Homeschool - Dallas,TX

Depends on how much you want them to learn! The more you put into it, the more they will get out of it.

I think you should mind your own business.

Homeschooling is a completely different philosophy than public school, you can't even begin to compare the two!!

Homeschooling is a "whole education" approach where the journey is different for each child. We homeschool, and my daughter works at her pace. She is way ahead of public schooled kids in some areas, and what you might call "behind" in others. We are only concerned that she arrive at the end of the journey with all the information she needs to attend a good college and do the career of her choice. We are not concerned about how she gets there, or what route she takes. She knows way more about US history than other kids her age, but maybe less about World History because that's not part of the journey we've taken yet. We'll get there though.

We homeschool year-round. That means that some days we don't do anything! We have 365 days to learn, public schooled kids have 180. So while public schooled kids are in the classroom, we might be playing video games. The horror!!!

My husband didn't finish high school. He got his GED and never went to college. He homeschooled our daughter JUST FINE. You don't need to be a certified teacher to teach your children! Teachers go to school and spend a lot of time learning how to manage classrooms and teach large groups. It's very different to teach one or two children.

There are many philosophies of homeschooling. Waldorf, Classical, Thomas Jefferson, Unschooling, Montessori, Unit Studies, Charlotte Mason, etc. Most homeschooling families are very well-versed in the philosophies.

"Everyone" seems to know some family that homeschooled and then sent their kids to public school and their kids didn't do well so we're going to MAKE AND EXAMPLE OF THEM! Yeah, whatever. I can name way more kids who were failed by the public school system. And I can name way more homeschooled kids who are out-performing public-schooled kids and being accepted to college. On scholarship.

It's nice of you to be concerned, but first you need to do YOUR homework on homeschool before you make a judgement.

I'm going to say this simply: it is none of your business.

Would you like it if a friend came to you with concerns about how you parent?

I homeschool my kids. We spend ZERO time every day on "school." Instead, we learn all day long. My kids are still very young, but when they get to older grades, they will spend as much time as they wish on whatever they want. You might think this sounds totally crazy, that I'm going to mess up my kids. I may very well mess them up, but I have a Ph.D. in the philosophy of education. From all the research I have done, I concluded that schools aren't set up for learning, and that learning doesn't require school or worksheets. Learning requires interest and active engagement with that interest. My young 4 year old reads, her math skills are amazing, and she knows tons about the planets, basic science, etc. Young kids love learning. Schools tend to destroy this love.

In any case, most HSers I know spent about an hour a day for elementary grades and 3 hours for the older grades. Their kids rank 1-3 levels ahead their school peers in grade level tests. A recent study found that homeschoolers usually are 5 grades ahead of their schooled peers.

Very, very, very little.

In highschool... about 4 hours a day will have an entire "year's" worth of curriculum done, by an average student, in 3 months.

((Happens to 'travel schoolers' all the time. Travel schoolers are people who take a year off of school to travel, usually with their parent's job, occasionally as the whole cruise around the world thing, but more typically because of the parent's work presenting this amazing opportunity to see the world. I cannot count the number of people I've met in Homeschooling Land who STARTED homeschooling, because their kids did a whole year's worth of work in just a few months. For those of us used to HS'ing, that's fairly typical as well.))

YOUNGER than highschool... Elementary only takes 1-4 hours, ditto middle school.

Some of the longest is IN lower grades, just because of the memorization that needs to happen and practicing (learning how to write).

_____

To know: Ivy League, and academic heavy State Schools are actually RECRUITING homeschooled students. Most start college (community college) between the ages of 14 & 16. Because they're BEYOND DONE with k-12 curriculum, usually have been for a couple years. They're doing actual college work AND have a TON of "spare" time to be focusing on academic and extracurricular interests (homeschooled kids are regularly winning so many academic competitions; spelling, science, sports, etc.... that every couple years there is a huge push by traditionally schooled kids parents to BLOCK homeschooled kids as having an unfair advantage.

It takes very, very, VERY little time to match and surpass most public and private school educations when taught 1:1.

And then? After you've done a week's worth of work in 4 hours... there's stil 12 hours left in the day!

____

As a homeschooler going publicschool... this just happened to us. And it's frustratingly comical.

National Testing standards had my 3rd grader in the 7th grade. In washington, that translates to 8th-10th grade ... because our state is fairly low on the standards continuum.

But because of ugly divorce, with no way to prep him at all, BOOM. Dropped in the last month and a half of public school.

And for the first few weeks... "OMG, he's sooooooo BEHIND" was the general consensus of worried/concerned people.

Until. They. Actually. Sat. Down. With. Him.

And then, (gasp), asked for a portfolio on what he had been working on.

