Would you consider homeschooling or an online charter school for your child?

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   celeste inscribedposted 11 years ago

   Would you consider homeschooling or an online charter school for your child?

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   Lisa HWposted 11 years ago

   I wouldn't.  I had just about the best parents anyone could have ever, and I absolutely loved being with my mother; but I think of how much I also loved being able to get out of the house, have my own "separate life" (and friends and social life, and even responsibilities of school work) away from home; and, to me, I would have felt as if I were confined and smothered if I'd never been able to have that outside life.  I would feel as if I'd missed so much of "normal life" if I hadn't gone to school.
   
   I was a public-school kid, and my own three kids went to public school too.  (My husband and I did have a choice.)   I have had my "axes to grind" with some things that go on with/in the public school system, but I think it's important for people (including children) to figure out how to make things work for them.  If something like the public school can't work for one child and one reason or another, I think my next choice would be to look for a different school - not to keep my child home with me.
   
   There were things that I thought my own children weren't getting enough of in the public school system, so I aimed to supplement those things by offering activities /books at home (without making it seem like school).  To me, what they WERE getting from attending school outside the home were every bit as important as some of the academic material/challenges they weren't getting at school.  I don't think so much in terms of the social aspects of school - just the whole picture that includes a certain type of autonomy for children, but also that includes some things that, maybe, kids need to learn to deal with/work with even if things aren't as perfect as they, or a parent, would generally prefer.
   
   I just think that there's so much more that children gain from attending school outside home (and that a lot of people don't even realize they got from attending school), it's not really possible to replicate the childhood-long experience if the child doesn't actually have it.  Imperfect or not, school provided something to my kids that only attending school can - so imperfect or not, the schools are something I'm grateful to for contributing such important experience to my children's childhoods and teen years.  BUT, I know a whole lot of people would disagree with my thinking.  That's fine too.   

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      celeste inscribedposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Lisa HW,  I think it is different for every family. We are with a virtual academy. We attend school from home but we have teachers etc Our social contact is outside school every afternoon and we have school field trips. Thank you for your answer

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   Becky Katzposted 11 years ago

   I home schooled all three of my children. My sons started being home schooled because one of them had a teacher who couldn't keep track of the homework for long enough to get it counted as turned in. She failed 1/2 the kids in her class that year and the only reason she did not fail my son is because when we found out what was going on, we took the matter up with the principal. He turned his papers in to the asst. principal the rest of that year and then the asst. principal gave them to the teacher. If any of those got 'lost', he got an automatic A. They could not fire her because she had tenure.
   My daughter started being home schooled because the teacher was bullying her. There is a point when you have to say, I am not going to allow you to abuse my child any more. We found out later that she has a learning disorder, which was the teachers whole problem with keeping her on task. If she had been paying attention, she would have noticed it. My daughter is doing very well now and has lots of other kids she gets with. She also does not have a teacher telling her that she is stupid and lazy.

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      celeste inscribedposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This brings tears to my eyes Becky because we had a similar experience with bullying after my son started wearing glasses. He was so unhappy at school. We are in our second year with a virtual academy and he is a happy go lucky thriving little man.

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   BMWoodfolkposted 11 years ago

   I homeschool my children and I do use online sources, but I do not use the charter schools. We checked in to a few in the past and they were extremely expensive. One of them cost as much as one of the private schools in my area.

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      celeste inscribedposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi BMWWoodfolk. We are with a charter school in our State that operates under the wing of K12.com. Perhaps check with K12 to see if they sypport a public online charter in yours. We don't pay anything as a full time student with WAVA here in WA.

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      BMWoodfolkposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hey, Celeste. K12 is actually the program that cost too much here. That's okay, though, because we truly enjoy the way we homeschool and I wouldn't have it any other way now that we have learned exactly how to teach them.

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      celeste inscribedposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Oh that's too bad but I am happy you found something that works for you .

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   MargaritaEdenposted 11 years ago

   My child "attends" online public school, I was not considering homeschooling until she went to 1st grade and after a month of going to public school she refused to go, she was crying everyday when getting ready for school, crying on the way to school and crying at school, it's just got to the point of unbearable, and I had to take her out. Turned out she has sensory processing disorder, school was just too overwhelming for her, with so many kids, so many different noises, lights, smells, her nervous system just couldn't process all of that sensory input.

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      celeste inscribedposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi MargaritaEden, We chose an online school because my son becomes overwhelmed in a classroom environment. He can not focus with all the distraction. His eyes are light sensitive and he would get headaches with the lighting in a classroom.

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      MargaritaEdenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That sounds like my daughter, was he ever diagnosed with SPD?

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      celeste inscribedposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi, no we haven't had him evaluated as yet but since he is doing so well now we may just see how we progress. Thank you for the suggestion though.

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   adjkp25posted 11 years ago

   Both of our kids were home schooled when we moved to our area about 8 years ago.  Our son is now a sophomore at the charter high school across the street and besides getting straight A's he just got the highest PSAT score the school has seen.
   
   Part of his curriculum is online but some of it is on campus.
   
   Our daughter is in he last year of the K-8 program where the majority of her school work is done from home.  She also does well on the tests.
   
   A big part of their success is my wife is a great teacher and they all work together well.  Everyday isn't roses by any stretch but they do what they need to do.
   
   It is not ideal for every family and it takes hard work from the parent and the student but it can be very positive.

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      celeste inscribedposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I completely agree with you that it is a full time job but for us it is paying off. Thank you for answering my question.

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