Why I Chose to Homeschool

Do to so much opposition to homeschooling I felt it necessary to share some of my experience to combat the negativity. Here is an overview of why I chose to homeschool my child.

• Education – My first thoughts about homeschooling was when I was in high school and before I would even become a mom. I had suffered through public school and due to home issues that led to severe social anxiety, I wound up being homebound (which means a teacher comes to the student’s house to teach them, almost like a tutor) half-way through my eighth grade year, half of 9^th, all of 10^th, and part of 11^th and 12^th. I used to get so bored in school and never felt I was really learning anything. I had one incredible teacher that did tremendous things for me. The biggest eye-opener for me was in prepping for my FCAT; math was my weakest point and English my strongest. Knowing that I struggled with math, my teacher spent that year bringing me all sorts of resources to help me in math. As a result, my FCAT scores showed me scoring the highest in MATH!!! I was in a higher percentile too, and I scored higher in math than in English. I was blown away, but realized then what an impact that dedicated one-on-one teaching can do and thought heavily at that point about homeschooling my future children.

As time has progressed, I have grown even less enthused with the school system. In the event there is actually a good teacher, the system does not allow that teacher to bring their gifts to the students. In my experience, the teacher spends more time babysitting and trying to get the other kids to behave, or is so rundown and burnt out that it is excruciating to sit through. I remember very little from all my years in school. The only bits I do remember are from those teachers that spent more time thinking outside the box than following a dry curriculum. My own school experience has taught me what to do and mostly what not to do when it comes to education.

• Safety – Not long after I graduated from high school I heard about a bomb scare at my old middle school, and countless dealings with students carrying knives and guns, fights, peer pressure, and also the “extra curriculum” I was being taught. In elementary I learned about sex from the students, middle school was drugs, alcohol, partying, and sex, high school was all of the above with knife fights and bad stuff to the extreme. That’s not the education I wanted, nor do I want for my child. All of that stuff was a distraction anyway and put added pressure on already vulnerable periods in a child’s development. Then, there are the stories of Columbine, Sandy Hook, and so many others. NOT what I want my child to have to deal with. Granted, not all school will experience that horrible tragedy, but it is a huge factor to take into consideration.
   
• Social – I know, I know, one of the biggest reasons people oppose homeschooling is because they are so afraid their child will lack the social atmosphere they need to thrive. As mentioned above in Safety, those kinds of kids are not the ones I want my child to be locked up with for 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 12 or so years. No thanks. If my child is shy, or goofy, or not “the norm” then he would be ostracized by the other kids and made to feel there is something wrong with him, when there is so not. As a parent, I value his heart. I value his self-esteem. Sure, bullies are everywhere, but why would I willingly “throw him to the lions?” How will he ever learn to socialize? For one, we have neighbors with kids so he actually gets to play quite often and with more quality. He can go to parks. He learns to make friends wherever he goes and to value each person individually, rather than be tainted by the cliques that form in school. We are actively involved in church and church activities where he gets the opportunity to play and socialize in a constructive environment. He also attends different community programs where other children are. So, he actually gets quite a bit of socialization, minus all the drama. It is heartwarming to me also to see how well he makes new friends and takes the younger ones under his wing. He is so attentive to new kids he meets and he builds stronger bonds with kids than he might normally would.
   
• Beliefs – I did not have a strong faith base until I became a mom, so that didn’t even factor into homeschooling, but the more I grow in faith, the more I see the bias in the public school system. I won’t get into all of that here, but I basically realized that as soon as I got my child home from public school I would have to un-teach all he just learned and then teach him the truth…so why waste all that time and confuse him?
   
• My Child – On top of all of the above, I value every moment spent with my child and I realized early on that what I pour into him will largely contribute to who and how he turns out to be. Most parents barely even see their kids, let alone spend quality time with them. Parents work 40+ hours a week while kids are shuffled off to school, daycare, then all these activities like sports, etc., and everyone is so tired that they can barely muster enough energy to converse so they stay glued to their electronic devices of choice the rest of the time. I look at statistics and what the average teen is like and the relationship with their parents. I don’t want that for my child. I am the parent. It is my duty (and privilege) to raise my child, not the governments or anyone else’s. As a studying child psychologist, I also examined what the best environment is for a child to thrive, both emotionally and intellectually. That comes from a warm, stable, loving, secure environment that values the individual rather than trying to push each child into a standard mode. I value my child, his education, his heart, and feel that I can do it better than strangers or the government.
   
  As a disclaimer, I am not specifically anti-public school, I just see many faults to the system, despite so many wonderful teachers in that system. I am grateful for the few wonderful teachers I had that made such a hugely positive impact on me in my childhood and I still carry what they contributed to me now and try to instill those things in my son. Teachers are wonderful!!! The public school system is not. Big difference.
   
       We officially started homeschooling last year for Kindergarten. We are now getting close to wrapping up his first grade year. I have learned a lot, mostly to relax, and will write more about my experience so far in another blog. My purpose for writing about my homeschool experience is to encourage others who may be thinking about homeschooling their child. I received so much criticism when I shared I was going to homeschool that it really angered me and stunned me. People have such strong opinions against it, but I realized that it is mostly based out of ignorance, believing the media’s propaganda, or hearing about stories about neglectful parents who homeschool their kids while ignoring the success stories. It angers me that when a parent wants to do what they believe is best for their child, based on many different factors and doing the research, that there is such a lack of support. It’s absurd, so here I am. So far, I am grateful every day that I chose to homeschool my son. He is doing great and I couldn’t imagine it any other way. Above all, as parents, it is simple about what is best for our children. Is my choice as a parent going to be constructive or destructive for him? I base my choices on where I feel he will best thrive and ultimately on what God says. I was a single mom when I started homeschooling and knew I would be adding much more to my plate, making it more difficult for me, but I also knew that the long-term benefits would be exponential. I could have taken the easy way out and thrown him in school all day so I could work or focus on my schooling and budding career, but I would have been sacrificing him and his well-being. I am so grateful for sticking to my beliefs and going through with homeschooling. It is a greater reward so far than I ever dreamed.
   
   
  Until next time…