Home-Schooled Wins National Spelling Bee

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Just thought I would mention to you all that I heard a report on the radio yesterday that said the boy that won the National spelling bee was home-schooled. Then they added that so were the second and third place finishers. I know that is no surprise to most of you on this forum but I just thought all of you homeschooling parents and students would like to bask in the glory a bit. It certainly is a statement about our public schools.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), June 02, 2000

Answers

The public schools don't drill enough anymore -- they say they want the children to "learn to think" -- but they don't want to give them the basic skills they need to think with!! Young children will enjoy drills if they are made into a game -- and if the teacher/mom doesn't let them see she's bored with it -- then when they get into the age of reason (usually over twelve) they won't be having to stop and count on their fingers, or look every word up to see if they've spelled it right, they'll know all that like the back of their hand -- it will be automatic. It makes the higher grades SO much easier!! I'm really glad that some homeschooling parents see the wisdom of this.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), June 02, 2000.

Also, the highest score EVER scored on the SATs was two years ago, and the young woman was homeschooled.

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), June 02, 2000.

I think the guy that won the national spelling bee last night also came in second in the national Geography bee last week!!!

As a homeschool mama (our last graduated last May) I was so proud of all those kids, first, second, and third!!!! What a great way for homeschooling to get some much needed positive publicity!!!!!!!

-- slgt@yahoo.com (slgt@yahoo.com), June 02, 2000.


This further emphasized to me the need to homeschool our granddaughter! My husband read me the report on the boy who won the spelling bee this morning, so it is helping to convince him, too. So far, I haven't heard one negative response from someone who has homeschooled, saying that they wished they hadn't done it. Jan

-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), June 02, 2000.

If you are a Mother who homeschools or a grandmother that home schools I applaud You!!!! I praise you!! I give you my thanks!!! I don't think I have told my daughter lately how much I appreciate her & the fact that she homeschools my precious grandsons--need to call her! Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), June 02, 2000.


Just a funny story. I saw the irony in it, but I don't know how many others in this county did. A few months ago on the front page of our local newspaper the headlines were about a homeschooled student who won the local spelling bee. On that same front page was another headline stating that the teachers in the local school district were still refusing a negotiated raise because it wasn't high enough.

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), June 02, 2000.

What great news! Just wait till I show my husband this thread! We plan(Lord willing) on home-schooling our children.They are currently only 4yrs.old(our girl)& 19 mos.(our boy),so we still are in the planning stage for such.~T.J.

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), June 02, 2000.

My son keeps asking me to home school him but I don't believe I can do it. There is so much stuff out there that I don't know about. It would help him because of his chemical allergies but... My sister tried to homeschool my neice but couldn't either. My neice ended up doing the grade over again in school the following year. I should also mention my son is in the gifted and talented classes.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), June 02, 2000.

Dee, Why does your son want you to homeschool him, assuming his motive is a good one, I would encourage you to homeschool because he's willing and also because of the chemical allergies. There are at least 3 regulars on the forum besides myself that can tell you how miserable it is to be around those nasty allergens-perfume, dust, heating system, cleaners, cageteria lunches, (the smell of some of flavored gum affects me) etc. Feeling bad doesn't do a lot for your concentration either. There's lots of homeschooler that are willing to offer you their support, Remember; where there's a will, there's a way. Since you're on this forum, you must be a homesteader or headed in that direction, therefore you have grit that other folks don't.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), June 03, 2000.

Homeschooling is becoming another freedom to fight for. Four families in Alameda County, Calif. are being brought before the school attendance review board which is questioning the legality of homeschooling. The story is on freedomjournal.com. The spelling bee results should help their case.

-- Allen (allen@sebroach.com), June 03, 2000.


