I'm homeschooled. What do you all think of the issue of homeschooling. Yes, no, socialization, all that stuff.
I'm doing a speech on homeschooling and I'd love to get your input. And, I'm really glad I'm homeschooled, too.
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I'm homeschooled. What do you all think of the issue of homeschooling. Yes, no, socialization, all that stuff.
I'm doing a speech on homeschooling and I'd love to get your input. And, I'm really glad I'm homeschooled, too.
I've known or seen some, and homeschoolers can definitely become smarter is my opinion via hours and hours available for reading. The few I've known are more on the quieter side. Not at all socially maladjusted; just quieter. They seem more poised and self-possessed; not bothered by worldly problems.
And, as a teacher, I've seen a lot that I WISH were homeschooled!
I'm not a teacher but the few experiences with kids of home school was also good. Kids seemed very bright.
I was home schooled for most of my education. It has it's ups and downs. I'm naturally a quiet/shy person. I don't think it has much to do with my being home schooled, but maybe. I definitely know plenty of homeschoolers who are extremely outgoing.
Academically, it definitely has it's benefits. The students and parents are way more in control of the course content and quality. While public (and private) schools are limited in the courses they offer, one can find a book on almost any subject and turn it into credit for home school. Homeschooling isn't perfect of course, and I'm not sure it's for everybody. Since my mom worked, we kids were left to ourselves a lot and I got pretty behind my last year. It's also a lot of work for the parents.
Anyway, overall, I think homeschooling is a great option. I'm glad I did it.
check out writer jedediah purdy's book For Common Things in which he devotes some discussion to his homeschooling experience where he learned about life, which he considered foundational to his later 'formal' ivy league education.Quote:
Originally Posted by andave_ya
The only part I would be concerned about would be the ability of the parent to teach all courses as well, and the ability to fully explain the subject if they have not studied it themselves. I realise for some subjects (and also at the high school level) this is kinda redundant as the majority of the info can be found on the internet in various ways but for the scientific subjects I think it is important.
I will check out the book, jon, thanks.
About the teaching, the books are, depending on the curriculum, thoroughly comprehensive. Also, there are teachers guides, homeschool support groups, counseling, peer groups, and lessons on videotape so that doesn't happen. It's just up to the parent to utilise them. And after a certain point, the parent isn't really needed anymore. I'm in tenth grade now and the only thing my mom does is help me out with my algebra.
Kilt makes a good point. The homeschooled kids I have run across have mothers who were teachers. I assume there are aids (in the form of kits) to help the parent.Quote:
Originally Posted by kilted exile
Isn't that ironic?Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
I guess, but it seems natural that they feel they know what to do. Plus a lot of teachers i know don't think much of schools. I guess everyone thinks they can do something better themselves.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
I was homeschooled for all of my education and as I look forward to college I will admit that one thing I will miss is all the free time I got being homeschooled...I would be able to get my work done and then go roam the countryside if I wanted... I was also able to do a ton of free study.. I think it will be a huge change to go to college, though I am very anxious to get there:)
I have always wanted to try homeschooling. I am self taught in most things I do love to learn about, like philosophy, psychology and up until a year ago literature. I certainly have learned some good non-academic skills in school like how to deal with beauracracies, how to work with authority figures you know are wrong most of the time,how to cope with the stupidity of busy work and many more which I am sure I will find useful in "the real world". But in terms of education as well as socializing I think homeschooling is certainly as good as any other schooling, and probably much better in some aspects.
My two children are unschooled. As we should know, each child/student learns differently. School works for some children and their families. For others, it does not work at all. Likewise, homeschooling/unschooling is not for every child. Nor is it workable for every family. Most families have two parents who work full time. It's hard to homeschool with two full time working parents. Perhaps the most desirable situation is when parents actually want to spend time with their kids and help them learn. Some not to miss lit regarding homeschooling includes John Holt and Grace Lewllyn (The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quite School and Get a Real Life).
Have fun!!
I am being homeschooled, and with how the schools are turning out(drugs, etc.), I cannot imagine ever going to school. The only thing I miss out on is the friends. I have lived in the same town my entire life, and I don't have any friends there, because I never had the chance to meet any! I have friends, I am not unsocial, but just not in my town!!
