by PaintedToeNail 23 Replies latest social family
I don't think it is legal to homeschool your children in the Netherlands, so I went to school when I turned 4.
I loooved school! Was very happy to get to play (read: boss them around ;-)) with other children.
Not participating in Christmas and 'Sinterklaas' was a pain in the ass, but i kind of enjoyed it making something different than the rest of the class. When everybody was making christmas decorations, I was happy to make up my own projects... :-D
My very rural location doesn't allow me to drive my kids to school on a daily basis. Every trip I make into town must have several errands attached to it due to the high cost of gas. The school system sucks here anyway. The library alone is like going into desert, there isn't much there. The only thing this town cares about is football (American football).
While living in my old town, I did ferry my son to school and back everyday, due once again to the bus situation. He was in Kindergarten and the big kids would hit the little ones and steal their things. They would trip them as they got off the bus. Those brats would even throw rocks at my son and me as we waited for the bus. I got fed up and started the ferrying thing. Crazy as it sounds, there were dozens of other parents who everyday would do the same thing. We all got to know each other as we lined the hallway waiting for the 'pickup' children to be released. We all had to sign a log everyday that indicated who we were and who we were picking up.
Am I qualified to teach physics or chemisty? No, I am not. However, I son is picking up those classes at the local college. He had to test for placement and the school was very pleased with his results. He is in the 'dual enrollment' or 'young scholars' program where he is able to attend both homeschool and college.
My daughter is in elementary level of school. When she was in public school, she was constantly achieving high marks in reading, math and science was complaining how boring it was because the class had to wait for some of the slower kids to catch up to the smarter ones. The teachers are even encouraged to use the smarter ones to teach the others, because the teachers don't have enough time to spread out to everyone over the day. I know this to be true, because I use secular, public school teachers manuals, textbooks and workbooks. The teachers manuals explain to teachers how to get smart kids to tutor the other kids, so teachers can work with problem students, do paperwork, plan classes and so forth. These problems increase with the class size.
C
Well done. Pay no attention to the nay-sayers. Our public education is remarkably well designed to ensure a never ending supply of tax slaves & little else. In 1982 G. Edward Griffin interviewed the then ailling Senator Norman Dodd who in 1954 was tasked with investigating the operations of tax-exempt organizations. What he learned regarding the public education system is truly terrifying. I'm not good at posting links or anything but if you're interested & have the patience to sit through the whole 50 something minutes you will surely thank yourself for your wise decision. Try to look past the title & listen to his story. Very interesting stuff.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7373201783240489827
We homeschooled...our oldest went to Kindergarten and two months of first grade-the younger two were homeschooled all the way through.
Now: Oldest daughter is an honor student working toward her BS in law enforcement. She also has a full-time, management job in retail. Middle daughter is a senior (also honor student) at a private university working on a double major in Environmental Biology and Chemistry. She is president of the science department's Web of Life club. My youngest (son) is a sophomore (also straight A's) working on a double major in Physics and Engineering. He also assistant-teaches a chilren's karate class and just earned his black belt.
Our biggest equipment investment was a telescope (binocular). I always said the sciences were easy to teach...they're all around us, all the time.
Socialization: Kids do need to be socialized and I've seen homeschoolers make mistakes here. Should they treat everyone respectfully? Yes. Should they expect everyone to treat them respectfully? No. Should you try to teat others fairly? Yes. Is life always fair? No. Should you be responsible and accept responsibility for your behavior? Yes. Will trying to do the right thing always be rewarded? Not always, but in the long run it will make your life easier and more successful.
We had tons of fun and learned a lot of things together. I wouldn't change that history with my kids for the world.
