Ok, I am sure other homeschooling parents can relate with this post. I have decided to put up a list of the most outrageous, or most ridiculous, or the dumbest things I have heard from people that are skeptical of homeschooling. Since this is the start of the second marking period, I felt compelled to share this.

Qualifications- Yes, most all teachers, in public schools, colleges, etc. are certified to teach. But the truly sad thing is those who feel that parents aren't qualified to teach their own children. Truthfully speaking- if a parent has the right resources, has patience, and has the ability and time to work with their child, they can teach them anything. For instance- I didn't learn to do concrete work by going to school, I learned that by going to work with my Dad. He had the right tools and techniques to teach me what to do. With homeschooling, it is similar. Most parents either build their own curriculums by using many different sources, or they purchase a curriculum from a homeschooling academy.

Quality of Education- (also ties in to the above) Homeschool families have the ability to fit the curriculum to their child's needs. This year, our family decided that we would pay tuition and go with a homeschool acadmey because they had a lot to offer. Our children are getting a quality education, like that of a private school, except that they are being instructed in our home and we are keeping records of their work. They had to take their CAT's, this tested their ability in many areas and then the academy was able to put together a curriculum to fit their needs. This works well for us because we know their strengths and weaknesses, and we can focus on areas that need more attention rather than allow them to slide by and never not understand what they have been taught. When parents choose to homeschool based on academics alone- they do so because the school was unable to teach their child at the level their child needed to be taught and was falling behind, or because the parent knows the child's ability and the school isn't able to provide a higher standard for that child. I can go on and on with this topic alone- my 3rd grade daughter has a 5th grade reading level, however she was stuck in a class in the public school that is only able to teach the 3rd grade reading level, so why should my daughter be kept behind when she is ready to do more? These are some things folks should think about- most homeschooling parents really push academics and work at their child's individual level rather than a grade level. 

Socialization- Most people believe that homeschooled children do not get socialization. They couldn't be more wrong! There are so many homeschoolers around the country that I guarantee you will be able to find local groups in your own county! The internet is a great place to locate these groups. But it doesn't mean homeschoolers only socialize with other homeschoolers, for instance, we have had experience with getting together with fellow homeschoolers, and participated in homeschooling groups that met in person, but we spend far more time with people who are in public schools. All of our friends have children in public schools, our neighbors are all in public schools, our kids are not stuck playing or interacting with children that are only in their own grade. They are able to have friends a few years younger and older than them, along with children their own age. They are able to surround themselves with other kids that they get along with and have something in common with, not because they are all kept in a room together based on an age range.

Religion- As we all know- religion is not allowed to be taught in school. However, most all families in this country have a religious belief of some sort, and regardless what that religion might be, a family has the right to choose what their child is taught about their religion. For us, we are Christian's, I feel it is important to instill our beliefs into our children not just because we believe, but because it instills good morals into our children. We also try to teach our children about other religions and feel that they should have a fond respect for others beliefs as well. We don't agree with our public school system, here our children were told they had to Pledge the Allegiance to the flag under God, but were NOT allowed to discuss God or religion in class. We felt that contradicted our beliefs and wasn't setting a good example for our children.

Concerns- Most people think parents worry to much about their children the reason they homeschool. I can honestly say this is a sad thing for people to think. Unfortunately no parent should be looked down upon for having concerns over what happens with their child while in a public school. I personally don't know a single homeschooling family who pulled their child out of public school to homeschool because of one thing particular. Although I can't speak on behalf of every other homeschooling family, I can only tell you what our own experiences have been. When our children were in school, we had dealt with numerous issues from physical violence, to unsanitary conditions, medical concerns, and more. We never realized how much was really wrong until this last school year and over the summer when we had more time to sit down with our children and really talk to them about their experiences. Then it took us back to the experiences we had being there and how the staff handled things when issues were a concern for us.

All I can say is that this list can go on for miles! A few concerns we had that ultimately led us back to homeschooling were:

1- We live in a state that adopted a zero tolerance policy law for physical abuse within the schools. After reporting to the schools of both children having been physically assaulted and the school only providing a warning to the student, we felt the school wasn't doing their job at protecting the children they were entrusted with.

2- Unsanitary conditions- we had reported not only to the classroom teacher a few times, but to the principle and the office staff on the conditions of the bathrooms within the classrooms. The boy's room was so filthy that our child refused to use the bathroom the whole day he was there because it was so dirty. We, the parents and a relative, all witnessed the conditions and reported this on more than one occassion.

3- Our son is chronically ill with upper respiratory problems, he was sick on a regular basis and would be in to his family Doctor on a regular basis seeking medical attention. The school started to dictate to us when he could be kept home or see his Doctor, and had truancy threaten to take us to court for caring for our son's medical needs. It is our opinion that school officials have no right to dictate how to properly care for a child's medical needs considering they are not M.D.'s or D.O.'s.

4- The lack of education is huge, this really weighed heavy on our list. Both our 3rd and 4th grader knew no cursive, and only our 4th grader knew very little multiplication. The only multiplication our 4th grader knew was the times table by memory, you know 1 times 10, 2 times 10, 3 times 10, yeah, that table! That isn't satisfactory for us as parents. A good education is extremely important, and when you have two children that walked away from a public school falling further behind, it left little room to feel confident enough to send them back there.

The truly sad thing is- the two years our kids spent in public school, we had very little concerns and worries over most of this stuff. It wasn't until summer came when it hit us how much the school wasn't doing their job and how the majority of these kids were being left behind and walking away with little education.

Since we couldn't afford a quality private school education, we felt no other option but to homeschool using a private school academy. They are getting the best of both worlds now!  It amazes me where we started at the beginning of the school year and where we are at right now. It is only the second marking period of school, and I am truly impressed with how much work we have done! I can all ready tell you the kids are learning more than they did in public school, and they are making progress in the areas they struggled in.

It is after 11 pm and I need to get to sleep, I will continue this when I can.

Thanks for letting me share some random rants of thoughts.