We are now homeschoolers!
I'm sure everyone has lots of questions/criticisms. The first that most people bring up is the socialization "problem".
Well, come on, now. Didn't you read my other posts? Do you REALLY think I want my son socialized that way? And I ceretainly don't want him forced into thinking he has to be friends with those types of kids! Or thinking that those kids' behaviors and attitudes are okay!
But think about it. My son is active in hockey and chess (where he DOES have friends he likes and I like, and they're of varying ages, too). The only thing we have changed is the physical place where he does his schooling.
Plus, with all our travel and outings, he meets LOTS of people -- of ALL ages, too! He's finally learning to greet people, now, too (something he never did before). And his behavior and attitude is 1000% better!
If socialization is such a big deal, why do teachers at school always tell the kids that they're not there to socialize?
What is so great about having kids segregated by age? Are they only supposed to socialize with the same age? How will they learn to be friends with people not their age? We don't do it in the adult world, so why teach socialization only by age? Isn't that rather prejudiced in thinking?
Yes, I've really re-thought my position on socialization and think it's a rather quick non-thought-out judgment. Actually, if I think about it, my former position was an opinion based on NO thought. It was kind of like "that's what you're supposed to think" judgment.
Okay, on to the next. So what do I teach him and how?
One thing I noticed in school -- the kids are not learning to problem solve. It's basically data-in, data-out. I want my son to learn to problem solve. That was step one for me.
Step two was WHAT to teach. Of course, the three R's -- reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic.
So what I'm doing is having him read the lessons in his math book, follow those directions (which I'm finding he has a hard time following directions), and then work the problems.
I have him write EVERY day. Sometimes I'll have him do copywork from a quality book, or memorize a saying or quote. And a couple of times a week we work out of a good English grammar book.
Then he reads for a couple of hours every day. Now the reading is important because this is covering history, science and social studies (plus reading and literature, of course!).
He talks with me about what he reads -- and voluntarily, too, so I know he's understanding what he reads. He uses a dictionary as he reads, and he has a list of vocabulary words he has to learn. We do games with vocabulary.
A lot of science and history is observational. We love to travel, and travel is (always has) been an education in science and history. He was always advanced at school because of our travels, believe it or not. So something as simple and fun as traveling I'm realizing is extremely educational!
But other things as simple as looking up in books to identify and learn about birds, insects and plants, helping with our chickens, helping plant a garden are also science education. These are voluntary things with him, as he loves doing all that anyway. The reference books have always been available to him, and he's always used them. I don't need to structure that into his day.
We also have always read the newspaper together (and watched the news together), so he's pretty current on current events. We have always had lots of discussions about what's going on in the world, too.
We still also read at night. I've incorporated other things into our reading time now. One is teaching history chronologically. We're reading books by Susan Bauer that teach history chronologically.
One real plus for me is now being able to incorporate our religion into his school. It's actually making me make a point of it now. We are Orthodox, so we are now learning about the Saints, Feast Days, and the Sacraments of the Church during our nightly readings. It is SO NICE to be able to be free to do this! Morals and hope, righteous living -- all this is such a gap in the public schools! Actually, it's against the law to teach any religious slant in school -- well, except when it comes to Christmas time, the teachers (under "multiculturalism") HAVE to teach about other major religions and what they do during this time. Which is fine with me because I, personally, find it fascinating how other people believe. But this may be a problem with a lot of parents who don't want their kids exposed to anything BUT their own religion. But public schools are absolutely aspiritual. Which may be one of the major problems with our kids nowadays.
Our schedule is:
Get dressed and eat breakfast
Chores (chickens, animals)
School work
It's as simple as that! He's done with school by about noon, 1:00. Then he has the rest of the day to do as he pleases.
One other thing we do: no TV on during the day. He has to use his imagination to amuse himself. This was extremely hard for him at first because he wasn't very used to entertaining himeself! A rather enlightening revelation for me, to say the least!
I've never allowed video games in the house. I've always felt those are brain wasters. He is allowed to use his computer after he's done with his school, but again, I don't allow games unless they're educational. He has chess, typing and some Reader Rabbit or Learning Adventure type of software on his computer only.
Okay, so back to my original question of what does homeschooling have to do with traveling? EVERYTHING! Probably the biggest perk for us is being able to just take off whenever we like -- AND TAKE SCHOOL WITH US! It is so awesome! We now keep a travel book, too, and he has to write a kind of report of everywhere we go or anything we see. He puts in all his souvenirs in that book, too, so it's becoming very interesting to look through it! Plus we put in photos, of course, too. It's lots of fun!
