Home Schooling

The journey that led our family to home schooling is a long and twisted one.  I taught public school for 4.5 years.  Two and half of those years I taught Regular, Remedial, and Honors High school English at various times.  The other two years I taught Special Education in a Self-Contained Classroom to students with learning disabilities.  Now-a-days those students would only have me for a "lab" class or a "resource class".  The idea then was that they would have me (being dual certified in English and Special Education) for their regular English class, instead of having a Regular English teacher teaching with a Special Ed teacher playing helicopter (as is now common place).  As a result, my students, the majority of which were dyslexic, saw HUGE leaps and bounds in their comprehension scores, as well as their writing scores, on our state assessment   I didn't water down my curriculum for them.  In fact I had the same objectives for each of my classes.  No, instead I implemented BEST PRACTICE.  Best Practice, is teacher talk for the best methods, curriculum, and sequencing available.  My objectives were the same, but my assessments were different.

All students of all abilities and preferences should be taught using "Best Practice".  Unfortunately, most teachers don't know what that is.  Instead they follow what ever their text book manufacturer sends them.  There is more to life, more to be learned when one steps away from McGraw-Hill and Scots-Foresman.  Also, using manipulative and hands-on activities is crucial and should be done as often as possible.  Labs aren't just for science class, they are for every class.  I implemented these techniques in all of my classes.  After becoming frustrated with school-house politics I became a tutor and Educational Advocate.  I loved that job.  To me there is nothing better than holding the system accountable to ensure it's longevity.  I did this work for 2 more years during which time I worked with dozens of children with Dyslexia, and Dyscalculia.

At this point I should mention that students with Dyslexia/Dyscalculia/Dysgraphia, are of average to above average intelligence.  Actually the intelligence quotient is of vital importance in the diagnosis.  The inability to read or write at an age appropriate level MUSTN'T be able to be attributed to any other cognitive deficiency.  So in reality these kids are our best and brightest.  Many of them never achieve their potential, but instead drop out of High School; bored and disenfranchised.  This is really where our schools should look to improve performance, but sadly these kids are precisely the population that slips right through the cracks.

I had no idea at the time that my sons would both be dyslexic.  Only one of my sons is officially diagnosed.  I worked fervently to get him an IEP.  I used all of my advocate wiles, and after 2 years we got an IEP.  Sadly, but commonplace, his IEP wasn't implemented or followed and I was faced with a no-brainer decision; bash my head against the wall that is public (special) education or do it myself.  I am more than qualified.  I know the best practice for him as an individual and as a dyslexic.  So I pulled him out.  Only after home schooling both of my sons did I discover that my older son is also dyslexic.  What a blessing.  He had made it to 5th grade on a mixture of guessing, memorizing whole words, and coping mechanisms.  I had worked with many like him in the past.  That works well, due to a high IQ, until about 8th grade at which time the working vocabulary demands more than is possible of the human working memory.  Because I have yet to find any one curriculum that contains each of these components I do not subscribe to a single provider for all of our materials.  The curricula I post in these pages truly are best practice for ALL students in the area's of math and language arts for the elementary and middle school students.

I believe, as a teacher, an advocate, and a mother, that literature selections should be individualized.  No single anthology will contain the appropriate selections for a single person.  They are not designed that way.  They are truly an overview.  The elements of literature remain unchanging, and ANY group poems, short stories, and novels can be used to teach them.  Pick what interests your child.    I also believe the same thing about History, study what interests your child and go on LOTS of field trips.  Science is also very set in what elements need to be learned.  We take a lab approach to science.  We do most of our study of the laws and components of nature through a hands on approach.   TOUCH STUFF, experiment, play!  It is really Math (which you will see we also use a hands on approach), and the fundamentals of language must be handled in a logical, sequential, research based curriculum.

Research shows that home schoolers do better on standardized testing, are less likely to give into peer pressure, and are better leaders than their public school counter parts.  There is no wonder why, they receive individualized instruction, are pushed to developed their critical thinking skills (something I know for a fact public schools don't have the time for).  They also don't have to put up with the lame social rituals of middle school, that more often than not just lead to insecurity and caving in to peer pressure.  They are allowed to simply be themselves and are celebrated for it.  They also get plenty of time to socialize with kids their own age.  Most areas have home school groups that meet at least weekly.    Other than the fact that I spend all of my day m-f with my kids there is NO down side to home schooling.  ;)  Good thing I like my kids.