too many choices

I don't understand your point at all.

I drove by a local elementary school, allegedly one of the best schools in the area; they had mis-spelled a word on their sign by the road. On the other hand, homeschooled kids have won national spelling bees. So much for spelling being the benchmark.

As I recall, the big news a year or two ago was when a large percentage of Massachusetts teachers failed the state test for which they were supposedly preparing their students. Apparently, they didn't know their limitations, either.

Most homeschool parents do realize their limitations. That's why I enrolled my 16-year old in the church school for the math class. My wife and I taught him all the other subjects, but decided the teacher there could work the math better.

I don't know what hype you're buying into, or whether you're just using your own thoughts on the subject--which also begs the question, what facts are you basing your opinions on?

So, since you identified this as a fellowship forum, what kind of fellowship do you call it when you come in and post derogatory comments about the subject?

 

Oh, and by the way - do you have any idea how many times I've seen people, public and home-schooled, write "congradulations" instead of "congratulations"?

Drives me nuts.

 

Obviously.

Irrelevant. Some parents are excellent teachers. Others are not. Same for public and private school teachers.

Apparently.

Your basis for this assertion? You can cite a study?

Good for you.

You are not making sense. What hype are you talking about? I just am observing the obvious; that is if people cannot spell correctly, maybe they should reconsider home schooling their children.

I made no derogatory comments. If the truth hurts, that isn't my fault. I observed multiple misspellings and pointed out that perhaps home schooling should be reconsidered. That is not derogatory in any way, and I cannot be any clearer of my intent than I already have been. Fellowship is not lockstep agreement either. I had hoped my comments would help someone. Sorry I touched a nerve with you.

 

Now see, if you'd started your post with that sort of clarification, you wouldn't have stirred up such a hornets' nest.

Qualify that statement with the obvious addition: If people cannot spell correctly, maybe they should reconsider home schooling or being public school teachers. Agreed?

You started your post with "This is the problem with homeschooling." Right out of the gate, you made it obvious with your first statement that you disagree with homeschooling. In other words, you set a derogatory tone for your comments. If you don't see it that way, take a look at the way people reacted to your message.

Do you make the same observation for public schools?

I go back to my example of the mis-spelling on the public school sign. Should I consider sending my child to any school that makes it blatantly clear they're lacking in certain skills? Especially when they have the reputation as being the best school in the area?

 

Just a gentle reminder. This appears in the rules for this forum at the top of the main page.

 

Hey, how are you doing?!?

 

Hi Don! :wavey:

We're busy remodeling. :BangHead:

 

Getting back to the original poster. There are many things you can do to keep your home school costs down. We too have 4 children, ages 8-14. All four have been homeschooled from day one. I am a stay-at-home mom and so our income is very limited. Homeschool is my favorite subject so my post may get lengthy.

We use ABEKA for History, Science, and Health. My kids are not allowed to write in their books so they can be passed down from year to year. We only purchase the text book and the answer key for it. No need to buy the tests and test keys as you can use the chapter checkups in the text books for tests. Doing that will save you quite a bit of money alone.

Keepers of the Faith have some excellent choices at very reasonable prices. We get our math books there. Practical Math books cover 2 grades and cost $14.00. That includes quizzes, tests, and answer keys. They were originally published in the 1930's and are excellent. Because they are so old the only go through 8th grade but the last book covers some college Math. The McGuffey Readers are the same way. There are also some "learn to read" materials available from Keepers for a decent price.

There is an excellent spelling program called Spelling Power which is about $40.00 but covers all 12 years of school. You would only need to purchase it once. It is available at CBD.

Another way to keep costs down is to lay a plastic report cover sheet over a question page in a book and have your child write in the answers using dry-erase markers. No writing in the book that way. You can also have them write answers in a notebook instead of their workbook. We have only had to purchase materials for the oldest child and it is all passed down. We can homeschool all four of our kids for about $400.00-$600.00 per year. Not bad at all.

