning to get there on time and then in the afternoon we hurried from one activity to the next (at least I did as chauffeur). Our most precious time became bedtime when we could talk a few minutes about the day, even though exhausted. Limited time created limited conversations. When home schooling, we have the entire day. We do not need to rush to be on time very often, we can include lessons to discuss values, and the children are relaxed to have a conversation almost any time of the day. We still enjoy a bedtime chat, but it is not our only time together. Because of this extended time together, we really get to know one another and gain a strong relationship instead of slowly drifting a part.

2-Self-esteem. Twice now in the public school setting, two different grades and two different schools, we have dealt with damaging self-esteem situations. Degrading critiques from teachers, bullying situations from other kids, and harmful analysis tests are some of the harsh confidence smashers we have encountered at the public school. When children are told "this is your level," they start to believe it. At home, we tell them the truth. There is no "level." They can achieve anything they want through determination, study, and practice. What a child believes is the biggest obstacle to success.

3-Learning. Statistically, home schoolers usually score higher than the average public schooler. Not all do and some score below the average. The difference is that home school is not trying to fit a child into a certain mold matching everyone else. The child is allowed to be an individual and to develop as an individual. There is no yardstick selecting children for labels, such as: invention, IEP, special ed, gifted, straight A, trouble maker. These labels are simply based on how well the child fits into the mold the school desires for them and not on real learning. At home the child can often choose a subject of personal interest, which increases the self-motivation, and learn at their own pace. No one tells them to do more busy work waiting for the rest of the class to catch up. No one tells them to find additional help because the class is waiting for them to understand. They learn step-by-step and usually master it as they go.

4-Fun. Learning is fun. Going on field trips, doing experiments, reading stories together, and having deep discussions about things of value are just a few of the fun involved with home schooling. When they went to public school, I tried to find "fun" having my own time while they were gone. This seldom happened as I usually felt rushed to get things done before school ended. I also spent a lot of time just driving back and forth to the school. Not fun. The children did have fun at recess, but public school is seldom associated with fun. There are the rules, the have-to's, and the constant order that must be maintained. At home, learning includes some have-to's, but there is a lot more flexibility to include the fun as well .... and Mom can join in it too.

5-Flexibility. Public school determines your entire calendar for the year. They also give you homework to fill your afternoon or evening. Your days are not your own. Home schooling changes all of that. We can have "school" when doing chores, at a picnic lunch, or during a guided tour at a museum in the evening. We don't have a bell schedule to worry about like a public school or a time frame to keep to. During interviews with teachers at the public school, they admitted to running out of time. The kindergarten teacher said she has to usually choose whether to teach math or reading, because there isn't enough time to teach both. She said out of the 2.5 hours of school time, there is only about a half hour of real teaching time. The rest is given to administration have to's like computer time, calendar, and recess. At home, the only administration and calendar creator is the parents.

Good Books

The heart of education is often found in what the children are choosing to read and discuss. The images, ideals, and motivations of a book can affect thought processes and individual standards. There are so many good books, hold them in your hands, feel the pages, and relish in the time together.

Some Suggested Novels for Great Discussions:

• Time Machine by H.G. Wells
• What might be a modern Morlock or Eloi? How can you protect yourself from becoming like them? How can an understanding of your past affect your future? What are some things you can do now to influence the kind of future you want for yourself and your posterity?
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• What are the different weaknesses each character struggles to overcome and how can you overcome them as well? Why does Laurie, the rich boy next door, desire to be part of the March family? What is missing in his life?
• David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
• How does his upbringing of a single mother affect David’s adulthood? How could have David protected Emily from his own best friend? What are the contrasting influences between Dora and Agnes?
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• How is Jonas’ perfect society a mask for a true dystopia? How does shielding negative experiences from history sometimes have a harmful effect? When is it okay to run away like Jonas?
• The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
• When does the individual need to stand up against an oppressive government? When is deception more just than truth? How can a person find peace in difficulty? How does attitude affect happiness?
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Why do the characters share so much important information through letters rather than face-to-face? How influential are first impressions? How can the choices of one person affect the whole family? What are important considerations when choosing a spouse?
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• This is an awful dystopia and not my first choice, but if you are looking for a dystopia to discuss it is better than 1984. What makes a good leader? How can emotions affect actions? How can you gain control of emotions and not be caught up in a frenzy you will regret later? Why did the boys become numb to violence?
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• How is reading and freedom connected? Why should a person have the ability to choose what he studies? What freedoms should you continue to fight for now? How can you stand up for your rights in a positive way?
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• Letters to Emily by Camron Wright
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
• Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
• Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
• The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
• Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
• Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
• Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dosoevsky
• Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• The Call of the Wild by Jack London
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emma Orczy
• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (a play)
• A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen (a play)
• Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
• The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
• Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
• Schooled by Gordan Korman

What are you reading?