~Rae~
wait, unschooled? what does that mean? I don't deny that each person learns differently, but despite appearances not all homeschoolers stay home and laze around all day.Quote:
My two children are unschooled. As we should know, each child/student learns differently. School works for some children and their families. For others, it does not work at all. Likewise, homeschooling/unschooling is not for every child. Nor is it workable for every family. Most families have two parents who work full time. It's hard to homeschool with two full time working parents. Perhaps the most desirable situation is when parents actually want to spend time with their kids and help them learn. Some not to miss lit regarding homeschooling includes John Holt and Grace Lewllyn (The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quite School and Get a Real Life).
Have fun!!
There are lots of definitions that stem from John Holt's coined term of "unschooling". I'll paste one below. For more information, seeQuote:
Originally Posted by andave_ya
The Teenage Liberation Handbook
www.sandradodd.com/unschooling
www.unschooling.com
Mary Griffith's definition
Mary Griffith is the author of The Unschooling Handbook
What is Unschooling? from the Texas Unschoolers site
From a longer Q&A article on getting into college by Alison McKee, here is Alison's clarification on what unschooling is and isn't:
Q: What is unschooling?
A: Unschooling is a term that the late John Holt coined in the late ‘70's to describe learning that is based on a child's interests and needs. Unschooling does not begin with a parent's notion of what is important to learn and then turn the choices of how to learn the content over to a child. Rather, it begins with the child's natural curiosity and expands from there. Unschooling is not "instruction free" learning. If a child wants to learn to read, an unschooling parent may offer instruction by providing help with decoding, reading to the child, and giving the child ample opportunity to encounter words. If the child is uninterested in these supports, the parent backs off until the child asks for help. The most important thing about the unschooling process is that the child is in charge of the learning, not the adult. Unschoolers often do no traditional school work, yet they do learn traditional subject matter. They learn it as a natural extension of exploring their own personal interests.
Looks really interesting genoveva! I would be curious to see how different families choose to structure it.
I and Toni are homeschooled. June this year, I'll be in college and I'm still going to be homeschooled. It is my choice (and my mom's) because of certain situations that compel me to go homeschool; one major reason is time. You are definitely more in control of your time and the pace in your studies but that doesn't go showing that everyone is qualified to go homeschooling. In my university for instance, they make you take exams to see if you're really fit and eligible to be a homeschool student - meaning you have to be DISCIPLINED and FOCUSED with your studies but if you're not, you don't qualify.
Homeschooling, though having a lot of advantages, also has its setbacks. As some LitNet members said, some students are anti-social or to put it less harshly, not very much in tune with the outside world. Some tend to be more shy, more introverted, but I guess it depends on the way their parents supported them through the whole process. Parental guidance really is important. (although I don't think becoming a full-time teacher will do the trick ;) The school gives out modules for the student and once a week, they go to the school for the weekly exams - at least that is how it is in my country for grade school and high school).
Thanks Uncle Virg for telling us that we're smart. ;) :p
Homeschooling seems very interesting, I have never heard of it before. Here in Germany, it would be illegal, as every child under 16 (I think) is lawfully required to frequent some kind of school (there are more types of schools over here than just middle and high school, including some schools providing vocational education, and schools for children with special needs of whatever kind, among which students and their parents may choose).
I'm curious to know how this is done:Do homeschoolers also take the senior final exams at high school to qualify for university entrance ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Lain
Unschooling depends rather heavily on the likes and dislikes of the child, doesn't it? No, my family actually homeschools. We have a full curriculum. I'm in tenth grade this year, and we did/are doing Algebra II, biology, full English (Literature, Grammar, Composition, Spelling and Poetry), geography, Arabic. and two general education courses in Speech Fundamentals and Intro to Art.
Lain(d'ye mind if I call you that?:) ): anti-social? That depends. I'm sure you know that there are homeschool support groups that get together and go on field trips and do stuff together. Then there's church, if you are of that persuasion; you make a lot of friends at church.
Anyways, I'm glad there are a couple of fellow homeschoolers on the Lit-Net.