Until next time!
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Homeschooling: Public School Woes -- Part 2
So David has moved.
Without this extreme student at school now, everything seems "normal". My son and I are calmed down, and my son is back to being a good student again.
But without that single-minded focus, I now have the opportunity to actually "see" school now. I'm still working at the school, so I'm also getting an "inside view" into what really goes on at school.
The girl from our kindergarten class was growing up and actually calming down. The boy who used to throw furniture and computers is now worse. He runs away. He punches all kinds of kids and adults. He's constantly in the principal's office where he waits for his mother to get off of work (she won't leave work any more).
I'm also seeing the "normal" behavior of kids. Hmmm... "normal" here is filthy mouths, disrespect to adults, and an "I don't care" attitude about achieving in school. Bullies abound. To like to read is "uncool". My son had reading books ripped up and/or stolen while he was being made fun of for liking to read. I was told by the principal that it probably wasn't a good idea for my son to bring a book to school. (!)
By the end of third grade, my son actually rescued another boy from being beat up and actually bloodied the kid's nose! Whew, he finally "got" it!
And, by the end of third grade, I was really REALLY getting tired of "undoing" what my son was learning in school on a daily basis. For example, no bad words, have respect for adults, etc. His attitude was beginning to not be the best IMO.
But in defense of my son, he only had about 2 friends at school. But they were friends he sees in his chess club and on his hockey team, and they were really good kids. He didn't "like" the other kids -- and this was becoming a concern of his teachers. I was thinking the opposite -- that he was showing good skills in who he was associating with! I didn't see many kids that I thought displayed good behavior that I would WANT him to associate with!
I was also realizing that I was undoing a lot of what he was learning in the classroom -- the subject of "multiculturalism" in particular comes to mind. I was getting questions from him like "Why are people with brown skin bad?" Huh??? Where the heck did he get that from? Well, it turns out that his textbook for "multiculturalism" is kind of disguised racism. It's part of the requirements for that "No Child Left Behind" act.
Oh -- that "No Child Left Behind" act? Our poor teachers! Good heavens! They have become bureaucrats! They have to log in how each child is doing now -- and I don't mean just grades. And the structure of teaching in the classroom is SO RIGID now that there is barely room for the teacher to be creative! Our teachers are so stressed now over whether their students will be able to pass those standardized tests the kids have to take. I was finding that most of the teaching was actually teaching the kids the material and how-tos of how to pass those tests! It wasn't teaching for information -- it was basically teaching to the tests!
Oh, let me also back up here. In kindergarten he learned about drugs. He had no clue what they were and was constantly questioning me about them (he didn't have the concept and of course has never been around users). He also was taught about weapons and could spout off a list of weapons. And "stranger danger" was another extreme lesson. I had no control over these -- even when I requested to be let known when these lessons would happen. I NEVER was notified. Even though those lessons I felt were valuable, they are really taken to the extreme nowadays! I wanted to temper his lessons, have a more realistic view of them. Instead, I now have a VERY paranoid son around people and who now can spout a list of weapons and drugs!
By the beginning of fourth grade, my son started imitating the other kids' behaviors and attitudes -- not only at school, but at home. And it was getting to the point where I was having a very hard time undoing his new skills.
And, I was so sick and tired of the treatment not only I, but my co-workers were receiving from the kids at school. How do you report/send to the principal 500 out of 700 kids? You don't. You deal only with the worst kids, and then your time is spent. The principal was basically doing the same thing -- he also didn't have the time. So what you get is bad behavior and attitudes that have become the norm for a body of people. And the minority of the kids who do display good behaviors and attitudes start to think that it is okay to act that way -- especially when there are no consequences for bad behavior and attitudes -- they think it's "normal" and that their parents are just out of touch with the way things REALLY are. Hmm.
Before the first month of fourth grade was done, I had started researching private schools. They all had their problems, including our charter school. Not too much different, unless you include the priciest private school that was producing snobs. We had friends that transfered over there, and they were not too happy.
With as much as my son and I like to travel, I started researching homeschooling. What a wealth of information there is out there about homeschooling! After about a week of research, I had definitely decided on homeschooling! It would be perfect with our schedule and likes!
I gave our notice at the public school -- my son's exit date and my last day at work. I made our last day coincide with the end of the first 9-week period. During that waiting time, I did research on which curriculum I would use, and what I wanted him taught.
Before our time was up, I ended up filing another police report -- this time against a 9-year old. I truly believe he would have killed someone if there was even a stick around that he could have gotten his hands on.
