OK, I'll list all my reasons.
1. Like I said, my baby is unhappy and wants to try something else. He cries while he does his homework, which is tedious busywork designed to "reinforce" concepts that he understood two years ago. He gets mysterious stomachaches and headaches right before school most mornings. He says he's stressed out and sad while he's at school, and that's enough reason to try a new approach.
2. His teacher thinks that she should be extra strict and demanding because he's smart. Clearly, she doesn't know my kid. All that pressure is getting in the way of the learning process. (See above!)
3. He's bored. He says, "Mom, why are we doing all the same things we did last year?"
4. We want to enrich his learning at home, but he spends the most receptive hours of the day bored at school, then comes home tired.
5. A classroom full of kids is not the best way to "socialize" a child. Not if you want your child to behave in a civilized way. Trust me, I've heard the stories and I have witnessed it myself. The teachers have about all they can handle with behavior problems--when are they supposed to actually teach?
6. One teacher with one student has to be better than one teacher with 25.
7. Right now, their learning experience is the equivalent of "channel surfing." Dabble in this topic, learn a few factoids about that topic, but don't go into any depth in any topic. Real wisdom does not come from committing a bunch of facts to memory for the test.
8. Speaking of tests...between the twice yearly standardized tests, monthly curriculum tests, weekly timed memorization tests, math and spelling tests--my kids are getting tested every other day! Why? What are these tests really measuring, besides their ability to endure tests? I don't have to test my kids--I know exactly what their abilities are, what skills need to be practiced, and what knowledge gaps need to be reviewed.
9. I'm already teaching them at home. I help with homework nightly. It's always tedious, usually boring, occasionally helpful, but most often a waste of their time and mine.
10. Because they asked me to!
And here's the bonus reason:
11. Learning doesn't only happen within a specific building, between specific hours, guided by only by individuals specifically trained to impart specific information. Learning is a life-long, limitless process of seeing and interpreting the world of information around you. School is one way to teach one kind of learner one kind of curriculum. It's not the only way.
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