I'm not denying that homeschooling is given a shabby name and face now. When most people think of homeschoolers, they think that they're just utilizing a way to stay out of public school. That is not always the case. As rae said, some homeschooling parents decide to homeschool because they don't like the possibility that their children might get hooked on drugs or other nasty stuff. Mind, my words are possibility not definite. --I've yet to meet an unpleasant lit-netter, you are all fantastic.:D
Schokokeks: homeschooling (at least in California where I live) is schooling your kids at home. My Mother teaches me and my Dad is considered the principal. What's nice about homeschooling is that you can structure it according to how you please. If the child doesn't understand something, you can take as long as you need to teach it to him. Case in point: me. Last school year I did Algebra I and it took me the entire year, summer, and partway into this school year to finish it but with the major grace of God I finished!
Other benefits include: you can get up at what time you think best.
You can work as fast as you like.
You can take emergency time off according to your needs.
You are free to go on vacation if you want to.
If I can answer any questions I will. :)
I had never heard of homeschooling before I heard of it on this forum (in other occasions as well), and Schoko's post reminded me that it must be because it's illegal (I suppose it is in most countries in Europe).
I have never given much thought about it but since you ask, it seems a very very weird thing to me, probably because it is completely alien to my mentality. I think I'd be against it. I do think a kid needs to socialise in the school kind of way, with all its crap included (I am even quite against people not sending their children to preschool or whatever it's called). It's a way to form a personality. Someone here mentioned he/she is glad of being homeschooled because of how schools are, with drugs and bullying etc. Well I don't know in which state schools are in the USA (all I know about it makes me think really really bad about it), but still I think it's a part of real life and someone needs to experience it - I don't mean experiencing drugs (!) but experience what a 'difficult' environment can be like (and if your parents are homeschooling you, I think they'd carefully choose a good school for you if they were to send you to school). I've grown up in one of the worst areas of my city and went to school there and I'm proud of it, and I'm not into drugs or shooting people in the street ;)
Another reason is that personally I can't learn anything out of a class environment - even face-to-face lessons are difficult for me, there is not enough discipline (I am taking some lessons with a guy who is teaching me his native language, just for fun, and if he wasn't super motivated it'd be difficult to keep me concentrated). Of course that is highly personal and being out of class might work for other people.
Still, this homeschooling thing seems to me like a form of repression (American style? :blush: From outside it might seem so...). And I am definitely not a social person like those you see in American tv series about high schools (tons of them spring to mind), but I can't imagine people not going to school. Especially at a later age, I can sort of picture it for small children, but not for teenagers.
I know my opinion is somehow biased by the fact, as I said, that this is so unusual for me (I'd have the same reaction if you said that you spend all your holidays on Mars or Jupiter, or actually that would even make more sense to me :blush:), but count me as against that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by andave_ya
You reminded me of another aspect here: discipline/structure. I think that another reason for real schools is that you learn to face real life issues like having to get up stupidly early, have to take an overcrowded bus, face unpleasant schoolmates and unpleasnt teachers, the possibility of unfair situations, the pressure of working for a long time without holidays, of having to do things you detest... all very unpleasant but all very typical of real life.
Don't you think you'd have a harsher impact with the world by being homeschooled?
hey, no problem, everyone's entitled to his own opinion. But there are other ways to form a personality than in guarding against certain aspects of public schooling. Seriously, I never attended a public school as a student my entire life, but my personality has been formed by the company I keep, my faith, and the books I read. But like I said(I'm paraphrasing), going to public school doesn't necessarily mean you will get into drugs, it's just a possibility. The same for homeschooling. Just because you homeschool doesn't mean you haven't formed a personality.
That's not referred to me but I thought I'd comment - I obviously didnt know about these support groups since I barely knew about homeschooling itself, but I consider church somehow a more 'dangerous' thing than school - surely this won't be appreciated on this forum and is totally off-topic, but I wouldn't like it if someone's only (or almost only) social environment would be the church. I never made friends at church since I only met hypocrites, but I made my best friends at school, we've been through literally anything together in this past 11 years, and I wouldn't change then for anything.Quote:
Originally Posted by andave_ya
Geez, you're even making me happy about the 13 years of hating maths and having to take it anyway (no way to skip maths for the whole of your education in our school system). At least I know what it's like to go through that kind of suffering ;)
(oops, math, as I'm talking with Americans, maths is British apparently)
Anyways, I'm glad there are a couple of fellow homeschoolers on the Lit-Net.