Nope. He was actualy WAY AHEAD. He just hasn't DONE long division in 3 years!!!

- We were doing algebra. They were doing long division.
- We were doing ancient history (and I was using the 100 level college course tests to test him, with an A/B average). They were doing US history.
- We were working on expository writing, they were working on sentence structure.
- etc.

As a Navy Brat, I changed schools ALL the time. Schools are VASTLY different in what and how they're teaching (I "learned" cursive 3 times, prealgebra 4x, never ONCE did ancient history -but US history for 6 moves in a row!!!, etc.)

So to ME dropping him in public school with no prep, I knew what would happen (my mum tried to spend the summer before a new school prepping us, but not all schools will give out their scope and sequence!!!), so it wasn't as devastating as it might have been... because I've been on the receiving end.

That's something a lot of people don't take into account with Homeschool -> Public School transitions... yet most of the Public School Teachers I know are totally aware of it. ANY school transition creates gaps in continuity. Either things that haven't been covered yet, or things that were covered a long time ago. Conversely, new students will have covered things

There is no correct answer to this question. I have been a public school teacher and I am now homeschooling my children.

Subtract out all the time wasted on administrative things (taking roll, lunch count, etc.) and all the time wasted disciplining students, and all the time going to and from classes and whole class bathroom breaks, and whole classes that you may not feel the need to teach during school time (PE, library), etc... you would be stunned how fast a motivated student can work through classes like writing, reading, math, science, health, spelling, handwriting.

Homeschool kids can work in the car, in a treehouse, in the living room. They can turn dinner or playing a game with a sister into a learning experience. Often homeschool families spend a lot of their time focusing on character qualities like responsibility, patience, and kindness. These lessons may not "look right" to you because of how they come about, but that does not make them any less valuable.

If you came to my house unexpectedly, you might find one of my children loading the dishwasher and another reading to a younger sibling. You might find them both laying on the sofa reading. You might find them outside working in the garden or riding our go kart or playing frisbee tag. And you do not know what lessons are going on.

You need to worry about these children if they are not being fed or being abused. You do not need to worry about the educational needs of these children. Quite simply, that isn't your concern.

I actually hate questions like this, sorry to be blunt! Homeschooling doesn't always happen from 8am-3pm like a normal school day. Some days we are up and in session at 7am and sometimes we are finishing up school after dinner in the evening because the day was just too beautiful to spend inside.

You are not in the house 24 hours a day so you can't determine how much they are actually doing. My mom homeschooled us and someone reported us for walking down our driveway during "normal" school hours. Really? Should I fuss when I drive by a school and kids are having recess?

As far as hours a day, it varies greatly. The computer curriculum is all inclusive, so that can put your mind at ease.

My brother-in-law is a teacher and he has several students who refuse to do their work, are not learning a THING and are getting "passing" grades, but no one seems worried because they are physically inside a school building. I wish people would fuss less about homeschoolers and the hours they keep and realize that just because they are playing a game or playing outside during public school hours, they aren't automatically educationally deficient.

Oh my. I'm glad you're getting some good info here. I hope you read it and really grasp the difference between homeschooling and public school.

I have a second grader and a kindergartener and they often play together while I'm attending to the household or the toddler. Their actual schoolday takes about two hours, but we school year round and just take small breaks as needed.
It's fun listening while they play because, often, they're incorporating themes from the literature or history readings we've done. It makes me smile every time:).

Now, if someone called during "school hours" they might be doing just that, but what right do you have to judge? I guess it's a good sign you're asking questions before completely assuming, but you are taking a very opinionated glance where an open mind would serve you better. I hope that my close friends are truly caring and take a look at the whole picture rather than gossiping about any perceived lack of credentials and judging my abilities behind my back. I feel sorry for your "friend."

Honestly, they are not your children and it is none of your business. You have your own household where you have jurisdiction. That is where your focus should be. You have received some good answers about homeschooling and the time it requires. Every one will look different. Every home has their own set of criteria that is important to them. The game may have been a way she was using to build relationships and character. Schooling one-on-one takes WAY less time than a classroom setting where you have so many variables. Some of my children are up very early to get a jump start on their schoolwork so they can be done by lunch. Others prefer to sleep in and work through the day. So, we let them. The ones who get up early are very diligent, and love to go outside in the early afternoon and explore (we live on several acres in the woods). Someone might suspect we don't school as we should, but reality is very different.

