Chris, with respect for your opinions and dedication to your son, I must disagree with what you are doing.

Public school is tough, no doubt about it. When I was in school we would post guards at the bathroom doors so some kids could smoke pot or cigarettes, or throw a beat down on someone. This has been happening for 60+ years, I myself have pummled a bunch of kids in the bathroom, one on one of course. You had to fight every day where I went to school, or else you were going to be a victim.

Home schooling, my sister in law home schooled her 3 kids and 2 adopted kids. The last one is finishing up their senior year in public school. While she felt in her heart much as you do about the public school system, she has come to realize the draw back of not socializing your children. All but one of her children went on to college and became wild children on a mission to catch upon the things they missed out on. Two of my nieces are out of the picture completely because of bad influences in college. You get the picture, nuff said.

If your son is as straight forward as you said then I would leave him where he is at. he may get beat up or he may not. It sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders and that you have a civil relationship with his mother. Cudo's to both of you for that. I would say just remain active and let him know you have his back. Don't be afraid to be a strong presence in his school. When I had problems with my kids in school I would sit in their classes. It only took me a couple visits for them to realize that I would be there whenever it was needed and that I did not care what their friends thought about it. It worked very well.

Good luck Chris, you definitely have some hard decisions to make. I am glad to see you as a stand up father, there are to few of us these days. God bless.

 

[QUOTE=wyododge;2631662]Hey Chris,

I am sure you guys will do fine. Prayers sent your way. I have no doubt you guys have what it takes to get the job done. Let us know how he is doing. You gonna take your daughter out also??? I know nothing about the idiosyncrasies homeschooling, but if there is anything I can do to help, you got all my info. DONT hesitate to use it.

Oh ya we have a cattle herding class coming up on the 2nd of December. It will include pasture gate operation, moving cattle in an orderly fashion, loading cattle into tub and squeeze chute, Counting and sorting cattle, tagging and identifying health problems or injuries, loading cattle into and out of trailers, and fixing any fencing which the cattle have damaged during the summer. The cost is free to recently enrolled home school students. Food will be provided but you are required to supply your own set of old boots and leather gloves!!!! There is even a complimentary river dunking following the course!!!![/QUOTE]

That almost sounds like a scam to me! LOL... I wished we were closer brother cause I would help you cut and vac them der calves. I am headed to Dallas that week for a conference but would rather be up there helpin ya out brother

 

Thank you Nate. I had a program in High School (career exploration) and went to the airport for 4 hours a day. I was an apprentice to the A&P mech there. Learned a lot and went into the military as a helicopter crew chief. Been turning wrenches since I was 4. the old man got po'd when I took the lawn mower apart when he was at work. He bought me my own (from a junk yard) and a little set of tools and told me to leave his crap alone! LOL

 

Thanks for the advice Andy but the schools down here are NOTHING like back home in Idaho. Even the charter schools here are so left wing and do nothing for teaching. The issue is the gang violence that is rampant around here. We were able to get our son out of a situation before it got out of control. As for the primary instructor, my ex will be since she works from home and I will travel down to their house to help. We are working on this as a team. There is also a group that we are joining of other parents that are homeschooling and we all work together, take the kids on field trips and my son is active in Church, shooting with me, baseball and he wants to play football and being homeschooled does not hinder their ability to participate in sports.

 

thank you Marc. Good thing is that my ex and I are working on this as a team (too bad we did not have our heads pulled out of our back sides 10 years ago) and our son is actually looking forward to this. We are also going to enroll him into a martial arts program. That along with the parental group of homeschoolers here in town with field trips etc he will get the social interaction plus he is very involved at church with the Childrens Church he attends called 56. It is a group of 5th and 6th graders and it sure is cool to see the work that God is doing in there!

 

I've never been a fan of homeschooling, just from seeing a few kids when I was growing up and a few now that are not very well adjusted, socially. I think kids ned to be exposedto some of the "bad stuff" (kids smoking in the bathrooms, fights, etc) to know how to handle these situations or peer pressure while they're still young enough to be guided in the right direction (my guide was usually a nicely carved oak board by mom or my dad's right hand!).
That said, Albq and alot of NM has bad public schools and if the charter schools aren't better, it's a good option, especially if your kids have been in public school for a while, they ahve their friends and will continue to grow socially.
Up here, we pulled our 5yr old last yr from public school because less than 50% of the kindergartenrs spoke English (go figure!) and he was learning NOTHING! FOrtunatley there's a newer Charter school here (1/2 hr drive from the house though) and he's learning alot there. It's some extra $ and volunteer time (wife), but no where near as expensive as private schools and he's getting a good education.

