Why we do it...

There was a debate on homeschooling over at JustMommies, and I shared my 2 cents as to why we homeschool. I wanted to paste my answer here so that I can look back on it and re-fuel my convictions when things look low!

"We choose to homeschool because we believe that our children will get a better education than if they were in a public school. No, I am not a licensed teacher, but, unlike the licensed teachers that they would have in PS, I can take the time to actually TEACH them the subjects that we're working on, not just feed them enough information so that they can pass the standardized tests and make the school system appear to look good.

We also choose to homeschool because we want to be in control of what they are learning. Frankly, there are things that are taught in government-run schools that we don't agree with - such as evolution being taught as a fact and creationism being completely left out of any type of curriculum because it's too "religious". I want them to learn reading and writing skills, math, science, and history - things which are slowly being pushed to the side in public school to make more room for teaching about tolerance and sex ed and how to put on a condom.

My kids are safer at home. Period. In my house, there is no pressure to try drugs or alcohol, there is no pressure to have sex, there are no kids taunting them about wearing the wrong clothes or shoes, and there's slim to no danger of someone bursting in with a gun and shooting us. (I make sure to keep the doors locked! ) It seems that in every instance of school shootings, there is someone saying, "We never thought it would happen in OUR school" and I don't want to be that mom. If my kids aren't there, they can't be shot. We have no need for metal detectors, armed guards, or drug-sniffing dogs because our house is safe.

And think about this....everyone says, "Oh, kids grow up so fast" and we all know it's true. So, frankly, I'd rather be there for those 12,500 hours that they would spend in public school. As for the socialization thing? Realizing that this is an issue, I make concerted effort to have my kids in situations where they are socializing with other people. Not just other kids in their age group, mind you, but other people. Why has it become the greatest thing since sliced bread to put a bunch kids of the same age in a room or on a playground and call it socialization? I just don't understand. Talk about not preparing them for the "real" world! In the "real" world, you interact with people of all different ages."

So, in a nutshell, that's why we do it!