Let's look at a basic day in the classroom. A great deal of that time is spent making sure every child of 20-25 has time to ask their questions, take the test, etc. There are always some that are done right away and others that need the the entire time and still may not finish. Some of those hours at the school are spent taking role, listening to morning announcements, doing the pledge, eating lunch, 1 or 2 recesses, cleaning up, getting projects set up. You don't have all of that in a home school situation. Your time is spent more efficiently. What is covered for an entire week or even an entire month in the traditional classroom can be covered, in depth, in a couple days to a week at home.
You can also work at non-traditional hours. You can do classwork on a Saturday so you have a Friday to do something fun and beat the crowds. Or you could do lessons after dinner instead of first thing when you wake up so you can get things done during the day while most everyone else is at school or work.
There is a more flexible nature to homeschooling that does not exist when you send them to traditional school. This does not mean they are not learning. It just means that they are using a schedule that works better for them instead of one being forced on them.

Frankly, I agree with many....it is not your responsibility. I got so tired of being questioned about my legal choice to homeschool - I had a better education than many PS teachers but that is not the point....in the lower grades we were pretty organized but not in upper grades...there are so many things kids need to learn and I had the freedome to teach them.....did you know that many colleges seek homeschoolers because they are better at independent learning and budgeting their time - including Harvard? The only thing this gal has to do is follow the laws in her state....in closing even if she is not doing what you think she should unless they are being abused it is not your business....

Texas is an open homeschool state which means you answer to no one. As to her hating school, there are many reasons one of which is she was bored and no one cared...happened to my genius level brother and was happening to my genius level son before I pulled him to homeschool...do not just assume she is incapable....something to think about...if someone decided you were not feeding you children right because they noticed one day you took them to McD and they know you don't like to cook...not enough information just like this situaation...there are amazing computer curriculim that don't take much time...just like just because you hate to cook does not mean you feed your children poorly and should be reported....

Think about a typical school day, not much time is actually spent learning. Between lunch, recess, gym, passing periods, study hall, bathroom breaks, activities that don't don't require academic learning (crafts, movies, group activities) electives, etc...your kids don't spend much time with their noses in a book.

The great thing about homeschooling, is you can work around your schedule. I am homeschooling my son. (He is only in preschool.) We learn all different times of the day. He does a lot of his learning after Dad gets home, before dinner. Every homeschooling family I know...and they are many...don't just spend one big chunk of time sitting and learning. learning is dispersed through the day, and they find a schedule that works for them. If you are over and her kids aren't doing their program, you don't know what they were doing before and after you left. They could be in their free time, since you were over.

Homeschooling, is typically more focused. There aren't school and student interruptions. I can what would take several hours in a preschool into 1 hour at home. I have a friend, whose daughter is 2 academic years ahead of students in public school. Her daughter only schools 3 hours a day. She is a sophomore and will start college next year. The rate at which she can do her learning, is much better.

Do they seem intelligent, well rounded, and normal? If so, it's not really your concern. Actually, it's not your concern, in general.

ETA:
Why on earth, would you leave all that information out? Talk about it being impossible to give you a good answer.

My only advice, is have a conversation with her, and ask HER how much work they do and what kind! The time spent schooling will look different for every single family. There is no standard, I'm sorry to say. The only way to get the best information, is to ask the source. If her children are not getting the proper education (after you speak with her and all) call the school district, and see what steps to take.

I totally understand and appreciate your concern.
Your feelings may or may not be warranted, but what are you going to do? You can't very well go over and monitor what they do all day, right?
All you can do is hope that your friend is being responsible when it comes to her children's education, and that the state of Texas monitors it's home schooled kids pretty frequently and well.
Unless there's a clear and present danger we really don't have any say in how other people raise their kids.

Just for you to have peace of mind.......
Each state has its own rules about home schooling.(hours, attendance, records, etc....)
Home schooling families are busy families and they organize their days and life according to their priorities, likes, dislikes, needs, kids, chores, spouse, laundry, cooking, illnesses, appointments, and so on......
Many homeschooling families do school between 4-5 hours daily (some do more); however, these hours may be spread along the day and during weekends. The main advantage of homeschooling is flexibility which means that some kids may study 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon or evening, weekends, some other may study 4 hours straight with little breaks, etc. home schooled kids have no "snow days" or "conferences" or "meetings". They study all year round so they can take days or weeks off according to their needs, schedules, quantity of subjects covered, etc.
Personally, I homeschool 2 boys (12,6), we use an accredited curriculum and they study 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the early afternoon. (with the little one is different for obvious reasons).We do take breaks. Fridays are dedicated to field trips (museums, parks, factories, farms, theatre, etc), and twice a week the kids do sports. On vacations, while people is working and kids in classrooms, we go out of town or out of the country, and the kids keep learning, reading and experiencing in so many ways so many things that other children are not able to since they are at school.
Some people choose "unschooling" with I am not very familiar with; however I do understand they do not have a strict schedule or routine and the kids still learn in some other ways.
It is very important to get and do real search about home schooling to avoid being judgemental without actually knowing what this is all about, and how families do homeschooling. There is a lot of misunderstanding and lack of information, so I am glad you will have a little bit of more knowledge about it from H..

