classrooms try to artificially emulate real world situations. not the other way around.

My kids are obviously exposed to dysfunctional people, both adults and children…I mean, we DO live on planet Earth. But no, I don’t think it would do them any good to sit in a classroom for 4-7 hours per day with a racist, or a sexist, or an individual who was sadistic, or really really stupid. They live each day in our society, so they know these types exist. What a dumbass thing for you to imply that somehow spending dozens of hours per week isolated in a classroom with any of these types of people could benefit a young, naive, impressionable mind and soul. Do you even get how stupid that sounds?

Also, I live in a very “white” community (getting more integrated all the time, but it’s a region pretty much known for not having much diversity), and my kids get tons of interraction with our neighbors who are black and from africa, and brown who are from colombia and afghanistan. We interact with these families on a daily basis. My brother-in-law is black, so obviously my family is pretty integrated. And homeschooling has nothing to do with any of that, nor does it affect any of that. Maybe there are those who homeschool for reasons of religion or to have their children surrounded only by people who are most like them, but it’s SO insulting to the rest of us who do no such thing, to constantly hear these blanket assumptions. The ones who homeschool simply to shove a religious agenda down their kids’ throats bug ME just as much as they bug YOU.

But none of that has ANYTHING to do with my children’s academic education, does it?

As one who was “unschooled” from grades 7-12, and now starting my second year of college, I am now coming to realize the benefits of ALL approaches to education, rather than the “us versus them” mentality my parents have.

I am also realizing what a PRIVILEGE it is to have the freedom to take the approach that works for you, whatever that may be!

The Art and Science of Parenting

Who Needs School?

Meandering Through the Forest

Quickies From the Blogosphere

Of Thoughts and Quotes

It’s not that simple. Because my child is not one in a group, completely unique. There are many many more kids like her. And they are getting lost in the system.

We aren’t talking about a discipline problem. This child is very quiet and well behaved. We aren’t talking about a child with a great deal of academic struggles. This child is highly gifted and several grades above grade level. We aren’t talking about a misfit, an odd kid, a one in a million.

Yes, we are talking about a child who is not “neuro-typical,” if typical is the norm. I’m talking about something else. And for the record, I’m not talking about high school. She’s there now, and in many respects, this is a good fit, a good peer group. Or as good as school will ever get.

What needs to be examined is why the earlier years didn’t work. And what school could have done to help her and did not. The schools failed my child. And we aren’t talking grades. Or scores. Those were very high, no problem there.

I’m not letting the elementary school, where most of my beef lies, off that easily. It’s not a matter of shrugging and saying, well, it doesn’t work for everyone. That’s a cop out. That’s lazy. That’s a system that simply doesn’t care about certain kids. One poster wrote that it’s little surprise that so many of your respondents are parents of highly gifted children. Whose needs are not met, especially if they are twice exceptional. You haven’t addressed where these kids go. To homeschooling? But of course, that’s the whole point.

Jesse, I share you with you the mixed feelings about the gifted label. Look, I would have killed for a normal amount of homework all these years. Gifted Shmifted, sometimes. But some kids you just can’t put in the regular classroom, it’s really a disaster. Socially as well as academically. Even David Elkind asserts strenuously that these kids must have acceleration because you are not pushing them, that is where they are. I can no more change that fact about her than I can the color of her eyes.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Okay, so I won’t say “Jesse writes.” No, you got that wrong. It’s not about calling you out on anything. It’s a journalism thing, getting the quote right so you can respond to it. I could just as easily paraphrase. Please don’t see it as a repudiation, or evidence in a court of law. I’m not an attorney. That’s Marjorie’s bailiwick and she’ll shoot me for sharing personal details on list .

And if you are referring to me, you did write the comment I referenced, I cut and pasted it right off your post. It gets confusing when we don’t reference the exact comment.

As for meaningful conversation, I’d love to have one. Email me and if/when you are in my area, let’s do lunch. Remember, my child spent most of her years in formal schooling, homeschooling was but one year, a sabbatical. But I have the heart and soul of a homeschooler, I cut my parenting teeth on Alfie Kohn, Susan Ohanian and David Elkind, learned all about and embraced John Holt and John Dewey, so my combined experience of private, public, homeschool and selective magnet gives me a potent voice in this discussion.

And I’ve said repeatedly, if I had it to do all over again I would have yanked my daughter out of school the first week of kindergarten and kept going until at least high school. My gut was screaming to do that, but for one reason or another, I didn’t take the plunge.

Why I reached that conclusion after so many years in school should be of interest to you, no? And it’s not just about bashing the schools. It’s illustrating why at best, it was not the optimal place, and at worst, why it did such harm. And that tidbit, I feel, should be of interest to any school teacher.

And c’mon, enough with the “Jesse writes.” It makes it seem like you’re more interested in calling me out than in engaging in a meaningful conversation.

- Jesse

Jesse, in many cases, it takes a broad dissatisfaction with public schools to make the courageous leap to homeschool. In contrast, public schoolers didn’t make the same leap. Therefore it would stand to reason that a homeschool parent who flees the system would be carefully analytical about what he didn’t like there.

You’ve heard from all homeschool stripes here. Some never set foot in school before. Others found school to be merely okay where homeschooling was heavenly. But there is also a large subset of parents who yanked their children out because they were yanking their hair out. These are parents who never contemplated homeschooling before. I know of many cases where things got so bad, the parent didn’t even wait until the end of the school year. So OF COURSE she will be critical of school. After all, it’s her tax dollars.

In order to vote with your feet, you have to know what you are running away from. You have to be clear this is the right choice for you. And you aren’t going to reach that conclusion without some strong opinions of what you are escaping from.

Examples of children whose needs are not met or for whom school is not a safe place are children with special needs, highly gifted, profoundly gifted with special needs (twice exceptional), children who are teased and bullied and an army of families who don’t want their children getting the message that you learn information for one reason only — to pass a test.