For home-schoolers: Parents and Students --- what are your education success stories?

I hope y'all don't get tired of hearing it!! (smile)

I wanted to homeschool when our son was in the 3rd grade. The teachers all said that he was not a 'bad' kid, but he was not learning in class. He learned well in small groups and with one on one tutoring by an adult. Peer tutoring was not successful. They wanted him to be tested for ADD. He was tested for learning disabilities in 1st grade and 3rd grade. He did not qualify for special help because the findings were that he was "performing at his potential". We had it all planned to homeschool in the 4th grade. We had our intent papers filled out and ready to send to state capital. I had a health issue that summer that made me realize that my husband was not as committed to homeschooling as I was. He was concerned about me losing my health benefits with the state if I quit my job with the public school.

We put our son on medication for ADD in the 5th grade. We experimented with several types of medication and all had initially good results that were short lived. He sat in class all day and came home for me to teach him even though I was not in the class and "didn't do it the way the teacher did it".

Fast forward the insanity to the 8th grade. His stepfather got a job with the schools and within few weeks came home to declare it was time to homeschool. His reasons were because of the behaviour of middle school and high school students. I didn't wait a minute...but found my paperwork filled out 5 years earlier, revised dates, and sent to state capital. We were homeschooling a few weeks later.

My husband apologized to me a few weeks after beginning and said that he had been wrong.... homeschool was the right path for us.

My son will probably never be a scholar. He will probably never read just for the love of reading but he is learning. He has learned how to spell, how to use correct language mechanics and how to write a paper that is readable. We

work hard on math. It is my least favorite subject but we keep at it until we both learn. We enjoy history and science videos and use many online lectures and interactives.

The main improvement that we saw withing weeks of beginning homeschool was his self confidence. We outlawed the phrases "I'm stupid" and "I can't learn this".

He has always had an outgoing personality and that has only improved with the homeschooling.

I've encouraged him to go back to public school because I think he has 'caught up' with his class and could work in public school high school. He wants to continue to homeschool because it gives him more freedom and more free time. He remembers the 7 hour school days followed by 4 hours of home tutoring.

He is proud of the fact that he spells and writes better than his stepsister who graduated from a public high school. His reading comprehension rose 2 grade levels after one year of homeschooling and 4 grade levels from that after two years of homeschooling with a total of 6 grade levels in 2 years.

That is impressive. The public school was wrong. He was NOT performing at his potential while there. He isn't even performing at his potential now, but it is much better.

It would have been better had I been able to quit my job and spend time as a full time mom and teacher but we take what we get. Even in the less the perfect circumstances, homeschool has worked for us.

My sister home schooled all 3 of her children all the way through. They became so motivated they would often wait at the mail box when they were expecting a new text book.

All of them learned to be self motivated. They were tested at the local public school once a year to make sure they were keeping up. In every case they were way ahead to the public school.

People said they will be social outcasts. They were somewhat that way, which means they bypassed the sex and drug syndrome which was rampant at the public school.

Now all of them are grown and have continued with their educations. The oldest daughter and her husband opened a tutoring school, they contract with high schools to tutor students that are behind. This is a full time business.

The second daughter is a housewife and mother, married to an executive of an insurance company.

The youngest one is a college campus policeman, has a wife and small child.

My sisters children are not social outcasts, they are the opposite.

They are a credit to society.

Home schooling is one of the finest things parents can do for a child.

My cousins were home schooled all the way through! These two women are awesome!

My older cousin was a missionary to China, India, and Japan for over 10 years. She now works for Promise Keepers and is happily married with their first child.

Her sister served as a missionary to Mexico, China, India and a few other countries. She earned Doctorate in teaching by teaching English to the children and never stepped foot in a college. Some may ask how that is possible. She applied to college about 2 years ago for teaching and when they looked at her application they contacted her and told her that her life experiences qualified her for the degree. All she had to do was pay the graduation fees and write a paper!

The problem with the degree is that now she can't go back to China to teach because it's from a Christian College. She might give the people ideas that aren't good for the government. :( But thats OK for her because her next trip is to Sudan!

Homeschooled son until after grade 9, he wanted to take drama and be involved in student politics. He was an A student won numerous awards. Started a double major at university, Business and Computer Science.

Daughter started taking online University Certificate program course at 13, still doing high school ( on-line) as well as more university.

Son finishing up Grade school this year will homeschool next year. They are respected by every adult I know.

I was home schooled my entire life, and I'd say I'm successful! I have never done drugs, I don't drink nor smoke, I'm not overweight or anorexic, and I'm very independent. I have a great job, great place, no kids, and my car is owned outright. I would also like to throw in "I'm humble", but I'm not sure anyone would believe me after that ramble, heh.

I still crave education to this day. Currently I am a self-taught linguist; I want to know at least 5 languages. I applaud my mother for choosing to home school me; even though she wasn't the best person for the job (no patience).

This may come across as bragging, but I hope not. :-) My DS is 10 and has always been HS'ed (except for one year of public preschool). At ages 6 and 7, he scored in the 99th percentile for *every* category on the ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) standardized achievement test.

Last year, at age 8 (3rd grade), he took the EXPLORE test through an academic talent search. It's an out-of-level test for 3rd-6th graders, but typically it's an on-level test for 8th and 9th graders. My son scored better than 90% of all 8th graders for his composite score, and better than 99% of 8th graders in science. He took the test again last month and we're waiting on his scores, which I assume will be higher than last year.

My son also placed first in the nation last year for the Online Academic League in 4th grade science. He had a perfect score. He's on the same track again this year with one test remaining. We're also awaiting his first-ever Math Olympiad scores. While not a perfect score, he will be among the top participants.

So, academic-wise these are his shining moments in Homeschooling! He has many, many others in all areas of his life.

My children are young, but so far, my success story is this:

-My children are happy and confident.

-They don't know what it's like to sit at a desk, bored out of their minds for hours.

-They don't know what it's like to have to wake up every morning and go to a place where you'll have to face bullies.

-They don't know whether or not their clothes are out of style or if there's something "funny" about their physical features.

-They don't know which friends are "smarter" or "dumber" than they are.

-They don't know that they're not supposed to play with certain kids.

-They are each other's best friends.

-I get to watch them learn and enjoy new experiences.

-I got to teach my son to read.

-We spend every single day enjoying each other.

I don't know whether or not they'll get into Harvard, but for me, just the above is enough.

Here's a blog that documents our experiences:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.blogspot.com/