Eleven years ago, I felt the strong impression I needed to homeschool my two children. While the concept of homeschooling was not a new one for me, it was one I was sure I would not pursue for many valid reasons. However, I am not one to lightly disregard a deep, penetrating impression and so I began to reevaluate my conclusions.
Unlike many of the people deciding to homeschool at the time, I did not make the decision based on religious concerns, or concerns about the many “ills” a child might face in public school. No, I simply took a closer look at my pre-school enrolled son and realized that he was already getting frustratingly bored with the limitations of group learning.
Never have I doubted the rightness of my decision, although it has been a tough road to travel. The blessings have been boundless and the joy amidst the struggle, immense.
A sense of relief has now been added to my list of homeschooling emotions. For while, I did not make my decision based on the policies of public schools, I find myself immensely relieved that I homeschool after reading a few news articles concerning the public school world.
I decided to write this post and put this list together after my daughter came and asked me to check on a story about school lunches she heard on the radio this morning. I also Google searched for stories about absentee punishments, but in this case the stories that popped up were terribly sad and from other countries. On that topic, I do know of one Colorado school which has a policy in place whereby the student’s grade will be demoted each time the student misses class more than the allowed absent days. Furthermore, excused absences which are only accepted when signed by a doctor, also count against the total.
When did we, as parents, sign over our rights and accountability for our children to the school?
Do children have the same legal rights as adults or are their rights lessened just as their punishments for crimes are?
Does the government owe our youth an education if the taxpayers are paying for it?
Pithy Ponderings 