You’re sitting on the fence. You’re terrified of jumping off and homeschooling, but the beginning of the new public school year is bearing down on you, and you’re thinking about the headaches and stomach aches your kid will say *he has every morning. You’re thinking about all the fights over homework . . . and suddenly all the new school supplies and school clothes in the world just aren’t enough shininess to cover this bleak cloud hanging over your head.
Two thoughts for you this morning:
1) There’s not a shred of evidence that homework is the least bit useful in elementary school.
(Oh, yeah — and there’s tons of evidence that not only does it not do what it purports to do, it also undermines those goals at every turn).
2) It’s homeschooling’s dirty little secret that we’re *all* terrified. We’re scared that we’re going to mess up our children for life, that we’re wreck their futures, that they’ll miss out on something crucial. Anyone who tells you differently is one of two things: A bold faced liar (that’s most of us), or second generation (because they already know it works).
Jump.
Here’s a Declaration of Intent (it’s due the 15th of September):
http://washhomeschool.org/homeschooling/Declaration.pdf
I just posted how to find where to send it.
If you find that you’re messing your kids up for life, you can always go back to school. But there’s no one in this world who loves your kids as much as you do. And you really can’t mess them up any faster than the schools would have.
~Jen