It's Official

Yesterday was the kids' last day of public school.  I guess, even though we haven't started any lessons yet, we are officially a "homeschool family."

Holy crap. What have we done?

Did I type that out loud?

OK, I admit it. I'm a little panicked. I am now responsible for my kids' education. Me. What the heck do I know about teaching? Public school wasn't THAT bad was it? We could manage. I'll just tell the school district that I've changed my mind.

Deep Breath.

Who loves our children more than me and Steve? No one.

Who knows our children better than me and Steve? No one.

Who has a truly vested interest in the success of our children? Only Steve and I do.

Who is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of our children? Only Steve and I are.

A friend asked a question on his Facebook page the other day. He wrote, "If your kid fails in school, who's fault is it?"

That question really made me think. The blame can fall any of three ways... the teacher/school, the student, and the parents. What percentage of blame goes where is dependent on a lot things including the age of the child. But ultimately, I believe a student's failure is the parent's fault.

If a child refuses to behave in class or do his homework or have an active interest in his own education, one could argue that the failure is the child's. But who was responsible for teaching the child manners and acceptable behavior and for instilling the importance of education? The parents.

If the teacher individually or the school as a whole is unacceptable and the child doesn't learn, the teacher and school have some blame. But who is choosing the school the child is in or allowing the child to stay in a failing classroom? The parents.

My kids weren't failing in school, but I do think their school was failing them. If they don't get a an excellent education though, then in a way, they are "failing." They were not being challenged. There was as much "indoctrination" as learning going on. There were large gaps in what I believe should have been taught and what wasn't. There was too much time spent on some subjects that are not of importance relative to other subjects. In our case, the children share no blame in this. The teacher and school certainly do. But ultimately, allowing our children to stay in the school system would be the equivalent of us, as parents, failing our children by not making the best education possible available to them.

It is this thought that is keeping me sane today, and it is what I will hold on to on the days (that I'm sure will continue to come) when I question why we decided to homeschool.