Ten Reasons We Would Want To Choose the Best
Education for Our Children
- The government
feels our children need to be raised by the community as a whole and that
they have the right to teach the children what they feel is right
- While we
pay our taxes, we have a right to provide the education our children deserve.
- As parents
of a loving Father in Heaven, he has provided the freedom to choose the
best education for our children.
- Our
children have been blessed to live in an ethnically diverse neighborhood
which will help prepare them for life later on
- Our
children are learning to be future missionaries
- If public
school offers an “okay” education, is “okay” good enough
- We are at
a point in our lives where homeschooling is an option
- Our
children are our lives, their education is essential to their salvation
- Teaching
our children is what I love to do.
- Train up
a child in the way he should go; even when he is old and he will not
depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
Shakespeare is very likely the world’s most
well known author, even though very little is known about him. The best known
theatre, movie, musical line I would venture is “To Be or Not To Be” from
Hamlet. The question this line is referring deals with the decision between
life or death. However, for this purpose the same question, the decision that
has been weighing on my mind deals schooling my children next year.
While for Shakespeare, death is considered an
undiscovered journey, homeschooling for us is far from an unventured journey.
We have homeschooled successfully before and I know I could easily homeschool
again.
My writings here are mostly a compilation of
my studies, thoughts, examining what may or may not be best. Basically we are
potentially jumping into the frying pan. As we started considering
homeschooling for the older kids, we told them homeschooling would be their
choice. What I am exploring right now is, is letting them choose for themselves
truly best?
I need to decide whether or not all the
children need to be homeschooled, or not. We already know our youngest will be
homeschooled next year due to medical issues. She has simply missed too much
school due to illnesses. While she is still doing ok academically, the school
has recommended that she repeat the 1st grade anyway. The school
knows that we plan on homeschooling her already, yet, they want her to return
and repeat the 1st grade.
We know the best place for her is at home and
hopefully she will have far fewer hospitalizations next year. This year she has
been very sick and hospitalized multiple times. Will keeping her home reduce
illnesses and reduce the number of her admits?
Children gain many skills throughout their
educational journey. This is a known fact. Children will learn whether taught
at home or in school. The key is consistent access to education they enjoy,
thrive from, and are eager to keep learning from. The following covers the
advantages of both home based and public education. This was necessary to
organize my thoughts to help determine the needed educational route for my
kids.
* Class Size
The size of the classroom can either be a help
or a hindrance throughout the educational journey. For the child who is not
easily distracted, thrives off the attention of others, and aims to please
classmates and the teacher the public school classroom may offer the ideal educational
location. However, for the child that is easily distracted, bored with the
pace, topics, lack of preferred subject, or are more interested in socializing
with friends; the classroom may become an impossible learning environment.
Keeping my children home I will have the
opportunity to work with the 5 younger ones when they are awake, alert, and
excited to learn. They will not leave the house excited but rushed in the
mornings. Once school work is completed they will be done, and have the
opportunity to complete chores and practice instruments still.
* Traditions
Families, schools, communities, and businesses
all have traditions. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, traditions
are customary patterns of thought whether inherited or established through
actions, religious practice, or social custom norms. When traditions are passed
down, each tradition comes with significance, meaning, and roots to the past.
How does this relate to education? Decades ago, during the depression most
families needed the children home to help harvest the crops. However, today there
are few farming families harvesting during the summer. Far fewer are the
families where the children harvest side by side with their parents from dusk
to dawn.
After three months off in the summer and very
few students reviewing classroom topics throughout the summer, the beginning
weeks of school are spent reviewing forgotten lessons.
Additionally, with each state having entrance
dates varying between September through October, some children are ready for
school, while others are not. Delayed maturity can wreck havoc for a classroom.
* Authoritarian Rules
A few years ago in a local library there was a
plaque sitting on a desk that read, “We spend the first twelve months of our
children’s lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve years
telling them to sit down and shut up.” The librarian there said she did not
believe that all children needed to simply be seen and not heard. She was one
that loved to hear the little voices in the library. Hearing their voices as
she said meant they were reading, asking questions, discovering, and most
important, they were learning.
If children are forced to learn the same way
as everyone in the classroom there will be problems. Not all children learn the
same way. Some need to see and hear what is going on, others need to see and
use their hands to understand, while others need to see, hear, and use their
hands to comprehend the lesson.
Using the homeschool methods when a child or
children become restless and need to burn energy, they will have the
opportunity to take the dog on a leash and run around the block a couple times.
Once they are back with their energy burned they will be able to focus better.
