Why I am a HOME SCHOOLING working mom!

Yes, it is. And not class, as in having more money. Most of my homeschool friends are either struggling to make ends meet, or are just lower-middle class like myself.
It's class as in behaviors and morals, etiquette and compassion.

she had to learn english from scratch?

you are on a list.

of directors on linkedin.

no they dont teached them like they used to.


do you make little alterations to avoid a hit on the cut and paste promotional blurb?

My daughters are in Connections here in Los Angeles.

It's free because it's a charter through a school district


Connections Academy are in most states, Great program

My kids have done so much better than when they were in a brick & morter school

They attend after school school classes, dance etc. so they are not isolated by any means.

Here is a link www.connectionsacademy.com/

How am I eroding the system? That statement makes little sense. I'm actually freeing up tax dollars for other people's kids by not sending mine to public school, and by not using virtual public school (still costs tax payers). Do you think the politicians are going to use that extra tax money to do good? Or will they just waste the money on smart boards? All I can do is vote for local school superintendents and that doesn't make a lick of difference to the broken system as a whole.
I can help my neighbors by showing them what a great alternative homeschooling is, and that they don't have to subject their kids to mediocre (at best) education.

Not necessarily,

Bricks and mortar schools are still supported by my tax dollars. (BTW My son is enrolled in an online public school.) If more people are aware of this as an option, then the bricks and mortar schools may be forced to become more than just babysitting institutions in the US or loose funding. People like me are really doing our neighbors a favor. Why should the US schools be allowed to exist in their current condition? Maybe if more people will wake up, something positive will be done out of necessity.

Because it should be a generational mutual agreement of all participants in a society to make it better for the next lot..pulling yourself out of parts of it will only hasten the disintegration that more quicker.

Ok, then please give me the magic solution on how to fix the US public education system. Enlighten us all, please.





And did it ever occur to you that the system may need to cometely disintegrate, in order for it to be rebuilt on new foundation?

heres a link, a working link.


[link to www.google.co.uk]


its page 1 of a "free online school" search on google.

1st result.

connections.

put some effort in please, i know ill try to claw back some credibility by mentioning a free online school.

i will search "free online school" and find one.

come on, put a few minutes into it.

The foundations don't need to be renewed. What's needed is that people start to adhere to the already established values again and stop running away as soon as conflict arises. A perfect educational system will never exist and that is not even the point here. But the society as a whole will determine the how good the system is

Not everyone hates being around their parents.

I gave my kids a choice between public school and homeschooling and they jumped at the homeschooling. One is about to finish up in a high school program and volunteers. They both have an active social life.

And good for you OP for homeschooling. You and your child won't regret it.

The values that have been established for mainstream society are NOT working. So then what?

And, btw, homeschooling is a dang near perfect education system for my family, and the MANY other homeschool families I personally know.

The values established by your ancestors over the course of time in your country work very well. Only because they are not defended and lived by, does not mean that they have all vanished!

You have my respect (OP)



Thus meaning Andariel is mine when SHTF ? ;o)

Of course they haven't vanished. It lives in the people like me, who choose to exert my personal freedoms and not put my kid in a degenerate government-run education facility.

In this little exchange I didn’t mean to discredit your home schooling activities, but more, point you to the fact that “social imbalance” is rooted somewhere much deeper then the non functioning public ongoing and that most of the short comings are not made better by thinking one can retreat and reinvent the system.

Ladies … (judging from your avatars) it's night here in good ole Switzerland and I need to attend different matters now.
Thanks for the dialogue and I bit you a good day!

Thanks for the discussion and I hope that you have a nice evening (even if I don't agree with everything that you posted.)

Last Edited by emerald eye on 09/30/2011 05:19 PM

YOU ROCK!

You're exactly right!

I'm on my third year of homeschooling two kids (both in middle school now). They were in private school before that - so they've escaped the indoctrination factory altogether.

They love it.

We've been using Calvertschool.org because it's completely scheduled out for each subject, each day. And since it's approved by our State we don't have to show portfolios to the school district during the year. It's a rigorous curriculum (good thing), that's shifted pretty hard to the left in its editorial focus starting this year (bad thing). I'll continue to stick with it this year because I'm finding that all the propaganda is actually useful in teaching the kids to think more critically. Next year, though, we'll be switching to something else. Probably Timberdoodle's core curriculum - supplemented with some tougher stuff.

The kids also go to Spanish classes twice a week (they've already had 3 years of Latin), guitar lessons (her), drum lessons (him), Cub Scouts, Swim Team, Golf Team, Tennis Team, and tons of parties, friends, camping trips, etc., in their spare time.

Both kids also explore their own educational interests; my daughter is into beading and makes and sells her own jewelry designs, and my son shoots and edits his own movies, and creates his own comic books. For Christmas I'm getting them an awesome program that will let them create live, multi-camera video, clips, 3-D graphics, lower thirds, audio, etc. so that they can launch a neighborhood "kids news" network with their friends. They had a blast publishing a kids newspaper last year, so this is going to be an exciting next step.

Bottom line...my kids are free. They're happy, well-adjusted, well-mannered, smart, educated, and highly creative (not to mention drop-dead gorgeous). And being untouched by the conformity and mediocrity of public schools, they see nothing but endless options and opportunity ahead.