That's what I call overprotection/repression. And lack of faith in your children, and in the education you're giving to them, if you think they're not clever enough to stay away from crap.Quote:
As rae said, some homeschooling parents decide to homeschool because they don't like the possibility that their children might get hooked on drugs or other nasty stuff. Mind, my words are possibility not definite.
Well, you've just made my acquaintance :DQuote:
--I've yet to meet an unpleasant lit-netter, you are all fantastic.:D
:) same time post.
Discipline/structure is one of the most important things you learn, no matter what the school. My teacher is also my Mom, but just because that is the case it doesn't mean she lets me sleep till ten everyday. I have homework. Responsibilities. Chores. Places to go and things to see.
But this aspect is probably where most homeschoolers fall short. Not all homeschoolers are interested in disciplining themselves to learn their studies. My Mom has always said that this is the fault of the parents/teachers. Discipline is vital but only as much as the parents enforce it because children need guiding and won't discipline themselves.
Sure, well I was expressing myself to broadly but I didn't mean to generalise. Still, I think someone needs not only to be sociable with other kids, but also to experience difficult environments to have a wider view of the world. And sorry I'm an atheist by choice (my family is religious) so the argument about faith just makes me worried instead of convincing me ;) (with all due respect for your beliefs of course).Quote:
Originally Posted by andave_ya
Possibilites, yeah. There are tons of people without a personality even in school, believe me (well sure you do ;)) and they're even the ones more likely to be into drugs out of peer pressure, but some people do learn through those experiences. It's part of growing up, there are people who are into light drugs as teenagers cos they think it's cool, then grow up and get bored of it. It's just the silliness of youth (not talking of heavy drugs of course!).
As I said, at least one of the schools I went to was terrible, there were only 2 or 3 people in my class who vaguely cared about learning something... yet that gave me wonderful cultural basis (somehow! :lol: I guess I had mostly good teachers) and made me see a world that is different from that of 'intellectuals' (I mean, people who are into culture in any way, even if their job is a plumber ;))
Quote:
Originally Posted by andave_ya
Yeah, we'll be same-time-posting for a while because I'm getting carried away with ramblings and I like to contradict :D
But don't you find it strange to have your mum teaching you? Or even... I assume you're a teenager, don't teenagers like to be away from their parents as much as possible? :D :p
Isn't that dangerous? I wouldn't be able to do 2+2 with that system, because I'd never ask someone to teach me that :D Though I'd probably be fluent in 10 languages (assuming someone would teach me those :lol:) instead of wasting time with chemistry or physics... :crash: :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by genoveva
Yes, church can be ...repressive, I guess, is the word...if it is the only environment. I'm not saying anything against church because I am a Christian but there is more than church for socialization. I'm taking some college courses so I do have a slight knowledge of what gives. I will say it took some getting used to. I've never been to Europe so I don't know what the schools are like here, but it's odd! They curse and swear their faces blue without realizing what they're saying. And they talk about...improper stuff...:blush: ...without caring! !!!!!! But I think that's partly my fault. I'm not really a people person -I stick to old British novels-so I'm used to rather reticent British gentlemen.
I'm afraid I didn't quite follow on the maths. I can't skip it for even one year!
As for the not trusting your kids,
In elementary school especially, a lot of kids just don't have the proper grounding to be able to resist peer pressure. One has to be really solid in who they are. Also, you get influenced by your surroundings and there is no way to deny it.
Kids just don't listen, either. I have a little friend who didn't know who Christopher Columbus was!
And I still don't think you're an unpleasant lit-netter. :D Pleased to make your acquaintance.:)
No, my Mom's cool. Another benefit of homeschooling socialization is that you learn how to socialize with adults. My parents are really cool, even though I'm a teenager.
Like knowing when to spell it's and when its :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Weisinheimer
Sorry, I know I'm pedantic but that was toooooo funny :blush:
Precisely...Quote:
Originally Posted by dramasnot6
Such as?Quote:
But in terms of education as well as socializing I think homeschooling is certainly as good as any other schooling, and probably much better in some aspects.
