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I will never choose to homeschool bc I do not feel qualified as an educator to make sure our children learns everything they need to.

I personally would not home school because I want my child to learn how to interact with other children and adults, especially people from different cultures and with different abilities. I want her to learn conflict management and negotiation with a range of people. I also want her to learn about time keeping, remembering to pick up her coat etc- these are things I just can't provide.

Of course, I intend to supplement this with learning at home - reading, writing, times tables etc - but she will go to school every day. To me, its essential.

Of course, I worry about the people she will meet, the bad language and habits she will learn, class sizes, bullying... but we will have to deal with those issues head on I guess.

@honeybear: When you say tailored, what do you mean? Tailored in what way? How will you decide what to include or exclude?

We would never homeschool because we're not qualified to teach every subject that school requires. My husband especially feels this way, and he has a PhD, so he's "educated"; but he isn't a subject matter expert outside of his field.

We also don't have any really positive models of homeschooling - the ones I primary have seen IRL and here online are people who are unqualified to teach, and/or people who homeschool due to religious reasons and then limit education on their beliefs (i.e., not teaching evolution, a lot of science, history over 6k years ago, etc.) which IMO is a huge disservice to that child and is likely to limit their future education and career options.

My husband has had a bunch of homeschooled kids over the past few years in some of his intro (and advanced) college courses, and the issues (one issue in particular that all HS kids have presented with) color our view as well and have nothing to do with socialization or smarts.

I would for preschool and kindergarten, but that's it.

I don't feel I'm qualified enough to homeschool. I think the social aspect of regular school is really important too.

I think I could easily homeschool through at least elementary school, but after that, I am not specialized enough to be able to cover all the required disciplines. If we did homeschool, we'd for sure be part of a coop and there'd be plenty of time for activities.

I am in the camp of never say never, honestly, because I don't know how my child is going to react in a traditional classroom setting.

I'm an elementary teacher so obviously I believe in the public education system. Just knowing how much research has come out in the past 5 years and the Professional Development I've done to stay current in my job, I wouldn't feel like I would be on top of the latest pedagogy and innovative teaching strategies if I home schooled. Also I think you learn a lot beyond academics at school - I want my LOs to be able to interact with a diverse group of people, have some challenges and successes, and learn to fend for themselves, so to speak.

I wasn't homeschooled but my parents were very active in my education in my hours at home, and supplemented my learning quite a bit. This is how I hope to be with my kids, rather than homeschooling.

I have been well educated in the sciences and feel like I can benefit our community best by pursuing that career. Others have been educated in childhood education and development and I feel like my kids will benefit from them in ways that exceed what I can provide.

Neither I, nor my husband are experts in all fields so I wouldn't feel qualified to teach beyond elementary school. I do think the social aspect of school is very important for development.
Of the homeschooled kids I've met IRL I've been consistently surprised by the holes in their learning.

I would consider it for up to 3rd grade if we lived in a terrible school district and had no other options. But I don't think it's ideal. I prefer the socialization school provides, and I think there are more diverse learning opportunities than I can give.

@yoursilverlining: you are spot on with how I view it.

@Mrs. Jacks: I hear ya! If they are going to learn another language or art appreciation, they better go to school!

I'm sure it's not like this everywhere, but I've recently (like, yesterday!) done some research and there's a huge homeschooling network where I live. Lots of different organizations offer various classes, so even though it's called HOMEschooling, not everything is done at home. I probably will only homeschool through elementary school, but I feel like, here, my LO would be exposed to more learning opportunities and real-world problem solving than if he goes to a school and sits in a desk for 8 hours a day.

I take my child to a dr for medical needs, a dentist to take care of his teeth, a stylist to get his hair cut and I want a qualified teacher to take care of his educational needs. I know he'll learn from me - I'm his mother, but he also need to have experts in other subject areas expose him to their specialties. I plan to stay involved in his education, but I don't want to wholly responsible for it.

@arden: It certainly seems like you turned out well! I'm sure it works for some families, I just feel more comfortable with expert educators teaching my child

@looch: I think there are so many different school nowadays catered to different children. that I think if a "traditional" public classroom setting didn't work for my child I would explore specialized schools catered to their needs. Regardless if my child needed something outside of a traditional setting? I would feel even LESS qualified to give them a well rounded education and social development.

