Homeschooling

[cowboyinexile]

How about something different on this forums.

My kids are currently in private catholic school which runs to 6th grade. My oldest is a 6th grader so he will be going to public school next year.

My ex floated the idea of homeschooling, which I'm very much against for multiple reasons. It got me to thinking though, anybody know of any pros and cons here?

For what it's worth, the public school here is fine but the kids would go from a class of a dozen or so to 150+. There are options with public schooling and we can send them to a smaller country school one town over with 25ish kids per class. Also, there is a private high school one town north of us but I dont know the quality and it's Lutheran not Catholic (doesn't make a difference to me but it might with the kids mom). The school my kids are currently in has them about a year ahead of the public schools so 7th grade will be a breeze with the public option.

 

[UrbanCowboy]

I'm a public school kid, my wife did homeschooling and she's a weirdo, don't do it!

Out of curiosity, why wouldn't you want to continue private school? Are there concerns with the school? But even without that info, I'd always push for a more social setting for the kids. If the last four years have taught us anything it's that kids need interaction with other kids. The ones that were quarantined will probably never catch up academically or socially. Turns out humans are social creatures, we need each other. Kids even moreso.

 

[mugatu]

My brother has homeschooled his kids. While not something I would ever do, they have done well with it. My SIL does the teaching and the kids all seem to be pretty self motivated, so it seems to work. Their social interaction as far as I can tell comes through the homeschool group activites and boy scouts.

In my opinion, it can be fine for you actually care and everyone has the commitment and patience to do it right. My concern is I don't have the patience or confidence in my own teaching abilities to think I'd do better than a professional teacher.

 

[PF5]

Have seen homeschool kids struggle with their social skills...that would be my main concern I suppose...my daughter wants to homeschool her kids when they get to that age...I would/will encourage her to send them to public schools (can´t afford private school)...I actually wouldn´t worry too much about going to a bigger school and class sizes, classrooms will still be similar in # and they may just strive more with more diversity/choices of friends/clubs/activities...just my two cents...

 

[cowboyinexile]

I'm a public school kid, my wife did homeschooling and she's a weirdo, don't do it!

Out of curiosity, why wouldn't you want to continue private school? Are there concerns with the school? But even without that info, I'd always push for a more social setting for the kids. If the last four years have taught us anything it's that kids need interaction with other kids. The ones that were quarantined will probably never catch up academically or socially. Turns out humans are social creatures, we need each other. Kids even moreso.

The school they go to only goes to 6th grade so the only private option is the one a town over. I'm alright with doing it (although the prospect of no more tuition is awesome) but we really haven't looked at it yet. I think for extracurricular activities they combine with other schools so that would be fine. I would have to look at the quality of education to see if it was worth the cost but secondary education in Minnesota is pretty good so I don't think private or public would be a bad option.

 

[Donnyboy]

Homeschooling more than any other option hinges on the faculty.

 

[Bowers3]

One time my high school basketball team played a homeschool team and we beat them 117-6….

 

[cowboyinexile]

Homeschooling more than any other option hinges on the faculty.

According to the kids mom, it would be a joint effort.

Because she forgot that jobs are a thing I guess.

 

[GOGETUMPOKE]

According to the kids mom, it would be a joint effort.

Because she forgot that jobs are a thing I guess.

You should probably go with whichever option would involve the least amount of egg consumption.

 

[Vakarian74]

Homeschooling more than any other option hinges on the faculty.

And not just competency of the teaching its self. Even if the parent teaching does a great job at teaching the actual subject making sure it gets done and you don’t get overwhelmed is a major thing.

 

[cowboyinexile]

And not just competency of the teaching its self. Even if the parent teaching does a great job at teaching the actual subject making sure it gets done and you don’t get overwhelmed is a major thing.

Yeah. I ran into that during COVID with my then first grader. Teaching 1st grade math isn't that hard. What was hard was getting him to sit down and do the work when I had my own work to do and a 3 year old.to take care of. You take all that (minus the toddler) and change it out with advanced algebra or chemistry and I'm out of my depth pretty quick.

I found out my ex is starting a work from home job-good for her but I don't see how she would manage everything on top of work.

 

[milehighpoke]

Could I change my own oil, flush my fluids, change my brake pads and rotors, etc. on my car? I sure could. But I'd rather trust a professional who has been trained. And I don't have the time or willingness to commit doing the job to 100% perfection