Why this California couple is pulling their kids out of public school

Homeschooling is growing in popularity across the country and this California family is about to join the ranks.

Videos by Rare

After years in the public school system, California parents Kira and Mark Davis have decided theyʼve had enough of public schooling for their children.

With two young children currently in California public schools, the Davisʼ decided it was time for a change due to recent changes in the American educational system.

“It became clear to us that Common Core was a very frustrating and unproven method of teaching,” Kira Davis told Rare.

“Each homework assignment (particularly math) brought new confusions and frustrations. We weren’t able to help because the method was completely different from how we learned. Couple that with all the gaps we were seeing (no more cursive, no geography, little American history) and we felt it was our responsibility to close those gaps and give our son the opportunity for experiences he can’t have in a regular school environment.”

Their 11-year-old son will begin homeschooling next year. Their 6-year-old will stay in public school for one more year while the family gets used to homeschooling.

“We decided that for our first time we shouldn’t overwhelm ourselves while we figure it all out. Thankfully we have very good public schools in our suburb so I feel comfortable leaving my youngest there for one more year,” Davis said.

Homeschooling will be a new adventure for the family. Kira attended public schools, mostly in Canada, and Mark was educated in both public and private schools. They considered private schools for their own kids, but determined that it was cost prohibitive for their family.

“We would love the opportunity for our kids to include biblical studies in their learning and we understand homeschool will be a huge commitment for us,” Davis said. “We would love to do private school, but in this economy in this particular state it is simply beyond our reach right now.”

Fortunately, they were open to other learning options, and landed on homeschooling for their own family.

“My husband and I are open-minded about learning,” Davis explained. “We believe there are more ways for children to learn what they need to know than just traditional day-to-day public education.”

As for their son, he is excited about homeschooling, as it takes the focus away from school and more on learning.

“We live in southern California and he is very interested in being an actor and a filmmaker. We decided a great addition to our learning would be to spend time in Hollywood taking classes and trying auditions,” Davis said. “There is no replacement for real life experience! We are looking at it as an adventure!”

The most important thing for a childʼs education is that it is the right fit for that particular child. Kids learn differently, and public education is getting more and more one-size-fits- all.

Davis added that “[h]aving schooled children both in the inner city and the suburbs I understand that if your public schools are good or bad, every parent deserves to have the control in where and how their kids learn.”

School choice empowers parents to do what is best for their kids. In this case, it means that the Davis family can embark on a homeschool adventure next fall!

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