March 6, 2009 3:09 PM
Should I homeschool?
My daughter is in public school in 2nd grade. She is not doing as well as I know she can and I have been considering homeschooling her. Currently, her teacher is recommending summer school with even the potential of being held back. I have considered pulling her out of school now and sort of starting 2nd grade over to have her catch up by the fall. Is it better to wait for the end of the school year and work from there or try to get started now? I didn't know if you had any advice?
While off the top of my head - and even with this limited amount of information - my answer would be yes, since this mom lived in driving distance, I suggested we get together to talk about her situation.
I'm sharing it now because as we enter spring, many people are facing similar issues with recommendations for ESY (Extended School Year, which is public school lingo for summer school - after all, why use the three- syllable name everyone understands when you can replace it with a bureaucratic label with two syllables more :)
Here is situation this mother faced:
She'd sent a child with no learning difficulties off to school and by second grade the teacher was sending home instructions for all the stuff she needed to do to help her daughter keep up with the class. Her daughter was in the lowest reading group - which no matter how they try to avoid labeling, the children always understand to be the lowest.
Mom had begun wondering why - if the teacher expected her to do all this work at home - she should even send her daughter to school. Why not just keep her home and do the work with her herself?
Why not, indeed?
As a mom who's had experience with homeschool and public school, I will tell you unequivocally: no matter how wonderful your local public school system (and I'm a big fan of Loudoun's) when it comes to academics, children in elementary grades will learn more and better at home.
There's simply no way around the facts. The elementary school curriculum can be easily done at home in three hours per day, and yet sending your child to public school takes them away from home for 7-9 hours.
It was quite a shock for me when I made the transition from homeschool to public school to have teachers sending home homework in the early grades. I still find it hard to understand how so much time could possibly be wasted to make it necessary to rob the family of the limited time they have to share together after the state has demanded so much already.
There is a basic problem built into the education system which reflects so much of our current national debacle: the bureaucracy is structured so as to reward failure. That sounds strange, but let me explain: when a child is referred to a reading specialist or for ESY, the school receives extra funds. Plain and simple.
As for the mom who came to see me last week - it turned out she was trained as a preschool teacher, but like many she had faith in the public school system and so she had simply followed the path of least resistance.
While I'm not here to dispute whether or not that faith is deserved, I will say that in the situation she was in, my advice would be to remove your child from school now - don't wait until summer. If she begins teaching her daughter at home, she could have her reading at grade level by the end of the year. So why wait and have her sit in the lowest reading group to chip away at her self esteem any longer.
I've had some direct experience with this. When I was homeschooling my own children, our pastor asked if I would take over his daughter's education. She also was in the second semester of second grade and falling behind. I finished her second grade and she stayed for third as well. All she needed was more one-on-one attention to become a first-rate reader.
We're not talking about hours and hours of one-on-one, or an impossible burden. We're talking about something any mother could do - whether you have a teaching credential or college education. Children have learned to read from their mothers for centuries. It's only been in modern times that we have become so compartmentalized in our thinking. And our government promotes the attitude that parents are incapable of doing anything other than changing diapers and doing laundry and being well-conditioned consumers.
We need a revolution in this country that begins with acknowledging the incredible learning potential in every home. Unless you feel specifically called to have your children in public school, there is no reason why you should feel that you could not educate them at home yourself.
I am not saying everyone should homeschool, but I am saying that no parent should be made to feel incapable or inadequate or unqualified to teach their own children. With the wealth of materials and curriculum available, it is not difficult.
The rewards are a family bonding and loyalty which are priceless. The closeness I have with my adult children is - I believe - because I invested 12 years into homeschooling them. My children are all people who love to read and whose lives are enriched because of all the extra time we had to develop their interests in art, music and theater. They are also good critical thinkers and not blind followers.
While we chose to send them to high school, those early years gave them an educational foundation which they would not have had in the four walls of a public institution. In fact, the one who turned out to be the smartest would probably have been labeled early on as he was a late reader. Because he had the early years with someone who loved him and whose attention wasn't scattered among 18-20 students and mountains of paperwork, he was able to thrive and realize his potential.
For those of you with children in early elementary grades and teachers sending home extra work and recommending ESY, I'd recommend what I recommended to the young mother above: bring them home and see what you can do to make their future brighter. This is not a 12-year commitment, but something you can take a year at a time. You have nothing to lose and your child has possibly everything to gain.
