Why do we homeschool? Big picture question

I read a post which got me thinking about the overall homeschool movement from a statistical point of view.

And I paraphrase/quote a post from homeschoolonline.org (I'm too new to be able to put in the link for real)

Do most homeschoolers seem to start in schools and try to homeschool as a second choice when the schools don't work. They homeschool not out of principle but as a pragmatic problem solving move. This pragmatic group totals 61% of those surveyed. (There were 9% who had “other reasons” and 30% who were homeschooling for religious reasons.)

I’m now really curious about these questions.
1. Did most homeschoolers start in schools and then switch?
2. Would they have stayed in school if the experience had been better?

 

We have had kids in public school for 30 years. (Our oldest is 35.) He should have been homeschooled, but back then I had never heard of hs. Our youngest two children are 15 and 9 and we are in our second year of homeschooling them. They liked public school okay but were not learning. One is very shy and was falling behind because she wouldn't speak up and tell the teacher she needed help. The other one needs more one on one and extra time to master things. Homeschooling gives them what they need. Our twins did great in public school but I think they would have loved homeschooling. One teaches public high school and one is a social worker and they totally agree with their younger sisters being homeschooled. Our other two sons will graduate this June. One hates school and one is dreading leaving school. He is mentally handicapped and wants to graduate and then start over! He loves people and doesn't want to leave his friends. I probably would have left my girls in public school if they had been learning and enjoying it. I only looked into it out of frustration. I loved what I found and jumped right in with the help of the people here at the Homeschool Spot. I do not plan on sending them back.

 

My children never attended school, nor do I plan on having them do so. Most of my friends that homeschool did not start in school. I am wondering about the place that did the survey. If they're a primarily secular board, then they will get those results. But if the same survey was given at the CHEO conference, the very opposite would be true. That's because CHEO is generally considered a Christian conference. The true statistics would be somewhere between the two.

 

We chose homeschooling before we had children so ours was not based on a failed school system.

 

I homeschool, because I can and I love being with my children.

 

We have always homeschooled. We felt that we could give our kids an excellent Christian education, something that is not possible through public school.

We also know quite a few of the ps school teachers and personally, we would not let them watch our dogs for a day, let alone educate our children.

One teacher, with whom I know very well, told me that she favors the "blonde" kids and she hassles the hispanic kids. I asked her why and she stated that she doesn't like *&**%%$ and she admits it, she's a bigot!

 

My oldest is in Kindergarten this year, so obviously are choice had nothing to do with him having been to a school that failed him.

Once upon a time DH thought that we would homeschool the boys until Jr. high or so then send them to public school. But in the last two years of research and planning (and my being a sub for a few months this Winter) we've come to the conclusion that home will be school, barring unforeseen circumstances, until the leave for college.

And while we are dedicated to a Christian education for the boys, our choice to homeschool really had not a lick to do with our faith.

 

The only reason my oldest went to public school first was because I didn't really know about homeschooling. I now have been hs'ig my two girls for two years and my youngest will never step foot inside a school. If I had known about hs'ing before my oldest never would have gone to school.

 

My oldest (ds) went to public school for two years. And, although I didn't think the ps system could give them what I could, I wouldn't say I homeschool because the ps system failed them. (I do think that it would have failed my dd though.) I homeschool because I feel that it's what is right for my family. Christian values are part of my reasoning, but not all.

 

I started homeschooling when my son was starting First grade. It took a few bad weeks of public school until I began looking for alternatives. Thats when I stumbled upon homeschooling and homeschooling forums. I never thought it was something I could do, until I researched it more.
I'm so glad I homeschool now.

 

DH and I had been thinking about HSing for a few years but just didn't think we could do it. What finally pushed us to make the choice was DD's medical situation and the fact that she was missing so much school and falling even more behind. When we saw how much she liked it and was learning we knew we had to do the same for our DS. He was having problems with being bullied and was really starting to hate school. The "social" situation even caused the school to ask that we hold him back in 2nd grade as he was not mature enough to move on. (He just didn't like to be hit, pushed, talked about, etc) Pulling him out was the best thing we did for him!! We wish we would have started HSing earlier in the ball game.

 

I knew I was going to homeschool before my first child was ever born. I love to teach and wanted nothing more than to be the one to watch my children grow in their education.
We've homeschooled since day one, none of my children have ever been in a public school classroom.

 

I decided it before I had the child.

 

Me too, Buddy!

 

We considered homeschooling before we ever had kids. Public schools were just never an option for us. When Zach was old enough to start kindergarten, my hubby deployed to Iraq for a year. I didn't feel that I could handle homeschooling during a deployment (while taking care of a very active toddler, too).

So we enrolled him in private school. He attended there until the middle of third grade. His little brother went for one year, for pre-K. There were several reasons for pulling them out; the main one being that our oldest was being bullied and the school didn't want to do anything about it.

DH had always wanted to homeschool; it just took me a while to believe that I could do it. We really do enjoy it now, and I'm glad we did it.

 

well, we will begin hsing in the fall, and my girls are in PS now - grades K & 4. I have felt led to hs since Katie was in K, but it took God longer to get to DH!

Both girls are doing great in PS, but I just want as much time with them as possible. And, I want them educated with a certain view. I guess I just want the best for them and that is hsing.

 

My kids have experienced both ps and hs.
They both went to school and they loved it, couldn't have been happier.(couldnt fault the school at all)
Then we moved to Dubai, and I hs using the Distance Education school from our local state in Oz.
We all enjoyed it, but when we returned to Oz, they went back to school.
When we realised we would be moving back here, I took them back out of school, to hs again (to try + make the transition easier)

While we live here we will hs, but we havent decided about when we return home (kids love both ways...so we will see what happens)
I do prefer the Reggio Emillio way of teaching , so maybe if we could find a school with the same philosophies, that may be the way to go.
Time will tell

 

Okay, my DH & I both attended public schools, did well, and enjoyed it very much. Our children are being homeschooled because the structure of public (or private) school simply doesn't work for our family. (We travel, and you can't just pick your kids up and flit off for a few weeks with little notice when they are enrolled in school - not fair to them or the teacher.)

Now, until we made the decision, we did have growing concerns about issues in the public school system. That's not to say we couldn't have found a school (public or private) we would have been happy with, but it would have taken some shopping around, and most likely, relocation.

That said, the more we've learned about homeschooling, the more committed we are to it for its own sake. I believe if our circumstances were to change, we would remain a homeschooling family.

 

I chose to homeschool because even at 2 I could tell my daughter was so advanced for her age that putting her in school would be a very bad thing for her. I think if I had had my son first we probably would not be homeschooling. I'm so glad we are and can.

Amy

 

Our Children will be homeschooled right from the start, beginning this fall. However I guess you could say that we have chosen this partly because of a failed school system, but not because of an experience there rather because of the reputation of the schools and my personal observation of the schools. Also my own personal experiences in school have much to do with our decision, as well as our religious beliefs. So we have chosen to home school for many reasons and the primary one is not the failing school system. Our primary reason is our love for our children and the fact that God has given us these children to raise not to raise until they are 5 and then let the school finish the job!