Our last day FINALLY came, and we left to lots of good-byes and hugs!
Without this extreme student at school now, everything seems "normal". My son and I are calmed down, and my son is back to being a good student again.
But without that single-minded focus, I now have the opportunity to actually "see" school now. I'm still working at the school, so I'm also getting an "inside view" into what really goes on at school.
The girl from our kindergarten class was growing up and actually calming down. The boy who used to throw furniture and computers is now worse. He runs away. He punches all kinds of kids and adults. He's constantly in the principal's office where he waits for his mother to get off of work (she won't leave work any more).
I'm also seeing the "normal" behavior of kids. Hmmm... "normal" here is filthy mouths, disrespect to adults, and an "I don't care" attitude about achieving in school. Bullies abound. To like to read is "uncool". My son had reading books ripped up and/or stolen while he was being made fun of for liking to read. I was told by the principal that it probably wasn't a good idea for my son to bring a book to school. (!)
By the end of third grade, my son actually rescued another boy from being beat up and actually bloodied the kid's nose! Whew, he finally "got" it!
And, by the end of third grade, I was really REALLY getting tired of "undoing" what my son was learning in school on a daily basis. For example, no bad words, have respect for adults, etc. His attitude was beginning to not be the best IMO.
But in defense of my son, he only had about 2 friends at school. But they were friends he sees in his chess club and on his hockey team, and they were really good kids. He didn't "like" the other kids -- and this was becoming a concern of his teachers. I was thinking the opposite -- that he was showing good skills in who he was associating with! I didn't see many kids that I thought displayed good behavior that I would WANT him to associate with!
I was also realizing that I was undoing a lot of what he was learning in the classroom -- the subject of "multiculturalism" in particular comes to mind. I was getting questions from him like "Why are people with brown skin bad?" Huh??? Where the heck did he get that from? Well, it turns out that his textbook for "multiculturalism" is kind of disguised racism. It's part of the requirements for that "No Child Left Behind" act.
Oh -- that "No Child Left Behind" act? Our poor teachers! Good heavens! They have become bureaucrats! They have to log in how each child is doing now -- and I don't mean just grades. And the structure of teaching in the classroom is SO RIGID now that there is barely room for the teacher to be creative! Our teachers are so stressed now over whether their students will be able to pass those standardized tests the kids have to take. I was finding that most of the teaching was actually teaching the kids the material and how-tos of how to pass those tests! It wasn't teaching for information -- it was basically teaching to the tests!
Oh, let me also back up here. In kindergarten he learned about drugs. He had no clue what they were and was constantly questioning me about them (he didn't have the concept and of course has never been around users). He also was taught about weapons and could spout off a list of weapons. And "stranger danger" was another extreme lesson. I had no control over these -- even when I requested to be let known when these lessons would happen. I NEVER was notified. Even though those lessons I felt were valuable, they are really taken to the extreme nowadays! I wanted to temper his lessons, have a more realistic view of them. Instead, I now have a VERY paranoid son around people and who now can spout a list of weapons and drugs!
By the beginning of fourth grade, my son started imitating the other kids' behaviors and attitudes -- not only at school, but at home. And it was getting to the point where I was having a very hard time undoing his new skills.
And, I was so sick and tired of the treatment not only I, but my co-workers were receiving from the kids at school. How do you report/send to the principal 500 out of 700 kids? You don't. You deal only with the worst kids, and then your time is spent. The principal was basically doing the same thing -- he also didn't have the time. So what you get is bad behavior and attitudes that have become the norm for a body of people. And the minority of the kids who do display good behaviors and attitudes start to think that it is okay to act that way -- especially when there are no consequences for bad behavior and attitudes -- they think it's "normal" and that their parents are just out of touch with the way things REALLY are. Hmm.
Before the first month of fourth grade was done, I had started researching private schools. They all had their problems, including our charter school. Not too much different, unless you include the priciest private school that was producing snobs. We had friends that transfered over there, and they were not too happy.
With as much as my son and I like to travel, I started researching homeschooling. What a wealth of information there is out there about homeschooling! After about a week of research, I had definitely decided on homeschooling! It would be perfect with our schedule and likes!
I gave our notice at the public school -- my son's exit date and my last day at work. I made our last day coincide with the end of the first 9-week period. During that waiting time, I did research on which curriculum I would use, and what I wanted him taught.
Before our time was up, I ended up filing another police report -- this time against a 9-year old. I truly believe he would have killed someone if there was even a stick around that he could have gotten his hands on.
Our last day FINALLY came, and we left to lots of good-byes and hugs!