Paperless Schools

In the October 2014 issue of Time Magazine, the article "The Paperless Classroom Is Coming" discusses President Obama's goal to have every school online by 2017. Fortunately, his term of president will be finished before that date. As a nation pushes to integrate computers for students, the flood can surge and drowned the innocent minds of future generations if no dams are built.

A computer is a tool. In the article, a teacher named Matthew Gudenius says he "always saw computers as a tool, not a subject." He continues by explaining that a mechanic doesn't go to a wrench lab, so why do we have computer labs? Put the computer on the students' desks and in their hands for all their academics. Bravo!

However, a mechanic does not use a wrench for everything. If he did so, he would not be utilizing all the tools in his tool box and would not be as successful completing his tasks. Can you imagine him pulling out his wrench to patch a tire or screw in a headlight? Ridiculous. Yet, in classrooms many students are expected to do just that.

With a slide show, Gudenius introduced the idea of paperless schools. "We don't care about handwriting," he says. The common core doesn't require teaching cursive and penmanship is no longer important. Sure, teach the children to read and type and how to punch numbers into a calculator. Using a brain isn't required anymore. Everything is online already anyway.

The future generation will be known not as illiterate (as long as they never need to read handwritten documents from the past), but instead will be known as illegible. If they do attempt to write something by hand, the words will slur and scribble like a kindergarten child. This isn't their fault. They were never taught to write in a digital classroom. How could they when a doodle pen is the only tool they were given?

The illegible generation will instead communicate in texting code. LOL - get it? Quicker, easier, and less brain work as long as you've learned all the acronyms. Spelling isn't required.One alternative some schools are applying is for the kids to learn to identify letter groups (like aw, au, oo, etc) and sort their words into the groups. This is how they practice spelling. They don't really have to remember the spelling, just get the sorting correct. This will ensure they can write the word close enough for a spell checker to identify. Let the computer do it's job, right? Don't expend any more energy in the learning than is essential.

The Time article does explain there is some skepticism. "The Association of Pediatrics has been warning parents for years to limit screen time for their children, but now the screens were filling up the school day." The article continues, "Optometrists warn that a steep increase in blue-light exposure from screens could lead to eye problems later in life. Early studies have also shown an increase in physical ailments - sore backs, dry eyes, painful necks - among kids who are asked to work most of the day on computers ..."

Yet, the nation as a whole may not be listening. Instead of using computers as just one more tool in the toolbox to be used with prudence and care, schools are getting rid of all other tools (pencils, paper, etc) and flooding their rooms with digital devices. All the subjects are being completed online. Play a math game, listen to a history video, type in an essay. Why waste time with a pencil?

Writing by hand versus typing into a computer is important to understand. Several studies have shown that writing by hand connects to the development of the brain and increases learning significantly. Learning to write, cursive in particular, actually helps children become smarter while a computer screen with already neatly formed letter denies them this opportunity. Read more about some of these studies at what's lost as handwriting fades and at why writing can make you smarter.

However, writing by hand isn't just good for the child. The baby boomer generation benefits also when taking the time to write by hand. Memory increases, cognitive skills improve, and motor skills remain sharper simply by using the writing tool instead of the computer tool. Read more about this at benefits of writing by hand.


From the website charlotte observer, this quote is found "Psychologists at Princeton and UCLA have reported that in both laboratory settings and real-world classrooms, students learn better when they take notes by hand. This does not necessarily stem from the distracting effects of computers. Rather, writing by hand allows students to process a lecture’s content and reframe it. This can lead to better understanding and memory encoding, according to the New York Times." 

A computer cannot replace the tools of pencil and paper. Computers are just one tool and should be placed in the toolbox once in a while. Overuse does not mean better use. 

Home School vs. Public School

I have seven children. Some are at the public school and some are at home. I have seen pros and cons to both situations. As I considered reasons concerning homeschool, I wrote up this list of questions and tried to answer them as honestly as I could based on our experiences.

