I know many people are concerned with keeping up with the public school or even surpassing them. I can honestly say I used to be overly concerned and now the concern is minute. It is still there, but God is helping me see how wrong I was. I had the visions in my head of converting my son to a book loving academic overachiever. I thought if we do school at home-he will transform into this new person (I could be more proud of). Now, I see that instead of trying to change who he is (which is a wonderful person by the way), I need to change the way I see him. He may never get through Algebra, we will probably try it, but I will NOT make him suffer if he CANNOT get it. But even if he doesn't--he will still be the same wonderful person he is today. If he can't diagram a complex sentence with gerunds, appositives, participial phrases, etc. then so be it. That will probably never be done in our homeschool anyway, I have decided that diagramming is a waste of time in most cases. But you get my drift. My son is a helpful (sometimes forgetful ) young man. He is polite and LOVES conversing on multiple topics with all ages. He is good with kids of all ages and will be an excellent father. He likes to take care of people when they are not feeling well. And, he thinks of praying before I do in many circumstances (when he hears an ambulance, etc.) Of course, there are things he needs to work on. Such as doing chores in a timely manner and doing them with greater attention to detail. But, we are working on that right now. I would rather have a son who wants to please God, whether he knows Algebra or not, than have a son who reluctantly learned a bunch of head knowledge without the wisdom of God. Anyone who struggles in the need for keeping up with ___________ (fill in the blank, should read articles written by Barbara Shelton or Marilyn Howshall. Basically, if we follow God, He WILL take care of our children. It is all a matter of who we trust.:!:
I don't 'keep up' with the schools, but I do want to make sure my kids are on track for college. It's my job to make sure they are well prepared for university level work, and to that end, I will do what is necessary to make sure they have access to the knowledge they need to get there. My kids may not like certain subjects, but they will take them anyway. They may not be good at some subjects, but they will take them anyway. Even if I don't like a certain subject, they will take it anyway. I'm not keeping up with the schools per se, but I am keeping a look down the road and preparing them for their futures. I'm throwing as much at them as I can so that they can find areas they're strong at that will, in turn, help them determine what kinds of careers they want for their futures.
What a wonderful post Cabsmom. My son is not an over-achiever by any means. he's smart and really doesn't "struggle" with school. But it is clear that he wants to be an artist and not a scientist like mom. I'm OK with that. In fact, once he gets though geometry I see no reason why he should continue down a path that caters to science majors in college by taking advanced courses. His time is better spent on design and creative projects. As far as diagraming sentences, I loved doing that as a kid but neither of my kids saw the beauty of it. :lol: There is a fine line between "giving up" and "redirecting resources", ya know. We aren't giving up on math and science by any means, but our resources will be redirected towards what he prefers, rather than what is expected, as we move into high school.
I think it is great that you have found what will work for your child. However, I don't think it is wrong to challenge your child. I too am looking down the road and definitely looking at what the requirements are for a vocational diploma or a college-prep diploma for high school and my oldest is only 4th grade. I would hate for them to get older and regret it if we don't pursue the requirements for college. And those that are looking for academic rigor aren't necessarily trying to compete with the public school system. I want to give my children the best opportunity that I can give them for a better future and I feel that an excellent education will help them with that.
Love your post! Not all kids are going to college and going to college is not the pinnacle of success in life. Nothing wrong with going to college and nothing wrong with pushing your kids a little but make sure you're doing it for them - not you. I've seen a person set their kid on a school track at age 8 because they KNOW their kid is going to "do something with computers" problem is this kid is a wonderful, very talented guitar player -which they allow as an extracurricular but...what if he wants to play guitar for a living and not do "something with computers" This person I'm thinking of wants her son (now 9) to start learning Mandarin Chinese because she feels it will help him in his "career" - He's 9! he also shows no special interest, intellect or desire to start learning it. I just have a pet peeve when parents try to push rather than gently nudge their kids in a direction because in the end they are not "ours" to control - they will find their own way in life -with or without college. Off the soapbox now Jane
I struggle with this. Sometimes I go on panic mode thinking that I'm putting my son way behind, we need to catch up and I'm ruining his life/future. I also play the "what if" scenarios (What if I have to put him back in school? Will he be behind? Will we have to put him back a grade? etc. etc.) On other days I am fine with what we are doing and he seems content as well.
I don't see how that person is doing anything harmful to their son. They don't forbid guitar; it sounds like it's not only allowed but encouraged. What I DO see are parents who realize that making a decent living playing a guitar is rare and that their son will benefit greatly from having knowledge of other areas to fall back on in case playing the guitar won't pan out. By forcing my kids to learn things they aren't comfortable with and stretching them out of their comfort zones, I'm widening their choice base, not limiting it. I don't care what my kids choose to do as far as careers; but I'd hate to think that I limited them to only one or two choices because that's what they liked to do when they were younger. When my kids get to their junior/senior years, we'll start to have a better frame to narrow down subjects as they will be looking more realistically ahead to what careers they want to pursue. But, for now, they'll take a wide spectrum of subjects so they can be exposed to as much as possible and have a better understanding of what they can do and really want to do when the time comes.