Dee, why don't you check to see if your area has a homeschooling organization? Next Wed. I go have a fun day with my precious grandsons as my daughter & her hubby go to the homeschoolers presentation of where all the different type of homeschooling materials are available. My daughter uses ABeka a Christain homeschooling program for teaching & has her own personal things she uses also. This is when she will order the materials she will use this next year for their clasroom! If you don't think you can do something, then you have already lost half the battle! If you don't want to do it, then your son probably would not benifit from your not wanting to do the job you took on! It is something that has to be your choice! But there is lots of already prepared studies for your son out there! My daughter uses ABaka video tapes for the boys! The preschooler on his S.A.T. tests scored into the 4th & 6th grade levels! The 2nd grader scored into 11th grade on his test scores! There is no way, they would be doing that in public schools! I give my daughter a lot of credit also, as it is not a job you take on & not do your best!!!! Not all homeschoolers are being taught or challenged! Some give the rest, a bad name as with anything else! I agree with Cindy about the allergies also!!! If you can't breath & are sick from the allergies, it is really hard to do anything! Best wishes to you Dee!!! There are sooooo many people out there who homeschool who can really help give you the information you need to make a good judgement call,on if you want to do it or not! Lack of knowledge leads to fear! There are many who can help you with the facts, so you have no reason for fear! Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), June 03, 2000.

It would seem that homeschooling is as successful as the people involved are committed to it. I know a Mormon family (well) who had all three children held back, one held back two years, after several years of homeschooling. The mother's education and/or willingness to learn new things in order to teach them to the children has a direct impact on the performance of the kids on standard exams. Poor grammar, for example, flows easily down to the children. Enjoyment of reading, also, best taught by example. Approaching daily chores, such as baking, as a lesson on fractions, and seizing opportunities, like how eggs are formed and ruminant animals digest food; these are classic homesteader teaching moments.

It is clear to me that a child could be in the public school system, and still get a healthy dose of homeschooled education, and as a result have the best of both worlds. This is an option for someone who is trying homeschooling on for size, without taking a kid away from her peer group.

People with failure stories about their homeschooling experience are not likely to talk about it much. By the time our children get to college, and for the rest of their lives thereafter, they will all require the discipline of "homeschool".

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), June 03, 2000.


I agree with Rachel that Homeschooling and public schooling can work together for those who do not feel they have the ability or time to completely homeschool their children. My daughter had two years of private preschool and has been in the public school system for 11 years. I pulled her out of one public school sytem and enrolled her in another one, when I felt she wasn't getting the education that I paid for. She was a self taught reader at the age of three (I bought a phonics system and she sat down in front of the tape player and learned to read). We always "homeschooled" - we just didn't call it that. If she was interested in something - we found out more about it. She had always been an excellent student, until we hit Algebra II, Geometry and Chemistry. I don't like them either, although I appreciate the heck out of anyone who does like and understand them! I wonder at the list of classes that are "required" for students who wish to go on to college. I don't see much use in them in the real workaday world. Well, maybe I don't have a classical education, but I can set up forms and finish concrete - can you?

Let's talk about college - too bad we can't homeschool there! Every time I think about going back to school and finishing up my BSN (neccasary to be in "managment"), I take one look at the required course listing and decide that I'm happier right where I am. I'm not about to pay good money to listen to some left-wing anti-christ spout psycho-sexual babble about Dick and Jane and Baby Sally (which is why I dropped into to lit). Or, for that matter, a right wing religious fanatic, or anyone who wants to use their position as an educator for their personal ends. I see enough abnormal psychology on the job, I really don't care why someone is a psychopath or has a personality disorder - I just want them to quit it. Okay, enough ranting and raving.

I keep reading in the paper about how other countries have children who are smarter than ours - what they tend to leave out is that not all of their children continue on past primary education, like ours do. Perhaps if we returned to the days of offering vocational high schools, in addition to college prep, we would turn out more responsible workers and fewer of what my Pop calls "educated idiots". Wouldn't hurt to require a few vocational classes either - now all they require in that area is some kind of consumer class. Then again, maybe that's why plumbers and electricians are better paid than most lawyers!

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), June 03, 2000.


Dee: I, too, doubted at first that I would be capable of homeschooling our 8 year old granddaughter, who suffers from attention deficit disorder, and hyperactivity. Just being with her trying to get her to complete the hours of homework she brought home was exhausting enough! However, since school got out, we have been working on schooling every day, and she loves it! She is doing so much better, and there is so much available on the internet, at the library, etc. If you want to do it, YOU CAN! We just attended an electrical co-op meeting today, and a girl who won a trip to Wash. DC was homeschooled. She gave a very eloquent speech about her trip, her experiences, and her hopes to move on and do something with rural electrification in the future. I was very impressed. Oddly, her sister was also there, and is enrolled in public school. I didn't get an opportunity to talk to them, but wondered why one would be homeschooled, and the other not. Give it a whirl this summer, then decide. Jan

-- Jan in Colorado (Janice12@aol.com), June 03, 2000.