That can work either way of course, but for example in my teens I was rather quiet and shy and being forced into a social place like school did help me. You don't have that in English but in my language there is a formal way to address people, such as teachers, and you start doing that in middle school, at the age of 11... I thought I would never be able to do that, but of course it just became natural. Just one little thing of life that I was forced to adapt to...Quote:
Originally Posted by Weisinheimer
Actually, but that was my problem, from the age of 14/15 to 19, school was the only social activity I had, since I was a rather reclusive person. Without that I'd probably be writing from a mental asylum now :lol:
It's not (just) about it being repressive, but well it gives you its point of view... which is just one point of view... I know this is my experience, but the only people I've met in church were hypocrites.Quote:
Yes, church can be ...repressive, I guess, is the word...if it is the only environment. I'm not saying anything against church because I am a Christian but there is more than church for socialization.
Yes, and that's life.Quote:
They curse and swear their faces blue without realizing what they're saying. And they talk about...improper stuff...:blush: ...without caring! !!!!!!
I suppose you only read 18-century novels, you have never watched TV, you have never spent a few hours with someone who swears?
Question: is homeschooling commonly related to being religious?
Yes, true, but again, that's life. That's why I said it seems repressive to me... you need to make your own mistakes and learn from that... It's like trying to preserve someone by keeping them living in a bubble, but the bubble will have to break sooner or later I guess...Quote:
As for the not trusting your kids,
In elementary school especially, a lot of kids just don't have the proper grounding to be able to resist peer pressure. One has to be really solid in who they are. Also, you get influenced by your surroundings and there is no way to deny it.
Kids just don't listen, either. I have a little friend who didn't know who Christopher Columbus was!
Yeah, that is funny.:lol: How in the world did I do it twice in one post?:blush:Quote:
Originally Posted by Koa
Yes, ofcourse. As with the usual process of normal schooling, it is also done with the homeschool program. If you don't pass, you repeat a year, but that doesn't happen very often, thank goodness.Quote:
Originally Posted by Schokokeks
Nah. LitNetters call me that. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by andave_ya
Yeah I was too harsh on "anti-social". Yes, we do that too, field trips, get-togethers, orientation. All I was saying is that homeschoolers tend to be more introverted and shy.Quote:
anti-social? That depends. I'm sure you know that there are homeschool support groups that get together and go on field trips and do stuff together. Then there's church, if you are of that persuasion; you make a lot of friends at church.
:nod: I thought Toni and I were the only ones.Quote:
Anyways, I'm glad there are a couple of fellow homeschoolers on the Lit-Net.
Nice take on homeschooling. Never thought of that.Quote:
I'm not denying that homeschooling is given a shabby name and face now. When most people think of homeschoolers, they think that they're just utilizing a way to stay out of public school. That is not always the case. As rae said, some homeschooling parents decide to homeschool because they don't like the possibility that their children might get hooked on drugs or other nasty stuff.
Wow. :blush: Do I count?Quote:
Mind, my words are possibility not definite. --I've yet to meet an unpleasant lit-netter, you are all fantastic.:D
Then, how are you going to cope with people in your adult life? To me, I can't imagine living a life without school. Already, I have been lucky enough unlike 40% of the girls in my country who don't have opportunity to educate themselves there. I don't plan on wasting this wonderful opportunity, and hope to make the best of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by rae_of_light
I think "learning in school" ought to be compulsary. I don't think I am learned enough to be very sure, but it's just an opinion hudging by my own experience. In Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and especially Mathematics; what teachers have taught me; my parents could never have (though both of them are quite educated), but in the school it is different. There are "specialized" fields. You have time to discuss things with most people of your own age, and even learn to tolerate those whose opinions are totally different from yours. Most of all, there is a sense of competition which is, I believe, quite good for academics.
And it has already been mentioned, there are things (especially in engineering and medical fields) which you can't learn without being schooled.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Koa
I'm sorry the only Christians you've met turned out to be hypocrites...Even if I am a Christian, I am far from perfect merely because I am human.
About what I read, that's basically the lot of it. 18th century stuff. It's only recently I've been getting into some more modern literature. My favorite author is Dorothy L. Sayers and she wrote primarily in the 30s...The movies I like are Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and lots of old movie musicals from the 30s and 40s. Hence my Ginger Rogers avatar. I don't watch a lot of tv simply because there are no shows I like.
