Kids are different, families are different. It is really a very sad state that I see our society in. I had a student come to my class on a Friday as soon as school had ended. She had seen me eating peanuts earlier in the day and asked if she could take some home. After some going back and forth I found out that she rarely eats on the weekends and school was where she got her meals. I was talking too my principal about this and he said that it was actually more common than you would think. I had another kid that always wanted to talk to me, constantly stopping in between classes. His mother came in one day and she gave me the run down about how this boys dad had been raping him for years and was now in prison. She also thanked me for always supporting him. I honestly thought of him more as a pain but I was always positive. After talking to his mom I had a whole new perspective. I've got several other examples but it's depressing. What so many of these kids endure is terrible and I know this is why they act the way they do. I'm just hoping that I can keep that in perspective as the year progresses.

That's cool that you have the same goal. I really think in this day and age that a proper education at home is the way to go, you just have to do it correctly and make sure that your kids stay social. My wife was reading me a post on Facebook last night and a kid was completing his senior year in home school AND his bachelor's degree at the same time, debt free.