(MSB) FAQs

1. What’s with the weird title for this page? Well, FAQs were originally developed by existing websites to answer questions they have received . . . frequently. Sites which are just starting (e.g. this one) cannot have FAQs since the likelihood that someone has been asking them questions, much less frequently asking them specific questions, is slim. Thus, these are the questions I expect May Someday Be FAQs.
2. How did you choose your blog’s title (O, Homeschool!)? It’s wordplay. First, our last name begins with an “O” so it seemed appropriate. Second, we’ve always gotten a kick out of the vocative case in ancient languages. Odd people that we are, we find it funny when a Latin sentence or poem begins with something strange like “O, table!” – as if someone would ever really speak to a table. =)
3. Why are you homeschooling? Are you some sort of religious nuts? Nope, not at all. Our entire motivation to homeschool is to provide our children with the best education we can. Period. We just believe that the best way to accomplish this is by doing it ourselves. Morally, we have never feared that our example and instruction at home would be overridden by what they experienced at school. Educationally, this is not the case; we do fear that they would be significantly hampered in achieving their potential in the current school system. Can a child learn a lot and have a rich and rewarding experience in public or private schools? Yes . . . but the circumstances are getting harder and the path to success is getting narrower every year.
4. Won’t your kids miss out on socialization/sports/band/(insert all the other “advantages” of standard schooling here)? The best way to answer this question is to avoid reinventing the wheel. You can get an answer to this question, and many others about homeschooling, here.
5. Do you think you are better than everyone else or that others are bad parents for sending their kids to public or private schools? Absolutely not! This is not about comparing ourselves or our children to others. It is simply and solely a private choice we have made. We have many friends and family who have their children in both public and private schools. We know for a fact that they love their children just as much as we love ours. We have made this choice for our kids. They have made other choices based on their situation. Just as rational and intelligent people can disagree on discipline methods and still raise polite and good children, so too can we make our own determinations about how to educate our children without recriminations on either side. For more on this idea, visit this site – it gives a long account of why homeschooling is not the only “right” choice, just one of many, appropriate for some and not for others.
6. What curriculum are you using? Actually, as our children are not yet “school age,” we haven’t officially started homeschooling yet and are still exploring our options. We have looked at many and are still trying to find the one that is best for us and our kids. If you have suggestions, please leave us a comment and tell us why “Curriculum ABC” is the best. =)
7. Do you “unschool“? We cannot answer this with certainty at this point as we have not yet set our curriculum, but we doubt we will. We tend toward the structure & discipline side of the parental-philosophy-fence and believe that you can encourage creativity while still providing guidance in their education.