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Fort

Fort

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Grimm said:
Rant #1

I took Roo to school this morning and we were running a tad late so I took her to the designated drop off spot rather than park and walk her. I wait my turn in the line of cars only to have a jerk 2 cars up not pull up all the way to unload his kids. If everyone pulls up 2 maybe 3 cars can unload safely. This guy pulled up and uploaded in the middle of the spot. So the guy in front of me unloads his kids in the street rather than wait for jerk #1. Once they both pull away I pull all the way up to get Roo unloaded safely...

ANNNNNNND I get honked at because the car behind me unloaded her kids in the street when the guy in front of me did instead of waiting! Because I waited I now "forced" her to have to wait for me to unload Roo SAFELY and pull away before she can enter back on the street and drive away.


Rant #2

I park down the street from Roo's school then walk to the gate to pick her up everyday. After Roo leaves the gate we walk back to the car joined by another mom and one of Roo's classmates that she is friends with. Today as we headed back down the street a parent was parked right by the school in a red zone. When the school cop tried to get her to move her mini van she started honking the horn to scare him off. In the process she is damaging the hearing of every kid and parent walking on the sidewalk next to the damn minivan! She thought she was exempt from the law and could park in the damn fire lane!


Rant #3

So, Roo goes to the local elementary school that services the city and the reservation. If we could afford the tuition she'd be going to the Christian private school back in the town we moved from (10 miles away). But today really cemented that we need to move ASAP. One of the brats that goes to Roo's school thought it was funny and pulled the fire alarm. The kids with their teachers spent half the day in the field waiting for the all clear from the fire department. Time wasted they could be learning!
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Stuff like this is a small portion of why I plan to homeschool. :(
 
Fort said:
Stuff like this is a small portion of why I plan to homeschool. :(
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I agree. I have the curriculum and everything for the first 5 years of school BUT I was shot down by K. Roo needs the socialization he said. Now he is trying to figure out how we can afford to move back to town and away from the reservation. I told him he needs to give me a shot at homeschooling her and stop thinking I'll kill her from the sass that comes out of her 6 year old mouth. I survived the 3 weeks she was home for the holidays without his help.
 
Grimm said:
I agree. I have the curriculum and everything for the first 5 years of school BUT I was shot down by K. Roo needs the socialization he said. Now he is trying to figure out how we can afford to move back to town and away from the reservation. I told him he needs to give me a shot at homeschooling her and stop thinking I'll kill her from the sass that comes out of her 6 year old mouth. I survived the 3 weeks she was home for the holidays without his help.
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There are plenty of other ways to get socialization. From my memories of public school, spending that much time in school to learn that little academically was ridiculous.

I also had an already convicted child molester for a teacher. The principal also turned a blind eye to a former student telling her that he was a child molester and one of the boys from some of my classes was molested by him.
 
I'm sorry that people don't understand homeschooling and socialization. Most people also don't like my opinion about homeschooling and socialization. What I've seen is that 98% of the kids who go to school will not socialize with my kids because they are not part of the school tribe.
Maybe you could start a homeschooling thread, Grimm or Fort. I'm finishing up my lifetime of hsing in the next couple of years. It is no walk in the park but the nightmare of the first couple of years with my kids in p.s. was a mini nightmare. Homeschoolers are not all dress wearing, Bible thumping, obedient mommies, and I don't fault those who are.... but then there's me.
 
Patchouli said:
I'm sorry that people don't understand homeschooling and socialization. Most people also don't like my opinion about homeschooling and socialization. What I've seen is that 98% of the kids who go to school will not socialize with my kids because they are not part of the school tribe.
Maybe you could start a homeschooling thread, Grimm or Fort. I'm finishing up my lifetime of hsing in the next couple of years. It is no walk in the park but the nightmare of the first couple of years with my kids in p.s. was a mini nightmare. Homeschoolers are not all dress wearing, Bible thumping, obedient mommies, and I don't fault those who are.... but then there's me.
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I love the, "but then there's me," quote. :)

I was looking for a place to start a homeschooling thread but didn't see an obvious place. I think that sounds like a great idea.

I was also a misfit in school and bullied a lot. I also wasn't academically challenged most of the time.
 
Fort said:
I love the, "but then there's me," quote. :)

I was looking for a place to start a homeschooling thread but didn't see an obvious place. I think that sounds like a great idea.

I was also a misfit in school and bullied a lot. I also wasn't academically challenged most of the time.
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are we allowed to have a private thread for homeschooling?

I'm sorry! I'm not trying to de-rail the thread!
Back to your regularly scheduled programs of ranting and raving while keeping it clean.
 
Patchouli said:
are we allowed to have a private thread for homeschooling?

