Most ppl around my area are on spring break, but the few schools still open here in Minnesota are definatly gonna be different for the remaining days. Yet another dumbass tragic event...

MSNBC

I thought it took 10 lives.

One of the many reasons I homeschool my kids.

i don' t mean to pry or be rude, i just can' t think of a better way to say this, but here goes anyways;

do you find that by homeschooling your kids they have developed any sort fo social handicap?? i mean i know they are your kids and it' s easy to see them as perfection, but i mean.....do you feel they lose anything from being home-schooled and not having that interaction all day with other children??

do you find that by homeschooling your kids they have developed any sort fo social handicap??

Hmmm, let me think ---- no!

My kids socialize daily with children of a wide range of ages, as well as adults. Saying that, my son has Asperger' s Syndrome and children and adults with this condition do have a hard time socializing and being in large crowds (major panic city). However, he has oodles of friends and is usually one of the popular kids on the block.

My husband was the one who approached me with the idea of homeschooling our three kids. I, at first, thought it would be a bad idea; however, I quickly changed my mind. The main reason is all three of my children have issues. I' ve been a member of Kikizo long enough to feel comfortable with explaining a few things.

My twin daughters - one has Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD) with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and ADD -- the other one has Tourettes Syndrome with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

My son - already explained that.

I took my first daughter out of public school due to her ODD. She was violent towards herself and her teacher (scratching, biting, kicking). She would constantly run away from the school. Even today, she will run away from me in a store and I have to call security to help locate her. She sees and hears things other people don' t (auras, spirits, etc.). I have considered schizophrenia, but the doctors say she is to young. Anyways, the school was relieved, to say the least, that I decided to homeschool (she was 5 years old).

I pulled her sister out of school the next year, because the teachers found her ticks to be disruptive to the class and constantly urged me to " up her medication" .

My son was pulled out of school in grade 4 (he is in grade 6 now), as the new principle and some of his teachers couldn' t and wouldn' t accept his fears (AS people tend to have many phobias - crowds, loud noises, afraid to be hurt and therefore refused to participate in gym class, etc.) My son asked to be homeschooled. He is also a highly intelligent individual and would be called into the grade 6 class to read to them and to help certain students with their work.

These are the main reasons, but I have many others -- my son ended up in the emergency room two times in a week period because of bullys, teachers constantly wanted to medicate or up the medications of my children (my son has never taken meds, but both daughters do), teachers not willing to provide " one on one" help when a student needs the extra attention, the school setting rules that students are not allowed to talk in the hallways at all or be put in detention (these are elementary school children- give me a break), absolutely no running outside in the playground (starting to sound more like a prison to me), major amounts of homework (nothing wrong with homework, except they were expected to do hours of extra work at home -- what the hell are the teachers doing), no resources left in the school system and therefore no help for kids that needed the extra attention, and teachers so frustrated and strung out because they have 30 kids in a classroom with half of them being ADHD or something and not caring if they help the kids at all.

At home, my kids get one on one attention, they go at their own pace, they help each other, have more tolerance now for each other and other people, they are all above average readers for their age group (each is a high school level) - the girls are nine and my son is 11. They have no problem interacting with adults and are more well behaved now. I don' t have to worry about my kids having to " go with the trends" , as so many young children and teenagers do in public schools and being accepted because of the way they dress, or if they smoke, etc. One daughter wants to be a chief (actually creates her own recipes), the other wants to be a fashion designer (loves to sew and draw) and my son wants to be a video game designer (has already drawn up plans for a couple).

I have no worries about my kids.

Enough said, sorry if I ranted too much.

after re-reading what i posted.....i realize how much of a jack-ass i sounded like. i apologize.

Sharon, that school sounds like they didn' t want kids to be kids. No running outside in the playground? I am amazed that they even had a playground. They probably didn' t like it if one of them laughed or enjoyed their youth in any way. Homework for kids under grade 6 is ridiculous in my opinion, especially multiple hours worth.

wow, Sharon it must be tough for you sometimes. I bet you get all sorts of comments about your kids [good and bad], but i am here to say Good Luck and hope your kids will get everything they want!

the.ben - No apology required. No offense taken.

Joe - Even the Vice Principal quit because he had enough of the " rules" the new principal made.

