Homeschooling

I lived in the heart of fundie country - where yes, they made up the "majority' of the hs'ers, but we had a very large and growing group of SECULAR homeschoolers. Then there are the Pagan Hs'ers and the Christian but inclusive hs'ers (they don't hs because of religion, but because it's the right fit for their kids.)

Unschooling, done properly, is amazing in it's results.

My biggest problem right now is too many people hopping on that bandwagon who have absolutely NO BUSINESS hs'ing (just like some "teachers" have no business "teaching"!).

As for "virtual schools" - Not crazy about them - but used as a supplemental tool, fine. But to have all of your school curriculum on the computer, that's not HOMESCHOOLING. That's just having school at home.

HS offers flexibility and variety and the ability to tailor-make the curriculum and teaching style to what works best for your child.

My son went from hs'ing to an alternative high school (full of former hs'ers) whose teaching style is "self-directed learning" and sharing your knowledge through "teaching" it to the rest of your VERY SMALL class.

He went from that to an online program because he went away to a ballet boarding school. (He absolutely hates it - the online school - not the ballet! but it's a necessary evil.) It's boring and rigid and conservative and blech. It doesn't allow for creativity. It doesn't allow for alternative thinking.

At this point, he doesn't care because he knows he smart and can always go to any college and do well - AFTER his career in ballet, of course - he's just going through the motions of "school".

I would have never picked this online school for him, but it was included in the curriculum at the ballet school. (And he was there on scholarship or he wouldn't have been there. . . )

I get so angry when people think all hs'ers are a bunch of fundamentalists who are teaching "The Hearth" to their daughters and are keeping their kids separate from "evil" non-whatever-denomination-they-are. There are so many liberals out there hs'ing and it's a beautiful thing.

Whatever works. That's my opinion. Don't know why people have such a hard time with that. For some kids, hs'ing is the best option. For some kids, hs'ing is the ONLY option.