With children seeming to learn less than they should in school and the schools becoming more dangerous, I'm considering homeschooling my children. My mom homeschooled my brother for a year, and I also benefited from it. Has anyone here considered or done homeschooling before? What were your experiences? I've heard that homeschooled children are smarter. Is that true?

My mom kept threatening to home school me, but there's no way she's smart enough to do so. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I'm sure it really depends on who's teaching you. If you have someone (like my mom) who barely got through school themselves, then they wouldn't be able to help as much with homework and it would be more strain on the child. I think if you have a parent who's willing to study with you and learn as you do, then it should work out fine. Plus, I'm sure there are people you can contact if you need anything, maybe associated with the school?

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-Brittany Brydahl

I've thought about homeschooling my kids once I have them and they are old enough, but I'm not sure I'd have the patience. Plus, there would be no way that I could work a job. However, I am definitely not a fan of the public school system. If we have the money for it, I'd like to send them to a private school.

I knew kids who came from private school and entered public school only to learn that they were behind. I think homeschooling is good because you can directly oversee the education of your child. I like helping people understanding things and new concepts, and I love to learn. I think this is best if you want to give your child an alternative education.

I would never homeschool my children. They need to get the skills for social interaction in order to prepare them for the adult life and that is not something that can be given at home. Moreover, even if the best education is provided, the child still needs to be out of home and participate in other activities. What better place is there than school to get all that? If everybody thought that the schools were so dangerous that they'd have to keep their kids at home, I don't think the education system would be the same it is today - I don't think it is a very sound idea, neither for parents, especially not for the children.

I have met homeschooled kids who were very advanced in both knowledge and social interaction. There are special network for homeschoolers to get together and have activities similar to those of actual school, to make sure the kids learn how to communicate well. So it can be successfully done. It does, however, depend on the teacher. I don't think I would be a good teacher myself.

Making sure that children who are homeschooled know how to interact with other children is important, and it's a big concern of mine. I don't want to turn the children into people who are overly attached to their parents. Parents are natural teachers. They are responsible for teaching a child things before they enter school and before they go out in the world on their own. Homeschooling is just an extension of that nature.

Yes, you definitely would not want to raise your kids dependent on parents or overly attached to home and unable to function in the world. I suppose it can happen with homeschooling, but when homeschooling is done right, it shouldn't. Like I said, the homeschool kids I know are very well adjusted.