I'm sorry! I'm not trying to de-rail the thread!
Back to your regularly scheduled programs of ranting and raving while keeping it clean.
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I am guessing we could but having it public would allow others to learn from what is said.

I am hoping one of the mods will come along and start one for us. ;) :)
 
viking said:
Not to be down on K, but that socialization stuff is pretty much BS, I had a neighbor that home schooled all but one of her kids and the one that went to school was the one that went bad, the rest of her kids are outgoing, friendly and extremely smart, the one that went to school ( In California) is a druggy, spent time in prison for attempted murder and is constantly on welfare, not saying that kids going to public school would be like that, but in the 20+ years I worked custodian/maintenance, it sure made me a believer in home schooling. Most of the home schooled kids I've seen end up graduating far above publicly schooled kids. I hope that you can work out home schooling, your children will be far better off for it.
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I made a deal with K that if she can't behave in class to the point of not getting anything out of being there (she is having behavior issues in her first grade class I blame the teacher since she didn't have these issues last year at Pre-K) then I will pull her and homeschool.
 
Grimm said:
I made a deal with K that if she can't behave in class to the point of not getting anything out of being there (she is having behavior issues in her first grade class I blame the teacher since she didn't have these issues last year at Pre-K) then I will pull her and homeschool.
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I just hope you are making it sound like it is fun and not a punishment or a disciplinary action. Otherwise, it would totally play on her mind that it is probably bad to be homeschooled. I hope you can find quite a few people to talk to who will expose you to the possibilities with hsing. Let's go to the thread.
 
Lots of issues with public schooling there is no doubt, but plenty of issues with home schooling. I interact with plenty of parents who homeschool and children who are or have been home schooled. There are a ton of parents who should get an education themselves before trying to teach their kids. Secondly, far too many homeschool kids (and their parents) are totally socially inept up think they are superior to others.

Having said that some parents/kids should home school and some should not.
 
BugoutBob said:
Lots of issues with public schooling there is no doubt, but plenty of issues with home schooling. I interact with plenty of parents who homeschool and children who are or have been home schooled. There are a ton of parents who should get an education themselves before trying to teach their kids. Secondly, far too many homeschool kids (and their parents) are totally socially inept up think they are superior to others.

Having said that some parents/kids should home school and some should not.
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Most likely that was already determined.
I am grateful that a decision of whether my children should be homeschooled or not is left up to me.
This thread is to discuss homeschooling. There will always be many against and many for, lots of disagreement.
I have heard it all and was hoping to by-step that discussion completely and go more along the lines of what styles, what do you use, how do you teach this, what do you do when...(fill in the blank)...etc.
Where is the perfect school? I don't think it exists.
What is public school for? I guess that is the big question. Is it to educate? Indoctrinate? Is it to provide a stable environment? Is it to give kids a foundation for learning that will last them a lifetime? How is it working out in your area?
Yes, there are good schools out there and there are also a lot of good parents and good kids.
What are the statistics of failing homeschoolers? Were they successful in public school? Do they fall between the cracks somewhere? Is it a higher number than public school kids in comparison? Not likely.
 
Patchouli said:
Most likely that was already determined.
I am grateful that a decision of whether my children should be homeschooled or not is left up to me.
This thread is to discuss homeschooling. There will always be many against and many for, lots of disagreement.
I have heard it all and was hoping to by-step that discussion completely and go more along the lines of what styles, what do you use, how do you teach this, what do you do when...(fill in the blank)...etc.
Where is the perfect school? I don't think it exists.
What is public school for? I guess that is the big question. Is it to educate? Indoctrinate? Is it to provide a stable environment? Is it to give kids a foundation for learning that will last them a lifetime? How is it working out in your area?
Yes, there are good schools out there and there are also a lot of good parents and good kids.
What are the statistics of failing homeschoolers? Were they successful in public school? Do they fall between the cracks somewhere? Is it a higher number than public school kids in comparison? Not likely.
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I will just follow along and learn. My two are grown up and my grandchildren will likely be public school, but one never knows where a useful tidbit might be gained. I will try hard not to derail the discussion
 
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I'm going to follow along with this thread as well.

Socialization is up to the parents to arrange, isn't that what church and church functions are for?

The public school systems over here are horrid and only teach what is in the book and on the paper and if you arent a good little conforming robot you will fail.
Not including the competition to get into the "right pre school" so your kid can go to the "right kindergarten"so they can get into the "right primary school"and the "right secondary"then the "right University" On top of the extra curricular things, French, violin/piano, poetry, sports, 4 hours of homework every night. These are all for bragging rights for the parents who dont even take care of their kids, their helpers kart the poor ill mannered and undisciplined things around.
We looked into homeschooling over here, its a grey area and not looked upon very well.