As the hair~tearing~out mum of a non~academic ,"I'm a musician & I don't need to know this stuff" [meaning math & science] I have had to come to terms with the way God's molded my child. I'm not aiming for a Britney Spears. There are many fields available to a musician besides stardom. Auditions are held constantly for back~up singers. Transposing pays well. As does writing instrumental parts for various compositions or transposing from audio to sheet music. Most musicians supplement with teaching. Yes, the Music Conservatorium is one route, one my Ditz is unlikely to take. Thinking outside the box requires courage & creativity but as homeschoolers we have that freedom. We need to be brave. In every area of life there are multiple avenues of work available & very few actually require a college degree. And for the record I have a B.A. I am not anti~college & being well educated but I do think we need to be realistic & face the facts. Some kids just aren't college material. We are all better of if we acknowledge that fact & deal with it creatively.
I have never claimed that all kids will be going to college. I'm not sure why that meme is getting repeated. I do think it's wrong to look at a 12 year old who is struggling with math and say, "Well, you seem gifted musically, so we'll just ditch the whole math thing and let you do music." What would happen if that 12 year old turns 18 and decides that he'd like to pursue a field that requires math and his parents just quit bothering when he was 12? I'm totally fine with acknowledging kids' strengths and weaknesses and letting those guide a person in making curriculum choices. However, that shouldn't be a decision made when a kid is 8 or 9. If 8 or 9 is too young to decide a child would be a good electrical engineer, it's also too young to decide they would be a good anything else. The broader the education base, the more choices they'll have when they are older and can start narrowing down the focus of their studies. Some kids will decide on careers that will go to college; some kids will decide on careers that won't. But it's certainly a shame to narrow that field for a child so young that they don't get much of a choice when the time comes. Again, to repeat, I don't have a problem with honing a curriculum geared more towards what a child's strengths are, but I think that's better done during the high school years. And, this is all entirely my own opinion and what I am putting into practice with my kids. I don't give a rip what anyone else is doing with their kids; I don't have teach THEM. Honestly, I think everyone just needs to be allowed to homeschool their child how they see fit and leave everyone else to do it how they see fit. No one knows anyone else's child better than their own parents do.
Ok Ok people, I like the interactive and differing opinions here, but lets leave it light if possible. I have various reactions to all the posts. But I love a good friendly debate. Another thing to think about-who designed the required subjects for school? Why not [COLOR="Purple"]require sewing,[/COLOR] cooking, laundry, basic car care, checkbook balancing, budgeting and other real life skills? Who decided that intelligence can only primarily measured by book learning? ColoradoMom, I, too, love diagramming--it was like a puzzle and I love all types of puzzles. But, when I told my son we wouldn't be doing it-he was very happy!:lol: Of course, that doesn't mean we won't be learning grammar. JRV- I agree that college is not the pinnacle to success. In fact, a lot of people get the degree and then work with me doing the same thing I do (without a degree). And many jobs require a degree just for the sake of having a degree. I disagree with this completely. I know it can show that a person is diligent, but so can other things. I think it is fine to go to college for careers that need it. I obviously want a doctor with a degree. I also think college can be good to advance in a job you already have. Or college can be great just to learn something. I have learned that as an adult I like learning more, and I want to go to college. I have 42 hours, but with work and homeschooling it is just not in the picture. As far as preparing students for the future-I think it has merit. But, I think we all (myself included) have to be careful not to try (in subtle ways or not so subtle) to form our children into something they are not. Of course, kids change their minds so I can see that argument, I may not go that route still, but I see the point. But, junior colleges can fill in the gaps in many cases. So many students that graduate high school still have to take classes in junior college before taking actual college level classes. I think we get all worried about college when it is not something to get worked up about. If my son serves God, he will have a great future.
Definitely not anti-college-I don't think that anyone said that. I'm "anti-" parents pushing kids in a direction (rather than letting them explore) that they want them to when the kid wants to go another direction or is just too young to be pushed period. Probably could start a whole other thread on that....but I won't..not right now Jane
I think you said this so well. And, as JRV said "college is not the pinnacle of success in life" Thank you! Glad to hear I'm not the only one.
Some of these are requirements for special needs education. They are called life skills. I have a check list that I use for ds who is special needs. We make them part of our hs education. As long as ds has a growing relationship with Christ I'll be satisfied. The only other goal I strive for is that ds can support himself with minimal guidance from church family after I'm gone. Marty
Great post! I know many times I feel the pressure of keeping up...no surpassing schools due to in-laws and those who question homeschooling. I know..I know...that is silly. However...I say that but I don't know what in the world kids do in school anyway. I don't even care about the standardized tests or anything. So, any caring I do have is all peer pressure..lol..wow..thanks for that post, I needed that!
People who are trying to "keep up with" the public schools really have no clue what the public schools are doing. Go to graduation day and find out what the average high school grad knows. Seriously. Is it the bullying or the busywork or the sheer loss of the ability to think that people are trying to keep up with? The entire time I have homeschooled, I have always had a child in the public schools. I can guarantee, they are extremely easy to "keep up with." Even if the kids are very busy all day and have tons of homework, they are learning very little and what they are learning tends to be of lower quality.
