Homeschooling

Question

We homeschool, ever since an extremely well known Sephardic Rav in Israel answered our shaila (regarding gentile secular studies teachers) that was asked about the local mesivta with: "homeschool". We have been at it for 9 years and my eldest is graduating from High School this spring. We have 7 (BIH) girls and one boy (who is 4). Personally I have found homeschooling to be much easier than dealing with schools. I was educated in Talmud Torah run by Rabbis and Rebbetzins from Lakewood 30 years ago. When my children were in school, I was shocked at the lack of education among the teachers who were teaching my children. My daughters learn Chumash with Rashi using the dikduk method (rather than the repetition method that was used in our local schools). Tefillot are learned word by word with understanding. Navi we learn in English with commentators from many different sources including a text series from England. I teach Jewish history and of course the girls learn halacha for a significant part of each day. This website is actually a big part of our halacha lessons! (don't get nervous) Before this website I was using kashrut texts which were in Spanish. With regard to the dreaded High School classes (Algebra, Chem., Physics, History, English Literature, Biology, and Geometry) there are numerous inexpensive online programs. Many of these programs make instructors available by phone and internet to answer questions. I discovered these programs when I learned that the local yeshivas use them as well. When our son reaches the age for learning Mishnayot, we plan to hire one of the several elderly Rabbis who have retired to our neighbourhood to learn with him one on one. We have had no shortage of well educated, retired, religious men who are eager to teach our son and he has been "hanging out" with the morning Beit Midrash (retirees) since he is three. I am NOT superwoman. To the contrary, I have had very difficult pregnancies and have not been a very energetic mother. I have found that so much time is wasted in the girls schools learning things that they should not learn (like Talmud) and memorizing things that they really don't need to memorize (Onkelot - why not just be familiar with it and read it?). Also there is so much pressure to put on a production, to be popular, to sleep over at Shabbatons (my father did not permit us to sleep out of his house until we were married and I think this is still a good policy given what is going on out there), that there seems to be very little time for learning halacha, basic Jewish outlook and history, chumash, navi, basic mussar (properly, not memorizing), how to pray, etc. The secular education I see out there from the schools is well......I am sure that I am not the only one who receives Bar Mitzvah thank you notes. Home educated children have direct power over their "personal time." When their work is finished, then they can pursue their interests, but not before. This means that the schoolwork usually gets done quickly and accurately (because if it is not correct we make them redo it until it is). As a result of the wealth of self-directed time, one of my daughters is an accomplished classical pianist and also has a knowledge of U.S. and World history that is at the college level. Another daughter has become a world class baker and gourmet cook, as well as a designer of various artistic textile projects. Another daughter knows everything about construction and fixes and builds things in the house (she just turned 11). I could go on. The point is NOT to brag. The point is that each child has a tremendous personal potential that is tragically most often squashed by the over-rigidity of the schools. Home education is not for everybody obviously, but if you can make it work with your lifestyle, you just might find that it is a lot easier than you would expect, and the rewards far greater. We do not hire household help at all. We do not NEED to because an important of our children's education is self-sufficiency.