This post is intended to gauge interest in creating a permanent sub-section for homeschooling and afterschooling. These seem to be perennial topics that are relevant to a large number of members of our community.

Thoughts?

YES-- can we at least try a sticky to gauge interest over time?

I don't see the reason for a sub-section. These are just parts of "Learning Environments" and also the boundaries between the parts are not clear cut.

Just out of curiosity, how many people use the sections, and how do you use them? I only notice the sections when I have to decide where to create a new thread, i.e., to me they are nothing but a nuisance and I'd be happier with a completely flat structure. Am I unusual in this?

I find it useful to have a more organized structure in which to search, particularly if I'm looking back at a series of previous posts on a related topic.

I use the sections all the time. I like the way the forum is organized. And being one of the people asking and engaging in homeschooling topics, I'd love to have a sub-section. I know there are homeschooling forums all over the internet but there's homeschooling and then there's homeschooling gifted kids so I would think it would be of a great benefit for HS to have it's own spot.

I like the "flat" structure in the recent post section on the right but overall, I'd think posts would get lost too easily of it wasn't for the various subsections.

I appreciate having the sections - it makes it much easier to search through recent posts in areas people are interested in (I wouldn't have time to sift through a huge combined list, but try to take the time to look through the 2e forum). I also think homeschooling and after-school enrichment are topics that would have plenty of discussion to keep a section active

polarbear

I would be interested.

I would also be interested.

I'm interested too.

I would like to see a homeschool section.

I'm opposed. There is already no problem posting threads about homeschooling (and virtual schooling, which may or may not be regarded as homeschooling) in the "Learning Environments" forum. Often people are trying to get informed and to decide about a range of "Learning Environment" options, of which homeschooling may be one, but public, private, virtual are other options. It's better to keep the "Learning Environments" comparisons in one place rather than fragmenting into subforums.

One alternative is a sticky "clearinghouse" thread which contains links to extant (or newly created) threads on the topic.

That makes it VERY easy to search for/locate threads on a common topic.

An excellent alternative, HK. How intensive would maintenance be on the moderator side to achieve comparable updating to a subforum?

Basically, the only maintenance would be user-driven. In the forum that I help run, the problem with sub-fora is that they tend to need periodic housekeeping in order to move threads into them from the general forum that houses the sub-forum (which is where most of those threads are started, because: a) they get more traffic, and b) newer members may not even notice a sub-forum, depending on the layout and specs of the message board).

The advantage that user-driven maintenance has from a moderation standpoint in a forum like this one is pretty clear.

Basically, whomever wants to can post in that sticky thread, and add links to other threads within the forum that are informative or deal with the question or related matters.

Nice thing about that system is also that cross-referencing is possible to posts/threads which were made in OTHER sub-fora and resources outside of the message board itself, even. A sort of "ultimate" thread with a particular informative purpose, if you will.

I would love a separate section too

I always want to ask something HS related and then I don't because I don't want to make it look like I'm flooding the section with HS topics. So I'm sure it would get a lot of traffic!

I think the curriculum recs go in reccomended resources, do they not? But if you're going to sticky a thread for homeschooling shouldn't there be one in each of the age/grades subforums. The parents of littles have a different time than the parents of teens. The highschool and college subforums are comapratively bare, but there are some parents of those aged kids here. I usually take longer debating which subforum to use than constructing the post when I make a new topic.

:nodding:

Yes, Tex-- that's the beauty of a 'clearinghouse' or 'indexing' thread-- you can add links to threads that are all over the boards, and it's less problematic to have a thread that is in one forum but could have gone in any one of three.

KWIM?

It just takes time to construct them, but it's something that any member that is familiar with HTML BB-tags can do. No moderator maintenance needed!

I have for us: Writing With Ease, plain Singapore (old books) 1a -6b, Beast Academy 3a - 3d guides and practice, a new Reading Eggs subscription, Usborne World History, educational toys and games.
My arguements (to myself) in favor of homeschooling is that my kid refused to do the busywork that was offered so he got out of doing any work at school this year. He learned that by saying, "I don't know how," often enough he can get extra attention from the teacher and get out of doing any work. (They said- he can do the work. They don't know what the problem is. Don't worry, it's just immaturity; he'll grow out of it.)
By homeschooling I can practice curriculum compacting. We can pre-test the lessons, if he shows mastery he gets less work. If he gets extra attention it's when he's learning new things, not getting extra attention by saying, "I don't know. It's too hard. I can't."
He'll get more free time and be able to play outside every day. The cost will be, who will come to his birthday party? Will he still be invited to the others? Hopefully staying in all the sports teams is enough to keep him in the birthday party loop. I hope.
The good thing is- it's just kindergarten. Kindergarten is not mandatory. I can try it this year and if it's not that great no harm, no foul. He can start school when he's six without missing mandatory school at all.

La Tex - I love that we do fewer birthday parties to be honest. I see that the friendships my children are forming are *real* ones - where they connect with the other child on a level never experienced at school. And I'm not talking only gifted here. At soccer they connect with the kids who enjoy soccer, at SEMAS they connect with kids who enjoy maths, at violin group classes they connect with kids who love music. They have friends across all age groups, all abilities and all interests. It's been wonderful and the best friend kinda connections are so much more real! Aiden is 6, his closest friends, who don't even know each other, range in age from 5 right up to 11. And smaller birthday parties are even nicer for us to host because it means we can do more interesting stuff with fewer kids. Although he is already planning for December party and is struggling to keep it to under 15 kids.