How We Got Started Homeschooling
I often say the thing that got me started on the idea of homeschooling was attending public school and knowing kids at private schools. But I am not sure if that is totally true. I think it was watching my younger siblings starting school while I was still in high school. I started seeing all the negative things that started as early as kindergarten and paralleled that with my corrupting high school experience and it got me thinking about why we were in school. My brother was a severe asthmatic so at one point early in his school career my mother pulled him out to do a long term, parent directed schooling through the district. With just this change I saw amazing differences in both his intellect and personality. Then we he went back to school I saw him go from very advanced back to normal.
That was it for me. Then looking at my own schooling I realized how the herding mentality held me back as a student and I already knew the social issues that were bad (obviously I was and am a nerd). Then I was blessed to meet someone likeminded. NerdDad had seen the negatives in his own schooling career and decided he wouldn't want to put his children in it either.
We both wanted 4 kids, the wife to stay home and to homeschool. That is part of what got me interested in him;). Now I don't want you to think we were the kids left behind and we are bitter we couldn't read. We were kind of the opposite. Self teachers who never felt nurtured. It was obvious that we weren't in an environment that loved learning (except for a few teachers and their classes) and the school wasn't really caring on developing our character. We were the kids who would have been better left alone in the library for a few years. Now we do know the kids left behind and the schools didn't serve them either. So we decided the schools don't serve anyone other than the government, for the most part.
Once we got married we began educating ourselves on homeschooling. Then obviously we had kids. I loved the classical theory and The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home
. So here we are just a couple years in but completely committed to homeschooling!
That was it for me. Then looking at my own schooling I realized how the herding mentality held me back as a student and I already knew the social issues that were bad (obviously I was and am a nerd). Then I was blessed to meet someone likeminded. NerdDad had seen the negatives in his own schooling career and decided he wouldn't want to put his children in it either.
We both wanted 4 kids, the wife to stay home and to homeschool. That is part of what got me interested in him;). Now I don't want you to think we were the kids left behind and we are bitter we couldn't read. We were kind of the opposite. Self teachers who never felt nurtured. It was obvious that we weren't in an environment that loved learning (except for a few teachers and their classes) and the school wasn't really caring on developing our character. We were the kids who would have been better left alone in the library for a few years. Now we do know the kids left behind and the schools didn't serve them either. So we decided the schools don't serve anyone other than the government, for the most part.
Once we got married we began educating ourselves on homeschooling. Then obviously we had kids. I loved the classical theory and The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home
. So here we are just a couple years in but completely committed to homeschooling!Labels: Homeschoooling
posted by NerdMom at
10:24 PM
6 Comments:
It's interesting that you knew, even before getting married, that you want to homeschool. A few years ago, I volunteered in a public school and it hasn't gotten any better. It gave me the fuel I needed to stay committed to homeschooling.
By
Shari Ellen, at 10:54 PM
That is so neat that you knew even before you got married. Your kids truly are home grown!
SmallWorld
By
Sarah at SmallWorld, at 5:57 AM
I agree with the other commentators that it is interesting that you knew before you even got married that you wanted to homeschool. I hope you have many many happy and blessed years schooling your children.
By
Unknown, at 7:05 AM
Great post! That's wonderful you knew all along that you would homeschool.
By
Anonymous, at 3:06 PM
Two comments:
1. The only classically educated woman that I knew in university (taught by nuns, no less) had a difficult time. Yes, she was able to read Latin and classical Greek, but her lack of advanced Calculus really cost her (she was majoring in Physics).
I'm not sure if the book really involves a truly classical education, but even 25 years ago a classical education did not necessarily prepare you for the knowledge needed in the modern world.
2. One advantage that a regular school can offer is better expertise with less common conditions. My oldest son essentially had his entire future academic life rescued by his first grade teacher who recognized the signs of Asperger's (an Autism disorder) and alerted us. With only one child, we just assumed "that's the way kids are". This helped prepare both us and his future teachers to allow the flexibility he needed to prosper.
(Personally, I'm in awe of home-schooling parents. I could teach those who *want* to learn (i.e. I've taught lots of adults), but realistically, this is .1% of students. The good teachers are the one's that can make the kids want to learn. And I'm definitely not of that caliber. Luckily, my children have had a plethora of such teachers. Thus I count my blessings.)
By
Anonymous, at 3:17 PM
Thanks for sharing your story. What a blessing to have your husband on the same page as you!
In response to Anonymous above, have you investigated "classical education" or read "The Well Trained Mind"? If you had, then you wouldn't be worried about calculus or physics. This teaching method is quite rigorous in all disciplines, including math and science. Take a look, you just might change your mind:-)
By
Anonymous, at 9:52 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home