Homeschooling: Public School Woes -- Part 1
Homeschooling? What has that got to do with travel? And who cares about it, anyway?
Well, I'll tell ya. First of all, I was one of those people who thought that kids who were homeschooled weren't getting an education. Yup, me! I was very much involved with my son in his public school ever since he was in preschool. I'm a true believer that parents need to be involved with their kids in school, and that school should be an extension of the home (not vice versa).
But I also believed that the public schools offer the best education since they have access to just about anything, and there is such an input by many people. Public school also offers the opportunity to make a best friend, too.
So those WERE my beliefs...
Since kindergarten, my son had troubles in school. Not academic, mind you, but trouble with the other kids. No, he doesn't have a social problem. The problem was with bad behavior on the part of some of his other classmates.
My son's kindergarten class had 12 kids and 5 adults in the room almost daily. It was dubbed the "Class From Hell".
Okay, you say, kindergarteners -- 5-year olds. How bad can that be? Especially with that ratio of adults to kids? Well, shouldn't be a big deal, right? Wrong! In my son's class, we had a girl who screamed all day, scratched other kids and the adults in the room -- all because she either didn't get her way or just didn't want to do something. She was the mild one of the worst of the kids.
Then we had another kid who -- when he was told to do something, or also didn't want to do something -- would kick, punch, throw furniture/computers at kids and adults, and take off running (sometimes off of the school campus!). I received a bruise from this kid when I helped a school official physically carry him into the principal's office so the mom could be called.
And then there was David (not his real name). David was supposed really brilliant, but never did even learn his letters. But he was taught he was brilliant, so if another kid knew an answer that he didn't know, he would attack that kid (usually by gouging out eyes or strangle the other kid or ripping hair out). Because he was "special", he was allowed to do what he wanted. But David also had an unpredictable temper -- and I do mean unpredictable! Most of the time no one had a clue as to when he would attack another child! So many times he would calmly walk across the room to some unsuspecting child and just attack! As the year went on, for some reason he singled out my son as his main victim. The teacher and other adults said it was because my son was also smart, but there were other smart kids in this class who didn't become David's victims. So I don't buy that. Nevertheless, my son became his main victim.
I made many trips to the principal's office that year to show wounds to the principal and demanded something be done with David. Other parents also did the same. David also had a tendency to be sexual with some of the girls in the class.
Because of David, I ended up being at my son's school ALL DAY. And because I was doing the supervisory work of a paid employee, I finally just hired on to be paid. So I now had a part-time job at the school and at the same time was watching out for my son.
I have to give credit to our kindergarten teacher. She still managed to teach the kids in the class in spite of the constant disruptions. But she was frustrated, too. There were so many times the kids just couldn't pay attention to what they needed to because of the other kids disrupting the class. Actually, those kids disrupted ALL classes around our class, because so often we would try to get those kids outside to do their ranting. But their screaming and yelling were still the loudest sounds you heard inside the classroom.
First grade -- my son and David were not in the same classroom. The principal made sure of it. But on the first day of school, David happened to go into the boys' bathroom while my son was there, and proceded to kick my son! A male teacher happened to walk in and pulled David off of my son.
The second day of first grade, when David walked into the cafeteria at lunch time, he made a bee-line run toward my son and ripped him by the hair and throat onto the floor!
The next day I filed a police report, as the school obviously wasn't going to do anything about David. Geeze, filing a police report on a 6-year old? How insane is that?
In the meantime, I had been teaching my son to fight. Who ever thought you would need to teach your kid to fight? I kept telling him that fighting was okay if you had to keep yourself from getting hurt. It wasn't until the end of third grade that he finally "got" it.
By about the second week of first grade, my son was sick all the time. Said his stomach hurt, he always had a headache, and he wasn't doing well in school. I took him to the doctor. The doctor wanted to know what was going on in his life. "What do you mean?" I asked. He said there was nothing wrong with my son, that it looked like he was under a lot of stress. Stress?!? He's only 6, for crying out loud! Needless to say, by the time I was alone, I let loose and just sobbed.
And also in the meantime, I found out that the best thing I could have done for David was to file that police report! The public schools really have their hands tied when it comes to discipling or handling behavioral problem kids -- especially if they're in Special Ed. And behavioral problem kids are now included in Special Ed classes. It took my police report to take the problem with David out of the school's -- and the parents' -- hands, and have the State step in. David got a lot of counseling, in spite of what the parents felt about it. He was also put into different classes part time off campus, and more adults were hired to watch him. I don't know what else. But I do know the parents were not very happy.
