<p>What was your reasoning? Are you very bright parents or do you have bright parents?</p>
<p>My mother is a teacher professionally. She first considered homeschooling when we lived in California- money wasnt abundant, and public schools in LA are no fun.</p>
<p>My father decided that he had had enough of working for UCLA- hed been there since his freshman year, and enough was enough. He applied for a job at Shell petroleum. He got a job- in Nigeria. He accepted. We moved, and as soon as I was ready, my mother started to teach me. I went to the ex-patriate school for 2 years, but when we moved to Oman (south of Saudi Arabia) she decided to start homeschooling me. We moved back to the US, and money isnt as scarce as it had been. But she continued homeschooling me, thinking I could get a more complete education, and I have. And now, in my sophomore year, I am applying to schools- high schools- to complete my education. Because as smart as my mother is, and as smart as my father is, eventually, you have to leave home, and learn not only the things a variety of teachers can teach you, but also how to work with and through other people of your generation.</p>
<p>That's an interesting situation, tj.</p>
<p>I started mid-way through 7th grade. I scored in the 100th percentile on my ISTEP tests and I was just snoozing my way through classes every day. My parents decided that school was holding me back so they decided to start homeschooling me. I figured, anything that allowed me to get up at 11am had to be a good deal, and it's worked out wonderfully for me. I've since developed a real passion for learning and my curriculum's flexibility is very conducive to my intellectual growth.</p>
<p>What about you Patrick?</p>
<p>I'm not homeschooled. Both of my parents worked when I entered school (and one still does) and neither would be really fully qualified to teach me. I never thought about it much and by the time I had considered it, it was to late to do anything about it. I think that I would be much more learned and smarter than I am now, but I wouldn't be as fully developed socially because I tend to be a bit of a recluse, but school and being around other people makes me do what is best (ie socialize). </p>
<p>100th percentile? Can you even score 100% percentile?</p>
<p>No, 100th percentile is not technically possible. I guess he meant high--99 or so. If you are 87th percentile, your scored higher than 87% of those who took the same test. You can't score higher than 100% of those who took the test because you cannot score higher than yourself. weird stuff, statistics...</p>
<p>That's what I was thinking, Lindsay.</p>
<p>I feel so incredibly moronic for saying that I don't even know what to say now. I was <em>thinking</em> 99 and I typed 100. </p>
<p>Anyway... neither of my parents are qualified to teach me, so I teach myself. It's not difficult, just mostly reading and memorization. It only gets tough when you start getting in to more complex mathematics.</p>
<p>I don't think I'd have the drive to teach myself things like history. Sciences and Math I'd be fine, but I can't concentrate on humanities. Besides, who are you going to get to write your teacher rec's?:p</p>
<p>Teacher recommendations can come from anyone you associate with, really.</p>
<p>My oldest daughter (now almost 14) has been homeschooled since Kindergarten. Long story short, she was reading on a 3rd grade level and bored in public school, so we took her for IQ testing. Her IQ came back at 154 at 5 years old. The psychologist recommended homeschooling her and we pulled her out of Kindergarten after 6 weeks (our school district's gifted & talented program didn't start until 4th grade).</p>
<p>As far as recommendations, they can come from pastors, piano instructors, people that you volunteer or work for, class instructors that you might have for art, etc., or college professors, if you supplement home instruction with classes at the community college.</p>
<p>Kelly</p>
<p>I'm wondering why you felt that homeschooling was the best option. I was reading at about 3 or so and was always ahead in math but I was never taken out of school. I think in the end it was probably the best decision. Why do you think it's bad to have a gifted child in a normal school? I think one of the most important skills for a gifted person is being able to deal with the less gifted. ;)</p>
<p>Well...for my daughter, she was miserable in school because she was bored. They were working on learning the letters of the alphabet and she was reading chapter books.</p>
<p>For her, it was the right decision because she can move at her own pace, which is advanced at all levels, save for math, where she's pretty much on target.</p>
<p>I didn't want her to view school as a 'prison sentence'...as in, she has to go or else. I wanted her to enjoy learning.</p>
<p>Homeschooling also takes alot less time than regular school. She's usually finished with schoolwork within 2 or 3 hours. She then has the rest of the day to explore her own passions (music, writing, literature, science, horsebackriding etc.), rather than not getting home until 3 o'clock and then having homework until dinnertime. There's very little free time left with a schedule like that. Homeschooling is alot more flexible.</p>
<p>Kelly</p>
<p>That's true. My parents never gave me the choice so I went to a Catholic elementary school but it was easy for me and I never had any work to do at home. The same thing pretty much went until this year. Junior year is the first time I've had a heavy workload.</p>
