My Main Reasons for Home Educating

It is a very sunny October afternoon in East Tennessee, and my children are playing outside with their friends in our quiet neighborhood. As I thought about what to post on my first attempt at this "blogging thing", I remembered we no longer have to struggle with homework and they can stay outside all evening if they wish. And...bing...the light bulb came on. I have my first post.

One of the main reasons we home-educate now has nothing to do with the teachers or administrators we encountered in our old school district. I knew many of them personally, as I was a "PTA mom" for 5 years. The teachers I know are hard-working, caring people, who really do want the children to succeed. The problem for me wasn't the teachers, it was the system. Our children, all of our children, are being under-served in the current public school system. And, since the passage of Mr. Bush's "No Child Gets Ahead" Bill, the situation grew worse. The teachers' hands are tied. If it can't be tested and reported on, it must be cut back or eliminated. Unfortunately for my children, they both fall into the "gifted and talented" category, and so more and more of the funding for their programs was cut. And because there are so many layers of administration, and so much more money is being spent on "Administrating" the new rules and regulations, most programs were being cut for most students. More money doesn't equal better schools.

Another main reason we felt we needed more control of our children's education is that school is designed to teach them WHAT to think, not HOW to think. The Department of Education has actually admitted to this in the past. We believe that "a person who learns WHAT will always be able to find a job, while a person who learns HOW will be able to provide that job." We have always tried to allow our children the freedom to question, and not just follow blindly. This doesn't sit well in most public school classroom situations!

Finally, for today at least, we wanted control of what they were exposed to on a daily basis. While we aren't home-educating for religious reasons, as I know many people do, we have brought our children home for "moral reasons". The changes that have taken place in the public school in the past years has become frightening. I know many parents who were upset with our schools teaching DARE, or sex ed in health, or other things that are considered "controversial". But, very few people were aware of the re-writing of history and other textbooks, and the subtle undertones of secular humanism that was sneaking into the classroom materials.

Thank you for allowing me to share today!