Typically, I tend to post experiences that happen to me which I find funny, but I've decided that my this page will be about life in general, from the funny to the tragic. And so, with that in mind, here we go. Please don't hold this against me.
A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook after reading a blog posting from an anti-home school individual. She was quite frustrated with the arguments posted, since she was home schooled and is currently a home schooling mom. This issue has generated a heated debate from those who support home schooling and those who think public school is the best option. Personally I can see benefits and disadvantages to each side.
To give you an idea of where I'm coming from, I was home schooled for a single year of my life. Eighth grade to be exact. I was living with my grandparents in Upstate New York (which for those of you who aren't from that area, is any area within the state lines that that is not part of New York City proper. I'm just sayin'... Also, for the record, why do you have to towns in the same state called Aurora? Isn't that confusing? Anyhow, I'm going of the subject) and my Grandma didn't want me to go to public school since she felt it would expose me to drugs and sex and other immoral teachings, which as a public school student, I had already learned by the 5th grade!
And so the journey began. I lived with my grandparents on a 40 acre lot and had my social interactions with kids my age during church and scouting events. To be honest, it did get kind of lonely, since I was used to the socializing that I normally had at a public school. Let's be honest, social interaction isn't why we send our kids off to school. School is supposed to be an institution for learning. I really wasn't doing much of that at a public school, because I found what they were teaching boring, repetitious and beneath what I already knew.
My grandma would go to the public school district and get the books for the required curriculum and bring them home for me to study, and study I did! In the course of eight months, I went through what would take a public school 4 years to complete.
To be fair, you have to admit that public schools take longer because they have to set up meetings for concerts, or PTA events or parent-teacher conferences, whereas home school kids don't have parent-teacher conferences unless their parents have some form of Multiple Personality Disorder or a severe case of schizophrenia and then it just looks like they're talking to either themselves or an imaginary friend.
When I "finished" the eighth grade, I went back to High School and to be honest, I struggled. I know what you anti-home schoolers are thinking, but you're wrong. My struggles weren't due to improper presentation of subject matter, or difficulty learning of the material, or knowing proper social etiquette. I have moved around enough to be able to adapt to social hierarchies just fine, thank you. I struggled because of how BORING public school was.
With home school, I was free to learn and focus on specific subjects and was required to learn the few I didn't like. Jumping ahead was not required, but I was given the choice. In public school, I was constantly getting in trouble for reading ahead and not following along at the same pace as the rest of the class. Was it my fault that they couldn't read as fast as I could? No, and I don't think its proper to punish a child for excelling. I finished high school with a 3.0 grade point average (out of 4.0), which isn't bad, but its not the best I could have done, it was just the best I could have done under the demeaning circumstances. That, I think, sums up public education.
To each their own. Each child is different and learns in different ways. When I have children, I'll decide what I feel is in their best interest. In my opinion, education shouldn't have to be in a drill instructor format. Its something that should be done in the course of a lifetime. Every day occurrences should be a teaching moment. Places you go should have something educational as well as fun activities. The important thing is that our children (which some day I hope to have) know the things necessary to become good stewards of this earth. So, when they finally leave our home to become men and women, we as parents can say, "I did the best I could do, and I'm happy with the result".
(The blogs for both sides can be seen here, if you are interested: The Case Against Homeschooling. The rebuttal for the benefit of the home schooled can be found here: I Only Home School to Piss Off Other People: Part 1 and here: I Only Home School to Piss Off Other People: Part 2 aaaand here: Just kidding!)
