My wife homeschools our 4 children (3,5,7,9 years old)

We are so happy and the kids are doing great. I will say you have to be plugged in with other groups and co-ops for socializing but it has been an enormous blessing in our lives so far

FTAC2011 said:

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My wife homeschools our 4 children (3,5,7,9 years old)

We are so happy and the kids are doing great. I will say you have to be plugged in with other groups and co-ops for socializing but it has been an enormous blessing in our lives so far

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Lots of ways to socialize - church, extracurriculars, family, neighbors, random outings and everyday activities (errands) with mom and dad…

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Why can't kids of bad parents be held to some degree of responsibility? Make them take classes when their kid fails or gets bad behavior grades. Or fine them, or bring back corporal punishment for bad kids, or have them do bear crawls till they puke like coaches would make kids in athletics do

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Because of progressivism. Period.

Howdy, it is me! said:

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FTAC2011 said:

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My wife homeschools our 4 children (3,5,7,9 years old)

We are so happy and the kids are doing great. I will say you have to be plugged in with other groups and co-ops for socializing but it has been an enormous blessing in our lives so far

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Lots of ways to socialize - church, extracurriculars, family, neighbors, random outings and everyday activities (errands) with mom and dad…

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100% agree!

CDUB98 said:

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Why can't kids of bad parents be held to some degree of responsibility? Make them take classes when their kid fails or gets bad behavior grades. Or fine them, or bring back corporal punishment for bad kids, or have them do bear crawls till they puke like coaches would make kids in athletics do

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Because of progressivism. Period.

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Both of my parents were public school teachers and I remember them talking about the loss of control in the classroom in the 1980s

We all pay school taxes and if some kids won't do the work or misbehave there should be consequences

That would make a huge difference imo. No pass no play made an impact too, so it works with positive reinforcement too. You have to earn the right to play sports. Maybe you have to earn the right to not have study hall every day, by passing and behaving.

Depends on the reasons you're doing it.

If you are doing it to avoid wokeism...good luck. Private vs Public both have issues with wokeism.
If you are doing it to avoid exposure to bad things...again good luck. Private is just as bad at exposing kids to bad things as Public. Private may be worse in this regard because of the smaller concentrated numbers.
If you are doing it for "education reasons" ...again good luck. Most private schools aren't any better educationally. Some can be way better, some can also be way worse.
If you are doing it for sports...why? If they aren't a top 100 prospect it's kind of pointless in the grand scheme of life.
If you are doing it for friend issues...I've heard of this working for some, and heard it backfiring for others.

Homeschooling will give them better protection / reduce exposures (to bad) / maximize the time educating versus twiddling their thumbs. Homeschooling can also drive a wedge between the parent & child if the parent is the full time teacher. I've also seen some homeschooling create very socially awkward children...find ways for them to socialize DAILY with friends when they are young. Sports, Youth Groups, Play Days, whatever. Something other than their only socializing being with their parents or siblings.

At the end of the day, you the parents should have by far the most influence on your child's life & education IMO. Don't count on the present day schools to deliver satisfactory outcomes. Way too many lazy teachers these days.

eric76 said:

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TheEternalOptimist said:

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Our son's math skills started to outstretch our ability to teach more to him - so we made the decision to pursue Christian education.

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From what I've been told and have seen with my cousin's kids, math is one of the weakest things about home schooling.

An old friend of mine from A&M has done some math tutoring for home school kids for that reason.

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It's important for parents to understand their own limitations.

I was OK at Math/Algebra in High School/College and my wife was average. We did summertime tutoring with a Godly young man from our church in the last two summers. But he wants to be a nuclear engineer, and we were approaching capacity of our ability to teach him. It was an honest assessment.

Kyle Field Shade Chaser said:

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If you are doing it for sports...why? If they aren't a top 100 prospect it's kind of pointless in the grand scheme of life.

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Many of the most important lessons in life are best found in sports.

I'm working with my daughter to play basketball just because I want her to participate in a team sport not because I think she's a potential prospect

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Why can't kids of bad parents be held to some degree of responsibility? Make them take classes when their kid fails or gets bad behavior grades. Or fine them, or bring back corporal punishment for bad kids, or have them do bear crawls till they puke like coaches would make kids in athletics do

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Because until the school board / superintendent are on board with it, it won't happen. You have to vote in a school board who wants to hold parents accountable. It can halfway be done by a competent principal (such as the one I had first who was a DE at UTK who got run over by Hershell Walker - he didn't give an eff, and did what was best for the kids), but other than that, it won't work until it is at least district policy.

Parents (much less students) are almost never held accountable.

jamey said:

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Kyle Field Shade Chaser said:

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If you are doing it for sports...why? If they aren't a top 100 prospect it's kind of pointless in the grand scheme of life.

