I am fully aware that this is early. Yes, I know that I still have 3 more months before my son is welcomed into this world, but I can’t help but already consider my options where his education is concerned. There are a lot of mothers out there who home school their children and a lot more who do not for reasons within and reasons out of their control. My original thoughts on homeschooling have changed since I became pregnant.

First off, let me apologize if anything I say comes across as insulting. It is not my intention, but I would be lying if I said these thoughts had not crossed my mind at some point. Originally, well before becoming a mother was on my radar, I thought very little of parents who wanted to home school their children. There were various reasons to put your child in public education, the first of which is that our tax dollars are paying for it. If you’re going to pay for something, then why not reap the benefits? The supposed benefits are something I will discuss later. Secondly, by homeschooling your child you are removing him from the social interaction children need. It’s almost as if he is being sheltered and kept from the real world. I even thought at one point that by homeschooling you would turn your child into a pansy of sorts, a weakling. And finally, the third reason I was dead set against homeschooling was for selfish reasons….I still wanted my career and my life instead of staying at home to teach my child. That reason is shallow and not for the best interests of the child, unless financially it is impossible to go this route.

Now that I’ve become a mother, or well on my way to becoming one, all I can think about is what will be best for my child. What sacrifices will I have to make and am I willing to make those sacrifices? Homeschooling Davey has become a very viable option for me as I’ve spoken to so many parents who have children in our public school system. Some of the stories I hear about the teaching ethics, not to mention the teachers who put themselves ahead of their students, are abhorring. No longer is American History taught as it happened. Instead we have to be worried about whose feelings will be hurt if we discuss the realities including: the slave era, the Native Americans, as well as the Japanese Americans during World War II and even Jewish history. I’m appalled that my child may be taught history from a certain point of view as opposed to being objective, just because of the fact that what was done in the past was wrong. We learn from the past, but not if we don’t tell the truth about it.

My other concern has to do with the fact that Davey may come home and tell me that the world and all of us are a part of evolution and not the creation of God. I’m worried that my child will be pigeon-holed and not because of one certain teacher or school, but because of the standards they are required to follow because society has become more concerned with being fair to everyone. So, I’ve decided to do some research on homeschooling and the benefits to it. I’m not worried about the social interaction that Davey may miss out on, because my son will still have outside interaction through reading groups at the library and personal field trips to the local museums, just to name a few. He will grow up with so many of our friends who have children his age. My research has found there are so many social activities, including clubs and organizations, for children who are homeschooled. Am I concerned that my son could perhaps be ostracized by some of his supposed peers, perhaps our neighbors who continue to put their children through public school? Absolutely! But in the end I have to weigh the benefits to Davey and right now those benefits are far outweighing the negative.

For those of you who are interested in homeschooling and the options available, I encourage you to visit these sites:
http://www.scaihs.org/
http://www.homeschool-life.com/va/hopehs/
http://zsem.k12.com/tpages/index2c_dyn_t2.html?st=SC&se=Google&campaign=South_Carolina_Nat_Awareness-Search&adgroup=SC_HSN_Home_Schooling&kw=+south +carolina +home +schooling&tt_geocat=national&tt_campaign=k8_nonbrand_search