Silentbomber - Actually most everyone I' ve encountered, including family and friends, have been very supportive and understanding. Thanks.

I' m not going to say it has been a " piece of cake" all the time, but I love my kids and I wouldn' t give them up for the world! That' s what being a parent is all about.

And, by the way, my daughter wants to be a " chef" , not a chief (LOL)

Ahg School was sucha bitch and I only recently got out of highschool. I remember elemetry being hell. The stress of constant homework (2-3 hours a day after 6-7 hrs of school + sleep was nearly impossible for som reason) and lack of fun was so bad at one point that I got constant nose bleeds and was put out of school for more then 2 weeks from sickness just from stress. nightmare of a place. Still I survived it all and will be starting college soon.

I feel very sorry for the next generation if we keep going at this rate.

Mass X-Hah! If you think HS was tough wait until you get into college. My advice is to take the minimum of hours your first semester despite what some might tell you. It' s not going to kill you to put some training wheels on the college bike first so to speak. I did 15 hours my first semester and hated it, and now I made the mistake of doing 19 hours and I' m hating it even worse. I' m taking 12 hours all the way next year baby.

Sharon-That is quite strange that all of your children have such serious disorders. It sounds like you have the right idea about home schooling your children. My mom' s a teacher so I like to think I have an insider view of the industry. Chances are your kids would have been placed in special ed within a few years and swept under the rug. Or even worse, stamped with the problem child tag and have to go through the entire school process with that. BTW, if this isn' t too personal...are the disorders a product of genes or just random?

15 hours... A DAY?

No...hell no...I would be dead if that was the case. 15 hours a week...The problem is not how long you spend in the classroom. The problem is when about 3 classes assign major projects that are out of the classroom and due around the same time. Then you have to juggle everything around those and spend most of your time writing essays and reading textbooks. Like this weekend I have a photo essay due Monday, and a revised paper due as well...and a big Biology test on Thursday which I have to complete the review by Tuesday-which will be a long day because I have a Biology Lab and then I' m going to a math test study session scheduled at 6 pm. This semester I have 3 classes a day, and really 2 classes on Tuesday and Thursday because I have stopped going to my biology class because I can pass the tests anyways.

So then you factor in a day like that with some alone time and you get the picture of why 19 hours is almost too much.

BTW, if this isn' t too personal...are the disorders a product of genes or just random?

My nephew (husband' s side) is ADHD, but that was all we knew about at the time. The specialists urged us to dig into our families histories to see if perhaps a relative had something no one could explain (we' re talking way back). Come to find out that on my side of the family, we have numerous people with unexplained ticks, obsessive compulsive tendencies, bipolar (manic depression), Alzhimers, Parkinsons, " bad kid" labels, etc. Aspergers, Tourettes, Obsessive Compulsive, ADD, ADHD, Alzhimers, Parkinsons, and many others are all related in the neurological disorders categories. They are also known to skip many generations. Who Knew? Back in my folks days, people didn' t hear " titles" to these conditions, but just considered the adults strange and the kids " being kids" . My niece, husbands side, has tendencies that remind us a lot of my son' s and she has major trouble in school, but nothing has ever been diagnosed (she is 14).

The other thing is that I have a rare blood type and produce antibodies(RH negative) which will possibly kill any unborn child I carry, unless I get a shot as soon as I find out I' m pregnant. I also require the the medicine to be put into my IV prior to delivery. This medicine has come under scrutiny for possible links to disorders in children. Also, I was induced at labor and the drug used is also under scrutiny for links to these disorders. And if that is not enough, the vaccinations given to our kids today are being linked to these neurological disorders as well.

Can' t win no matter what!

It was very sad to hear about the school shooting, and of course they find anything different to blame, like Marlynn Manson put the damn sawed off shotgun in the kids hand. But it was weird how school wasn' t any different, we just went about our normal business, the only difference I saw was three cops in the office in the morning. You think our school would be a little different being someone was arrested for attempted murder, my school is so great. I wish I was homeschooled, it would make life a whole lot easier. I love how everyone in elementary wished to be in highschool and now we all would do whatever we could to get back to those days. There was a turn of events in the shooting, they arrested another guy last night for playing a part, they don' t think it was just one kid anymore, who knows, it' s just really sad. Minnesota is now know for the second largest school shooting, what an accomplishment.