why we should home school.

Being public school teacher before becoming a stay-at-home mom, many people are asking me, "Are you considering homeschooling?" in a rather surprised tone. (The answer I've given has received ridicule from some.) MB has always gone to public school, and little sister (PG) talks about when she will go to school like Bubby. It's not an easy decision for me whether I home school my kids or send them to public school. (Private school is out of our price range, so it's not an option for us.)

I have friends that have chosen public education, private education, and friends that have chosen home education. Some of my friends have found it necessary to send one or more of their children to public/school and home school their other children. It is obviously not an easy decision for any parent to make, and ultimately as parents we have to do what we believe is best for each child.

Part of my thought process has been through reminiscing. I have grown up with kids who were home schooled, as well as attended public and private school. I have seen the pitfalls and the success stories. Some of the homeschooling families were part of the home school community. This means they participated in activities and classes with other homeschooling families, the parents would talk with each other and share ideas, and the parents found ways to give their kids experiences and advanced classes as appropriate for each child. On the other hand, I also knew who parents kept their children home most of the time and did not participate in home school activities with other families. Some parents did not want to express a need for help or that their children needed to learn how to make friends and behave appropriately in public. (Not that they behaved badly, but that they didn't know how to interact with others due to lack of experience.)

Continuing down memory lane, I have seen the same kinds of pitfalls and success stories come out of the public school system too. Many, many kids fall between the cracks. It's extremely difficult to give every student what he/she needs when classrooms have 20+ students and one teacher trying to get through their required curriculum so that the students will do well on end of the year exams. Bullying, bad language, talk of sexual acts, smoking, drinking, and drug use are common in public school. Some students have been bullied to the point of needing psychiatric care. Unfortunately, with a ratio or approximately 25/1 students to teachers, it's difficult to really be in control the students and classes at all times.

Basically, schooling is difficult wherever or however you choose to do it. MB is excited to try something new and get to home school like some of his friends as church. PG isn't sure she wants to give up going to Bubby's school when she's the right age. BG is only 2 and doesn't have an opinion yet. For now, my hubby and I need to talk more, do more research and pray more about what's right for our family