homeschooling

[The Walker]

I just found this discussion and wanted to share my story.
I went to normal school until 7th grade then i switch to homeschooling.
Becca got good points. I think public school is just another bubble; though it really helps you to develop social skills.
In other hand, homeschool is good too. It build a disciplined character in me and left me develop my own mind without any direct outward influence.
I think that for me, church was a really good help in the social part of my life. There I learned to share with other people and know them. But yeah the common interest made it easier.
Soon, i'll be going to college. I know it will be hard to adjust myself to receive classes again but I have friends who had gone through that and adjusted perfectly with the time.

I think homeschooling is not a very good idea for a shy person since you really miss the social advantage of the public school but for an outgoing personality person it wont be an obstacle in his life.

[Renrut]

I feel the need to try address some of the issues brought up in Becca's post.

First so people know where I'm coming from I was "homeschooled" for basically all of my schooling. But it wasn't strictly "at home". I took some classes from a Professor at Emory University that attended also my church and offered some classes for homeschooled highschool students. I also did dual-enrollment during my senior year of highschool at Clayton State University. So thats my background and my homeschooling experience.

There would be thousands of loud, weird strangers running around me, some of whom were mutual friends since Kindergarten, or even grade 6, or 9, and I wouldn't have that social connection. I wouldn't know how to cope in large crowds or participate in group discussions. I would be used to my Mother or Father's appraisal, not a big red 'b+' with the comments, 'Good, but needs work', on it. I would have no common ground with anybody.

1. Not knowing people. It's true when I started College classes my senior year of Highschool I didn't know very many people, hardly anyone really. But it wouldn't been any different then going to a college in a different state. Not having an already established social connection is just a part of life. It will happen almost any time you change jobs, schools, houses, etc. If you don't know how to cope with people you don't already know it's not because you were homeschooled.
2. Not knowing how to cope in large crowds or group discussions. I think I came to college knowing more about how to respect other people and carry on a meaningful conversation then at least 50% of the other freshmen. My parents did an excellent job of making sure I knew how to work with groups of people. If a homeschooling parent looks for it there are many many ways to help your child learn to be part of groups. besides that there are tons of public schooled people I know who would rather curl up and die that talk in group and and extremely shy and unable to articulate themselves.
3. I found that many times my parents appraisal of my work was much more harsh then most teachers. My parents my not have written my grade in a big red marker on my homework, but in many way I got worse than that. With a teacher you make a bad grade, they write it down, the end. But with my parents they remembered and said "you didn't do very well last time...work harder this time". They would push me to work harder.

I agree that with becca that both have good and not so good things about them. But I think that Homschooling is easier to "fix" than public schooling. If I ever have Children I think I would want to homeschool simply because when their at public school I have no effect on what their being taught. At home I can choose to involved them in programs etc. that would "round out" anything missed by not being at public school.


(I'm not sure I've done a very good job of writing down what I wanted to, so if anyone has a question please ask!)

[Dave Scotese]

I was not homeschooled, but I attended a Catholic grade school and a Catholic highschool. I promote homeschooling because I am a dissident. I think the government has been ruining America for over a century and there are not enough people demanding that it stop. Public school provides subtle biases that diminish people's awareness of the problem and their tendency to do anything about it in the content of the curriculum, in the authority structure of a school, and in the fact that attendance is not a choice. Even homeschooled kids have to take standardized tests and be schooled for 4-6 hours every day.

When I first faced the prospect that an income tax and having any respect for the authority of a government that doesn't earn it are foolish, I thought public schooling might be something good that government provides. It certainly puts people who are good at teaching in touch with people who could use some teaching, and that is good. But I hadn't studied enough...

I recently read The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto and it cleared things up for me. The whole thing is available for free online.

[librarius_qui]

There's NO homeschooling practice in Brasil. To me, it sounds like US culture. (Or like XIXth century British/French/German living in Africa.)

I don't have, therefore, an opinion on whether it's good or bad.

(I lived too little a time in Portugal to tell about it there, but I never heard, within the almost three years I lived there, about it.)

When I think (because I do) about teaching kids at home (considering I'll ever have children at home .. I'm not even married~) I think about it as complementary. My kids will need school, and, in Brasil, I know they'll need good basis in English. English they'll learn at home with dad ... And they will learn Latin as well with dad!

Which will be good for them.

I think I'd never be able to teach them maths ... I doubt I actually learned it

But maybe I get a smart wife A musician, I hope!---

[qimissung]

It has been fascinating to read the opinions posted in this thread! It seems to me that neither homeschooling nor public schools are inherently good or bad in and of themselves. Each person and family will have to do the hard work of assessing and deciding for themselves what is or is not working for them. I have met great kids who were homeschooled, and great kids who go to public schools, too.

I am a teacher and a parent. I like teaching, and when my kids were younger I did wonder if I could homeschool successfully. In the end, I couldn't afford not to work, but I doubted then that I could have done it very well. I need structure myself. My kid's education turned out to be somewhat spotty, anyway. Their elementary and middle school educations were fine, but the older two lost interest in education around their junior year. My oldest son got his GED, and the next one got his diploma.