When we get to Michigan, there is school of choice, and according to my mother who is ultra raging liberal, there is a "great"school right down the road from us....the only Orthodox school is about 5 hours south, so that's out.
There are some good schools in the area but its up to you to get your kids there. (like a parent should)
Home schooling is a serious option for us, My wife will finish her Masters soon, art, music, language she got that part. History, science and the rest...would have to be up to me...
Im studying to re take the ASVAB this April hopefully, mathematics is not a good point for me....

My high school teacher, instead of offering help and suggestions to students that were not getting the problems he would just call them stupid and fail them. I never got past pre-algebra/general math in high school, and that was with a D grade.
Same teacher the entire 4 years..you cant take physics, chemistry, advanced biology (which I was really interested in) without better mathematics.
I am a proven example of how a bad teacher can influence your life. Overall my life worked out pretty darn great! but...what if I had a good teacher in school?
And with the teachers I read about nowadays???
 
Justin76 said:
I'm going to follow along with this thread as well.

Socialization is up to the parents to arrange, isn't that what church and church functions are for?

The public school systems over here are horrid and only teach what is in the book and on the paper and if you arent a good little conforming robot you will fail.
Not including the competition to get into the "right pre school" so your kid can go to the "right kindergarten"so they can get into the "right primary school"and the "right secondary"then the "right University" On top of the extra curricular things, French, violin/piano, poetry, sports, 4 hours of homework every night. These are all for bragging rights for the parents who dont even take care of their kids, their helpers kart the poor ill mannered and undisciplined things around.
We looked into homeschooling over here, its a grey area and not looked upon very well.

When we get to Michigan, there is school of choice, and according to my mother who is ultra raging liberal, there is a "great"school right down the road from us....the only Orthodox school is about 5 hours south, so that's out.
There are some good schools in the area but its up to you to get your kids there. (like a parent should)
Home schooling is a serious option for us, My wife will finish her Masters soon, art, music, language she got that part. History, science and the rest...would have to be up to me...
Im studying to re take the ASVAB this April hopefully, mathematics is not a good point for me....

My high school teacher, instead of offering help and suggestions to students that were not getting the problems he would just call them stupid and fail them. I never got past pre-algebra/general math in high school, and that was with a D grade.
Same teacher the entire 4 years..you cant take physics, chemistry, advanced biology (which I was really interested in) without better mathematics.
I am a proven example of how a bad teacher can influence your life. Overall my life worked out pretty darn great! but...what if I had a good teacher in school?
And with the teachers I read about nowadays???
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Let me know if you need help with math. Seriously. I love math (well, most of it). I got past calculus and onto tensors in college and then grad school. I don't like differential equations but I am guessing you aren't looking for help with those.

I started algebra in 3rd grade at home with my father. The biggest hang up was having to wait until I was taught multiplication.

I also agree that socialization can occur outside of school, to include at church, in sports, and/or other outside activities.
 
BugoutBob said:
Lots of issues with public schooling there is no doubt, but plenty of issues with home schooling. I interact with plenty of parents who homeschool and children who are or have been home schooled. There are a ton of parents who should get an education themselves before trying to teach their kids. Secondly, far too many homeschool kids (and their parents) are totally socially inept up think they are superior to others.

Having said that some parents/kids should home school and some should not.
Click to expand...
I think part of any plans for homeschooling should include an honest assessment of what the parent(s)/teacher(s) can and can't teach. I have seen parents who are very capable and work together as a family to homeschool the children and it works out great. However, I have also seen parents on Facebook who say that they homeschool while posting a paragraph that is replete with grammatical and spelling errors - to the point that it is hard to understand what they are saying. Some parents/families also have much more self-discipline than others. It may be helpful at some point to discuss what it really takes for parents to homeschool, as it is not simply the knowledge of the school subjects.

I also know that I will have have to brush up on certain subjects that I haven't used, and at the higher levels, I hope my son will be able to go to something like a community college to get in some laboratory sciences.
 
Fort said:
Let me know if you need help with math. Seriously. I love math (well, most of it). I got past calculus and onto tensors in college and then grad school. I don't like differential equations but I am guessing you aren't looking for help with those.

I started algebra in 3rd grade at home with my father. The biggest hang up was having to wait until I was taught multiplication.

I also agree that socialization can occur outside of school, to include at church, in sports, and/or other outside activities.
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Thank you,
I may take you up on that offer in the future actually.
I found a pretty good website
Called schoolyourself.org or teach yourself something or other.
Has video lessons that are actually really easy to understand and not directed towards kids.
I started back on the basics dividing fractions and negatives and am now on actual algebra factoring out negatives and all that.
It really isnt that difficult once you have a decent foundation....difficult yet...

it would actually be a good site for home schoolers.
 
