You do need to memorize the spelling/pronunciation of a few irregular words in English. As I said, that’s because the English language was written before it was fixed with speaking. You can look up in the Oxford English Dictionary the etiology of these words (something that a home-schooled kid is more likely to do, btw), but they still need to be memorized.

I am reminded of a recent story I heard about a reggio inspired preschool program. It’s supposed to be student-driven, so if a student asks, “What is 2+2″ the teacher is supposed to ask “how do we figure that out” and guide the kid to figuring out that 2+2 is 4. When well run, this method is great. However, when the kid asks, “What color is this?” Asking how to figure it out (as was done at this school) doesn’t make a whole ton of sense. Memorizing that 2+2 = 4 isn’t the best way of learning math, but memorizing what color red is (something that is an arbitrary construct) is pretty necessary.

I’m not saying teaching credentials are required to teach well. In fact, our teaching credentialing is not very efficient or useful. However, some knowledge of how to teach and of how kids learn is helpful, and the idea that anyone who knows basic math and reading can teach it easily is completely nonsensical.

#74 That is sad. But not everybody without teaching credentials has trouble with explaining why 6 divided by 2 is 3. (Hint: Take 6 legos or pennies and divide them into 2 groups– how many are in each group?) Or why a certain combination of letters creates a word (hint: phonics, with some irregularities that unfortunately need to be memorized because of quirks in the English language as it was written down before it was set as a spoken language).

I know plenty of homeschooling kids who did just fine in college. As for mainstreaming in middle school or high school, well, some of us who had regular school also had trouble with that. And good grief, although there are a lot of excellent teachers out there, there sure are a lot of lousy ones too (ah, 4th grade, where Ms. Busby called me a snot-nosed little brat for saying that I didn’t think the pilgrims were the first white people in the US like she had said… 7th grade where Mr. Breed the science teacher pedophile finally got re-mediated to a paid desk job away from children).

And with the plumbing example, does nobody do their own home maintenance? There’s a lot of stuff you can do around the house just with access to books and the internet. You can call in a specialist if needed. (My preschooler is reading with phonics, btw, and he loves himself some starfall– google it )

Home schooling is a lot more efficient than teaching. There’s only a few kids who can basically teach themselves with help from books and other activities. Kids can go at their own pace, focusing on their interests, but still matching the basic curriculum, and there’s plenty of curricular help out there. Way better than sitting for 45 minutes listening to (8th grade) Mr. Morris reading aloud from the American History textbook.

Now, I’m not homeschooling my children, but that’s because my husband and I both have fulfilling full-time jobs, and we’re pretty sure our son will thrive in most any environment (so long as he stays away from pedophiles), despite school.

And the idea that “if you can’t teach reading and basic math, maybe you should look at your own education” is just plain wrong. There’s nothing wrong with my education–valedictorian at a challenging college and planning on going back for my PhD soon–and I have several years of tutoring and teaching experience. I currently teach middle school and do a lot of academic remediation. I’ve had a lot of success, but there gets a point where a student’s level is so low, I don’t know how to teach the material anymore. If a child doesn’t understand why 6 divided by 2 is 3 or why a certain combination of letters creates a word, I don’t have the training to get past the “Because it is!” stage. I would actually argue that it’s significantly HARDER to teach basic reading and math (because this requires a lot of knowledge of how children learn and how to break down and teach concepts that you just KNOW so you can make the concepts just as intrinsic to the kid) than it is to teach a child once this basis has been laid down.

The difference between plumbing or baseball and homeschooling is that I didn’t spend 17 years studying plumbing or baseball, but I did spend 17 years in school learning the same subjects my children are learning. I’ve taken math beyond calculus; college-level physics, chemistry, and biology; and a bunch of writing classes. The only thing separating me from a teaching career is a credential, and many classes in credential programs are meant to prepare teachers for a classroom of kids within the public school system (not knowledge needed to homeschool). I’m not arrogant. I just know I can educate my kids better than the system can.

Not a troll at all, I’m quite serious. I think it’s highly arrogant that anyone believes they are capable of doing just a good a job of teaching their child as an experienced, educated, and certified teacher. Do these people think that a teacher’s job is just really, really easy, or do they actually think they are God’s gift to children, and they are so unbelievably smart that they can just jump in and teach their kids everything that an actual teach could teach them?

I don’t presume to be as good at plumbing as a professional plumber. I don’t presume to be as good at baseball as a professional baseball player. And I certainly am not arrogant enough to believe that I’m as good a teacher as an actual, professional teacher.

I won’t go too far into the homeschool debate because I could go on a really long time. But I will point out that we used to have children and raise them and then they would go to school sometime around age six. Then we added kindergarten which is still not mandatory in most states. Preschool fills the need of parents who have to work. Any child from a loving home who is experiencing life is not going to be “behind” by 5 or 6 for lack of formal schooling.

My sister homeschools her four kids, ages 5-15. She has her elementary education college degree, but never taught in mainstream school. While I don’t doubt that the children are bright, and probably way ahead in “book learnin’”, these kids are so backwards socially it is sad. I don’t think they are part of a homeschool co-op, so the only interaction they have with other children is Sunday at their ultra-conservative church, where all the other kids are just like they are.

If they ever do enter mainstream school they’ll be eaten alive by the other kids. They have difficulty taking even gentle constructive criticism from adults, let alone the ruthless teasing that goes on in junior high and high school.

I’m sure homeschooling works well for some, but I don’t think it has done my nieces and nephews any favors…and their situation certainly doesn’t reflect well on the “homeschooling is awesome” camp.

Best of luck to you, Trent and Sarah. I think sending your oldest to preschool is a great idea, even if it is extra money spent. Kids need to learn to play with other kids. I don’t think homeschooling always gets the job done.

This is an interesting discussion and I think it would be enlightening for Trent to follow up with some clarification on options they’ve discarded.

I’ve known lots of homeschooling children and not a single one has ever been in a “special” class as you point out. Most have been in the advance classes. The only person I know of to get a perfect 36 on their ACTs was homeschooled.

While there are a few parents who may not be able to homeschool their children properly for whatever reason (usually it’s a self-discipline issue for the parent to actually teach) there are many, many more who do an above average job at teaching their children.

If you look at the national contests for children like spelling bees or sports like the Olympics, you will find many of them are homeschooled. Homeschooling, with it’s focus on a single child or just a few, can be much more individualized than the average classroom and results in a much better education for the child.

Most parents are absolutely capable of homeschooling their children. Temperament and desire are different issues, but ability? No question. Teaching your own child is much different than teaching 30 kids in a classroom. And if you can’t teach reading and basic math, maybe you should look at your own education.

You’re right, my kids will be in the “special” classes when they go back to regular school. They’ll be in the gifted and talented classes because they’ve been able to learn at their own pace with totally personalized instruction.

That said, I agree with Kate (#56). Sarah could homeschool Joe for preschool, and they could save some money, but preschool is so much more than learning shapes and colors.

Either way, staying home is going to be amazing for you both. I am currently pregnant and though we’ll be very tight financially we decided that I would stay home when I have the baby. I’ve never felt better about a situation than I do about this.

These are the kids that will be in the “special” classes when they finally do enter the mainstream educational system. I pity the teachers whose jobs it will be to teach these kids all the things their well-meaning (yet under-equipped) parents neglected to teach them. Not to mention the verbal abuse they’ll suffer at the hands of the parents at the mere suggestion that their child not only isn’t the one-of-a-kind super-genius the parent just KNOWS he is, but is in fact completely ignorant of major segments of a basic education.

If I had kids, I’d leave the teaching to the professional teachers.