I’m learning a lot about homeschool meeting public school right now. My homeschooled daughter is in 9th grade and trying public school. She’s been in there 2.5 weeks now and says she can “feel the creativity draining” from her. She had an essay graded by a computer and the computer told her she had “loosely related ideas,” “with major gaps in the logical flow of ideas,” and that she had “reasons that merely skimmed the surface.” She was crushed. But how could a computer even know those things? So my son tried the program and found the whole thing to be bogus. Too bad it’s from Holt and used by thousands of kids. I wrote up my “experiment” on my blog.

I just feel bad for so many kids trapped in the system. Thanks for such a great post.

But kindergarten was not academic in the fifties, it was all about playing, and napping, and playing, and listening to stories. I can remember not being the least bit tired when we had to nap. I would look up from my mat and look longingly at the library books that were in the Reading Corner, and eventually begin to poke and prod the other kids near me because I was bored. I got into trouble more than once for sneaking over to the Reading Corner when Miss F. was occupied in the supply room, only to discover that they were the same books I had read the week before.

Just before the end of the year, they realized I could read. Actually, my father got tired of hearing how boring it was for me, and he went to the school and asked them bluntly why they had not figured out I could read. I remember being taken into the teachers’ lounge and asked to read from reading texts for first grade, then second, then third…they stopped at 7th grade.

In those days, they didn’t know what to do with me. So after mulling it over during the summer, on the first day of first grade, at the ripe old age of 5 1/2, they put me in the second grade. And for the rest of my school years, whatever academic advantage they had given me was overshadowed by the social disadvantage of being eighteen months younger than the other kids.

Socialization, indeed. I was always “the baby”, and never fit in. As for the academic “advantages” – since I skipped first grade and missed those all-important math facts, I counted on my fingers until I was 25 and working on Wall Street. I didn’t master my math facts until I taught them to my own children.

When I first met my husband, he had this book called “Homeschooling for Excellence.” I couldn’t believe it. There was an alternative to school! I loved the idea of homeschooling. Well, several years later, we have four kids who have never been to school. But, my husband actually loved school. He got along with everyone, did great academically, and goes to all the reunions. But he loves new ideas and new ways to do things, so he loved the idea of homeschooling right from the beginning.

But that is really the problem with mass schooling, isn’t it? What is a wonderful thing for one child can be traumatic or stupid for another…

I actually had a wonderful school experience (but I fit in very easily). One of the things that I really value is the ability to customize what we do based on what my kids need. And to let them develop on their own timetable (says the mom of a perfectly normal “late” reader).