 

we would consider a charter school but they are all crappy. the majority of the kids in the charter schools around here are ones that could not make it in the regular system and are treated as "well here ya go and we will baby you and you will "pass"".

 

And there are kids in the public school system that are not very well adjusted socially as well. That will happen anywhere. Fact of the matter is, that 10 years ago homeschooling was seen as a different thing and got some very negative stereotypes associated with it. (Think of the compounds where all the women wear dresses they make themselves and aren't allowed to talk)

It isn't like that anymore, at least for the most part. There are always those who are extreme. My kids are very well adjusted. They've seen fights (and we talk with them about why people are behaving that way), they've seen people smoke (and comment about how disgusting it is), they understand the real world probably even better because they are out in it all the time. They speak to adults with respect and look them in the eye. They aren't afraid of them or think they are the enemy. They aren't behind the walls of a public school where everyone is right no matter what and you can't learn as much as you want because you have to wait on the kid who can't read yet, or doesn't speak English well. They know there is a wrong answer and a right one. They are able to run with a subject that they are interested in. They still have friends, they still have social groups that they belong to, they still play sports. They don't go into the bathroom and beat each other up for no good reason other than it is "fun".

What it comes down to is what you said above. The public schools aren't getting it done. If you can find a charter school or similar that you are comfortable with and can take care of the education of your child, good for you. We all want to make sure that we raise well adjusted, responsible adults, or at least I hope we all do. Our charter school is in my house. Who better to teach my kids than me and the person that I chose to spend my life with? Isn't that what parenting is anyway?

 

At what point do you feel that there are others better able to teach your kids?

 

if and when an adult opens up a 6th grade course book and does not understand it.

 

That's something that my kids will help me decide. When they want to take their learnings further than I can help them with, then there will be someone else better. It may even be themselves, but I'm not going to hold them back until that time either.

It is a well documented fact that home schooled children do better on standardized testing than their public school counterparts, regardless of whether or not their parents are certified teachers, income level, parents education. . . . take a look if you care to see some stats.

http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/ray2...StudyFINAL.pdf

Don't worry about me. I went through school in advanced learning courses, I have an IQ of 150 plus. I am a pretty good judge of whether or not myself or my wife can handle elementary education or further. My 6 year old reads at above the 3rd grade level and does the rest of her subjects there as well. We're doing fine thanks.

 

many Public School teachers do not know the subject they teach. Coaches are a prime example my wife's uncle was a coach but taught history. He was clueless and only the books helped the kids at all.
You have to choose if public school is for you and yours but many home school groups offer the same social benefits as public school with out the agendas being spoon fed to lil brains of mush. Billy's two Dads is not curriculum for my son. and he will not sing praises to BO till he can form his own opinions at to if BO is a Moron or not.

 

I would lay the issue of socialization skills on the parents regardless if they are public or home schooled. In my own unscientific observations - if the parents are well socialized, the kids will be regardless of public or home schooling. Conversely, if the parents have poor socialization skills, the children will as well. In this scenario, I would say that public school can make the problems worse.

I have to commend you. Deciding to home school is a big decision and will take a lot of dedication. I'm also glad to hear your son is active in church. Even if he makes bad choices latter in life, that foundation will continue to nudge him back on to the right path. God bless.

 

Well said. It's like as a parent you are responsible for raising your child up as a well adjusted individual, not expecting someone else to do it. I know that is a novel concept these days, but you are absolutely right. Thanks KNC77

 

I just want to address some of the skeptics of homeschooling. There are some that end up socially ackward but often times they pull those kids out due to the bantering they recieve. I've never had any social issues, I started preaching in my church occasionally at 8 years old. I'm not the brightest bulb in the box but I learned to apply myself in everything. I talked to the Marines about enlisting and they had me take their practice test, I had the highest score ever out of that Dallas office. They even had me tutor some of their failing applicants and after 30mins of light instruction they passed as well. My little brother is a Marine and due to his high scores and demeanor was selected to be crew chief on one of the backup choppers for Marine One. I now work in the oil and gas industry and occasionally oversee and train men twice my age. Each to his own but I have met homeschoolers across the globe and I believe it is the best means of education. Just my honest opinion.