By third grade, David and his family moved! Hurray!!
Well, I'll tell ya. First of all, I was one of those people who thought that kids who were homeschooled weren't getting an education. Yup, me! I was very much involved with my son in his public school ever since he was in preschool. I'm a true believer that parents need to be involved with their kids in school, and that school should be an extension of the home (not vice versa).
But I also believed that the public schools offer the best education since they have access to just about anything, and there is such an input by many people. Public school also offers the opportunity to make a best friend, too.
So those WERE my beliefs...
Since kindergarten, my son had troubles in school. Not academic, mind you, but trouble with the other kids. No, he doesn't have a social problem. The problem was with bad behavior on the part of some of his other classmates.
My son's kindergarten class had 12 kids and 5 adults in the room almost daily. It was dubbed the "Class From Hell".
Okay, you say, kindergarteners -- 5-year olds. How bad can that be? Especially with that ratio of adults to kids? Well, shouldn't be a big deal, right? Wrong! In my son's class, we had a girl who screamed all day, scratched other kids and the adults in the room -- all because she either didn't get her way or just didn't want to do something. She was the mild one of the worst of the kids.
Then we had another kid who -- when he was told to do something, or also didn't want to do something -- would kick, punch, throw furniture/computers at kids and adults, and take off running (sometimes off of the school campus!). I received a bruise from this kid when I helped a school official physically carry him into the principal's office so the mom could be called.
And then there was David (not his real name). David was supposed really brilliant, but never did even learn his letters. But he was taught he was brilliant, so if another kid knew an answer that he didn't know, he would attack that kid (usually by gouging out eyes or strangle the other kid or ripping hair out). Because he was "special", he was allowed to do what he wanted. But David also had an unpredictable temper -- and I do mean unpredictable! Most of the time no one had a clue as to when he would attack another child! So many times he would calmly walk across the room to some unsuspecting child and just attack! As the year went on, for some reason he singled out my son as his main victim. The teacher and other adults said it was because my son was also smart, but there were other smart kids in this class who didn't become David's victims. So I don't buy that. Nevertheless, my son became his main victim.
I made many trips to the principal's office that year to show wounds to the principal and demanded something be done with David. Other parents also did the same. David also had a tendency to be sexual with some of the girls in the class.
Because of David, I ended up being at my son's school ALL DAY. And because I was doing the supervisory work of a paid employee, I finally just hired on to be paid. So I now had a part-time job at the school and at the same time was watching out for my son.
I have to give credit to our kindergarten teacher. She still managed to teach the kids in the class in spite of the constant disruptions. But she was frustrated, too. There were so many times the kids just couldn't pay attention to what they needed to because of the other kids disrupting the class. Actually, those kids disrupted ALL classes around our class, because so often we would try to get those kids outside to do their ranting. But their screaming and yelling were still the loudest sounds you heard inside the classroom.
First grade -- my son and David were not in the same classroom. The principal made sure of it. But on the first day of school, David happened to go into the boys' bathroom while my son was there, and proceded to kick my son! A male teacher happened to walk in and pulled David off of my son.
The second day of first grade, when David walked into the cafeteria at lunch time, he made a bee-line run toward my son and ripped him by the hair and throat onto the floor!
The next day I filed a police report, as the school obviously wasn't going to do anything about David. Geeze, filing a police report on a 6-year old? How insane is that?
In the meantime, I had been teaching my son to fight. Who ever thought you would need to teach your kid to fight? I kept telling him that fighting was okay if you had to keep yourself from getting hurt. It wasn't until the end of third grade that he finally "got" it.
By about the second week of first grade, my son was sick all the time. Said his stomach hurt, he always had a headache, and he wasn't doing well in school. I took him to the doctor. The doctor wanted to know what was going on in his life. "What do you mean?" I asked. He said there was nothing wrong with my son, that it looked like he was under a lot of stress. Stress?!? He's only 6, for crying out loud! Needless to say, by the time I was alone, I let loose and just sobbed.
And also in the meantime, I found out that the best thing I could have done for David was to file that police report! The public schools really have their hands tied when it comes to discipling or handling behavioral problem kids -- especially if they're in Special Ed. And behavioral problem kids are now included in Special Ed classes. It took my police report to take the problem with David out of the school's -- and the parents' -- hands, and have the State step in. David got a lot of counseling, in spite of what the parents felt about it. He was also put into different classes part time off campus, and more adults were hired to watch him. I don't know what else. But I do know the parents were not very happy.
By third grade, David and his family moved! Hurray!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