The first year I homeschooled, I bought complete curriculums for each grade I was teaching, at that time three grades. By the end of the year, I realized that that was not necessary. It is a good starting point, but a child will usually do better in one subject than another, and may be in 3rd grade math, but in 4th grade science. It took the first year of teaching to understand it was ok to pick and choose according to ability. Even now, with the twins working with me on the weekends...granddaughter is in 6th grade spelling, but 7th grade math. Grandson was starting beginning algebra, but is back to review of 7th grade basics because he hates following rules. Even in math. Math doesn't work that way. Ha.
Use curriculum with good explanations included, and also a teacher's manual. If you've forgotten how to do something yourself, you'll learn it again quickly and will be able to teach it. Turn off the tv and video games. Don't use the computer to teach. Take frequent trips to the library and your student will also have a good book to read.
 
Keep in mind that forum typing/online writing is not a complete reflection of someone's intelligence. I know people with 4 year degrees and master's degrees who can't spell worth a hoot. Anyone can improve their own spelling, grammar, and writing ability. We aren't writing essays here.
Fortunately, when it comes to homeschooling there are textbooks and teacher/answer manuals to help out so that you don't have to do the math to see if your kid's answer is correct. When your kid has problems in math, then it is time to sit down and walk him/her through it. Back up if needed, to see where he stopped understanding the concepts. Repeat.
Amish Heart, I didn't have the financial resources for buying boxed curricula. I've seen enough people try that route and most stamp it "fail" and put their kids back in school. To me, boxed curricula means I'm going to force feed the lessons to my kid, expect him to sit there every day, studiously completing every problem neatly, reading and completing every assignment, and conducting himself like he's in school. That was not what I had in mind and that is one reason why I have seen parents and kids say homeschooling was not for them. It was too boring.
Some libraries work together, say, within a county, so that the patrons have access to all materials each of those libraries has on the shelf. You don't have to drive to other branches as they may have weekly shipments coming in from their other branches. You just put it on hold. Easy.
I look at my kids and their successes and even with my failings and imperfections, they are good people, really good. They know how to communicate with people from all walks of life and all ages.
What I had hoped for: geniuses. What I got: kids who know how to think for themselves.
 
We home-school. We have a highly functioning autistic child. We have been teaching her for the last 3 or 4 years. Our child was two years behind her grade level when we began. Our child was not getting from the school system what she should have been getting. She was drugged, placed in the back of the classroom and ignored. She was bullied by other students. We refused to medicate after realization that she was a zombie and that is exactly how they wanted her to be. We were told in a roundabout way at an IEP that if we did not medicate our child they would no longer provide certain assistance in learning that she needed. We we not happy with the socialist system in play today in the public school system. We were not happy that kids teach kids and are left sitting in lines on the floor in the hallways before school starts. We were not happy with the curriculum. We were not happy when we saw Dr. Martin Luther King jr. and Eleanor Roosevelt listed on a school paper as "founding fathers". We were not happy about all of the global warming crap that they were teaching. We were not happy when a Vice principal physically restrained our child even though her teaching plan is to give her space and we were not notified about it until it was mentioned by a teacher at an IEP a month later. We were not happy when our taxes kept going up to finance Taj Mahal schools every other year to add more and more illegals. Our child is now learning at her proper grade level. She excels above her grade level in some subjects that are of special interest to her such as science and animal behavior. She is tested regularly and her grades are documented. Her schooling now takes a few hours a few days a week rather than 8 hours a day for 5 days per week. Most people today have no idea what their kids do or learn each day at school. They use the school system as a daycare. They are teaching your kids what THEY want them to learn. Maybe not what YOU would want them to learn. If you do not home school then you better get in there and push to learn what your kids are doing and being taught each day at school. The schools will not offer up all of this info to you, you must become involved in their school lives on a daily basis. You have to be there at times to actually see. It isn't the same as when I went to school.
 
I'm sorry if I sounded harsh or unkind.

There are several different approaches to homeschooling:
Charlotte Mason
Eclectic
School-at-home
Montessori
Waldorf
Unschooling
Classical
Multiple Intelligences (that's a new one on me)

I found this website, also a new one on me. It explains a typical day in each method/approach.

https://www.homeschool.com/new/difstyles.asp

We started with school-at-home which was not good for us.
Mostly we've done Charlotte Mason but combined with classical and unschooling. Everyone freaks out over unschooling. In our experience it has just meant time to follow their own interests; the professional unschoolers wish we wouldn't call ourselves unschoolers if we're not complete unschoolers. Whatever.
 
I found a website that sells old textbooks. My daughter is using some books I learned with and some much older. They have textbooks and teachers Editions if you want them, just tell them the time frame you want, which subject and what grade. My order was $50 for this year.
 
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