I Want My Child Out of the Public Schools!
What are they really learning there? Are they Safe?
If both parents work and your child is not old enough to stay at home alone, do you have a neighbor or relative that would
sit with your child during the day? Or could your child(ren) stay with that person during the day while you work? Could you work
from your home? Could you change your work hours to be home with your children, maybe work part-time or one parent work a third shift?
Do you have an older child that could stay and help with the younger ones? Fourteen (14) is the minimum age for most states to "supervise"
younger children. This does not mean that any child or any other person can be or is responsible for another child's education, in place of
the legal responsibility of the parents of the child.
In today's world, our children are learning more about entitlement instead of hard work, if it feels good do it, how to take instead of give,
surf the internet, self gratification instead of self denial and such things far more than they are learning how to become productive,
successful and educated adults, that will make a difference in their lives and the lives of those around them.
There are alternatives. You have a choice. You do not have to "settle" for a public school education or their limits
on your children's education.
First examine your motives along with the pros and cons. If your motivation is the negative influence on your children's behavior, you may want to request
a change of teachers or classrooms. You may want to introduce your children to stronger, positive influences that they can be stronger, and have
the more positive influences on their peers at school. If you child is bored or struggling, these too are important issues that should be discussed
with their teachers, the counselors at school and even the principle if necessary. Most all public school teachers are over worked and under paid.
They are expected many times, to be miracle workers with 35 students per class and most of the students are not taught proper disciplines at home. If you
have a discipline problem with your children, removing them from school may not be the answer and could possibly make things worse and not better. Attendance
at a local sunday school class on a regular basis may be another option to try before removing your child. Teachers do not have the resources to
adjust the classroom to fit each child. They usually teach to the average student. Advanced students should be required to do more which is not
fair. Maybe you can suggest they exchange their regular work, replacing it with their extra assignments to encourage your child to enjoy
their education without punishing them with more work.
We have to look back nearly 100 years ago to find our country's most highly educated scholars. Most of which received 10 years or less
of "schooling". Most were self-educated and self-taught. When our country's level of education was at its highest, there was no fluff or
filler. The curricula consisted of Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. More money, more time, and more resources are not helping
our children's education. In fact, they present a hinderance and our statistics prove it. The public schools are a government welfare
system with an ungodly agenda and ungodly curriculum. Even before prayer was removed from schools, the "theory" of evolution was being
taught many years before in schools as early as the third grade. Tossing more money and resources into the problem has not been of much help.
With our tax payer dollars they continue to keep our children longer and for more years than ever before. Yet even fewer are equipped or
prepared for college.
Home Schooling--- a word to most that immediately invokes the thoughts, "I can't do that, I'm not a teacher, I wouldn't
know where to start, I don't want to be responsible or in charge of my children's education."
1. YOU CAN DO IT. You have the right by law in the US. You are qualified. No one cares more about your children's education than
you do as their parent. If you are considering it for the right reasons, you've already proved that you care. One on one teaching and
supervising their education is a far better ratio than 1-30+.
2. YOU ARE a teacher. As a parent, you are continually teaching and training your children already. You have since birth.
3. YOU START where your child is. It IS that easy. For starters, you have them read and write more than is required by the
public school system. You gradually turn over the responsibility of their education over to your child that they learn to become
self motivated. You can lead a horse to
water, but you cannot make him drink it. They must be motivated about their own education. The public school normally zaps it out
of them by the third or fourth grade. Have your child take assessment tests in each subject to see where they are and learn their
strengths and weaknesses.
4. Are you responsible or in charge of the atmosphere your child is exposed to among 30+ ill-mannered children in today's
immoral society? Is that the "socialization" you were thinking of when you were convinced into believing that public schools
were good for your children? Have your children been taught manners, how to share and be polite, how to sit and listen?
Or do we expect the public schools to do the job of the parents? Do we expose our children to books or internet material or allow them
to watch movies and other things that they should not.
