Thoughts on Homeschooling

When Natalie was about 16 months-old, I was flipping channels and happened to come across CNN covering the horror that was Columbine. I called a friend who lived nearby and we both decided immediately that we were going to homeschool the three little girls that we had between us at the time. And then, each of us had another baby and discovered the appeal of public school. We were both very involved at the school our children attended together, eventually serving as co-PTA presidents before she moved away a few years ago. And, as anyone who has read here for an extended period of time knows, I love that school. I don't think public schools are as bad as many would have us believe. My daughters have all thrived there and been happy and while we will be attending the school in our actual district next Fall, I haven't often regretted the 20 minute morning and afternoon drives going to and from there each day.

However, I also see the benefit in homeschooling. At my job, I encounter all kinds of students on any given day: Private school, public school, and homeschool, sometimes all in a day's work. As a result, I've seen a lot of the good and bad of all three options. There are admirable aspects of all three and a few drawbacks too. In the past three years, this has given me a lot of food for thought., and today I feel like spilling some of it to get some feedback from the 5-10 of you that are nice enough to check in here from time to time.

With the new baby coming, I have decided to stay home for at least the coming year following her birth. I love my job and I think (having had a lot of friends to discuss it with) that I have the best boss and co-workers of anyone I know. I will miss them, I will miss the museum, and I will miss teaching. But babies are only little once. I was lucky enough to be home with the other four, and I want to do the same with this baby. (And no, it wasn't as easy a decision as most of my more faithful church friends would think.) So, I will be at home for the next school year whether my kids are or not. (And yes, I know I will be in the company of a very small baby, but since it's been years since I've had just one home at a time, I think I'm still good to go.) As I mentioned previously, my girls are thriving in school and, on the drive home today; all of them declined any offer or even thought of being homeschooled. But it isn't them that I'm thinking of, as usual it's my son. Despite efforts on the school's side and my own, I really fear he is starting to slip through the cracks. He is very smart, but has completely shut down in class this year due to personality conflicts between himself and his teacher-and she is a GOOD teacher who I am personally fond of. She works with us, the counselor and principal work with us, and still...he struggles. He reminds me of many of the boys I knew from the elementary and secondary gifted program while I was growing up-some of them attended Stanford, Pepperdine, Notre Dame and the like. Others struggled with who they were into their 30's. I am very afraid he will fall into the latter category based on some of the issues he has now.

In the past week, I've taken advantage of the close proximity of many homeschooling moms who have brought their kids to our daily Land Run re-enactments and had some time to observe and discuss a few things with them. While, like any other school, things vary from family to family and group to group; I have been very impressed by some of the information I have gathered. Here is what I know so far:

• I am a good teacher. I am constantly told this by both classroom teachers and parent teachers any time that they bring their kids to one of my classes at the museum. Even I, who thinks I am good at very little, have to agree with them. From the first time I got to take over the classroom as a student teacher in college, teaching has always been something that comes very easily and enjoyably to me. Again, even I know it-and that's saying something. So, it would be nice to continue to teach, even if it were just to a classroom of one.
• Being Tristan's teacher would not give him the 'opportunities' for the mental vacations he takes daily in his classroom right now. I know him better than that, and I know what he is capable of. I could discipline him one-on-one (a luxury public school teachers just do not have in classes of 20-30 kids, through no fault of their own), and along those same lines, I could hold him a lot more accountable for getting his work done thanks to that one-on-one luxury. I have no intention of 'easing up' on him, but I do know a lot better than most what motivates him and what discourages him. (He hasn't had but a handful of recesses all year long. He has lost hope and given up and I can't say that I blame him.) He would also be able to move ahead in subjects because being bored has been a huge problem for him since Kindergarten.
• IF I go the homeschooling route, I would have to find a good co-op group to work with. Having observed different homeschooling families for the last three years has taught me that it really makes the difference-those bigger groups are always more enjoyable to work with, they seem to enjoy each others company, and while I do feel I could be a good teacher, I'm brand new at this and would need some moral support. Also, I can't teach math past pre-Algebra.
• I REALLY love the Classical homeschooling model-I majored in Latin, go figure.
• I do worry that my son, who already doesn't fit in socially, will not be helped by being isolated even further from his peers. Then again, having been labeled as "the bad kid" by his teacher this year and not going outside for recess hasn't helped either. He does like his class at Sooner Theatre, but there are only a handful of other boys in the class and I know that number will shrink even more as time goes on. (His class, Intro to Musical Theatre, had about 6-7 boys in it. Natalie's, Musical Theatre I, had about 4; Musical Theatre II had none.)
• As I mentioned earlier in the list, I worry tons about whether or not I have what it takes to teach my kids once they get past grade school and I would hate for them to miss out on the good experiences high school has to offer.

So...those are my thoughts so far. I'm hoping for good suggestions/feedback in the comment section with good arguments for either side. I'm open to both. I do not think public school, or the kids who attend, are inherently evil. I'm religious, but I still want my kids to be exposed to all kinds of people/beliefs/experiences and grow up to be well-rounded adults. However, I do feel my son is in some danger of falling through the cracks in the system and wonder if this isn't my best option to help him to be the best that he can. All thoughts/comments from the peanut gallery would be appreciated!