Homeschooling - SUPPORT GROUP

[cassie]

One of my teachers didn't give the reular spelling test. In addition to spelling the word correctly we had to define it too. Learned a lot that way and it stuck with me. One of the first words she gave us was "idiosyncrasy". Never forgot it.

 

[Arielle]

One of my teachers didn't give the reular spelling test. In addition to spelling the word correctly we had to define it too. Learned a lot that way and it stuck with me. One of the first words she gave us was "idiosyncrasy". Never forgot it.

ahh the things we remember!! lol

My fourth grade teacher gave spelling words in sentences-- we had to listen carefully as she read it. And as we wrote she read it a few times. THat intense concentration was a remarkable skill that was lost when other future teachers reverted to just the word.

 

[oldrooster]

Quote:
My parents where insistent my second grade teacher NEVER told the class that we copy and underline the word from the book and copy it just 3 times, they said it has always been 10 times, never 3 all the years they went to school, until 2 weeks in a row I had homework that had NEGATIVE points because she subtracted for each extra copy so each spelling word I had copied 7 extra times resulted in negative points 4 pts from the book and 2pts for each of the three times copied= 10 points then negative 14 points for the 7 extra times I ended up with a minimum of -40 points if I got the words all correct and had no more than 10 words. yea, I loved that teacher (not!) my parents wouldn't ask the other parents if their kids told them the same thing, because that made no sense the teacher saying that, even if I did ask them to call the other parents. One question I had years later was why they never called the teacher, or the other parent's because if they had called, and I had lied that would be defiant grounds for punishment instead of the "stop telling stories and do your homework" lecture they did about 20 times two weeks in a row.....

 

[suyoder]

edit

 

[BrandyJK]

Cool! I taught at a small Christian school for two years and they used CLP. It's pretty good, but IMO academically it doesn't measure up to Bob Jones and ABeka. I was home schooled all 12 grades, and my mom used a wide variety of stuff. All of it was Christian based except maybe math.

Their new Sunrise Editions are much better now, and they even seem a bit more advanced than the material that is being covered in the local school system. I'm so thankful for all of the different homeschooling options that are available and boards like these This year we are going to use CLP for math, language, Bible; Apologia for science; and Sonlight for history.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:

My parents where insistent my second grade teacher NEVER told the class that we copy and underline the word from the book and copy it just 3 times, they said it has always been 10 times, never 3 all the years they went to school, until 2 weeks in a row I had homework that had NEGATIVE points because she subtracted for each extra copy so each spelling word I had copied 7 extra times resulted in negative points 4 pts from the book and 2pts for each of the three times copied= 10 points then negative 14 points for the 7 extra times I ended up with a minimum of -40 points if I got the words all correct and had no more than 10 words. yea, I loved that teacher (not!) my parents wouldn't ask the other parents if their kids told them the same thing, because that made no sense the teacher saying that, even if I did ask them to call the other parents. One question I had years later was why they never called the teacher, or the other parent's because if they had called, and I had lied that would be defiant grounds for punishment instead of the "stop telling stories and do your homework" lecture they did about 20 times two weeks in a row.....
I have called teachers on their methods-- they dont like that. THEy are always right. EVen when I contact the priciple-- she ways 'have you talked to the teacher?" WHy bother-- they aren't listening.

I gave my son a spelling test this morning-- got 1 work wrong( he checks his own work) . He wrote it down correctly and then rewrite 5 times. 3 is not enough to set it into the brain. 5 times is ok with me as it seems to work.


Too many teachers are just dictators. THey for get to encourage a love of learning.

 

[6of6chicks]

Too many teachers are just dictators. THey for get to encourage a love of learning.

Too many teachers are beaten down by overcrowded classrooms (30+ kids per class), overworked administrators who let their stress trickle down, parents who expect teachers to be mom/counselor/therapist/teacher, parents who are no-where to be found, lack of funding for basic classroom supplies (like paper and pencils), horrendous testing requirements, and kids who are grade levels behind where they are supposed to be, and kids who just don't care.

As a former teacher myself, I can tell you that it's a lot harder than you think. Most teachers I know DO love teaching and DO strive to encourage a love of learning. But every card in the deck is stacked against them, and most days are an uphill battle one way or another. There are always lots of sweet kids who genuinely want to succeed, and they make it all worth it. But there are also kids who throw chairs at you and administrators who look the other way; parents who cuss you out because you don't buy their kid's school supplies for them; kids who lie, cheat, steal, and bully - and get away with it; endless night & weekend hours spent grading papers, tests & notebooks - because you barely have five minutes for lunch, much less time to do that during the day. There are fifth graders who don't know their ABCs - and THEIR reading test scores count as part of YOUR performance evaluation.

The list goes on and on. It's a tough job. There's a reason the profession has such a high drop-out rate. There isn't a teaching program in this country that can adequately prepare someone for what they might face in an inner-city classroom. I've had teenagers stand on a desk and urinate into a fish tank - just because they thought it was funny. My car window was smashed by a kid after I called his mother to discuss his grades. MY teacher training involved advice like, "Make sure you take a different route home each night - we've had teachers whose houses were set on fire" and "NEVER leave your desk drawers unlocked and for heaven's sake don't EVER have an open drink around - we've had teachers poisoned before."

