My first exposure to homeschooling was my senior year in high school. A new girl joined us at the beginning of the year, and when I got to know her, I found she was a local, and had been in the area her entire life.  She, along with her siblings, had been home schooled. I wondered just how good the schooling could be, then found out her older sister, also home schooled, went on to a prestigious college…on a full ride academic scholarship.

As I grew older, and became more interested in self reliance issues, I saw a trend of similar minded folks who were more likely to homeschool. Being responsible for yourself tends to include your children and their education. What better way is there to prepare our children for their uncertain futures?  We provide an environment that allows them to adapt as needed and teaches them to think for themselves at their own pace, not at the pace of the kid next to them or mandated by the state.  No labels…no drama….no pressure.

Ultimately, who has our children’s best interests at heart, a sheep factory, or a parent?

My wife and I have talked about homeschooling as an option for longer than we’ve had kids. Anyone that knows me realizes just how much I can over-research a subject, occasionally ending at “analysis-paralysis”, fear of moving forward due to overwhelming <insert worry here>. Things that have stopped us before were:  inflexible jobs, lack of self-confidence, lack of understanding of the process, and even as simple as not knowing where to start.

We talked with our kids many times regarding homeschooling. They have had friends that have, or have been home schooled, and understand the concept. Homeschooling has always been in our minds.

We also have several friends and  family members that work as teachers in this school system. We think that every one of them does an excellent job. It has never been about bad teachers.

What tipped the scales was a number of circumstances that came together at the right time.

• The wife and I both have jobs that offer time flexibility. This would allow us to establish a schedule at home to cover schooling.
• The youngest daughter has shown an active interest in home schooling. Her enthusiasm will make things FAR easier on us (she even put the request on her Christmas list). She is to be our “test” subject, while the other child stays mainstream (for now).
• We have family, six cousins on my wife’s side, that were all home schooled, and have turned into excellent, positive members of society.
• We have several friends that homeschool, and we’ve talked about it with them for the last two years, and have seen the results in their children (BTW, thanks go out to the homeschooled softball families who’ve nudged us – you know who you are!)
• The social acceptance level has reached a turning point, not that I’ve ever cared much what others thought about me, but it is important to the females in this house.
• We were fed up with a state school system that teaches towards passing a test, in our case, the FCAT. We feel that you should teach a child how to learn, not how to pass a test. And with the FCAT being such in integral part of how schools are funded, teachers are all but forced to teach to pass the exam. This helps the school system, NOT the student.
• We believe it builds stronger family bonds, something dearly lacking in this day and age.
• We want to do this. We have always wanted to do this.
• And finally, Aaron and Jonathon over at In The Rabbit Hole.com did a couple of podcasts regarding homeschooling that pushed us over the edge. I’ve listened to their first podcast on homeschooling, Episode 59, at least 6 times.

The last time I listened to the two podcasts was while on a road trip with the family. The wife and I took the free time we had while driving to discuss the whole idea, and somewhere in the middle of Florida, on a lonely stretch of road, we had made up our minds to do it.

I’d like to thank Aaron and Jonathon. They were able to answer most of my questions in a concentrated format. The information they put forth was enough for us to take action.

The following week, over the Christmas break, we set up a meeting with a couple of local homeschool moms to discuss getting started. Those two ladies helped by pointing us in a good starting direction, and better still, offer their support.

This morning, we stopped by our daughter’s school, and withdrew her.We sought out each of her teachers, and I stopped by the principle’s office to speak with him. I wanted each of them to know that our reasoning held zero reflection on him or the staff, and that we held them all in our highest regards in the efforts they’ve made working under the system that restricts them. We relocated, buying a new house in an nearby town, so that our children could go to THAT school, and we still feel that that school is the best choice in the local public school system for our children. We simply feel that the less restrictive option of homeschooling is a better choice for our kids.

We came home to her school work that we deemed appropriate, and worked towards teaching her to learn, versus teaching her to pass a test.  We believe we’ve made the right choice.

Peace,
db

PS. I found this and thought it was funny and fit the situation fairly well 🙂