My wife and I have decided, on two separate occasions, to pull our children out of public school and teach them at home. We have been very satisfied with our decision both times. We have seven children ages 12(g), 11(b), 9(g), 7(b), 5(b), 3(g) and 1(b) and a boy due in July. The first time we pulled them out we had children in 1^st and 2^nd grades. Our oldest daughter was not being challenged, and was bored and our son was being labeled because his approach was different and something as simple as him choosing an alternative way to put an art project together was landing him in "detention". Both he and my daughter blossomed with the attention and challenges that they were presented with at home.

We put our children back in public school for a time when we moved to our little farm, because of a concern for the amount of time we would have available for home schooling and getting established on our new place. The children had no problem with their academic abilities and because we had kept them involved in our Church activity, and other activities such as, Scouts and dance lessons, and they had no real social problems. After a year and a half of public school we soon found out that there would be more time for our family and to give each of our children the individual attention that they each needed if we home schooled them. We also found:

• Our children were not being taught responsibility and that the schedule that the school imposed on us impaired our efforts to teach them responsibility.
• The teachers and administration of the school did not support our family’s standards of behavior.
• The school administration required teachers to approach their duties in a way that the administration could quantify, which resulted in an environment that did not encourage our children's natural sense of wonder and desire to learn.
• Because of the fundamental means by which public schools are funded and continually justified, the school is organized in such a way (grades, classes of 20 or 30), as to teach by the most efficient means and are seemingly unable to use more effective approaches to educate our children.
• School organization imposes a false socialization on our children. It is a society made up of arbitrarily grouped children, which are also segregated by age. This society fosters the importance of popularity and actually works to diminish the natural diversity that exists because we are all unique human beings. It tells our children that they should all dress a certain way, think a certain way, and be interested in the same things. Our children learn that if you are different you are weird, un-cool, a nerd or a jerk.

The other thing to consider is the value of "mainstream life". Today's mainstream is sometimes like being up the "mainstream" without a paddle. We jump into life and go along with "culturally accepted norms" of living the rat race, and running in the rut of everyday life. We should really consider whether we should want to jump into this stream. Hopefully we will be able to teach our children how to positively affect the mainstream by being in a position to think for themselves and discern the value of any activity and work and to contribute to the progress and uplifting of society and the "mainstream".