So look out world, because they are coming.

Thanks for this post.

Its great to hear about your experiences, and how well rounded your children are as well as the many opportunities that they have. My son is in an advanced learning class, and he is currently interacting with children from around the world in a way that he would never be doing in a traditional bricks and mortar school. This opportunity gives him a wider view of the world, than what he would normally have in our small corner of the globe.

Educators who are experts in their fields have developed the curriculum that we are using, so I do not need to have a PhD in math, science, or anything else, but instead I just need to be an involved parent.

I don’t know why there has been such an effort to make this sound like a crazy idea. It really is very sound idea made more workable by current technology that did not exist 30 years ago. As our technology improves, so should or methods and options.

Also, there seems to be a misconception that these are programs that you purchase.


In my situation, as for many others, this was totally provided free of charge by my State school system, as it is part of an online public academy recognized by my State. There is also an option to provide a computer without charge to the student if needed, but I told them that we already had a number of computers so that would be unnecessary.

You could purchase programs, but you would not normally need to do this. It is only AP classes beyond the normal curriculum, which are purchased, and only if desired by the student needing an extra challenge.

I truly intended this thread as a way for parents to discuss this, and post their experiences, as well as information to those considering such a program but don’t know where to start or if this is a viable option to bricks and mortar school.

BTW, There is also the option to go totally on your own outside of the public school system, and then (and only then) would you purchase your own curriculum. I was not promoting K-12 over any other program, just giving links as an example of the program that I was most familiar with.

Last Edited by emerald eye on 09/30/2011 06:06 PM

SINGLE home schooling mom here!!

And I get NO CHILD SUPPORT.

That is how much home schooling means to me...

They can keep their free day care!!!

My kid's not getting brainwashed by anybody but me...

see what you can do when you try?

a homeschool to post by proxy not affiliated to the one you are advertising.

well done.

homeschooling does not solve all the problems of regular school, if you conform to this crap you still have to use THEIR curriculum.

k12 k12 k12 for sale, anyone want some k12?

Here is where I get our curriculum, our school system pays for the materials every year.

[link to core-curriculum.com]

working on your avatar identity, australia.

Jeez, you're a suspicious lot, aren't you? LoL

I've used Calvert for going on my 3rd year. It has its pros and cons which were duly stated.

I haven't even made up my mind on next year yet, so...no proxy, and no advertising.

If I were going to advertise anything, it would be Connections Academy (mentioned in several other people's threads), not least because one of my dearest friends actually owns it. Alas, it is not free in my state (where it is headquartered - go figure), and it's quite expensive to buy for yourself. I've been offered a big discount by its owner but have chosen not to avail myself at this time. Thus...I cannot comment on its quality.

I will agree with you on one thing: there is a large degree of conformity involved with all of the homeschool curricula approved by the states. This bothers me. Where I live, however, it takes a bit of extra effort to homeschool completely independently (or nearly so) of the government. When I've gotten that sorted out to my satisfaction we'll adjust ourselves accordingly.

I think less and less people are buying into the notion that homeschooling is crazy.

That's why there's such an effort to say otherwise...such impudent independence, coupled with excellent results, is a clear and present danger to the status quo.

I purchase my own curriculum because I don't want the public school sysytem deciding what my kids learn or when. I love the option of choice. I have friends who use the public school/ home option and they are doing great.

My kids like being homeschooled. If they wanted to go, I would let them. Simple.

We use My Father's World curriculum. It's a Christian/Classical/Charlotte Mason styled Education. Dry boring text books and hard desks stuck in a building are not the only way to learn. My kids learn History in Chronological order, so they see the way events caused other events. How wars actually started and why. We don't learn Early American History one year and then jump to Ancient China next. We read real books, but utilize text books when needed. My curriculum is Christian based, but there are methods much the same that do not emphasize religion, such as, The Well Trained Mind. They have a plethra of materials available.

There are so many options when it comes to Homeschooling. And for those who are against it, that's great. You are entitled to raise your kids how you feel fit. That is why they are your child and not mine. It's kind of like breast feeding..no matter what you feel about it, the point remains to feed your child.

I am in awe of those you who have decided to do this totally on your own, outside of any support of the public school system. I took the middle road of online public school because it was more comfortable for us, and I lacked the total confidence to "wing it on our own" mainly because of my work hours. That being said, we may consider this option for next year.

In the program that we are currently in (WYVA) all of the materials have been provided, free of charge to our family. Had they said there was a fee, I would have happily paid it. I fail to see why someone spending their own money on their child's education, is somehow viewed with suspicion. It is after all my money, and frankly after food and shelter, I can't think of a better way to spend it.

In our program there are online meetings with other parents as well, who offer much help, support and advice. These meetings are not just with parents in my State, but many other States as well. There are quite a few West Virginia and California virtual academy parents that I have been interacting with. I am amazed at how many teachers use virtual academy for their own children, not just because they feel comfortable with teaching, but also because of their discomfort with the public school system in the US. I am also amazed by how many of these parents have advanced degrees not only in education, but in other fields as well.