To answer the question being asked by a lot of people, here’s why we decided to homeschool Corbin. It’s a multifaceted answer, so just bear with me.
I started thinking about it a long time ago. I know upon first glance, it seems crazy to pull him out of what is truly one of the best public school districts in the country. The Woodlands schools are amazing. The teachers and staff at McCullough Jr. High are awesome. Corbin’s grades were fine, his behavior was fine, his social life amongst the 2000+ other 7th and 8th graders was fine, his enjoyed school just fine. See what happened in that equation? Corbin was doing fine. I want more than fine for him. I don’t want him to spend two hours sitting on a bus, fiddle around at school all day, then come home at 5pm every evening and do monotonous homework until bedtime. After all of that time spent on ‘learning’ I want more than ‘fine’ results. I don’t want him to just float through the rat race. Corbin is great at math, great at reading, great at writing, and has a very creative and entrepreneurial mindset. Despite his potential, there is nothing in his academic record (other than the standardized test scores that were excellent) that would back that up. I want Corbin to have the freedom to develop his strengths to the fullest extent. I’m dedicated to put the resources in front of him to take him there. It is foolish for me to expect the public school system to cater to his individual needs. If Corbin was a discipline problem, or had some kind of learning trouble, the school would have to make accommodations for him. Since he doesn’t have any of those problems, I could easily see him just coasting through school. I take responsibility to offer him more than that.
On top of all of the vast resources online, the resources here in The Woodlands for homeschoolers would seriously blow your mind. There are just too many to even start to take advantage of them all. On top of all of the resources at hand, there is also Corbin’s home environment. You all know that David and I are both devoted lifetime learners ourselves. At home Corbin has always been creative, engaged, and enthusiastic about learning new things, but when he would step into the school – a curtain would just go up. He was just so disconnected, and always concerned about what everyone else was doing. It was my fear that, as the years progressed, he would be more swayed by peer pressure than any of my other kids have ever been. Projecting his current trajectory, I could see trouble ahead.
So anyway, there it is. I researched and prayed and I really couldn’t find a solidly unselfish reason for not doing it – so we did it. And there it is. Time will tell if it will work. School wasn’t working either so it seems like a good bet. In just one week he has read 3 books, written a persuasive essay on one of the books, completed several hours of math on Khan Academy, taken a field trip to the Blue Bell factory in Brenham, visited a car dealership to photograph cars, earned his diy.org photography badge, completed 8 days worth of classes in an online class that teaches him independent study skills and how to learn, done 4+ hours of volunteer work, watched 2 documentaries about Vikings in preparation for his upcoming History unit, learned how to make shoes, learned how to use a DSLR camera, learned to use the Dewey Decimal System in the library, learned how radio frequencies are used to control remote controlled toys, learned about chemical reactions using vinegar and baking soda, completed and matted a drawing he wants to give someone for a Christmas gift, and we haven’t even started his actual curriculum yet. From the time he gets up in the morning, until he goes to bed at night, learning is part of his world. In one week – he’s already a totally different kid. He’s more relaxed, inquisitive, and happy than he’s ever been. I’m good with that.