The Homeschooling Handbook_ From Preschool to High School - Mary Griffith [4]
Ask homeschooling parents why they homeschool, and you’ll get lots of answers:
We homeschool because we love it, but that is an answer that can only come from having done it …. I knew that the kids would get a better education, and it was really important to me that they keep their joyful interest in life and learning, that they know that they could accomplish anything they wanted to…. Years later, I would have to say that I homeschool because it is a way of life that I can support and that the kids are so much better prepared to deal with life, careers, families, friends, and higher education because of the time that they have spent with a variety of people of different ages. The old socialization question that we are always asked—well, now I say that is exactly why I homeschool.—Jill, California
My husband always wanted to homeschool but I did not. When it came down to it, I decided to homeschool because God told me to (no, not in an audible voice, but I couldn’t mistake it anyway). We would continue to homeschool for that reason if no other, but I have found far too many more reasons through the years to be willing to stop now…. It is important to me that my children learn to enjoy learning, and, quite frankly, I believe that is a difficult thing to achieve in a classroom situation. It is also important to me that they gain the skills they need to live in the real world, which I also see as a somewhat difficult goal to attain while locked away in a classroom. I desire curriculum and activities that are geared to their particular ability levels, interests, and aspirations, and these things can only be produced when all teaching/ learning is done one on one.—Tammy, Texas
We first considered homeschooling because my husband’s job requires him to travel extensively and for long periods of time. It seemed like the only way for our family to stay together. As we have learned more and settled into homeschooling, it has become more and more an issue of personal freedom…. My children get the individual attention and the privacy they need, as well as the time to grow up unhurried. I have the great pleasure of seeing them learn and grow and of learning right alongside them. Sending them off every day to learn somewhere else would seem to me to be giving up one of the most joyful aspects of parenting.—Laura, Texas
My primary reason for homeschooling is socialization. I want to let each of my children live, grow, and decide for herself who she is and what her beliefs are. I believe that the structure of school effectively prevents this, pure and simple…. I have many other reasons, some selfish. I love my kids, didn’t come by them easily in either case, and enjoy their company. I want our family to decide the schedule we use—if we want one at all. I want to respect that Shauna is in a coma at 8 A.M. but fresh and alert at 10 P.M. I want Rosalie, who fatigues easily when reading (because of her corneal scarring), to read in short bits, when it fits for her. I want to plant two hundred flower bulbs in the front yard, get muddy, have a great time, and do it all in the middle of a Friday morning, right in front of God, the attendance officer, and anyone else who happens by. I want to see Shauna blooming as a writer, because no one is telling her how to do it. I love seeing my kids find amazing, inventive answers to real-life needs. To solve problems, both create things that they wouldn