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Many of the most important lessons in life are best found in sports.

I'm working with my daughter to play basketball just because I want her to participate in a team sport not because I think she's a potential prospect

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True, but there are plenty of sports team's options outside of school. Many of which are actually a better experience than the school teams.

Doesn't seem worth the money to transfer a kid just for sports, when they can play the same sport outside of school literally all throughout life if they choose.

We are blessed here in Katy as most of the schools here are extremely good. Class sizes are around 25 or so, about the same as it was for me way back. Seven Lakes is uber competitive, but it prepares the kids well that are going to college. We almost went the private route, but glad we didn't.

One of the big benefits of homeschooling that doesn't get discussed often is discipline. We all know discipline doesn't happen inside the classrooms anymore - at least not regularly.

If our son starts the day poorly with a bad attitude, we correct immediately.
If he sleeps through his alarm and starts late, he needs to make up for that time.
If he has poor time management throughout the day on his assignments, he will hear about it.
If he speaks back to his mother (teacher) in a rude manner, I come out of my home office and he hears about it from me (the principal) immediately (when I can).
If he doesn't eat a proper lunch, which he is responsible for, there will be a discussion.
If he doesn't pick up his school supplies and materials when done for the day, he will get in trouble.

mslags97 said:

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agAngeldad said:

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mslags97 said:

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We did a home school/Classical school. Partial home and partial in class through 6th grade. 7th through graduation, was a Classical education, but the school was a Biblically based education/foundation.

Our school was much more concerned with the ability for our kids to leave the school with the ability to discuss what they believe and to stand up for what they believe and defend it.

I have a Junior currently at A&M, doing very well; a second year student at the Naval Academy who is about to finish that second year with a 4.0….

My baby girl is graduating in 2 weeks and will be a freshman at A&M.

The big difference we have seen between the education our kids have received and the public system is parental involvement. It's work…. And hard at times, but it is so worth it.

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What is "classical" school?

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They teach through the "Classics". Literature. Great Books instead of normal English classes.

Includes rhetoric and logic.

And then they use the Socratic method of teaching. Basically 10-14 students with a tutor, and they have discussions. And ask questions to push that discussion along.

The education they have received makes me jealous of what I had in a public school. They were so crazy prepared for college.

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Kind of like St. John's College in New Mexico?

DonHenley said:

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home schooling is weird, leave it to a trained professional (assuming you live in a normal state)

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This truly is an uninformed, ignorant statement.

There are so many options and opportunities today…. And the ability to choose what is best for your kids is more than fine.

You absolutely do not know what you are talking about.

jamey said:

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Kyle Field Shade Chaser said:

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If you are doing it for sports...why? If they aren't a top 100 prospect it's kind of pointless in the grand scheme of life.

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Many of the most important lessons in life are best found in sports.

I'm working with my daughter to play basketball just because I want her to participate in a team sport not because I think she's a potential prospect

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My kids, as I explained earlier, were home schooled and went to a very small private school.

We won state in TAPPS in multiple sports, and my middle son has multiple state records, including public school records. He could have run for any school in the country, and he could have played baseball for almost any school. He was a recruited athlete in multiple sports.

In today's age, there are ways to make it happen. And it's not that hard.

Yes!! Modeled after the same.

St. John's is actually in Annapolis. The one in NM is a branch of the original.

jamey said:

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CDUB98 said:

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Why can't kids of bad parents be held to some degree of responsibility? Make them take classes when their kid fails or gets bad behavior grades. Or fine them, or bring back corporal punishment for bad kids, or have them do bear crawls till they puke like coaches would make kids in athletics do

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Because of progressivism. Period.

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Both of my parents were public school teachers and I remember them talking about the loss of control in the classroom in the 1980s

We all pay school taxes and if some kids won't do the work or misbehave there should be consequences

That would make a huge difference imo. No pass no play made an impact too, so it works with positive reinforcement too. You have to earn the right to play sports. Maybe you have to earn the right to not have study hall every day, by passing and behaving.

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When my son (now 33 years old) was entering kinder and first grade we had to sign for permission form for them to use corporal punishment. Of course I signed to give them permission and told my son in no uncertain terms that if he misbehaved he could and should be spanked.
By 2nd grade no more form and no more corporal punishment.

CDUB98 said:

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BenFiasco14 said:

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Or, alternatively, send them to private school?

Basically, I'm looking for peoples first hand experiences with home schooling primarily but am interested to hear private school perspectives as well.

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A good private school is worth it's weight in gold.

It's a significant financial hit, but a sacrifice we happily make.

