I have 3 kids in home school. Henry age 12, Ilyana age 8, and Acheron age 8.
It started when my oldest son Henry was bullied so badly by a teacher he stopped learning. I fought the good fight,Parent/Teacher conferences, meetings with the Principle, Meeting the Superintendent. They would not let us transfer to another teacher.
Henry learns fast, gets bored with review, I told the first grade teacher this and suggested he be the teachers helper or receive extra worksheets.She didn't want to do this or listen. When it happened he didn't start talking, getting up and making a scene. He played with his pencil at his desk. She labeled him a troublemaker and wanted me to medicate him. She was ruthless with him. Any little thing she could try to call him out for she did. I got phone calls wanting me to come to the school and beat him (they couldn't) because he was suppose to be in the Gym waiting for the bus to go home, and was found in the parking lot almost getting run over on 3 separate occasions.
Now if I told my 6 year old to stay in this room and he wound up in a busy parking lot, the Department of Child Protective Services would have taken my child away. However when the teacher did this it was the child's fault and he needed to be Beaten (her words to me and him). Yes I refused to beat him and told her to do her job and watch him.
It got so bad that no kids would be his friend for fear of getting in trouble by association. Then she tried the coup de grace, I was informed at the end of the year they wanted to hold him back. I was shocked, He was on the A B honor roll. Why? She told me he was emotionally immature, he doesn't like to sit still and shut up. I informed her no 6 year old child does.
And so we began homeschooling. He is now doing Advanced Algebra that I can't even do. He hates English class but looks forward to school. We incorporate what he is interested in. He wants to own a restaurant when he grows up. So he is learning Business, Cooking, and Finance.
Ilyana is doing multiplication and division at 8 years old.She is an Extremely sensitive child. She cries if she thinks she failed a paper or has trouble getting it. I know how cruel children would be and see no point to dampen her spirit with their teasing and mocking. She is a pleaser, wants to know if we need anything. She cares about everyone. We watched the lion king and when Simba's dad died, it ruined the whole movie for her. She cried and cried imagining how it would feel if her dad died. So no she will not be sent to school to be teased and tortured out of this.
Acheron is adhd diagnosed. He is behind what the schools say he should be at. If he was in public school he would be placed in Special Ed and I am sure you can remember how the kids in that class were and still are treated. Even when he was on medication he was still disruptive, unfocused, and active. We took him off the medication. I don't agree with pumping him full of, a schedule 2 controlled substance, Amphetamine. We beat our heads against a brick wall trying to teach him to read for months with no success. Then we discovered a site called Starfall. A free educational website. In less than a month he was reading!! So we got him a program called Jump start 1st grade. Now he is doing great in all subjects. Those programs turned the lessons into games and It Clicked for him. What school would have taken the time to find his learning style and actually used it?
We are able to have a broader curriculum by teaching at home. We have Home Ec. where they learn to cook, clean, and handle finances.
Yes they are a bit socially awkward with kids their age when they play with the kids in our neighborhood. However they are well able to converse with adults and use their manners. They do not understand why kids throw tantrums, talk back or otherwise disrespect authority. They know that good behavior will gain them more than bad. They don't have peer pressure telling them what to do, who to like, what to wear, etc. They are not bullied. They are who they were meant to be without someone squeezing their joy and individuality out of them.
I hope this explains why we home school and why my children love it. Ilyana asked if she can home school through college and I explained online school. For my family it was about protecting my children and providing the best education we could for them tailored to each child.
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