@Cherrybee: Every curriculum involves an adult deciding what is in and what is out. There are plenty of excellent materials that are excluded from school curricula simply because of lack of time. And, as something of a compulsive reader of lists, I've looked at the local schools' booklists and have found many things I would exclude in favor of other things. My lists would generally include more classic texts than what I see on contemporary lists.

Now I don't mean to be dismissive, but teaching in and of itself is not hard. It requires, at root, a good grasp of the subject and genuine concern for the student(s). I believe all parents have the latter. As to the former, I have noticed that the highest credential held by math and physics teachers at local high schools tends to be a degree in education rather than a degree in math or physics. That does not inspire confidence in a teacher's math competence. And if a teacher does not have an advanced degree that teacher is not apt to be more qualified at teaching math than many parents and is very likely not as qualified as those parents with a math, science, or engineering background or talent.

I appreciate the advantage of teaching credentials in a classroom: Classrooms with 15-25 students are a different beast entirely than a tutoring situation, which is what we are talking about when we say "homeschooling," because most families have a handful of children at most. It does take a different set of skills to convey information to a group. It is harder. I don't disagree with those propositions.

If a parent is not good at math, that parent should find someone who is good at math to teach that subject. Finding the right person is increasingly easy in the digital age. Moreover, I think too much stock is put into education methodology. I have yet to hear of a teaching method that a thoughtful person would not have figured out if that person knows the subject being taught and genuinely cares for the student(s).

As far as the diversity and socializing aspects of school, I think these concepts are in tension in a classroom setting. It is quite possible that greater social diversity would be achieved if more people did homeschooling so that children could genuinely learn different world views. Inevitably, group learning will result in the homogenization of thought to some degree and thus effectively diminish diversity.

I think the real issue with homeschooling often is not its benefits but rather whether parents are willing to devote the time and effort that teaching requires.

As an educator, I feel relatively competent in my skill set and aptitude to teach my child academic material at home. However, I am also a huge believer in the public school system, and personally favor a traditional, classroom setting.

While parents are, by and large, concerned and devoted to the success and well being of their children, I do not believe that every parent is meant to be a teacher. I value our wonderful community of educators, and feel they deserve credit where credit is due. An impressive amount of time, energy, and research goes into becoming a teacher, or education specialist, and I don't think everyone is prepared or suited for the job.

Personally, I agree with much of what @yoursilverlining expressed. I don't believe that children are exposed to the same level of diversity (religious, racial, socio-economical) if they are taught in a small, home based setting. I also believe tolerance, exposure, and self sufficiency are better instilled in children taught within more mainstream classroom settings. This is, of course, my own belief, and based on the communities in my own area. Do I know individuals who were homeschooled as adolescents, and grew to be well-rounded, intelligent adults? Most definitely! I just don't think it's the route that will work for our family.

Nope, I've only taught Pre-K (4yr olds) and 7th and 8th grade Language Arts. Those are the only grades/subjects I'd feel competent enough to teach, well maybe 1st and 2nd too.

@honeybear: I know you weren't trying to hurt anyone's feelings, but I really take offense to your statement "Now I don't mean to be dismissive, but teaching in and of itself is not hard."

Teaching is more than "root" knowledge and a caring heart. And I mean that beyond the aspect of trying to teach multiple students at once/time constraints/administration conflicts. I spent 6 years at university, earning two degrees, and many many hours beyond that taking intensive classes on how children's brains develop & how they learn best. I've memorized the skills needed to be able to read and the strategies kids need to have to be critical readers, thinkers, and writers. I know how to reteach and rephrase concepts in a variety of ways for kids who don't understand & I'm able to identify if a child needs more time to develop a skill or if they have a more serious learning challenge. Saying that all there is to teaching - effective teaching - is merely knowing the content is just not true.

As for homeschool or not, I don't have very strong opinions on it. It's not an option for our family, because we need two incomes. My experiences have mainly been with parents who have control issues or are trying to "hide" their child from authorities. But I know that many many families and children are homeschooled and go on to thrive in the world.