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As you begin to consider this possibility, the best resource/friend you can have is the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), which will bring you up-to-speed on specific state laws. Your membership will also guarantee you legal representation if you face any problems with authorities.
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I will be running a four-part series here taken from my book as an encouragement to those of you who are considering how to begin or continue your child's education.
My first advice is to pray and to begin to listen for the still, small voice. Do not let anyone tell you what to do or what not to do. Just listen and be brave to follow where the Holy Spirit leads, whether that be homeschool, private school or public school. Only God knows where he wants each of our children and you are certainly the person He is most likely to tell :)
Posted in Homeschooling, Public schools | Permalink
Comments
Thank you Barbara. This is something I have recently come to understand, that the home is a perfect place to learn and I shouldn't automatically "outsource" to the public schools because it's what so many others do. I love seeing the relationship between my two girls grow simply because they're together all the time, and I hope it continues as we homeschool. I am looking forward to your series.
Posted by: Addie | March 6, 2009 5:11 PM
I so agree with you. Although we don't currently homeschool, we have before, and may again. In elementary school, children spend SO much time waiting - waiting for others to finish work, waiting for the WHOLE class to do the exercise together, waiting in line. Kids get bored. And a bored kid is not learning, and soon understands that this isn't a place to learn, unless you're willing to wait for your one turn every 2 days.
I'm glad you encouraged this mom to begin immediately. If the school situation isn't working for her daughter, every day that she attends is a day that's she's going backward. If the mom is enthusiastic, it will certainly go better.
Posted by: mary kathryn | March 6, 2009 6:07 PM
I loved what you wrote Barbara. I'm in my 3rd year of homeschooling, and I do lots of research and reading, and what you wrote was right on target from what I have read....If a child is struggling, by all means bring them home and give their self esteem a boost.I love a reading website called www.starfall.com This is a fun way to work or reinforce phonics....
I could write you a book on my thoughts about homeschooling, but I don't have the time. I would encourage this mom to look at a website from the Boyers called www.thelearningparent.com
They have written some amazing books about home education. I continue to be amazed, the more and more I learn!
Posted by: Lisa | March 6, 2009 6:47 PM
Great post, Barbara. I've linked to it today and hope that all the gals in our group here in San Antonio will read your wise words!
Posted by: Granny | March 6, 2009 7:10 PM
Great advice Barbara. Thanks for the reminder to be still and know.. I know from experience that once I listen, God will be with me each step of the way. We left organized education 2 years ago and have not looked back.
Posted by: Amelia | March 7, 2009 8:19 AM
I can't believe this ESY garbage. Sending a second grader to summer school?
I first heard about summer school for elementary school kids when my friend told me her first grader went to summer school. He watched more movies than did work, and came home one day telling all about his teacher's new house and how much it cost. His teacher had spent her time on the cell phone instead of teaching.
Now the mom doesn't home school, but she works with her kids in the summers instead of trusting the broken system.
Posted by: Emily C | March 7, 2009 9:36 AM
I just read the first couple chapters of the homeschooling book "The Well-Trained Mind" last night. Those chapters are precisely about this issue and tell the story of the author (a teacher) at first being scared to homeschool her own children. The author also discusses how her children entered school ahead and within weeks were becoming "poor learners." Might be a good read.
Thank you for this post Barbara. I'm saving it and putting it in my "why homeschool" arsenal.
Posted by: myboysteacher | March 8, 2009 2:16 PM
I think that in the younger grades in particular, homeschooling to "catch the child up" is a good move. The break from school where the child is in a rut of failing to do well can refresh her and let her learn all she needs to get to grade level without the pressure and tension of her peers and the school environment.
Also, it give the home schooling parent the opportunity to see first hand where the problem might be. Many parents who have homeschooled discovered things about gaps in the child's knowledge and issues in their learning abilities that the schools and teachers did not mention. Probably did not even notice.
I took my oldest out of school for a year after he was clearly not progressing as he should have been. In that one year, he moved up two grades in level, and we then put him in a private school that was more focused on the individual child.
Posted by: Cath Young | March 8, 2009 5:00 PM
What a timely question and answer post. A few friends and I have been discussing schooling options recently. Is it OK if I link to this post on my blog. You have a great background with all types of schooling so I value your opinion on this matter. I would love to point some of my friends your way to get your input.
Posted by: Miriam | March 8, 2009 8:05 PM