My oldest and youngest sons have ADD. I really don't want to hear from someone who doesn't believe in THAT, but the public high school my youngest son went to really let him down, in my opinion. He just never did well in the large classes at his school. He is now going to a small alternative school, which was probably designed for at-risk kids to recapture credits, but his grades went from failing to A's and B's. He now feels successful.

As for me, I teach at an inner-city school where many of the kids do not even read at grade level. I am glad and proud to be there, to perhaps have an impact on someone who might have gotten lost in the shuffle. It is always a challenge to get them to read and write, to feel like readers and writers, to feel powerful as learners. But that is really what it's all about, isn't it?

[snowangel]

I was homeschooled from 1st grade all the way through high school. My experience was not always positive, but then whose high school years were?
For the most part, I think home schooling is a good option. But only as long as the parent(s) are willing to go the distance. My biggest problem with being home schooled was that by the time I reached my freshman year, my parents had basically lost interest in my education. They left me to fend for myself, but because I was committed to going to college I worked really hard and made it to a state school. I'll graduate this December.
The area I live in has a large group of home schooled students. I've seen a lot parents really step up and make sure that they (or a tutor) are meeting the educational needs of their children. But, more often than not, I've seen parents become neglectful. They let their children's education suffer because they are too busy, tired, or ill equipped to teach them. I think that a child should only be home schooled if the parent(s) are fully prepared to take on that responsibility.

[Dave Scotese]

I am a teacher and a parent. I like teaching, and when my kids were younger I did wonder if I could homeschool successfully.

Have you read anything by John Taylor Gatto or Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt? They have both written about ways in which school (as opposed to education) damages children.

I am working on a kind of guidebook for teachers to help them protect their students from this damage. I've found that great teachers are like double-agents, sticking to the rules just enough to retain their jobs, but neglecting them enough to help the students educate themselves and learn the useful things they are interested in learning. Any insights would be helpful.

[Stargazer86]

Personally, I've never seen a negative example of homeschooling. As long as the child(ren) being homeschooled have the opportunity to engage in social activities with kids thier own age, and if the parents know what they're doing it seems to work out really well. The people I've met who've been homeschooled were all bright, well educated and well rounded. I think thier economic standing (not necissarily wealthy, but comfortable enough to be able live off of one income) certainly helped. A struggling family probably wouldn't be able to do it.
Overall, it seems like a very positive thing if the circumstances are right.

[JBI]

Personally, I've never seen a negative example of homeschooling. As long as the child(ren) being homeschooled have the opportunity to engage in social activities with kids thier own age, and if the parents know what they're doing it seems to work out really well. The people I've met who've been homeschooled were all bright, well educated and well rounded. I think thier economic standing (not necissarily wealthy, but comfortable enough to be able live off of one income) certainly helped. A struggling family probably wouldn't be able to do it.
Overall, it seems like a very positive thing if the circumstances are right.

Still, the vast number of homeschooled children in the United States seem to be from families affiliated with Evangelical Christian faiths, and have strong political doctrines attached to them. In a sense, it never allows for anyone to get away from their parents - so if the parent is a great example of a learned mind, according to whomever is judging, then the system works, however if the person hammers home too many regressive ideas, as most parents happen to be (despite our own love for our parents, it feels natural to realize that some of their ideas are old fashion, or regressive. My grandparents, wouldn't have allowed my parents to date non-Jews, and some of that resentment seems to have held, with a dislike even emanating from them). If I were only exposed to those viewpoints, I think I would be a lesser person.

Socrates, as we all know, spoke directly about this issue. One needs to really challenge the authority of ones parents if they are to understand anything on their own. Perhaps homeschooling does that, though I think, for most people, it's all part of a scheme to really centralize and regress, in the sense that The Jonas Brothers, or Father-Daughter Virginity Balls, or Jesus Camps, or Jewish summer Camps (which used to be socialist, and now are rather right wing) are.

[Dave Scotese]

One needs to really challenge the authority of ones parents if they are to understand anything on their own.

Absolutely. That is where the idea of "unschooling" comes in. Public school actually goes the other way by instituting an authority that is neither biological nor natural, and holding it over not only the students, but the students' parents as well.

In fact, I don't think many people can avoid challenging the authority of their own parents eventually. It seems to be a natural part of growing up.

[Stargazer86]

Still, the vast number of homeschooled children in the United States seem to be from families affiliated with Evangelical Christian faiths, and have strong political doctrines attached to them. In a sense, it never allows for anyone to get away from their parents - so if the parent is a great example of a learned mind, according to whomever is judging, then the system works, however if the person hammers home too many regressive ideas, as most parents happen to be (despite our own love for our parents, it feels natural to realize that some of their ideas are old fashion, or regressive. My grandparents, wouldn't have allowed my parents to date non-Jews, and some of that resentment seems to have held, with a dislike even emanating from them). If I were only exposed to those viewpoints, I think I would be a lesser person.

