I'm sure Charles will have his own answer, but allow me to comment
generally on the homeschool movement in the US.
Many, many parents have opted to pull their kids out of school in the
US to pursue a course of education outside of the traditional school
options of "public or private". They do it for a variety of reasons
ranging from religious to social and from practical to political. An
entire cadre of alternative educational materials are available both
online and by post in the US to support these school refuseniks.
I have a very close friend who pulled her daughter out of a very
expensive private school at the age of 14 because she was too far
behind in maths. At the time I questioned this decision, but I have
to say that she was able to create a very rich alternative curriculum
which has resulted 8 years later in setting her failing daughter on a
path to professional success (she is a trained naturalist) and
personal happiness because she knows she is well-trained and talented
in her field. Another friend home-schooled after her then 10-year
old middle son begged to be let out of a situation where he wasn't
doing well due to deep conflicts with his teacher. She was able to
provide interesting coursework for him through a combination of self-
administered online materials and supplemental instruction from local
experts in areas of interest. He attended a traditional high-school
after completing middle-school at home and is currently getting high
marks in his first year at University of California, Santa Cruz.
Unfortunately there was a recent California Appellate Court ruling
(summarized at http://tinyurl.com/yud3vh) that seems to threaten
parents' rights to homeschool their children, at least in California
(which is currently the most populous state in the US). Its a pretty
well-established movement, though and I'd expect a long legal battle
since most of the homeschoolers I know are not the kind of people who
desire to have their children trained to be "loyal to the state".
Danese
On Apr 11, 2008, at 7:59 AM, Madhu Menon wrote:
We home schooled our children. Not a popular option in India I
think,
and one can argue whether that puts our kids in the "good peers" or
"bad peers" equation, but I'm pretty happy with the results.
Charles, what exactly did "homeschooling" involve? Did you
personally teach them everything? Hired private tutors? I'm curious.
--
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Madhu Menon
Shiok Far-eastern Cuisine
Indiranagar, Bangalore
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