End of the homeschooling road

My son is glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel. He is almost done with homeschooling. He is anxious to be independent and adventurous. Talking to military recruiters and planning his future is his main focus these days. By May he will have not only finished high school with me but will have college credits too as he has taken several classes at Metropolitan Community College for dual enrollment.
The many lessons I have learned from homeschooling him I will save for another day but there are a few important lessons I hope he learned:

God created you and loves you

Family is forever

Do for others

Never stop learning

Think before you act

Of course there is more but that is what comes to me off the top of my head. His little sister is seven so I have at least ten more years of homeschooling to enjoy!

Court Removes Girl From Homeschool

This article from Foxnews.com frightened me as it should every homeschooler. An academically promising ten year old girl has been ordered to public school by a New Hampshire court. Her divorced parents do not agree on the homeschooling issue and so her father took it to the court as he is concerned about her ''socialization''.
Socializing is what garners success isn't it? High ACT/SAT scores, academic prowess, long term goals that is what is discussed at the lunch room tables while dining on over processed, nutritionally sparse lunches right?
I have never been to New Hampshire but unless they produce different kinds of kids there the socialization will include bullying, cussing, sexual innuendo, introduction to drugs and alcohol, peer pressure and cliques.
Well, isn't that great that her father is looking out for her? I am sure the first time she is excluded for being different, not wearing the 'in' clothes or whatever other reasons kids exclude each other I am sure that she will be thrilled with her father's concern of her socialization. It isn't just boys that bully. There is a huge problem in public schools with girl bullying.
I can tell you that the first time I had a cigarette I got it from a fellow public school student. Same goes with beer and a few other things. You get the idea.
The news is all about headlines and rarely is there follow up but I would sure love to know the depth of this father's interest in his daughter's level of socialization once he gets his way and she is in public school.
If her grades start to fall maybe she can buy better ones like the kids in this article did. Hopefully she won't be one of the many unfortunate students involved in a teacher sex scandal. They are so commonplace that they don't all make headlines anymore but you can find many of them here.
Maybe the father thinks things like that don't happen in New Hampshire. Perhaps he should read this story about a cheating scandal in his state. Those kids socialized with each other and came up with a cheating plan.
Here is a pretty yellow graph of serious violent crimes in U.S. public schools. Don't let the cheery color fool you these are kids getting hurt and killed in school. Maybe the father should ask some of those victims how they feel about socialization.

Field Trip - Kearney, Nebraska

When people think of Nebraska, which is not often if you are not from here, they tend to think flat, boring, corn etc. Driving for five hours on Interstate 80 this past week I tend to agree. I 80 is a flat asphalt ribbon that cuts a rather straight path entirely through Nebraska. This wide expanse does not vary much in scenery but at exit 272 is something to see. The Great River Road Archway cannot be missed. The structure is built over the four lanes of I 80. Due to the speed limit being 75 mph and that it is a well known fact that hardly anyone goes just 75 mph the exit for the museum is approximately a mile from it. Exiting safely and winding your way back towards the museum you will pass life size metal buffalo sculptures with vines growing on them. My first impression was that they looked like random Midwestern Chia Pets. The parking lot of the museum is ample and well laid out with a maze and a giant buffalo sculpture that you surely will want your picture taken in front of.

Inside the museum we were greeted by authentic looking ''mountain men'' who played their parts very well. Adding a touch of authenticity with their throwback pioneer dialog and prop guns.

I was completely surprised at the size of the museum. From the outside it does not appear that large. The museum is home to the second largest escalator in Nebraska. Ok, that fact did not surprise me. Where in Nebraska would one need a mammoth escalator? Getting back on track, the museum has wonderful exhibits with twenty four life size figures along with paintings, quilts, lights, video and vehicles depicting a span of 150 years in America such as goldrushers, pioneers and drive in movie theaters. The museum is built at the only place where the Oregon, California and Mormon trails intersect. Those trails were the ones most often used by westward heading pioneers.

The museum is open seven days a week and also boasts a large and eclectic gift shop. Inside the museum is the Chuckwagon restaurant which is open six days a week.

MONEY TALKS?

Washington D.C. schools have rolled out a new program called the Capital Gains Program.

Aimed at low income students it pays them to have good behavior, good conduct and improve their test scores. I can appreciate that the school system there is trying to improve these kids chances at graduating high school and success in life but I think that this is actually sending negative messages to not only the kids in the program but other children and families who might hear about this. Why strive to work two jobs to stay off welfare when you can get food stamps and put your teenager in this school and they can bring home up to $200.00 a month? Trust me, I used to live on welfare and in low income housing. There were the parents that were the ''strivers'' and then there were the other kind who knew every loophole and could squeeze and manipulate the system to their ongoing benefit. That earned money will go to anything but that child's future. If education is the true focus and the future of the student is what is truly at heart here than make the funds into a scholarship fund or educational IRA that cannot be touched unless it is going to college or vocational school tuition. Would the students be as interested in it then?

The schools do have some sort of money management training but it is vague and not stated that it is either mandatory or ongoing which I believe should be both if they are going to insist on keeping this ridiculous program going. Why not use that money to hire more teachers or improve after school programs such as mentoring and tutoring.

As a homeschooler this annoys me. A portion of my taxes go to the public school system whether I use it or not , however, once a child is approved by the state to be homeschooled any services, testing, educational materials, tutoring, field trips etc are the sole responsibility of the parents even if you have a child with learning disabilities . Regardless of how our children are doing there is not a bonus from the local,state or federal government. Doing a good job on a test should be its own reward. Learning for self enrichment and the excitement of growth is there in all kids, you just have to cultivate it. There is no learn to earn in our household except that if my kids want to earn their usual privileges such as TV or computer time then they need to learn their lessons. I think that teaches them a whole lot more than to stick their hand out for everything they do. I practice what I preach and that is why the buck stops here.

Yeah, it's that good.

I love the flexibility of homeschooling. Teaching my kids at their level at their pace makes so much more sense for us .

Entering into public school at six years old with a hundred or so other children and being expected to arrive on graduation day thirteen years later all having accumulated the same level of knowledge at the same pace just doesn't make that much sense to me. It doesn't seem realistic or achievable. According to CNN the graduation rate in our country is 73%. That is not to say that homeschooling is the answer for everyone just because it was the answer for us. Schools need to get away from their assembly line thinking and actually teach the children so that they can learn at their pace and ability level.

Not everyone can afford to have a parent stay home to teach but if vouchers were available as they are in some areas for private and charter schools then it might be more accessible. These are the children who in twenty years or so are going to be our doctors, lawyers, soldiers and politicians. I want them to have the best education possible, don't you?