My experiences aren't extreme - they're far more 'normal' than most people realize. There certainly ARE teachers out there who are burned out, frustrated, and probably should find another profession. Until you've toughed it out in a classroom, please don't be so quick to judge. There ARE still loads of great teachers who are doing their best and don't deserve the abuse they endure from kids, parents, administrators, and the public.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: I do feel for teachers. I think like you said the deck is stacked against them. Parents are not hands on anymore and just really wash their hands of any "TEACHING" because that is not their job, that is what school is for..... and to babysit while they work. Now days teachers are more on the defensive.... it is a shame for the teachers and society. I think the system was set up with good intentions but somewhere along the way the system has lost sight of the big picture. I think more a bureaucrat problems than a teacher problem..... teachers have to do what they are told by the state and feds and in many ways their hands are tied THEN throw in the 30 kids all at different places in life and school levels and it complicates the picture more. BUT you also have a few bad apples (teachers) that always leave a bad taste in your mouth. I personally can't recall a teacher like that in my life and not really in my first son's public school time. There was one in kindergarten but her real problem was 35+ 5 year olds and he was hyper and she didn't have time to deal with him so he spent most of kindergarten in the hall.... sad really.

Being able to teach at the pace and interests of my kids makes homeschooling the most appealing to me. I think it will be the most efficient use of their school time too.... something that over crowded classrooms can't do anymore.

 

[6of6chicks]

I do feel for teachers. I think like you said the deck is stacked against them. Parents are not hands on anymore and just really wash their hands of any "TEACHING" because that is not their job, that is what school is for..... and to babysit while they work. Now days teachers are more on the defensive.... it is a shame for the teachers and society. I think the system was set up with good intentions but somewhere along the way the system has lost sight of the big picture. I think more a bureaucrat problems than a teacher problem..... teachers have to do what they are told by the state and feds and in many ways their hands are tied THEN throw in the 30 kids all at different places in life and school levels and it complicates the picture more. BUT you also have a few bad apples (teachers) that always leave a bad taste in your mouth. I personally can't recall a teacher like that in my life and not really in my first son's public school time. There was one in kindergarten but her real problem was 35+ 5 year olds and he was hyper and she didn't have time to deal with him so he spent most of kindergarten in the hall.... sad really.

Being able to teach at the pace and interests of my kids makes homeschooling the most appealing to me. I think it will be the most efficient use of their school time too.... something that over crowded classrooms can't do anymore.

It's funny you should say that, because after five years in the classroom the one thing I really took away from it was that if I ever had kids I would homeschool them. Given what I know about public schools, I would NEVER put my kids in that system. There are just too many kids, too many different learning levels, too many societal problems, and too much red tape to truly give each kid the best education possible.

There are lots of reasons I left teaching, but the main reason was that I didn't want to become one of those bad apples. I got out before I got bitter and jaded. I got out while I still loved my kids, and I cried when I decided to change professions. But the stress level that comes with teaching is just unbelievable, and what really drove me out was the fact that so many people nowadays think teachers are lazy "dictators" who lie about kids ("Not MY kid, he'd NEVER do that..."), cheat & short-change their students (like faking test scores), or physically abuse their students in some way. News stories every other night about teachers who duct-tape a kid's mouth or molest a student just convince everyone that all teachers are criminals. I just couldn't stand being in a profession that is so hated. In my last year of teaching I had parents show up at meet the teacher day (BEFORE school even started) and cuss me out "ahead of time" to make sure I "understood my place." That was it for me.

It's such a shame, really. I loved my kids and they genuinely loved my class. Even my kiddo that picked his desk up and tried to hit me over the head with it - on the last day of school he hugged me and told me he loved me. And even though I left teaching, I still want to stand up for all the GOOD teachers I know. Even some of the "mean" ones really do LOVE their kids - most of them are just overwhelmed, under-supported, and many, many lose sleep at night wondering how they can possibly make any of it better.

Sorry if I got up on my soap box. I'll get down now

 

[DMRippy]

It's funny you should say that, because after five years in the classroom the one thing I really took away from it was that if I ever had kids I would homeschool them. Given what I know about public schools, I would NEVER put my kids in that system. There are just too many kids, too many different learning levels, too many societal problems, and too much red tape to truly give each kid the best education possible.

There are lots of reasons I left teaching, but the main reason was that I didn't want to become one of those bad apples. I got out before I got bitter and jaded. I got out while I still loved my kids, and I cried when I decided to change professions. But the stress level that comes with teaching is just unbelievable, and what really drove me out was the fact that so many people nowadays think teachers are lazy "dictators" who lie about kids ("Not MY kid, he'd NEVER do that..."), cheat & short-change their students (like faking test scores), or physically abuse their students in some way. News stories every other night about teachers who duct-tape a kid's mouth or molest a student just convince everyone that all teachers are criminals. I just couldn't stand being in a profession that is so hated. In my last year of teaching I had parents show up at meet the teacher day (BEFORE school even started) and cuss me out "ahead of time" to make sure I "understood my place." That was it for me.

It's such a shame, really. I loved my kids and they genuinely loved my class. Even my kiddo that picked his desk up and tried to hit me over the head with it - on the last day of school he hugged me and told me he loved me. And even though I left teaching, I still want to stand up for all the GOOD teachers I know. Even some of the "mean" ones really do LOVE their kids - most of them are just overwhelmed, under-supported, and many, many lose sleep at night wondering how they can possibly make any of it better.

Sorry if I got up on my soap box. I'll get down now

I am glad there are people out there to take on the task of teach the kids..... but it is not my cup of tea. I could NEVER do that. I don't like other peoples kids LOL.

Welcome to homeschooling in BYC! You will have to help us newbies out if you can.