Works 4 Me site was created by Elana B., a software engineer from Atlanta, GA. in 2023 as a resource for fellow parents debating on homeschool or online school.

Site Philosophy:

• We do NOT believe in a ONE SIZE FITS ALL approach to raising or educating our children.  Our children are unique individuals and our lives and circumstances are too different to suggest otherwise.
• There might be a better education option for your child than the Public School or Traditional Brick and Mortar School
• We cannot tell you what to do, only discuss ideas
• It can be very difficult for a parent to make the change after being brainwashed for years about what education means.
• We are 100% against CANCEL CULTURE
• We are PRO – healthy, respectful discussion.
• Knowing the difference between education, indoctrination and intimidation.

About Elana and Why this site:

I will start by saying that I went to public school, went to College and got my undergraduate in Education.  Years ago, I would say something like  “obviously, public school did not hurt me”. However, after giving my own daughter a better educational option (in my opinion), I am pretty sure that my own experience with public school DID hurt me throughout my life.  It kept me from taking too many chances, it restricted my creativity and I was consumed by the outcome and not the process.  Today, it seems exponentially worse than when I was in school. It was only after I pulled my disgruntled elementary student out of a traditional school and put her in Montessori that I realized how messed up my understanding of education had become.  Almost like a cult member, I had to be de-programmed.  It caused quite a bit of anxiety and self doubt.  Was I about to hurt my daughter’s chances at success by leading her  so far away from the path most traveled?  Painfully, she had to go through a transformation too. She had some minor learning challenges and her early experience at a well respected private school had caused a major blow to her self worth. My early reader no longer wanted to read because it caused her anxiety.  She had been bombarded with expectations of instant perfection and piles upon piles of worksheets  from a pretty  expensive institution that advertised “High Academic Achievement” for all their students.  But my child would come home and literally shut down with stacks of homework still left to be done.  For weeks, I would try and sit with her and help her with homework sometimes until midnight.  But all I saw was her bubbly, creative personality becoming dull and resentful. For a couple of weeks, I sat down and beat myself up for choosing the school.  Then a voice would take the other side saying “Kids go to school, they have to adapt. You are expecting too much!”  To say I was conflicted was an understatement.

Around the time I was beating myself up, I met a parent whose son quit school 2 weeks before graduation. He held several scholarship opportunities and was academically at the top of his class. He had taken a plethora of AP classes.  But one morning his dark circled puffy eyes met his mom’s eyes and he told her he couldn’t take one more day of school.  He was burnt out.  He dropped out of Highschool just two weeks before graduating.  No AP credit, the last required classes abandoned, no diploma.  For the parent who has traveled the brick and mortar path, that has to be the most devastating feeling!  His counselors had pushed hard for him to take AP classes that were not necessary and the overload had pushed him over the cliff.  His mother told me how furious she was.  Two years later, he still had no high school diploma nor GED.  I truly hope he found his confidence and the right path for himself.

That year, I resolved to stop worrying about grade levels, advanced placement or labels.  I wanted the joy of learning back.  After a little research, I enrolled her in an early elementary Montessori school.  I remember being told that they did not have grades, that they expect the children to master the skills at their own pace.  Like any Brick and Mortar parent, the brainwashing was hard to overcome.  On the surface, I could see the benefits, but it took a solid year for me to accept that it was actually GOOD for her.

After a few years, we moved to DIY homeschooling.  By Highschool, I found a Mastery-Based High accredited school program and enrolled her.  I did not let her take AP classes but instead she was dual enrolled for a few classes at a community college her Senior year.  When she started tackling college applications, she did it by herself (except for FAFSA).   She eventually secured quite a selection of impressive scholarship offers from schools around the country (and Canada) for private schools and a few public Universities.  We never expected it.  Our friends with College bound kids had been continually brainwashed with an exact formula they preached to get into a good University.  So being that far off that path, it was still a shock that she had the success with applications that she did.

Looking back is always 20/20. My daughter wasn’t sucked into fads, false personas, false virtue. She did not spend time on government imposed crap that took away from her basic education.  She had time to research her own interests, she was empowered to seek her own skills and she was not forced to take classes that financially benefited a school (like AP).

While I am convinced that I picked a better path for my own daughter, I am not here to convince parents to do the same.  I hope this site is a good resource for those who choose a different path. However, for those who choose not to leave the safe haven of their brick and mortar, I hope you will find some useful information for being a supportive parent.  And because educating our children should include REAL family values, right and wrong, TRUE science, compassion and child growth, we will be discussing the bigger picture.

Elana B.