If you would have talked to me a year or so ago and asked me about homeschooling, I would have said not only that I think its stupid but that its not good for the kids. I feel very strongly about kids needing interaction with other kids on a daily basis (so if anyone wants to come get my kids to interact with their kids feel free! LOL). I think that kids need to learn how to be around other kids of all kinds of backgrounds. You have to learn how to act socially acceptable in school because by the time you hit high school or college its too late! All of the sudden your in a classroom with 25+ other people of all different backgrounds and by gosh you better know how to behave around them all.

Anyways, my feelings about homeschooling have changed quite a bit due to the amount of information I have been finding out about how much schools have changed since I was in school. First of all several months ago I found out that kids are lucky if they get 10-15 minutes of recess!! WTH! As far as I can remember we got AT LEAST 30 minutes but I swear we even used to get up to 45 minutes. AND I found out that the schools are really even trying to do away with that measly 10-15 minutes that the kids get to be kids. This year they have started the school day earlier and now run it later. I understand they want to have a better academic rating but really do they have to take away a kids right to be a kid in the process. I had my 30 minutes of recess and I turned out pretty stinking good. I graduated high school and went on to do some of my basics in college. No, I don't have a degree but I also feel that it is not a necessity to have a degree in life. It helps tremendously, and the knowledge that you gain to get that degree is priceless but unless you are a doctor or lawyer or something like that a degree isn't that big of a deal. I worked at a staffing agency for a while when I was 19-20 and I can not even begin to tell you the amount of kids fresh out of college that came there looking for a job. They all walked in all super proud with their degree feeling like for sure they would be walking out with a job. In reality what they heard was "Wow that's a fantastic degree! Now what is your work experience? Did you have an internship with reference to your degree?" There were a few that did have an internship and that helped. But what people really look for is actual work experience. I wasn't a staffing agent but I did hear the staffing agents on the the phone when they were trying to get these kids interviews and all the employers were mainly worried about was whether or not they had work experience in that particular field. Sorry I got off on a tangent, but what I'm mainly trying to say is that yes it is important to use school time wisely for education but kids also need to be kids because academic education is NOT everything!

Kids still need to be kids. They still need to have a good recess to let them burn off some of all that energy they always have (you know that energy that we always say we wish we still had). I just feel like the schools and school districts are trying to make kids grow up even faster. Everyone complains that the media is making kids grow up faster (which is true) but why doesn't anyone look at what the schools are doing to our elementary students? I mean really all the tests and what not, is that really necessary??? My 6th grade nephew had to take a 6 weeks test on a scantron and he also had to write the answers on the hard copy as well. The teacher graded both, on the hard copy he made a 94 but on the scantron he made a 52. So she did him a "favor" by giving him 1/2 credit. WTH!? Obviously he missed a line on the scantron, seriously who hasn't done that?? I have done it more than once but to the best of my memory my teachers let me correct it! I know what teachers say about this kind of thing, "We are trying to teach them responsibility and to slow down and pay attention to what they are doing. We are trying to get them ready for high school because in high school they aren't going to be near as lenient as we are here in junior high. We are trying to get them ready for college because in college you only get one chance, they don't let you have a second chance." just take your pick it will always be something relevant to one of the above. My problem with these is... Yes kids do need to learn responsibility but obviously he knew the answers to the work considering he got a 94 on the hard copy!!And this was his first test with a scantron! As far as high school and college not being as lenient about that kind of thing. Well that's just CRAP! Unless of course your at like Harvard or Yale or some other fabulously academic school like that. I was allowed to correct my scantrons because I missed a line in BOTH high school AND college!!! I honestly don't think teachers should be allowed to use scantrons anymore. They are the most unreliable source of testing out there. The scantron machine can count right answers wrong and wrong answers right even if they are bubbled in correctly. Those things are just plain stupid. And its more work on the teacher because they have to check it twice!! I wish that teachers were more worried about actually TEACHING the students rather than testing them just to show the kid that the teacher holds the power of pass or fail. I remember my teachers always being more than willing to help me if I was having trouble. I remember staying after school and actually getting help from my teachers until I understood the problem. It just seems like teachers now days don't care at all. It's like 'Oh yeah well you shouldn't have missed a line on your scantron. I'm too lazy to actually grade your work so you better get used to using these scantrons!!" Uggh

And kids get punished for the smallest things now a days! My niece got in trouble at school yesterday because 3 girls were picking on her friend Ashley and had her pinned up against a wall. Mallory (my niece) has 3 brothers and she doesn't take crap from any of them, so she steps in between the girls to break it up and just pushes one girl off of her friend, whom was getting beat up. One of the girls then proceeds to punch Mallory while another scratched her face. Mallory never threw a punch back (bless her heart she was afraid she would get into trouble) all she did was push the girl off of her friend to break it up and then her and the girl walked away after Mallory got punched. The school has threatened to put Mallory and Ashley in ISS for 3 days with the other 3 girls that were doing the actual fighting. Now tell me how the hell that is right that Mallory and Ashley get the same punishment as the 3 girls who picked the fight and were actually throwing punches!?!? Now, I'm not saying that I don't think Mallory should get any kind of punishment for pushing the girl; but why should it be the same as the girls who caused it all? Mallory is a straight A student and has NEVER been in any kind of trouble before. Not everything is black and white, there are plenty of grey areas in the world. But everyone now days wants everything to be 'equal', well they take all that and shove it where the sun don't shine because there is and always will be grey areas in the world. I'll be damned if my daughter get a punishment like that for a situation like this. I mean what was she supposed to do just stand there and let her friend get beat up while she's waiting for the teachers to pay attention long enough to figure out there is fight going on!? Actually if it were my daughter she probably would have thrown a punch, LOL she's too ornery for her own good!

There are so many other stories and things I have heard about that make me think about homeschooling more and more. But I'm still at a cross roads; I want my kids to have the experience of going to school with other kids. I want my kids go through the same things as I did in school, good and bad (as crazy as that may sound). I want my kids to experience the bullies and the nerdy kids that everyone makes fun of. Those are the kinds of things that made me the person I am today. Not everyone may like me but I like me. And one thing I did learn from being in public school and graduating in a class of almost 600 is that if you don't like me I will smile and wave, just not with all my fingers! ;-P


Now just to end with a funny little thing. My son has been sooo funny this week. The day before last they were playing in the back yard. I looked out there and saw him playing with his tractors so I finished whatever it was I was doing. About 2 minutes later I look out there again and he's jumping on the trampoline in his underwear!LOL So I holler at him and tell him to put his clothes back on. He gets off the trampoline and walks over to the house were the back of the fireplace is and opens the little door where you can sweep the ashes out into the backyard and pulls out his shirt, looks at it (all covered with ashes) and says "Look mom its dirty". He then proceeds to turn around and open the BBQ pit and reaches under the grill to get his shoes! I'm like what the crap were you doing son! You girls with little boys just wait! They are the crazy!!

Tonight there is a Goober Goob (I have no idea) in his room that he wants Duke (our 2 year old Lab) to eat so that it won't get him while he sleeps... So I'm off to put my crazy, crazy life on pause until morning but I must make sure the Goober Goob hasn't eaten my son before I do.

Good Night!