Does homeschooling provide a quality education?

[etswife2005]

I can only speak for my children who have only been homeschooled...

My now 15 year old takes all of her classes on-line except for math. She is passing all of her classes with an A including Honors English and Honors Biology. We have a Math tutor for her which is something we would have to do even if she were in school... She just doesn't always get it... She has been part of 4-H since she was 9. She has won the State wildlife competition, the county demonstrations, county bbq cook off and placed 5th in the state cook off.
She has given a demontstration to our local Astronomy Club and was then invited to speak to an adult group of Toastmasters...
All of her test scores except math and again we are addressing that weakness are way above grade level.

My 11 year old is also doing very well because of homeschooling. All of her test scores show her way above grade level...She is a wonderful artist and dancer. She has won several 4-H performing arts contest, danced in the Nutcracker and other ballets.

We do standardized test each year to make sure our children are doing well. We would never risk our childrens education..homeschooling works for us..it just might not work for others.

I would like to paste here an excerpt from my oldest daughters web page:

Actual Questions I've been asked about being homeschooled.
A Little Q., A. and A.
The first A. is my sarcasm...bad habit
The second A. is ACTUAL ANSWERS.

Q. Do you do real school work?

A. Nah, Us homeschooler's ain't into all dat edumicatin' and ting's of dat nature..

A. Yep, 5 days a week, 180 days a year.

Q. Do you get a lunch break?

A. No, my mom locks me in the closet while she eats lunch.

A. Yes, usually my school is done right about lunch time and then I go eat.

Q. Do you have any friends?

A. Yeah, the dustbunny under my bed...his name is Fred......

A. Sure, but I am not an overly social person so I don't feel the need to have to socialize every single day.

Q. Do you get bathroom breaks?

A. No, they removed my bladder as a small child.

A. Of course....I just don't have to ask permission to go.

Q. Do you cheat since you have your answer keys at home?

A. Are you an idiot or something?

A. No, I don't believe in cheating...and if I did cheat I wouldn't be talking to you now because I'd be grounded for life.

[Luv2shop]

I have 3 jobs and 3 kids. My kids are in sports. My kids go to a Catholic school and they love it. I am very happy with their education. I give credit to all the parents who home school their kids. My youngest had colic and I couldn't even imagine trying to teach my kids at home.
Have a great Holiday

[Gailete]

I homeschooled my youngest son for 8th grade. He is autistic with very poor social skills. 7th grade can be a true horror for children like that. He took hours to decompress from school every day, crying that he didn't want to go back. When the school administration couldn't do anything to help him, I took him out. Having that breather year was a huge benefit to him. When he went back to regular school he was much calmer and much more ready to learn. Incidently he went on to graduate from HS with honors.

While we were homeschooling, he learned all about grocery shopping and went on to have his first job for 4 1/2 years as a bag boy at a grocery store. He also would always skip his history assignment and instead studied all about the election process that was happening then, memorized on his own all the presidents and vice-presidents, and all sorts of amazing tidbits. He also finally figured out pre-algebra and went on to become a whiz kid in his math skills. This week he graduates from Technical school in Medical Coding and Billing and a local doctor has agreed to let him have a two month internship.

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! If I had young children at this point, I would homeschool them for sure. My hubby and I both have college degrees and are self educated in a variety of topics. I have also studied home-schooling a lot and think that some parents who carefully go into home schooling with their eyes wide open and are willing to learn from others can be successful. However, some parents don't know enough to even know that they don't know enough to homeschool and those children I feel sorry for.

All parents should be homeschooling their children in one way or another. Every time you read your child a book, or teach them a new color or help them solve a simple math puzzle, you are teaching. Parents are meant to be teachers.
Gail

[etswife2005]

I hope my post didn't imply I think other methods of education are wrong.. I think whatever works for ones own family is best....

[PrincessPerky]

Is you DDS website open to public? I would love to see it, I like the humor based on the sample .