Is homeschooling commonly related to being religious?:
I don't really know. Sorry. Don't have that wide of an experience. :(
true that's life, but it's jarring after a course in polite British novels. It just seems really tacky to me to speak of improper things when there is SO much else to talk about! And the swearing? I told my Mom about the swearing and her opinion was that people who swear left and right really don't have a grasp of language and I agree with her.
And about making your own mistakes and learning from them, that option is open to whoever wants it. As time has almost always proven my parents right, I opt to do what my parents would. Not because I have to but because it makes sense.
Pensive: your parents don't teach you through college. Does that answer you somewhat? My Mom loves books, but just because she does doesn't mean she can teach me library science. As for discussing things with people your age, sometimes you don't want to. All the girls my age are interested in boys, makeup, breakups and other stuff that I'm not interested in. Whenever I try to speak to them I end up being a sounding board for all their fears, regrets, tears, and jokes that aren't even funny. They aren't interested in anything vaguely philosophical or even smacking of academic stuff. At the most I'll be able to talk to them about movies. That's all well and good, but even Johnny Depp gets boring after a while. I don't want to talk about boys, I'm fifteen, I don't want to get romantically attached until after college and I have never been romantic with anyone in my entire life!
I am sorry for such an outburst, it's just that the idea of trying to talk to someone whose head is stuck in a different cloud than mine is really maddening. It's here on the LitNet that people talk sense. And people that live in Europe or perhaps in other parts of the USA than California.
I've heard of both religious and non-religious people being home schooled. I don't think it has anything to do with it, although perhaps it motivates certain people to withdraw from the school system if it doesn't share their values.Quote:
Originally Posted by andave_ya
I've never heard of home schooling beyond high school. A parent that I know that home schools also arranges when possible to get other home schooling parents with their kids together for a group class. Also there are other activities that you can sign up your child for (sports, museums, music, dance, etc) that allows interaction with others their age. The children are not isolated in a bubble if that's the concern.Quote:
Pensive: your parents don't teach you through college. Does that answer you somewhat? My Mom loves books, but just because she does doesn't mean she can teach me library science. As for discussing things with people your age, sometimes you don't want to. All the girls my age are interested in boys, makeup, breakups and other stuff that I'm not interested in. Whenever I try to speak to them I end up being a sounding board for all their fears, regrets, tears, and jokes that aren't even funny. They aren't interested in anything vaguely philosophical or even smacking of academic stuff. At the most I'll be able to talk to them about movies. That's all well and good, but even Johnny Depp gets boring after a while. I don't want to talk about boys, I'm fifteen, I don't want to get romantically attached until after college and I have never been romantic with anyone in my entire life!
No need to apologize, Andave. You sound like a really bright and well adjusted young lady.Quote:
I am sorry for such an outburst, it's just that the idea of trying to talk to someone whose head is stuck in a different cloud than mine is really maddening. It's here on the LitNet that people talk sense. And people that live in Europe or perhaps in other parts of the USA than California
What's the impact or reason that it's bad to not being able to cope with people in your adult life? How dose this link to homeschooling if you are talking about after college?Quote:
Originally Posted by Pensive
Could you please explain what you mean by that?
Another great benefit of homeschooling is that the parents have the freedom to choose the curriculum that their children will use. Parents don't really have control over the curriculum of the public schools. So if the curriculum doesn't have the same beliefs or teaching style, then your children get taught something that you don't want them to get taught.
My experience within the homeschooling community is that you have polar opposite extremes within the community. You have the very religious who homeschool their children because the public school system here in the USA does not include any religious teachings, and they want their child to learn creationism, etc. Plus, many interpret the Bible as telling parents to be their children's teacher so they interpret that as needing to homeschool.Quote:
Originally Posted by Koa
On the other spectrum, there are very liberal families who don't send their children to public schools because they think the school system is dysfunctional, brainwashing, controlling, etc. etc.
It is so interesting that you have these two extremes that highly value the same thing: the freedom to teach your own.
:sick:Quote:
Originally Posted by Pensive
Eek. Perhaps in other countries where there are not laws protecting children's rights or countries where females are largely oppressed, but here in the USA I would advocate for just the opposite. Unfortunately, every state except for Texas has compulsary schooling laws. Personally, I don't like the idea of anything being compulsary. Freedom of choice rules!:thumbs_up
It is really interesting to hear other world view perspectives on homeschooling.Quote:
Originally Posted by Koa
In the USA, many homeschoolers find school to be a form of repression. Outside of it, you have so much more freedom. The world is our classroom!
