Any public school teachers homeschool their own children??

[eirual]

Just curious....

I'm in teacher's college at the moment and plan on teaching in the public school system (i think). The whole reason I want to do this is because I hated school!! I feel it needs more teachers who are there for their students, and if I can make any one child who HAS to go to school somewhat enjoy their experience then I've helped at least a bit.

The more I get involved in the public school system the more I'm convinced I don't want DS in it!

Soo....any public school teachers choose to homeschool their own children?? (P.S. It would be more like DH doing the homeschooling)

[RiverSky]

There are quite a few public school teachers (present and past) in our homeschool group. Some are the dads or moms who work, while the other parent stays home with the children, some are ex-teachers and some of those keep their certfications current. I think there are at least 7 teachers in our group of approx. 50 families.

[ekblad9]

I went to college to be a PS teacher. Subbed for a while and then had kids. My dad was a PS superintendant for 30 years and after seeing his grandkids homeschooled says he would never send his kids to school again. There are alot of ex PS teachers in my homeschool group.

[chfriend]

My dp taught ps; now teaches at university. The book Family Matters is a good book for someone in the education field considering hs. (My family has a lot of teacher, profs and principals...)

[sren]

Here

I'm a former high school teacher. I taught at a school where the kids faced a lot of socioeconomic challenges, and while I have a heart for those students I would never had placed my own children there. (Neither would most other parents with a say, that's why the school district boundaries in an overall wealthy community were drawn so specifically.) I didn't plan to homeschool at that time-- I just planned to live in a good school district or if necessary pay for private school. I guess I saw a lot of the problems with ps but didn't question the necessity of attending.
It is actually parenthood that changed my mind; more and more I feel like *that* is a job that I am growing into. I feel a real connection with my kids, and I enjoy being with them. Last year at this time I anticipated eldest DD going off to K in the fall with more than a few sad twinges, but I didn't want to be "selfish" by keeping her home, as if that would be trying to keep her little forever. But those nagging thoughts wouldn't go away, and when I really sat down and investigated DD's needs and the needs of our family, homeschooling was the obvious choice, at least for this year. Now I am loving the experience so much that I can't imagine sending her to ps but I am willing to remain open...
FYI, we are doing a relaxed K right now, which may be one of the reasons I am having so much *fun*
Next year will be Ambleside Online, Year 1.

[MyLittleWonders]

I'm a former teacher (elementary and college) and dh is a current teacher (high school and college). Having been in that environment is one of the biggest reasons we are homeschooling. We don't agree with the direction schools are going, wanted our boys to have the chance to be free of the pressures (academically in the form of testing/standards/grades as well as peers), and basically wanted to raise them/educate them the way we wanted. I *hate* homework with a passion (hated having to assign it, hated that it took away from a student's life, hated that students had to keep working after school was over), and before we decided on hs'ing (when ds#1 was barely 2 years old), was already dreading that part of p.s. People think that I'm "qualified" to hs because I was a teacher, which is very annoying. And then they look at dh, who is still teaching, like he's nuts because he's homeschooling his children even though he is a p.s. teacher. We can't win.

[momtokea]

Yes, me!! I taught for nearly nine years before I had children. I now homeschool my three children. Overall, I sort of liked school, although I did have my ups and downs. But after dealing with so many social problems in my classrooms I would never send my child into that h*ll. Parents don't know half of what goes on in schools. Those who think everything is great have their head buried in the sand!

[Kwgrlup]

Originally Posted by eirual

Just curious....

I'm in teacher's college at the moment and plan on teaching in the public school system (i think). The whole reason I want to do this is because I hated school!! I feel it needs more teachers who are there for their students, and if I can make any one child who HAS to go to school somewhat enjoy their experience then I've helped at least a bit.

The more I get involved in the public school system the more I'm convinced I don't want DS in it!