Homeschooling is the best decision we ever made. As your kids get older they will help the younger ones. The younger ones pick up a lot too as you teach the older kids. You wouldn't believe the things I have learned right along with my kids. Your kids will learn so much more by being home than just "school". My daughters (ages 12 and 13) have taught themselves to embroider, knit, and crochet in their spare time here at home. They are sewing, cooking, baking, raising a garden and canning. They are learning a foreign language and each play 3 instruments as well as sing (harmony too). I teach them piano, but they have taught themselves the other instruments. The kids experience no peer pressure, they have no attitudes picked up from other kids. My oldest daughter (13) keeps a long prayer journal and is becoming a real prayer warrior. She reads her Bible daily out in the goat pen and even takes it along to read while waiting in the dentists office etc... She feels no shame at all at reading her Bible in public. I don't think she would feel that way if she were not homeschooled and felt peer pressure in other areas of her life. She is in 8th grade doing 10th grade work in most subjects. She is (on her own) studying creation and evolution so she can debate with a neighbor boy the fact that evolution is , as she puts it, "highly illogical". I can't imagine my kids being the way they are if they were not home schooled. They are by no means perfect, but they are good kids and are becoming Godly as they mature.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to homeschool. Many times I have to learn a concept myself before I can teach it to my kids, but they often are able to figure things out on their own. It isn't always easy, but it is wonderful! I hope you love it as much as we do!!

 

when I was a kid I went to the public school all day and when I got home my mom met with about two hours of work she gave me from some books she bought. I got the best of both worlds.

 

I've been "preaching" it for over a year, finally supporters of an exit strategy for Christians in the public school system say the idea is gaining momentum. Get our kids out of the public school system and conduct home schooling inside the church building. No paid staff, anyone can afford to attend classes. Many are changing their mind about the possibilities. Parents and pastors are beginning to see the light. Recognition that the public school system is a disaster is spreading rapidly. The church needs to create an option, and soon.

:thumbs:

 

What dictionary did you find that listed misspelled as a hyphenated word?

 

I tend to believe that Einstein did not do very good is some subjects. That does not make him uneducated, and dumb?

 

My grandson was flunking out of the public school system while getting the 'student of the month' award all year long.

He was convinced he was stupid and could not learn.

I started homeschooling him 3 years ago and he carried a 98.7% average.

I put him in a Christian school second semester this year and he made the honor roll plus he had the highest GPA in Science and Bible of all the students in the school.

Public education is not for this family. Too many kids fall through the cracks...

 

What you said about your grandson does happen. There could be one of many reasons. You did not say how old your grandson was. At a young age it could be a physical reason for which the teacher nor student has control over. That is one reason I am in favor kids starting school one or two years later than they do now. When I was in Europe the children started school one year later than we do here. With some children it can make a huge difference for the rest of their life.

Several years ago we moved to a new community. In the church were some teachers and the superintendent who taught at the local elementary school. Before school started we had gotten to know some of the people in the church and in town. During some of our conversations we were told to not let our daughter be placed in a particular classroom because they thought the teacher was poor and that their child did not do very well. When we talked with the superintendent we got a completely different story. Later in the summer I saw that teacher teach in VBS. What I saw convinced me that the teacher was excellent just as the superintendent told me. It turned out that the teacher expected a lot from the students and some parents thought that school should be fun. Some of the parents also thought that school should not take up so much time and kids should have time for fun after school.

I think most graduating seniors who have studied to be teachers went into teaching because they wanted to help students and feel good about doing it. Very quickly they find out that they are not appreciated and criticized while receiving low pay. Few can hold up under that kind of attitude and pressure. The percentage of teachers who drop out of teaching within five years after graduation is almost 100% in my field. The public often treats teachers as less then good students, and poor in their field. Even though I was in business for myself for many years, I still get the same criticism as other teachers.

One summer I went to work in a country in Europe. If I went somewhere and the people found out I was a teacher they gave me the place of honor. My first experience of that was when I went to someone's home. As soon as they found out I was a teacher that had me sit at the place of honor at the table. I was shocked. Before my wife and I left that country we had a discussion about me teaching there. Because of the attitude I saw in the country toward teachers I was ready to stay. I was ready to sell everything I owned, cross an ocean, and move to a new country just to go to a place where I would feel respected and appreciated as a teacher. I saw the respect students had for their teachers.