And, as far as forming a personality....well, personalities get shaped outside of school too... There are so many elements regarding this...family, friends, genetics?
But, real life does not need to be unpleasant. Yes, there are some unpleasant things in this world, but why purposefully include more unpleasant experiences in your life? This doesn't make sense. More good things and pleasant experiences are what we need!Quote:
Originally Posted by Koa
Social justice activist Angela Davis says that "schools are prep schools for prison!":eek:
What's wrong with sleeping until 10am everyday? Sleep is very important!Quote:
Originally Posted by andave_ya
One of the greatest things about homeschooling is that you can make your own schedule. That could include sleeping until 10am. Learning doesn't start at 8am and end at 3pm. Learning can happen any time/ all the time!
Also, I highly disagree with you when you say that children won't discipline themselves. I think this underestimates children/ youth in general. I know lots of children who discipline themselves quite well. It's amazing what children can do if they are only given the opportunity and trust.
You probably would never have to ask someone to teach you what 2+2 is because you would probably figure it out yourself, naturally. Hmm..2 pieces of chocolate + 2 pieces of chocolate = 4 yummy!:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Koa
That is ridiculous! Of course children listen. I find the flip side to be more true. Adults often do not listen to children.Quote:
Originally Posted by andave_ya
Anyhow, at least here in the USA, school systems brainwash kids into thinking Christopher Columbus was some kind of hero who discovered the USA. Like, no one else had figured that out before... Plus, the school system suppresses the fact that Christopher Columbus raped, killed, and kidnapped natives. For more info see James W. Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me About Christopher Columbus: What Your History Books Got Wrong and Rethinking Schools' Rethinking Columbus.
She/he mentioned in her post that she is free from the company of drugists and all that by being home-schooled. But the thing is you can't spend your adult life in such a sheltered way. You have to cope with people who drink. You have to sometimes bear the company of people who oppose your views. And this is what schools teach you: to spend time with all sorts of people and to learn how to cope with them even though their views are different from yours.Quote:
Originally Posted by juketay
It links with "homeschooling" because, if you are not taught something in the beginning, it's more difficult (possible, yes, but hard) to get used to those ways later in your life. Wouldn't you feel a lot more comfortable if you have been through that "out-of-your-world" atmosphere?
Where did I say that they do?Quote:
Originally Posted by andave_ya
Again, this is what I have been trying to give my views on: you say the girls are interested in boys but you are not. Is it necessary you also get interested in boys just because they are? Do you really have to get influenced by others? You can't possibly run away from school just because of this. Why leave a good education? Why waste the opportunity of having proper specialized teachers just for the sake of some differences in opinions? Why leave a school where you have got other people to compete with you?Quote:
As for discussing things with people your age, sometimes you don't want to. All the girls my age are interested in boys, makeup, breakups and other stuff that I'm not interested in. Whenever I try to speak to them I end up being a sounding board for all their fears, regrets, tears, and jokes that aren't even funny. They aren't interested in anything vaguely philosophical or even smacking of academic stuff. At the most I'll be able to talk to them about movies. That's all well and good, but even Johnny Depp gets boring after a while. I don't want to talk about boys, I'm fifteen, I don't want to get romantically attached until after college and I have never been romantic with anyone in my entire life!
Oh, you know what? We all think we are the only ones who talk sense (well, majority). :p And don't worry, and don't judge others too harshly. Maybe, they like their life-style. Let them have the time of their life if they prefer it that way, as long as they are not hurting you. Many girls dress in short blouses and all this - but it doesn't make them bad unless they start being nasty to you or some other person for no reason at all.Quote:
I am sorry for such an outburst, it's just that the idea of trying to talk to someone whose head is stuck in a different cloud than mine is really maddening. It's here on the LitNet that people talk sense. And people that live in Europe or perhaps in other parts of the USA than California.
