{One Mom’s Opinion} Why We’re Homeschooling This Year

Over the last several months my husband and I have made some life-changing decisions regarding our children’s education, and we aren’t the only ones.  More and more I hear people saying, “I’d never considered homeschooling before, but I really don’t like Common Core.”

Here is one mother’s thoughts on the decision her family made.  From northshoreparent.com:

I noticed changes, even in the preschool setting when I went to work as a temp from 2009-2013. What in the world was going on in my beloved Head Start?  Plastered everywhere was “KINDERGARTEN READINESS!!!”” We HAVE to get them ready for Kindergarten!! I was a little offended. I thought, “Seriously? What did they think I was DOING the years I taught? Gee, what have these teachers who have been teaching forty years been doing…getting them ready for what, prison?!” Head Start had worked effectively for years.

I’m not bashing public school teachers here. Teachers are just as innocent in this new garbage as the students are. Many of them are BAFFLED at the changes that have come down. What’s going on isn’t new.. Outcomes Based Education has been a problem for YEARS. What’s new is it’s name?
Common Core State Standards.

Shudder.

I saw these changes in Head Start, especially this past school year as my youngest spent a year there. It was different from when my oldest son spent two years there, he is now 7. I watched, waited, and learned. Throughout the school year, I realized, something is going on.

Then the second graders homework began to change. Math especially seemed to be less about 2+2=4 and more about how does Tim FEEL about having to share 5 melons? My son had to answer a simple math problem five different ways.  After showing his work four different ways on a simple math problem, the 5th question simple said, “Explain.”. His answer? “I know because I listened.” SERIOUSLY. The 7 year old could even see the stupidity of the repetitive questions. He already answered it four ways, did he REALLY need to explain it again?

Suffice it to say, I’m tired, but after much research  I decided CCSS is NOT for our family. I decided we would homeschool. Common Core was the last straw.  I figured, I have this education degree, and I can’t screw it up any worse than they are right??

Read the rest  here.