Protecting My Children From What Happened to Me
Firstly, let me introduce myself to you, I’m Candace and if there is one thing you should know about me it is that I am a passionate homeschooling mom. Some may say I can be a bit obsessive and this may even take my high maintenance characteristics to a whole new level but I think this is due to my terrible public school experience. I guess to understand why I am such an advocate for homeschooling, I need to take you back to my own school days.
I remember my first day of kindergarten. My mom dropped me off and I lost it. In my heart of hearts I somehow knew that this strange place was not suitable for a shy, timid, girl like me.
I wasn’t at all outgoing. I was unreasonably shy and going to school didn’t help. I felt so judged by the other children because according to them I wasn’t cool enough to be in their clique.
I was so afraid of the excessive negative attention received at school that I was afraid to raise my hand in class or stand in the lunch line. So… I wouldn’t eat. I was even so afraid of getting unwanted attention that I could never bring myself to ask the teacher if I could go to the restroom. Most of the time I would just pee my pants.
Sadly this behaviour lasted until the sixth grade.
In my sixth grade math class, I hit my lowest of lows.
My teacher ridiculed me in front of the whole class for not knowing an answer. Isn’t that crazy! She didn’t know what issues I was dealing with but it seemed she didn’t care!
From this point on, I pretended to be sick to avoid going back. My school had a program called ‘home bound’ and I desperately wanted to participate. I prayed to be ‘sick’ but my doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with me so my place on the program was not allowed.
Public school was hell for me, but I prayed that things would get better. In High School, although I was a cheerleader, popularity didn’t come with the pom poms. Yes everyone knew who I was but they continued to bully me. I was picked on daily and although I was smart, I spent more time at home than school simply because it was unbearable.
I begged my mom to take me out of school but she didn’t know anything about homeschooling. Everybody we knew went to public school. She worked and couldn’t dedicate the time to focus on help with school work.
When I got married my husband expressed interest in homeschooling our future children. The excitement in me rose as I started my research.
It wasn’t long before I realised that people have been homeschooling for years! It isn’t a new fad or trend.
My research indicated that most homeschooled children perform better that other kids who experience a more traditional school education, mostly due to the one-on-one attention they receive.
I learnt that with homeschooling you can go at your own pace. I even learnt that you can take part in field trips and homeschooling associations. Also, as long as your children pass the required testing, they can attend a major university. I was happily surprised to find so many positives to the homeschooling option.
I have been homeschooling my oldest son for one year and our homeschooling routine is still in development because he is only 2 years old. We are still in the early stages but I can honestly say homeschooling is the new school for me and my family. We know this is the best fit for us because it gives me the ability to customize a curriculum for each child. My children are still small so we are currently doing toddler school (also called tot school), but it has been fun learning with my child and teaching him his alphabet, numbers, colours, and shapes.
The Perks:
1: One major perk of homeschooling is the lack of bullying from the other kids. Speaking from experience I can say that bullying can stifle the learning experience for a child. I concentrated better at home where I didn’t have to worry about being judged.
2: Nowadays I like the fact that I can choose what my child learns and determine who is in my child’s life. There are some nasty people in this world, and as a mother I want to protect my children for as long as I can. I intend to lay a solid foundation for my children before I send them off to a perfect stranger in the bigger wider world.
3: One of the other major benefits is the paid and free homeschooling options. Although my sons are small and I think it is important to invest in a curriculum, I get to choose when to implement that, and one day soon I will.
Yep! Homeschooling is the new school. It places me, mom, as the primary teacher. It allows for a rich home experience. Yes, it is challenge but it is so worth it in the end.
(Note from The Editor: Many thanks to Candace Wells for talking us through her reasons for choosing homeschooling. To find out more about her life as a homeschooling mum of two, follow her personal blog :alabamahomeschoolmo