DEE, Look up www.HSLDS.org They have a lot of info and links to other sites with even more info. Be sure to link up with The Teaching Home Magazine. They have a FAQ section that will answer most of your questions.

You CAN homeschool your son. Just like anything worthwhile, it takes committment and determination. But, that doesn't mean it has to be boring, difficult or a druggery (though it can be any of those things occasionally). If God has called you to homeschool He will give you the power to be victorious!

-- Vaughn (vdcjm5@juno.com), June 04, 2000.



Amen!Well said. ~T.J.

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), June 05, 2000.

Hello,it's me again! Just finished checking out the website Vaughn mentioned. The web address is: www.hslda.org (Homeschool Legal Defense Assoc.) It looks like a really neat site!!~Tracy

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), June 05, 2000.

Wow! I can't believe how many of you answered my little remark.

Yes, I guess I don't have alot of confidence since I, personally did not do well in school. What Rachael said about doing both, I guess I already do that but never thought of it as homeschooling. I do encourage my son to read and do other things (he's 12 and decided to read War & Peace. I think it is more to show off but...) We are building a scale, cutaway of the Saturn V rocket for Science Fair right now.

Jan, a quick note. The doctor wanted my son checked for ADD. It turned out he was allergic to milk. That gave him a personality change. Some chemicals also set him off. My neices are the same. A friend's son got noticably excited after eating corn products (popcorn, cornchips, juice sweetened with corn syrup) She didn't change his diet and he is now on Ritalin. If you would like to hear more, e-mail me direct. Maybe it can help your granddaughter.

Thanks everyone. I loved the magazine, but getting answers and giving opions is great. I love this Forum!

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), June 06, 2000.


HI, I am new to this list. I found it looking for recipes for goat milk. I, to am a homeschooler mom. I didn't start homeschooling mine until 4 yrs ago. I started out with one, whom I had to pull out of public school due to health problems, then added on the rest the next year. I have 6 children. I was so afraid of homeschooling my two autistic children, but this last IEP we had, the school said that homeschooling agreed with them. They have progressed by leaps and bounds. I do feel though, that my gifted and talented children are not being challenged enough so I am trying harder work for them next year. I understand being afraid,it does take work. I know plenty of people that have started homeschooling and then gone back to public school, then back to homeschooling. We just moved to the country (I am a country girl from childhood, hubby is a born and raised city guy). Everyone asks if we stopped school for the summer...well....the "formal" classroom stuff we have, but there is so much to learn about the country!! They are having so much fun (even hubby!). We are finding tree frogs, scorpions....fiddle backs...ugh, I found the whole nest..38 bites...so they are learning what the bites look like etc..they are watching closely how to milk a temperamental goat and having fun learning about guineas, ducks and chickens. They are still learning and having fun. :-) One of my boys said homeschooling has changed him, he can't go outside and play without looking for something to learn about! I am pleased with the change I am seeing in my newly country children. :-) Well, I am rambling (haven't been online in a week due to moving out here, withdrawal is showing tee hee)Have a good day!!

Cindy

-- Cindy Cluck (ldsmomof6@yahoo.com), June 08, 2000.


Cindy, I hope you will stick around -- I enjoyed your post! I homeschooled my two older daughters for 7 years, but most of the time my youngest, who is autistic, was in special programs, because she demanded so much of my attention that I couldn't teach her sisters properly with her in the house. She isn't nearly so demanding now (she's twenty) and I regret having had to send her out to other people so much when she was little. How do you do it with two?

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), June 09, 2000.

Hello Everyone, I'm writing to clarify some mis-information. I do not wish to bring attention to my sister's statement or be disrespectful. But I need to correct the statement. I had a very successful year home-schooling my daughter. We had brought up her grade level by 2 years! She had experienced problems in school with self-esteem issues and Learning Disability services. The teachers loved her so that they pushed her along. (not doing her any favors, she struggled more the following year) Unfortunatly, she has a very stubborn personality and I became very stressed. We decided to send her back to school and repeat the grade level because that is where she needed to be. We spent the whole year catching her up where the public school had failed. I am now asking the Lord for guildance since I wish to homeschool again. This time both my children. Please add me to your prayers. Laura

-- Laura (Allerkid@aol.com), June 14, 2000.

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