It was organized chaos this weekend for us, so I’ve been sluggish on posting. Halloween festivities combined with normal extracurriculars kept us busy. Soccer, shopping, gymnastics, church, a choir performance, Halloween parties, and the local parade consumed the weekend. I ended up walking in the Halloween parade with my daughter’s team, so I was thankful I had worn comfortable shoes to the gym.
It’s interesting. At one of the parties today, two different mothers on 2 separate occasions who send their children to public school asked me why I choose to homeschool. That question was followed by others such as how do I know what to teach, how do I teach them all at one time, do I not like the public school system, will I homeschool through high school, and do they listen to me as their teacher? These are conversations I’ve had before with other people. I’ve become quite used to answering them. Here’s how I responded:
I choose to homeschool because it seems to be the right choice for our family, at least it has been in the past and would seem to be the same at present. I homeschool because the environment offers an individualized education for each child, and their studies can be adapted to what they need and respond to. They basically have a private tutor as they study. There are minimal distractions while they learn. They don’t have to worry about what they’re wearing or saying or doing, and they don’t have to worry about what someone else is wearing or saying or doing. It’s just them with their books while listening to classical music playing softly in the background. I don’t know what the future holds. I do have a goal of homeschooling through high school. I have seen other homeschooling families be successful through high school so I believe we could do it. I do, however, take it year by year and even day by day, at times. Life can be full of surprises.
I’m not sure I’d say I dislike the public school system, but it appears to be broken beyond repair. Most importantly, the system is inefficient. Public school teachers  and even those in the private sector have an enormous task of educating classrooms of children who have different learning styles. Children process things differently. They are on different areas of the learning curve. How can teachers maximize their time while dealing with all of the outside noise and distractions? Again, the system is inefficient, so valuable teaching time is lost on miscellaneous things that have little or no relevance to academics.
I talked about the different books and programs I use including Calvert. We talked about testing. As for the question of do they listen to me, heck yeah they do, because I demand that they do! They are under my instruction right now. I’ve been given the job of raising them, so defiance in the form of disobeying instruction would not go well for them, and they know it. We are entering our fifth year of homeschooling, so I guess I can assume that they appreciate that homeschooling is a major part of our lives. It is the norm for us. Do they give me attitude? Of course they do and frequently! But, in the end, I’m the boss, and the boss calls the shots. Remember that episode of the “Cosby Show” where Mr. Cosby says, “I brought you into this world, and I’ll take you out.”? 🙂
Well, that’s enough of that. The rooster will be crowing soon..