Questions:

1. Where do they excel academically?
2. Where do they develop better and long lasting friendships?
3. Where are they most likely to develop characteristics needed for their future?
4. Where will gospel values be taught?
5. Where will they have higher self-esteem and self-confidence?
6. Where will they get the individual help when struggling or skip ahead if succeeding?
7. Where will they learn better attitudes and behavior?
8. Where will learning be enjoyable and motivating?
9. Where are they able to pursue some of their own personal study interests?
10. Where will they learn to interact with others in a way that will prepare them for future careers/schooling?

My Answers:

1. They can excel academically in both places. In public schools, the teachers are trained and the class is taught together with regular assessments to try to keep them on track. They should, most likely, at least stay on grade level. In homeschool, they move at their own pace - or the pace they are taught to expect. If the curriculum is rigorous, they will actually can be one or two grades ahead of the public school. If the curriculum is laid-back and Mom is distracted, they will fall behind a grade or two.
2. In public school, they have several opportunities to interact with other children in group settings, during recess, and team projects. There is class discussions that may be difficult or even impossible in a homeschool setting. Often these friendships can develop into something lasting beyond the classroom (such as Jared’s lots of friends), but sometimes these “friendships” can be damaging as well - either from peer pressure or criticisms. In homeschool, there is usually more “time” to invite friends over to play since there is not the worry of completing homework. The parents can also have more of a choice in helping the children select which friendships to develop. The parents have to take an active role through inviting, encouraging, or setting up social situations. In homeschool, the children’s best friends tend to be one another.
3. Public schools try to encourage good character building and reinforce this through discipline and reminders. Homeschoolers also develop good character teaching the same way, except parents have more of a say on which character traits to emphasize. Public schools may also introduce ideas that an innocent child may not have heard of otherwise, such as “gay tolerance” and swear words.
4. Public schools are atheist. Even good teachers are not allowed to mention God in anyway. Gospel teaching is done at home.
5. If they are placed in a classroom with friends and a positive teacher, they can have great self-confidence and self-esteem. However once labeled by one teacher, that label is hard to erase. Teachers pass the labels on to each other and the child can believe them. If the label is positive, then great! If the label is negative, the child’s self-esteem and confidence will also be affected. In a homeschool setting, parents and siblings directly determine self-esteem and confidence levels by how they interact with each other. If there is contention and criticism, they will have low self esteem. If there is patience and understanding, they will have high self esteem.
6. Public schools are set up in IEP, tutoring, and other helps for struggling students. They can make a big difference in helping a child get on grade level. Once in a while public schools also have elite activities for bright students to get ahead, but usually it is just busy work. A bright student tends to get bored in a classroom setting where everyone is suppose to be at the same level. Homeschools can move at individual pace and a student may never know whether he is ahead or behind.
7. “You become like those you are around.” If at public school, you will develop the attitudes and behaviors of the school (such as Isaac laughing like Mrs. Mullinax). If at home, you will develop the attitudes and behaviors of the home. Children tend to live up to expectations and what they think is acceptable. They want to belong and identify with a group. That group will be who they spend the most time with … whether the school friends/teachers or the family. It is hard, but not impossible, to rise above those you are around the most.
8. That all depends on your teacher. Exciting, motivating lessons can be taught in any setting. If you get a boring public school teacher, you are stuck with boring lessons for the whole year. Some public school teachers are very fun and motivating. Some are not. At home, how exciting or motivating depends on the parents.
9. Public schools usually have a set curriculum for everyone in the class with only a few, if any, personal choices in the assignments. Homeschool can be completely choice based, with guidance, if the parent wants it to be. The child at home tends to naturally pursue personal studies through library visits and field trips, if not through curriculum.
10. One reason public schools were set up was to prepare the masses for the work force and they do a good job of that. You learn to be quiet, stand in straight lines, listen for bells, be obedient, and be on time. You are taught not to question your superiors and to work on assignments when the teachers says to. At home, learning is just a part of daily life and doesn’t run on a bell schedule. Students are taught to question and think on their own, pursue personal studies, questions those they don’t agree or understand and usually become very independent. I’m not sure which is better for future careers/schooling. If your future career is the work force, a submissive worker might be best found from the public school setting. If your future career requires decision making and personal study, a homeschool student might best fill that role. I think good leaders can be found in either setting.