And don't worry. We all are something like this. We like to express ourselves when we feel the things around us are not fine, not caring if we are right or wrong in our own judgement. :D
I think this goes somewhat to the point I made earlier: Do you not think that if you had access to a trained maths teacher on a daily basis you would have been able to resolve your problems with algebra in a more timely fashion?Quote:
Originally Posted by andave_ya
Such as Germany, for example ? :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by genoveva
You are right Pensive. In order for children to become assimilated into society properly, it is important to have a variety of experiences and be exposed to differing opinions and views. This enables them when they are an adult to think for themselves and form their own opinions. In a way this is exactly what public education does not promote; public education is for the lowest common denominator and influencing all of the students to share the same views ("group-think") and thought-control through various means, including peer-pressure. (If you want more you can pm me)
Go to your local public school, walk down the hallways and see what behaviors you would want your child to emulate.
In the public school system, children are segregated by age, and have very little interaction with other adults (except for their teachers). This environment only promotes alienation from different age groups, especially adults. This is beginning to look like the real socialization trouble.
Homeschooling in no way “alienates you from society”. The “real world” is all around us; through the TV, newspaper, grocery store, driving down the street, gas station and weekend outings. Just because you homeschool doesn’t mean that you live in a bubble.
Wow, I can't believe this thread is still going strong and such passion on both sides. Great discussion.
This ties in with the other thread out there on youths and their behavior.Quote:
Originally Posted by juketay
That is a great point that I've never heard anyone else make. Good insight Juke. I bet lots of bad behavior is picked up from other kids. More adult interaction would serve the kids well.Quote:
In the public school system, children are segregated by age, and have very little interaction with other adults (except for their teachers). This environment only promotes alienation from different age groups, especially adults. This is beginning to look like the real socialization trouble.
I said somthing similar. What is surprising to me is that many teachers prefer their kids home schooled. They know how bad schools can be. There are pluses and minues to both sides here, but I think homeschooling is on balance a plus. If I had children and the time to teach them, I would choose homeschooling.Quote:
Homeschooling in no way “alienates you from society”. The “real world” is all around us; through the TV, newspaper, grocery store, driving down the street, gas station and weekend outings. Just because you homeschool doesn’t mean that you live in a bubble.
No, they can like whatever they please and I don't have to like it, but then, don't make me talk to them. It's not for lack of trying that I say this, Pensive, I KNOW people like that and seriously, I'd rather watch Barney the purple dinosaur.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pensive
Furthermore, I don't have to be influenced, I am influenced regardless. Even though I like to think I am beyond it, I'm not. As I said in an earlier post, I've started taking college courses where people curse every other word and not think anything of it. Coming from a Christian background, every word was like an electric shock but now I find the words creeping into my thoughts and I find that seriously alarming.
Differences in opinion? I don't care if people believe that God doesn't exist as long as they don't try to make me believe He doesn't. It isn't differences of opinion, it's differences in aspects of faith. Public schools want to brainwash people into believing evolution without even telling them of creationist viewpoint. Public schools don't want people to believe in God because the propaganda is that man is self-sufficient, all-wise and all-powerful. All I need to do is look at history to see for myself that it is otherwise.
And, you're assuming my mom is untrained. My Mom had a thorough education through college in Lebanon. She was computer programmer, trained in logic. When one has mastered logic, other stuff isn't difficult to master.
I think the main problem is that people see homeschoolers as unstylish lazy slobs who don't care anything about education. Please, please, dig underneath that surface and find the dedicated people. Visit
www.hslda.org
for more information.
Competition. Why do I need competition if I already want to learn?
Real life experiences. I don't live in a bubble. I take classes outside my homeschool courses. I go on field trips. I go on the internet. I take vacations. I go to concerts. I go shopping. I take road trips. I visit friends. I read the newspaper. I watch TV. I go to the movies.
The only difference is that I select what I want to see, and that doesn't include young people swearing themselves blue and doing all sorts of unpleasant stuff.
And finally, Pensive, I don't think I'm particularly amazing. I understand a multitude of stuff but the only place I can actually be "brilliant" is when I am speaking of obscure literary stuff that nobody cares about.:D
My Mom understood everything perfectly, and if that didn't work, my uncle is an algebra teacher. The only problem was with myself. It took me longer to comprehend the material.Quote:
I think this goes somewhat to the point I made earlier: Do you not think that if you had access to a trained maths teacher on a daily basis you would have been able to resolve your problems with algebra in a more timely fashion?