you had not told your friends and family about making the homeschooling decision?? LOL we told one person and because she ran and flapped her lips we are now having to field the dadgum phone...LOL I guess maybe I should look at it from the standpoint that we are lucky to have so many people care about the welfare of our children, that they would call and see what's going on...LOL but at this point I just wanna leave a message on the answering machine than have to say it again...LOL one of them press 1 if ya like it and press if ya don't. I am discovering that a thick skin might come in handy as more and more of them are hearing of our decision...LOL I guess they have decided that we really are Crazy hippies that have just lost our minds and have let our son drop out of school in the 7th grade...LOL What they don't know is that we have been discussing this for a few years, it wasn't a over night or spur of the moment decision. Our son was miserable enough to come confide in us that he was contemplating suicide because of bullying. His grades have went from A's and B's to D's and F's because of so many different factors. We have went to the school for 2 years now because of bullying, harrasment and torment and NOTHING was ever resolved or done about it. Heck the kid that was causing the most problem would Brag about it because he said it was easy...he keeps doing it and the idiots keep suspending him (his words, not mine)..so no school and he could run around town all day doing what he wanted! The amount of pressure and stress he was under was ridiculous. I know I don't have to explain myself to ya'll we all have our reasons to homeschool...I just really do wish they would pick up a book or get online and look up information on homeschooled kids, they do not grow up to be uneducated, psychopath, hermit, murdering hillbillies anymore than any other kids do...:roll: I refuse to let my child become a statistic! I am going to do what is best for him, regardless of what they think, and I hope they will eventually understand that not ALL children reach their full potential by attending ps. If you made it all the way thru this, Thank you, I guess I just needed to get it off my chest:wink:
well your an educated woman, you know how to stop the phone? Pull it out of the wall that's what WE do!!!! Love it!
I'm so glad you decided to homeschool your son. I know that homeschooling isn't for everyone, and on the flip side, traditional school isn't for everyone either. It sounds like you made the right decision, and by what you described, may very well have saved your boy's life. Eek, I'm choking back tears here. Great job stepping up, and don't worry about what other people say. You know what's best for your son and your family, and you're having the integrity and the courage to follow through with it.
Hopefully the phone calls will ease up for you soon once everyone hears your news. I agree sometimes you just have to not answer the phone. But if my son told me what your son told you, I would definately be pulling him away from the bullying. Probably most of the people that call you won't be looking up the facts about homeschooling on the internet but you could prepare some facts sheets for them if you like. I am not sure how many people you are talking about but you print some info packs for the relatives that give more info about homeschooling so you don't have to repeat the same things over all the time. Hug your son and enjoy your new adventure!
I'm actually HAPPY that your son had the courage to TELL you something like that. That there shows a good relationship is there to continue to build on. As for telling people why and explaining everything to them..... well expect it sometimes from here on out. It's a fact of homeschooling (relatives seems to be the most "concerned") the newness of this will die down eventually. Right now you are the current "novelty" on the block
Echoing Dana above, I felt so ecstatic when I read that your son shared how he was thinking and feeling with you!!! How could anyone NOT bring their son home when that is going on?! Our son had some similar experiences. We homeschooled through 5th grade, then sent both our kids to public school for two years so we could build our home. 6th grade for ds was spent with him being bullied first, then him getting in trouble when he fought back :roll:. 7th grade was spent with him just not caring about anything. He was fading fast in that institution, to the point where we asked him if he was having any suicidal thoughts. Scary place to be for all of us. Pleased to say he is home now and won't ever be going back. Dd10 will be home next year, but she has asked to come home as soon as volleyball is over with next month. I'm ready to bring her HOME! About the phone calls....expect it in droves right now. It'll fade. At first I remember trying to justify it to people, especially my mom (who cried and cried about it, literally). Then I just started replying with "yes, we are!" Once you sound excited about it, you won't get people driling you with questions. Most of them will change their toon right before your eyes. I can't count how many people ask about it in an almost sympathetic, sad tone only to be met with my confident excited response. Suddenly they are the biggest homeschooling proponents you will ever meet. :roll: :lol: Not to mention, the positive response helps to reinforce your own attitude so others don't drag you down. I'm thrilled for your family. You're gonna get your boy back!!!! (((hugs)))
You did the best thing for your son and anyone who knows what was going on and has watched the news lately should commend you for doing what is best for him. Public schools just can't meet everyone's needs and your son's welfare is much more important than where he gets his education. In time I'm sure most of your friends and family will have to admit that and if they don't well I'm sure you will meet wonderful homeschooling friends to get support from. We have several family members that still think we are crazy, so we just agree with them in a ridiculous way (yes we are trying to destroy our kids lives and make them completely anti social how are we doing so far? and etc) and they have learned to let it go.