Currently, the field I am in has from a 9 to 24 percent demand for teachers in the high schools depending on the state. At the college level there was about 80 openings at universities across the nation in my field this last year. I doubt there are 10 new professors in the field who have graduated with a doctorate. Today there are only three universities which offer a doctorate in my field. Some universities have had the same opening for the past three years. About 20 years ago there were probably about 40 universities offering doctorates in my field.

Today there are more ladies enrolled in college than men. They are more dedicated, serious and get higher grades on the average than the men. That ought to tell us something too.

What I find interesting is that often the Christians who criticize the public school the most are usually the least to make any difference. The public arena is where Christians should shine. Yet at the same time they make excuses when the church is criticized saying the church is not called to be successful but faithful. The impact of a church is not inversely related to its faithfulness to God. If the church were judged on the basis of numbers alone it would be a miserable failure. It if it were judged on the basis of those who share their faith one could say that churches are useless.

There is a city in southern California where the Christians decided to make a difference in the public school and they did. My mom was living there at the time and told me about the church she was going to. The churches were together in making an impact. They attended school board meetings and elected Christians as school board members. Think of how the Christian teachers must have felt when that happened.

I see no value in making a mass effort by Christians to be known as the critics of public education. Some of us have a passion in reaching students and faculty for Christ. When we hear faculty talking about the critics in the news who are Christians we cannot see how that help us who are there as good teachers trying to reach people.

I am reminded of the story where a man decided to go to church to find some friends. He came home and said that the people were unfriendly and did not care. But the next week he went back with a different attitude of being a friend and he found them everywhere.

I pray for the faculty, students and department workers by name. It has made a difference. There have been many opportunities to share my faith in Christ. If I were too look at the problems I would quit because they would run me down. Instead I see the field god has given me to cultivate and I am challenged to pray for those people and do my best to be a good teacher. I have an incredible opportunity because most of my students will be leaders in companies.

 

My grandson was 10 when I got him. He is 13 now.

To be fair, I will say that he switched schools a lot before he came to live with us.

However, I am a crossing guard for the public schools and the dress code alone (or lack of it) would stop me from sending him there.

I know that a Christian education does not guarantee that a child will turn out 'good' just as a public school education does not guarantee that a child will turn out 'bad'.

I believe that each family needs to pray about the kind of education their children receive. For us, it was the Christian school for most of their life. They went to a public school in their early years, but begged me to let them go to the Christian school and that is where they graduated.

My grandson needed homeschooled for a time so we could 'play catch up'. Now I feel he needs a Christian school so he can be involved with more children and adults who have the same standards that we do at home.

He was not saved nor did he attend church before he moved in with us. He needs to be around Godly role models as he is in his teen years now.

It is wonderful to have what you teach at home reinforced by the school and the church!

 

I was in much the same position as your grandson at one time. By the time I was in the fourth grade my family had moved once each year except one year when we moved twice. I can remember a time when I started getting poor grades and really did not like school.

When my family stopped moving I was able to start feeling like I wanted to get to know other students and have friends. High school is when I began to enjoy life and feel a sense of belonging. During high school I had some teachers take an interest in me and encourage me to do well and they helped me to succeed. One of the teachers who impacted me a lot was my English teacher who was a Christian. I was never very good at English and did very well in math. During my junior year she confronted me about some things I needed to hear. That lady made every effort to help me in English and help me to have a sense that I could do not only well but very well. I knew that she genuinely cared for me and wanted me to do well. She opened the door wide for me to get some additonal help. She is a sense gave me wings.

Not only did I learn more about English but I also had a model of how a teacher can reach a student for Christ. For many years until she died I saw her when I came to town to visit my family. Many students I know from that same high school would comment about how much she cared.

 

It's wonderful that you had a mentor. I have found that there are two kinds of teachers (no matter what kind of school you attend):

Those who make the student look good...
Those who make themselves look good...

 

I tend to take a little different route. Sometimes if the student comes in proud it takes making the student look bad to get their attention so that they can be in a humble position to be able to learn. The end result should be good preparation for both life and the subject area.

 

I should have clarified. I am talking about the teacher that takes all the credit for how much the student learned instead of praising the student.

 

I know of some poor teachers like that but none that are good. The teacher should be pushing the student to learn more and the student should be taught to be thankful for their teachers.