Please note: about half of my friends homeschool. We all respect each others' decisions for educating our children, and the majority of my friends are pros at it, but there are a small handful who act as if homeschooolers rule and public schoolers drool, and I just want to set the record straight.
Dear Homeschooling Friends,
I love you very much and I value our friendship. I have learned so much about homeschooling from you and I truly understand that you have different reasons for homeschooling, but please stop acting like you do things that public schools do not! I taught for 15 years and in 3 different districts. I can assure you that public school children are not sitting in their desks from 8 until 3. Most teachers have a plethora of songs and dances to do between lessons so that the children will get their juices flowing. Children move to Computers, Art, Music, or PE where their experienced teachers give them experiences I can not at home. They use tools and instruments I do not have at home. They learn songs I never learned and art techniques their teachers have mastered. My kids get to go to PE where they no longer to jumping jacks, push-ups, and dodge ball, no, they learn games they can play at home. My kids get to go to computers where their teacher has attended training on the latest and greatest educational games and websites. They have enough computers for every child. My home does not.
They also get to go to recess and play with hundreds of other children. Yes, they may hear some bad words, but they can hear those same things playing at public parks! They might also make good choices about friends with the same values, or better yet, they may be the one who helps children who do not have good home experiences. They just might be Jesus to someone else. I just love hearing those types of stories from my kids' teachers.
Also, most schools have gardens, some even have vegetable gardens. My 3rd grader has shared many stories with me about helping plant, water, prune, and grow. Some schools even have butterfly gardens with so many caterpillars crossing that you have to watch where you step when outside.
School children get to have "water day", "field day", "snow day", etc... They have guest speakers like astronauts, Aggie sports players, book authors, and local restaurant owners. They go on field trips to zoos, museums, tree farms, Texas A&M, The George Bush Presidential Library, and more, so please don't talk about how school children are missing out.
When you say you love homeschooling because there is no schedule and your kids can go to bed alte and get up at 10 am, please realize that children need structure. Children need routine and thrive on that. Yes, there are some children with special needs who do better in unstructured environments, but that is a small percentage. Children will need to know these procedures when they enter college. Then, they will definitely need structure when they enter the workforce, so routines, schedules, and structure are important.
When you post on Facebook that you LOVE homeschooling because your children get to be outside when schooled children are inside, you are just upsetting those of us who know the truth. That's all for now.
Thank you,
Proud Public School Educator and Parent of Intelligent Public School Children
Weekend fun
2 weeks ago
4 comments:
It is so important for us to remember to be more thoughtful and supportive of one another as Mothers who are all praying and doing the best we can! Thanks Stephanie.
Stephanie,
I have no idea who upset you, but I think it would do us all some good to realize what a wise mommy once told me. No matter where your children are educated, no education has everything. So whether you do homeschool, private or public you must focus on the good of that path for your family. I am glad you are able to do that and sorry that a homeschooler made you feel badly for your path. I must admit though, that reading this post seemed a bit like an attack on HSing to me, as a homeschooler! I am sure you didn't mean it that way, but I thought you should know. :)
Kristen, I gave myself time to calm down before writing this post. I even waited awhile before posting and I read over it several times, hoping to get my point across without offending anyone. I was being very defensive. I try to live my own life without worrying about what others are doing and I am always very careful not to come across as my way is the right way, so it really gets to me when that same respect is not given to me. There are 2 homeschoolers who continuously say things like the comment that upset me. As I said, I have learned so much from my friends here in town who do homeschool (the person does not live here). I respect their decisions, and I feel they respect mine. I just used my personal blog to vent my frustrations. It shouldn't be a war, we are here to support each other and that person is clearly not being supportive to her friends. Hope that clears the air.
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