Hmm,suicide because of bullying. That sounds familiar. I have been there when my son was in the 3rd grade.He told me he was goingto jump out of a 6story window and end it all. It is not a good feeling. His teacher thought bullying was perfectly healthy. When he finally decided to slug a kid who had been picking on him all year, he was the one who got suspended. He was really confused and so was I because none of the other kids had gotten in trouble. They suspended him and he never went back. You are making the right decision. You have to do what's best for your son. I know they are family and friends but you have to ignore them on the subject or be excited when you answer. Everyone will not agree, but the thing is he is YOUR son. When I pulled DS out of school my mother was livid. She said I didn't have a teaching degree and that I would ruin him. I had to ignore her, because that is the only way to go with my mother. Everytime she made a comment, I talked about the weather. Now she can see how much better off he is. He is happy, he is learning and he has no desire to return to PS. You are blessed that you are able to do this for him. (we all are). He is blessed to have a mother who cares. He will be better off, you will see.
Also choking back the tears thinking of children being bullied to such an extreme. My brother was bullied very badly. The only thing that kept him going was that he was befriended by a very big kid who stood up for him. That boy eventually committed suicide several years later himself. It breaks my heart that children are put through so much. Anyways, you made the right decision, and the knowledge of that will give you a thick skin to the critics! And you're right, your family is fortunate to have so many people care about the welfare of your kids! Karen
I should also mention, my mom was at first quite uneasy about our decision to homeschool. What worked to change her perspective was to send her to a local homeschooling coffee and chat meeting (she's in a different city than I am, so I wasn't there), and she got all the questions off her chest that she wanted. Now she's convinced that the public system isn't good enough for her grandkids, and that even if I do a mediocre job (which of course I don't plan to, but she was worried about that as we have 3 young kids), they will still end up with a superior education! So, while you're free to ignore people's opinions as you didn't ask for them, you can aslo point them to a resource to help them see how great homeschooling can be!
wow Thanks for all the input and support...I am SOOO glad I found just the right Spot what a blessing indeed!! We are soo excited about this new journey and really hope that it will spread to the rest of them...The difference in my son is already so dramatic, he is back to being the easy going, loving kid he has always been...and I am sooo Thankful!!!
re Despite all the anti-bullying education and zero tolerance policies, the notion that bullying is somehow normal and even good for the victim is still alive. A speech therapist told me that this idea was promoted at a conference she attended. She claimed that children need to learn to deal with teasing in order to develop socially. I asked her when, in real life, a person would be forced to tolerate the kind of harassment that children must tolerate in schools. In the work place, people have choices. They can file a complaint and probably get the work-place bully fired. If that doesn’t work, they can file a law suit, based on the many law protecting workers from harassment. They can quit and find another job. Children are powerless in the same situation. They are stuck unless an adult helps them. They can’t even change seats to get away from a bully unless the teacher gives them permission. (I remember being denied that permission in middle school when I asked to move to the front away from a boy who was harassing me at our seats toward the back out of the view of the teacher.) You know you are doing the right thing by helping your son out of that situation; by this, he WILL learn how to deal with harassment. The lesson is he doesn’t deserve it, and he shouldn’t stand for it.
On fielding calls and inquiries... Homeschooling is not unusual where I live, so I did not have to educate friends and family like the OP will. Since people seem to take comfort in numbers, here’s some statistics from a USA Today article… "The number of home-schooled kids hit 1.5 million in 2007, up 74% from when the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics started keeping track in 1999, and up 36% since 2003. The percentage of the school-age population that was home-schooled increased from 2.2% in 2003 to 2.9% in 2007. "There's no reason to believe it would not keep going up," says Gail Mulligan, a statistician at the center." I think these numbers are probably low, because I am guessing they wouldn’t include Cyber Charter Schools which are technically public school at home, and perhaps they would not include families who must register under an umbrella private school nor families operating under tutor laws. Plus, in a few states, no reporting is necessary, so they couldn’t possibly have a very accurate count of those kids. Point is, homeschooling may not be the most commonly used education-delivery system but it is an uncommonly good choice made on behalf of probably 5% (my revised statistic) or more of the school-aged children in America.
