The Decision Not to Homeschool

For many parents, the decision of where your children will obtain their education is a tough decision. I agonized over the decision and looked at a ton of schools in my area. However, I didn’t feel overly comfortable about any of them. Although my son was enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten, I wasn’t set to move on to Kindergarten the next year. My son’s birthday lies just weeks before the cut-off and I worried about his ability to cope with the requirements of a Kindergarten class. Mainly the focus on listening, sitting still, and writing. Then I stumbled upon the idea of homeschooling. Everything changed for me at that point. I fell in love with learning at home and the classical sequence of education. Monster could work at his own pace and still spend majority of his day playing. However, I did not have the only deciding vote in my son’s education. His father stood firm on his belief in public education. I did not blame him for questioning homeschooling. Homeschool was a foreign and very stereotypical topic for him. We decided that I would homeschool for a gap year between Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, but my son would move on to Kindergarten at a public school in the Fall of 2013.

Fast forward several months and this decision weighs heavy on my heart. Homeschooling has not been easy and my son tends to balk at completing his school work. However, my son is now reading compound words and understanding addition and place value. I couldn’t be more proud of the progress we have made over the past several months and am sad that I won’t have this same experience next year. I still disagree with many methods of education in the public school and would probably advance my son to 1st Grade if he continued at home. However, his father still stands his position: kids should be in school with other kids.

Today, a tragedy happened at an elementary school in Connecticut. A situation no parent ever dreams of being in became a reality for many. I cannot imagine what I would do if my son was a victim in a school shooting. I can only imagine my grief with the thought that I didn’t want him there in the first place. I know that I will struggle with this for many years to come even if my son truly enjoys school and thrives. I wish I could homeschool him, but at this time I have to make the decision not to homeschool.

On a lighter note, my wonderful daughter will be homeschooled as long as possible .