Smaller classes.
Teacher attention.
Generally higher quality students and better conduct.
Other parents who care.
Can find a school that shares your values.

No private school is perfect, but a good school at least tries.

If you are going the private route, you need to start looking NOW.

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This is pretty much spot on. I put ours in private in middle school and early HS. Not going to lie, the cost is tough to swallow but both my kids and us are much happier overall. They just complain that the workload and courses are much harder but to me that is what I am paying for (among other things).

I also very much agree with this. We were fortunate; my wife is a teacher and taught in public schools before we had kids. She taught at our school, and so that covered our tuition. Still, it was a sacrifice. She would have made a ton more working, but with the homeschool partnership we use at MCA, she was not able to work anywhere else, and we wanted her to be the one doing the homeschool part.

You have to find where you fit and where your kid fits as well. It depends on what matters to you…. Like I said earlier, the Christian based school/education was the most important part for us. We knew, especially with my wife teaching in public schools, that we didn't want our kids in public schools. We watched the complete lack of parental involvement at the public schools up close. We saw that the public schools really discouraged parents from being involved with their kids' education. They didn't want the interference. They didn't want to have to deal with the parents and their questions. We didn't like that. And Jen taught at a very good public middle school in San Antonio before moving to Odessa. Great school district with a stellar reputation. But, her experience, very much told us that was not for us. It doesn't mean it isn't for everyone.

We were limited on private options in Midland/Odessa, but we were truly Blessed to have MCA. It has been perfect for us…

You just have to find what fits your kids and what fits your list of what is important to you first your kids to learn…. It is a very personal decision. Public schools really is great for some. Certain private schools will fit the needs of others. I will say this: in my experience, kids coming from private schools are much, much more prepared for college. The academic rigor they have gone through usually far exceeds what they would have gotten at a public school. Their ability to study and to know how to study is usually well ahead of their public school counterparts. Not always…. but, I would say almost always….

Here is my experience with our three kids, both pros and cons.

Very little, if any, woke-ism on campus.

Conservative, Christian school.

The school is free to kick out problem students. They will only tolerate bad behavior and disruption for so long before problems are asked to leave.

All of our kids have had the opportunity to participate in sports. They don't have to be superstars in order to get playtime.

The small class sizes can be both a pro and a con. Low student-to-teacher ratio is great but limited peer group can, sometimes, be a challenge.

It is expensive.

With regard to sporting events, sometimes our children have to travel a very long distance to play other schools in our "district". Beaumont and Anahuac. We live in Magnolia.

Physical proximity to the school - school is half an hour away. This, of course, was our choice.

No school sponsored dances. It's a non-denominational, Christian school with. However, there are a lot of Baptist in the school. Dances have always been parent-sponsored events and not school-affiliated.

You are among mostly like-minded families. Our kids friends tend to come from families with very similar values. Take it as a pro or con.

TheEternalOptimist said:

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eric76 said:

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TheEternalOptimist said:

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Our son's math skills started to outstretch our ability to teach more to him - so we made the decision to pursue Christian education.

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From what I've been told and have seen with my cousin's kids, math is one of the weakest things about home schooling.

An old friend of mine from A&M has done some math tutoring for home school kids for that reason.

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It's important for parents to understand their own limitations.

I was OK at Math/Algebra in High School/College and my wife was average. We did summertime tutoring with a Godly young man from our church in the last two summers. But he wants to be a nuclear engineer, and we were approaching capacity of our ability to teach him. It was an honest assessment.

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If he's up for a challenge, check out
ArtofProblemSolving.com

Get a login and explore the self-paced learning utility: Alcumus (under Resources tab). You can also view videos, forums, and other resources. There are books and courses you can pay for, but there is plenty of free options to keep you more than challenged. Many of the top math students in the world are on there.

TheEternalOptimist said:

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eric76 said:

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TheEternalOptimist said:

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Our son's math skills started to outstretch our ability to teach more to him - so we made the decision to pursue Christian education.

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From what I've been told and have seen with my cousin's kids, math is one of the weakest things about home schooling.

An old friend of mine from A&M has done some math tutoring for home school kids for that reason.

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It's important for parents to understand their own limitations.

I was OK at Math/Algebra in High School/College and my wife was average. We did summertime tutoring with a Godly young man from our church in the last two summers. But he wants to be a nuclear engineer, and we were approaching capacity of our ability to teach him. It was an honest assessment.

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If you ever need assistance with math, I can do online tutoring. I am a former math/science HS teacher (I taught Algebra I&II, Geometry, Pre-Cal, Biology I&II, and Environmental Science). I tutor Math 119 (college algebra) at the college I work at now. I work in the Math department here (non instructor - staff).