No one can expect the public schools to do what is the parent's job to do at home. Learning always begins at home. In
fact, it already did before your children was first enrolled. Children are always learning.
If your children are not a priority in your life, then leave them where they are and surf on past this article. Some people's
priorities include "things" for their children instead of "time" with their children. It should not be difficult to sell the second car,
the vacation home, downsize to a smaller house ... if that is what's required to be at home more with your children. Each of us will stand
before our maker and be accountable for how we trained and raised our children, our precious inheritance from the Lord.
How large our home is or how many material things we collected in our lives will not matter then as well as it matters so little now.
It is not necessary to spend lots of money on a curriculum package for your children. Just like in searching for a new home, or a vehicle,
the market is
flooded with all kinds and not every one is a good fit for your family. The best choice is always one that is adjustable to your
children's needs, instead of the public school's methods of adjusting your child to fit their program, their schedule and the
government's system. Choose a program that is flexible that will allow your child to advance and challenge them, while also adjust to
allow more time on areas they may have more trouble with. Putting limits, boundaries, or small educational boxes on our children is no
different than how we've allow denominations and/or religious teachings limit the knowledge, power and word of God in our lives. Self education
should never stop at any age.
If you have the time, a large computer and are a bit computer savvy, you can search the internet and collect, harvest and
download for free everything you need to adequately educate your child without having to buy anything. We have a wealth of resources
available to us today via the internet. However it can be confusing, overload and overkill. Too much of ANY thing is never good.
Remember to focus on quality and not quantity. Try to remove any mindset of "this is how to do school"-- which merely
brings the public school's methods home. Texting should never replace writing by hand. Computer surfing should never replace reading.
We homeschooled and graduated both of our now grown children. We tried almost every homeschool program. We started with the most common, ABeka,
which is very costly, it replicates the public school's methods while adding in bias religion where it can. We graduated from the "smorgasboard"
idea of a little of this and that, along with the Robinson Curriculum, added hand selected materials, and then near the end with our youngest, came
to a more complete and well-rounded program called the A2. The A2 provides a
wonderful framework with more resources that we really need. The choices are of a higher quality, classical approach than most others. You will need
to supplement Bible, Art, and Music as you like to the basic 3-R's---reading, writing and arithmetic.
The "framework" of the A2 is the setup of materials by grade level. For only $99, with everything on one CD, there is not a better quality product
on the market. It is amazing the materials and resources it contains and we only need buy it once, not every year and not one for each of our
children.
Order your A2 FREE DEMO today. But whether you choose the A2 or any other program,
be encouraged that you and your children do not have to settle for the system. Many public schools
today are quite offensive and dangerous. It is heart breaking to think of what all our children are exposed to every day and what it is that
they are actually learning. As a Christian, it is our responsibility to train and equip our children with the word of God, that they will be a
friend to the unfriendly, that they will overcome evil with good. Evil does grow when good people do nothing. We should not fear or run away
from problems. Are we part of the problem or part of the solution. Some may need to remove their children from the public school system for a
period of time and then send them back. The strong parents of homeschooled children should prayerfully consider placing their students in the system, if
for maybe a short season, which may perhaps help with character development and to help them learn how to use the fruits of the Spirit
in their community at an earlier age.
You can easily improve your children's education at home. If nothing else you can supplement and discuss with their
teacher about "testing out" and/or going beyond their current grade level.
Please let us know if we can help you. We are members of a wonderful support group for home educators. Feel free to join us. You can lerk, browse
previous email messages and jump in and ask questions if you like. It is a very warm and supportive group. Click to join
----RC_A2 support group.
To read the homeschool laws for your state, click on www.hslda.org The
Home School Legal Defense; click on your state on that map of the US.
Browse our Articles Directory for
more helpful ideas in educating and raising Christian children in today's world.
© Caren Cornell
www.hstreasures.com
Permission to share freely given by including copyright notice and website link.
© 1998 Home School Treasures - All Rights Reserved
www.hstreasures.com
