home schooling questions

Luke - I don't mean to cause any trouble or anything, but I just wanted to let you know that I don't believe all those bad things Mom said about you...

Just kidding!!

A parent generally wants the best for his kids, and that is impetus for making sure your child studies - whether you send them to the daily political indoctrination camps or teach them at home.

I too have a huge math (and statistics) background, but I will still be nervous about teaching certain topics (e.g., in-depth English grammar). As parents, we can't throw up our hands at the slightest doubt; that would be an incredible disfavor to our little ones (besides teaching them how to give up). Sometimes the teacher has to <GASP>study.

For my wife and me, homeschooling has been a lot of work that we wouldn't trade for anything. It is an immensely joyful and satisfying experience to watch the growth - especially the eye-popping epiphanies that a child experiences.

 

What makes people think they have to be an expert on a subject to teach it, There are classes on the internet that they follow, and ways to find help if needed.
Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped at 11 years of age and held captive in a backyard “garage/prison” for 18 years. During that time, she had two children, fathered by her kidnapper/rapist.
Both her daughters, Angel and Starlit, appear to have been educated solely by their mother — who herself never made it past the fifth grade.
Yet recent tests show Angel, 15, functioning close to the level of a high school senior — that is 3 grade levels higher than Jaycee was at when she was abducted.

 

I suggest you do some research into what the homeschooling world has to offer. Online classes, homeschooling groups and so on.

Some 'teachers', doctors, and even engineers do not have it in them to teach, they may know their subject, but to be able to explain it so that a child can grasp the concept is a completely different thing.

 

I often wonder how we would have decided on Homeschooling if our son didn't have Aspergers.

 

This is exactly correct. And, further, this model of education is what has educated some of our nations greatest historical leaders - Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, and more.

Also, the resources for homeschoolers is literally ENDLESS. Besides just plain homeschool curriculum, there are correspondence and online courses offered by various trade schools and colleges, to meet the needs of all kinds of interests.

A degree does not automatically equal an educated mind, or vise versa. But the fact that God gave me these children is what qualifies me to teach them, and nothing else matters beyond that.

 

Examine Yourself

If you are truly serious about pursuing a quality education for your children at home, do yourself a favor and checkout k12.com.

Several years ago, I worked for them.

You might be excused for thinking it sounds too good to be true--but trust me, all of the good stuff is true. K12 provides the curriculum, the books, a computer and printer, a real licensed teacher to work with, you and your children can go on field trips AND the quality of the school experience will likely be the best that you have ever experienced.

Here, in Colorado, all of the curriculum, computer stuff and essential supplies are supplied, at no charge to you. Additionally, your local school district actually gets the money that was not used for the materials needed for each of your children.

If you are a reasonably concerned parent, you can probably undertake educating your kids at home. It does require that one parent be at home during the day--duh, huh? Everybody has some weakness (math or something else) that they struggle with. THAT is where your assigned teacher comes in real handy. Also, please keep in mind that if your own teacher, for a given student, also is not too good at that challenging skill, they have other teachers available (and occasionally, specialists) who can address those areas and get both you and your student past the roadblocks.

FYI, when colleges and universities see that a student has been home educated, they perk right up and pay special attention because so many of their higher performing students come from being home schooled. The only big potential down-side is the lack of a fuller socializing opportunity for high schoolers. But we all know what a major distraction that can be, so consider that point carefully.

 

That's ok because I don't want my daughter to be a socialist anyway.

BWM

 

As i work in higher education i need to point out that this is not always true... many higher ed independent colleges willl not consider home schooled kids with out suporting SAT or ACT scores and written essays... something that is not always required of other students... Not many of the home schooled students attending the two colleges that i have worked at were "Higher Performing" the transfer from home school to college seems to be more difficult... probably due to socialization issues... they are not in the bottom by any means but good average students... additionally they may loose out on many scholarships because their folks don't know how to research them and they have no counselor to identify due dates or teachers to write reccommendations... It's really a mixxed bag...

 

[quote
It is not assumed in this study that scores on different tests mean, necessarily, the same thing about the students who took them (Gronlund & Linn, 1990), nor is it assumed that students in this study are perfectly analogous to those students represented by norms for the standardized tests that these students took. It is assumed, however, that the use of aggregated scores from a variety of standardized achievement tests is an acceptable practice and provides valuable information (Frisbie, 1992; Hunter & Schmidt, 1990, p. 516-518; and previous references).
][/quote]


The result are not scientifically valid.... It's kinda like the fda they make assumptions based on dated info to prove a point...

Watch how the surveys / test are completed ... in many cases hard copies of these tests were mailed to the parents to proctor.... the interpretation is in question... two of us were running a race... i came in second but you were next to last...