<p>I've homeschooled both my sons from the beginning. They did choose to take some classes at the high school beginning in 8th grade and some at the community college as juniors and seniors. My older son is now a senior at Stanford, and the younger is a high school senior applying to college, hoping to be a professional trumpet player. The thing about homeschooling is that the parents do not have to do it all alone. There are correspondence courses, homeschool co-op classes, part-time PS or community college--lots of ways to teach the areas that the parents do not feel competent in.</p>
<p>I am very glad I homeschooled my sons, for many reasons. My older son taught himself to read before he turned five. He was reading Star Trek books by six. He would have been bored stiff in school. He also turned out to have Tourette's Syndrome, and the doctors did not diagnose it until he was about nine and had been making strange noises and movements for two years. I think he would have had a hard time in the school.</p>
<p>My younger son was a late bloomer. He didn't read until he was nine. (but caught up to grade level in just a few months) He couldn't write worth a darn until 8th grade, but qualified for Honors English at the high school the next year. He would have been in remedial classes in the school, which would probably have shot down his self-image, and it would have been completely unnecessary. At home we could do other subjects through hands-on activities and me reading to him, and just wait for his brain to be ready to read. (And he could move ahead in math and science, his strengths.)</p>
<p>Being able to individualize my boys' education was the main reason I chose to homeschool them. We had a great time in the early years, studying what interested the boys and finding reading and other materials that went along with the science or social studies we were studying. We could work take our time if they had trouble with a concept, move ahead in areas they did well in, take days off when we liked, go on field trips, and be in charge of our family education, rather than doing what others thought we should do. And we LOVED our September camping vacations!</p>
<p>I am going to miss homeschooling!</p>
<p>"Homeschooling also takes alot less time than regular school. She's usually finished with schoolwork within 2 or 3 hours. She then has the rest of the day to explore her own passions (music, writing, literature, science, horsebackriding etc.), rather than not getting home until 3 o'clock and then having homework until dinnertime. There's very little free time left with a schedule like that. Homeschooling is alot more flexible."</p>
<p>That is a perfect summary of why myself and many others decided to homeschool.</p>
<p>I think homeschooling would have been a phenominal option for me academically, but I am the type of person it would have hurt socially. I think that I would be a much better mathematician than I am now if I had been homeschooled and had my "skill" nurtured, but I would be a complete recluse. So I think it's a pretty even tradeoff. For me, private, then public, schooling has made me a more well rounded person. I think, however, for the student who isn't prone to isolation that homeschooling would be fabulous because, as I said, they can advance at whatever pace they wish.</p>
<p>socialization is always an interesting subject and a sore point with many homeschool families. Opportunities for socialization abound when you homeschool, but the issue is different for every child.</p>
<p>My older son went to public school through 6th grade. he was always a loner, never made friends and always kept to himself. he spent his afterschool time reading. When we started to homeschool him, he started to develop many friendships and now is a very social person...he has many friends, loves to go to parties and movies, etc. We thought this was really strange and not what we expected. my husband and I have decided that our oldest is an introvert...and that being in public school all day was just all he could take of people. So many people and so many interactions left him drained and unwilling to persue any individual friendships. With homeschooling, he has plenty of time to himself while schooling, so he now has plenty of energy to have friendships that really mean something to him in small groups situations that he enjoys. It worked well for us!</p>
<p>"Homeschooling also takes alot less time than regular school. She's usually finished with schoolwork within 2 or 3 hours. She then has the rest of the day to explore her own passions (music, writing, literature, science, horsebackriding etc.), rather than not getting home until 3 o'clock and then having homework until dinnertime. There's very little free time left with a schedule like that. Homeschooling is alot more flexible."</p>
<p>I wish I knew you a long time ago so you could adopt me.</p>
<p>Is it possible that homeschooled kids are smarter than those that go to public schools? (at least in certain areas that public school kids do not get to explore). That and not losing learning time because the teachers have to waste time dealing with the students with asinine parents who do not discipline them at home.</p>
<p>I wouldn't necessarily say they're smarter, although I agree that you make excellent points.</p>
<p>I would say they're more...focused. The emphasis is on learning at home, rather than who's dating who and who is best friends with who or what is the latest fashion.</p>
<p>I also think that they retain learning better. In a homeschool setting, you're free to focus on a particular subject or idea until it is mastered, rather than learning something strictly for a test and then promptly forgetting it as soon as the test is completed.</p>
<p>Those are the differences that I, personally, have noticed during my 9 years of homeschooling.</p>