Soo....any public school teachers choose to homeschool their own children?? (P.S. It would be more like DH doing the homeschooling)

I have taught public school in the past, and still do teach 6 hours a week at adult school. I also homeschool my son. I LOVE teaching in the public schools. Being that I have taught in public school has really shown me what little teachers have available to them to work with students. There are things that convinced me to homeschool, and others that make me think about sending him when he is older. It is really a hard fence to sit on as a teacher. My students always think it is funny I teach them, but do not send my son to school...lol.

[mama_kass]

Percentage wise I still can't believe the amount of homeschool moms and dads either are or were teachers. I have lived in three states now and it is overwhelming in each community.

[Benji'sMom]

DH was a ps teacher and quit to be a SAHD/ HSing parent.

[alegna]

Fomer teacher here. Taught in both public and private. It was teaching in a GOOD public school that convinced me to homeschool.

-Angela

[numom499]

two books written about homeschooling by former public school teachers....

"dumbing us Down" - John Taylor Gatto

"The teenage liberation handbook" - Grace Llewellyn

[Lillian J]

I went through the elementary ed program and was in the process of substituting in lieu of a semester of student teaching when I realized I didn't like being in the school system at all.

There's a good book by David Guterson, who was a high school teacher when he (mostly his wife, really) was homeschooling his own kids - Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense.

There's an article in my website by a former teacher who quit to homeschool her own, and another one by a college professor and dean whose kids homeschool.

Here's one from a former teacher who started homeschooling before there was even a word for it - she figured there must be others out there doing the same but never heard of any: Homeschooling Nuggets.

There are books by former teachers who had to leave the system because of no longer being able to support it, but they didn't have kids to homeschool themselves: John Holt, and John Taylor Gatto.

Being a teacher, or having studied to be one can actually be a handicap at first - because we're trained that the teacher is a large part of the child's learning process - whereas time and observation can show you what a natural learner a child is without all the orchestration from an outside party. It wass amazing to me when I saw my son learning things seemingly out of nowhere that I hadn't taught him or even provided materials for. That certainly slowed down my efforts to orchestrate things. Here's an excerpt from an article I wrote about our experiences:

<<One day, for example, we started out on a long drive in the car, and I handed him some little books I wanted him to read to me while I drove - Little Bear, and Frog and Toad books. We hadn't been "working with reading" for a while, and I was getting anxious about it, so I thought we could make good use of the time on the road to "catch up." He was disappointed, and said he'd planned on reading his Nintendo Power magazine on the trip. I insisted that we needed to "work on" his reading. We went back and forth. If my anxiety had been registered on a meter, the needle would have been banging on the high end! We were "behind." I wondered what had ever made me think we were capable of homeschooling? Finally, he whined, "Well, can't I just read you my Nintendo Power?" Anxiety rising, and assuming he was just looking at pictures in that magazine, I called his bluff with, "Fine! You do that!" Well, he did. He opened the book and began to read long, relatively technical passages with multi-syllable words. He had taught himself to read beyond the Little Bear, and Frog and Toad, level because he wanted the information he could find in books that required more advanced reading. By the way, I've heard a number of other moms share almost identical stories.>>

Lillian

[shelbean91]

I just became a teacher. I graduated in May and started my first job (6th grade) in August. I did consider homeschooling my kids. Dd is in 1st grade, ds1 is in preschool (integrated, he has autism) and ds2 is 2. At this point, they are still in PS, we're in a great district and all (most) of the teachers I've come in contact with are great. I also like that I can bring them to school with me, though I don't right now, and choose who's class they're in.

I'm not ruling it out for the future, as I still think I can do a better job, but I'm still giving extra help/support when I get home.

[WuWei]

There are quite a few books by former school teacher John Holt which are inspirational and insightful about learning, although he didn't have children.

How Children Learn
How Children Fail
Learning All the Time
Teach Your Own

http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Own...190453?ie=UTF8

Also Alison McKee, a former teacher wrote: Homeschooling Our Children, Unschooling Ourselves: http://www.amazon.com/Homeschooling-.../dp/0965780627


Pat

[eirual]

wow- sounds like some great resources! Although it may take me some time, I'll definitely check them out- thanks!