the why behind our choice

I say "our choice," but really it was mostly my choice. My dear, sweet husband doesn't really care one way or the other, so long as our child is educated properly. He does agree with me on all our reasons to home school though, so I guess it was "our choice."

I did some thinking a few months ago about my education. I went to public school K through 12th grade. I don't recall ever being challenged in school. I do remember spending a lot of time in trouble during elementary school. I was always the first person finished with my work and as a naturally social and talkative child I was always distracting my classmates.

I recall one occasion in first grade when my teacher handed out a worksheet, it was subtraction I think and it was tooth themed. I read the directions and got started. I quickly finished it while the teacher continued to explain how to do it. Then after she was finished and I was sitting quietly (for once) she asked me if I already did the worksheet. Being six and honest I said yes. She then proceeded to scold me for not listening to the directions and staying with the group and I had to turn my card. I had done the work correctly so I was basically punished for not needing her help. As inconsequential as that story is, it demonstrates one of the biggest reasons why I want to home school.

The public schools are not geared toward high achieving, bright students. They are geared toward the lowest common denominator. Kids who are ahead of where they should be are often left to fend for themselves while the teacher focuses on the students that need the most help. I don't have a problem with the teacher working with students who need it, but I have a big problem with high achieving kids being "left behind." That's at best...gifted kids get ignored; at it's worst they are punished for being bright, scolded for getting ahead and their drive to learn is mentally beaten out of them. NOT OKAY in my book.

We are sending Molly to public pre-K this year. It's still very play based so I'm not really worried about her being ahead of her peers. In fact, socially she is very normal and I think that is great. She's not behind, and she's not ahead, she's just a regular kid. We will pull her after pre-K or Kindergarten, I haven't decided yet. I don't want her to be forced to do what the rest of the class is doing when she will have mastered the concept long before that.

It is the job of the public school to provide a free and appropriate education for all children, but this declaration seems to exclude gifted kids. We do everything we can to get the under-achieving child up to where they are "supposed" to be, but if a child has the capability to move beyond what they are "supposed" to be able to do at any given age, they are often forced to stay with the group. Granted, some places are better than others at accommodating gifted kids, but I don't want to depend on a broken system to educate my child properly.

Another reason we are going to home school is because we are Christians. We aren't fundamentalists, we aren't radicals, we are just regular folks who love Jesus. I want Molly to know and see God in each part of her world and public schools don't allow for that. She loves to study the human body...I want her to know that an omnipotent God created the intricacies of the nervous system and it is amazing and wonderful (for example).

In general, I just don't really like the way the public school works. Students away from home 7 hours a day and being exposed to who knows what/who knows who. Studies have show that out of that 7 hours a day only a little over an hour a day is spent in direct lesson learning with little to no one on one time with the teacher. Home schooling allows us to put in a shorter day and get more done, leaving more time for exploring our interests or going in depth with whatever subject we want to at that time. I can also choose what to emphasize and how much time we spend on each subject. If Molly excels at language arts, but struggles in math I can dedicate more time for math without dragging anyone along who isn't having the same trouble.

There are a ton of reasons why we are going to home school, but those are the biggies.

Let me know if my posts seem disjointed, I'm kind of just typing what is popping in my head and I don't know that it is all flowing together in a cohesive manner. I'm no journalist!

Up next, what we did today and materials we are using currently...probably after dinner. I'm on a roll!