If the children need movement activities to memorize spelling or math facts
they will have the freedom to move while learning.
* Priorities
Priorities are a driving factor to determining
the best education for any child. Does the child desire band, orchestra,
sports, dance, scouts, debate, theatre, robotics, or any other extracurricular activity?
What are the state rules for public education combined with homeschooling? What
priority level does the school place on academics and extracurricular
activities? As a family, with
homeschooling how will homeschooling, extracurricular activities, and other normal
activities be handled?
Other advantages include help teaching the
children rules. Whether in the classroom or through the homeschooled environment
there are others around to help enforce rules. In the public school classroom,
the teachers assign homework and the parents help (sometimes fight) ensure the
homework is done. When homeschooling once the school work is completed or
during outside activities to reinforce the lesson, the children see similar
rules are posted and must be obeyed in public places.
The homeschooling journey is filled with many
of the same teaching moments as are found throughout the public education
journey. The children face insecurities, discover they can achieve, learn they
lead, work through the steps of following (when another is learning to lead),
and adapt to their new and changing expectations.
* Standardized Testing
Standardized testing if used properly could be
a wonderful for the public school system. Especially for families that move
often. These families need to know that regardless the school their children
attend these children will get a good education.
While the children will not like math,
spelling, essays, or book reports, these are essential evaluations to determine
how much the children are learning and retaining.
* Common Core Curriculum
The current education system is floundering
and struggling to find a way to meet the needs of all the students. Children
are struggling in school leaving their parents baffled. These same children
start the year with good grades then somehow in the middle or near the end of
the year they lose focus, logical reasoning, organizational skills, the ability
to finish work, or even simply turn their work in. When asked they look blankly
and have no idea what has happened… Where did the work go, why is there no explanation
for the missing work, did they complete it? If they did where is it? These are
all issues the education system is “hoping” to help correct. However, is
creating a new common core going to be enough to reengage these students who
have lost touch with their educational journey and desire to learn?
According to the new Common Core Standards,
the goal is to provide a high quality education to all students. Additionally,
the standards of success “should” be clear to all students, teachers, and
parents, in all schools.
With this “new and improved” curriculum plan
will the schools remove the cookie cutter style teaching and allow the children
to learn logical reasoning and critical thinking? Logical reason teaches the
child to think and develop arguments that have solid reasons behind the thought
process.
Logical reasoning is essential for developing
strong thought processes for budding scientists and engineers. Critical thinking
requires one to sit and ponder before making a decision. Reflecting on a
decision allows for one to move to a higher level of thought and decision
making. Complex math problems require critical thinking. Through the development of logical reasoning
and critical thinking, the motivation returns to participate and learn. This
motivation and excitement also build confidence.
If we homeschool the older 5 children they
will also be held accountable to the math common core standards as of this
year, and as more common standards come available those standards too will need
to followed to ensure the children are prepared for their college entrance,
ACT, and SAT exams.
* Inconsistencies
Like any job, there will be inconsistencies throughout
a child’s educational journey. One year the student may love school, love the
teachers, subjects, and do very well. Likewise, the teacher may also have a
wonderful with many wonderful to outweigh the other students.
Then later in the educational journey this
same child has a teacher that he or she has unfortunately does not get along
with. By the end of year the child has endured not only the other children at
the school, but at least one teacher he or she feels is a horrible teacher.
Even with homeschooling there will still be
some inconsistencies, but the goal is to close the gap and eventually phase
them out.
* Educational Quality
The quality of education required to graduate
varies by state. One major frustration is that many schools feel sports are
more important academics. What really is more important? The distance of the
free throw, football toss, cheerleader skills, volleyball pass, lacrosse
skills, swim laps, or track and field skills; or the math, science, foreign language,
and overall GPA?
Helping the students be prepared for college,
learn a trade or apprenticeship should be more important for our children, then
setting a lower academic expectation.
* Social Advantages
Throughout a child’s educational journey, he
or she has an amazing opportunity to learn about cultural diversity. Some children grow up in very culturally
diverse neighborhoods, while others need the experience of the classroom
setting to better understand how cultural diversity relates to real world and
eventual working environment.
Regardless of the educational background,
children meet and socialize with many amazing people.
* Expenses
Education comes with a cost. Our tax dollars
cover public education. Homeschooling is a valid option for educating our
children. Public education still is covered through our taxes. These tax funds
allow for other children to receive an education. Additional public school expenses
covered through taxes include transportation, special education services,
gifted programs, and other programs as funded through federal, state, private,
foundation grants, or individual school PTA, PTSA, or PTO organizations.