At the elementary school level, it used to take me about 3 hours a day. About half the time my kids spent in the classroom at "regular" school. With homeschool, you can use seat time for actual school work. No time wasted while the teacher disciplines other students, explains things to groups working at different levels, no finishing early and waiting for the last person in the class to complete an assignment before moving on.

By high school, my kids would spend closer to 6 hours + on schoolwork. Of course, in that time, they could be done. No doing homework til the wee hours of the morning.

So if your friend is pretty organized, she could get school done in alot less time than it normally takes in a larger group setting.

Actually it IS your concern, because, like you mentioned, this family is close to you, and you are only looking out for the well-being of these kids. I see NO problem with that. Good for you for keeping with the "it takes a village" mentality. I wish more people were like that, without being condescending to each other.

Anyway-- I don't have experience homeschooling, but my first thought about it is that you really could accomplish a lot more in less time with homeschooling. There are so many distractions in an actual school (like Bug said). I'm always concerned about homeschooled kids though, because they don't get the amount of enrichment that other kids get, unless their parents are really dedicated to it. Doesn't sound like this mother is dedicating to that at all, based on what you wrote here.

.

We had a family just move in to our area who were always homeschooled. Because the district is good they were entered into the public school where, lo and behold, they were WAY behind grade level. My guess is that their mother was not really qualified to homeschool (that is the impression she gives me) and it sounds like your friend may not be either.

I use K12 and they do have a set number of hours one must spend on school work. For my kids, the first grader is 2-3 hours. The third grader is 4-5 hours and the sixth grader is something like 6-6 1/2 hours. However, some days we get done really early and other days take a little longer. It depends on what they are learning and how quickly they pick it up.

Whew... this question got the HS'rs all riled up.

I've never HS my daughter because we are in an excellent school system which involves much more than just school. She has the choice to be in a variety of organizations, enjoy the diversity of people and learn to get along with ALL types of people. One day she will have to work with several types of people and she is being exposed to that now.... they work in groups and independently. Her Sr. High school is in the top 1% of high schools in America (Newsweek).

There are many Ivy League grads from her school and I am sure there are some select HS students in Ivy League as well. Colleges are looking for a good balance of students.

Bottom line, is that it is not your business. What you have decribed sounds like these children are not getting the education they deserve. I'm sorry... but a dropout with a GED and hating school does not sound like a person who needs to be teaching children. I sure hope our state of TX monitors HS so children don't slip through the cracks.

I agree that some HS children come out well educated and well rounded but those I've seen have have parents that go into the HS program full force to make sure their children get the best education and exposure.

As a substitute teacher over 10 yrs at the elementary level, I have seen HS students come into the system and not 1 in my 10+ yrs has been placed above the grade level they were HS in. We needed to work a little extra with a few of these children to help them socialize and feel a part of their class.

There are pros and cons to both HS and PS and we just have to make the choice that is best for us. I do hope for the sake of your friends' children she is not abusing the system but there really isn't anything you can do unless the children are obviously uncared for and/or abused.

It is possible your friend is not good at homeschooling. It's only as effective as the parent is at deciphering good curriculums and making sure they're covered. My daughter is in first grade and we're doing a classical education very rich in curriculum in addition to daily music lesson practice and foreign language lessons once per week. We start promptly at 8:00am and finish around 12:30 with brief breaks between each subject. We only do science twice per week and history three times, but reading writing and grammar stuff and math and music practice every day.

I do know moms who "unschool" and spend much less time. I also know different curriculums have less time involved. My entire side of the family on my mom's side was homeschooled in a Christian style and many kids went to college early on full scholarship. In the older grades, they started working very early in the morning (sometimes 6:00am!) and finished after lunch leaving time for independent reading, projects and work. They kept close track of progress and always exceeded what was being taught in regular school.

However your friend my be majorly slacking. In which case all you can do is hope someone does something about it so her kids don't suffer a lack of intelligence. It's one of those difficult topics. They're not your kids, so what can you do? What if you DID talk to her? Would it make her start being more effective? If she herself had no interest in school, that's a bad sign. I'm homeschooling because I know for a fact our local school doesn't teach even as much curriculum as mine did in the 70's and I want my kids to have MORE education than me, not less.

Best case scenario, she's very industrious with it most of the time but you caught her on a rare day off....but most likely you're correct-she sucks. Sad.