Posted by messadivoce on July 23, 2005, at 1:53:49
In reply to Re: other states » gromit, posted by AuntieMel on July 5, 2005, at 13:41:26
I was 5 when we moved to WA, and my mom took a look at the public school systems, saw that kids couldn't read by the 3rd grade (this was when they were using "whole language") and decided to do kindergarten and maybe first grade at home, just to make sure I would learn to read well. Plus, she says she was having too much fun with me and wasn't ready to hand me over to a school when I was 5.
The laws in WA are very lenient, and basically they left us alone. When people would ask us how long we were going to homeschool my parents always said they would take things a year at a time. And they did. We ended up homeschooling till my sophomore year of high school when we moved to CA.
Actually, I was allowed to take music classes in the local junior high in the 7th and 8th grades, and in 9th grade I took lab science, Spanish and choir at the public school--half and half.
I had tons of friends and social activities from school, church and the neighborhood. We went to concerts, plays, lectures, did science experiments, learned greek and latin roots, and studied current events and art history in addition to the basics of math, reading, writing, history, geography, science and literature. I got the most well-rounded education of anyone I know.
I started public school my sophomore year of high school. It was an adjustment--I hated it for the first 2 weeks. But then I found friends and started loving it. I took honors and AP classes, got over a 4.0, did decently on the SAT, and had no trouble in college. In fact I graduated cum laude.
My mom basically dedicated 12 years of her life to teaching my brother and I (who was homeschooled through 8th grade). My parents have always placed our education at the top of their priority list. I think it makes me realize how valuable knowledge is.
As for social skills, I was a normal kid with tons of friends, and so is my brother. I think your social skills have 98% to do with your family life. I knew someone in college who was in public school her whole life, was even the saludatorian of her class, and yet has NO social skills. She's deaf to nuances, subtlies, and BIG BROAD hints. In fact I've met more weird kids in public school than among my home school friends.
Just my 2 cents--I figure I have the experience to speak about this.
poster:messadivoce
thread:512886
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/child/20050226/msgs/532006.html