Socrates, as we all know, spoke directly about this issue. One needs to really challenge the authority of ones parents if they are to understand anything on their own. Perhaps homeschooling does that, though I think, for most people, it's all part of a scheme to really centralize and regress, in the sense that The Jonas Brothers, or Father-Daughter Virginity Balls, or Jesus Camps, or Jewish summer Camps (which used to be socialist, and now are rather right wing) are.

I'm just saying from my personal experience, the ones I've met have seemed to be very well rounded. They were in a lot of extra curricular activites (sports, day camps, art classes etc) that gave them the social interaction and instruction by an authority figure other than thier parents. I'm sure there are negative examples out there, and that there are arguments against homeschooling. I wouldn't homeschool my kids even if I had the means to do so, because as much as I love them, my time is during school. Parents need a break sometimes. But for some people it really does work

I've never heard of father daughter virginity balls...that sounds almost creepy

[JBI]

I'm just saying from my personal experience, the ones I've met have seemed to be very well rounded. They were in a lot of extra curricular activites (sports, day camps, art classes etc) that gave them the social interaction and instruction by an authority figure other than thier parents. I'm sure there are negative examples out there, and that there are arguments against homeschooling. I wouldn't homeschool my kids even if I had the means to do so, because as much as I love them, my time is during school. Parents need a break sometimes. But for some people it really does work

I've never heard of father daughter virginity balls...that sounds almost creepy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purity_ball

Though, if you google around, you would notice that such nonsense isn't even bound to radical faiths - reform and moderate Jews, for instance, generally have strong ties to Zionist Youth Movements, with strong political overtones. Of course, the focus being on community and politics, rather than on a parents' control of their children's sexual discovery seems to make it perhaps a little softer. The goal though, with all these sorts of programs, is to a) establish connections between people whose parents hold the exact same ideas, and b) enforce a strong politics in order to establish an identity toward a certain parental concept of right and wrong.


I know of a family whose mother is Torontonian, father Texan, and children all homeschooled in Texas. They are very gifted people - the son, for instance, has a very great understanding of everything, and is a very talented violinist. But that family benefited from having two really liberal parents with strong educations (they are both major researchers in the field of Chiropractics, and both very liberal) and a desire to open their children's minds up.

Of course, I know a family who was homeschooled, and the kids know virtually nothing. Generally though, homeschooling seems to be a more American system than Canadian one, which only has about 10,000 people registered, as apposed to around 2 and a half million homeschooled kids in the States.

Generally, that probably has to do with the system in Canada, based on geographic considerations, and I think less of a dislike for the systems in place. There are educational problems here, but I think there isn't that sense of resentment that many feel in the States. In addition to that, American religions, which make up the bulk of homeschooled kids in the US aren't as prevalent here, and therefore religious considerations are rather minimal. Homeschooling then, seems restricted to those parents who think they can teach better than the system, which often means either really bright parents, or parents with children with special needs.

In the States, from all the statistics I can find from googling, it seems the homeschooling phenomenon is directly attached to people who try to enforce a strong "Christian moral" agenda to their lessons, with a very large chunk being Born-Again Christians of one faith or another. For all this moral authority junk being preached here, it seems more like a full time indoctrination session to me. For all this we don't need the State polluting the minds of the young, I think ultimately, the system is just in place to clone the beliefs of a group, and mold the young into a fixed form of what the parents would describe as "Moral".

[The Atheist]

Still, the vast number of homeschooled children in the United States seem to be from families affiliated with Evangelical Christian faiths, and have strong political doctrines attached to them.

It's also de rigeur for white nationalists (read supremacists) to homeschool their children.

[Dave Scotese]

Still, the vast number of homeschooled children in the United States seem to be from families affiliated with Evangelical Christian faiths, and have strong political doctrines attached to them.

It's also de rigeur for white nationalists (read supremacists) to homeschool their children.

Wait, so are you guys suggesting that white supremacist beliefs and strong political doctrines tend to make people more successful and provide them with well-rounded educations? I don't think that's true at all. I think the difference has more to do with the amount of attention the parents of homeschoolers pay to their kids. White supremacists and those with strong political beliefs tend to pay a lot of attention, and this causes them to homeschool.

I guess I'm replying because what comes through with these facts is a nasty and ugly and totally wrong insinuation that homeschooling might produce strong political doctrine believers and white supremacists.

Homeschooling tends to produce well-rounded successful people - moreso than public school, and I think it's important to remember that. Thankfully, despite the negative stereotypes that continue holding it back, homeschooling has been growing. I still look forward to a society with more dissidents, individuality, reasoned political pressure, success, and overall human progress as that trend continues.

[The Atheist]

Wait, so are you guys suggesting that white supremacist beliefs and strong political doctrines tend to make people more successful and provide them with well-rounded educations?

No, you're mis-associating facts.

I'm telling you that almost all people who style themselves as "white nationalists" homeschool their children.

I guess I'm replying because what comes through with these facts is a nasty and ugly and totally wrong insinuation that homeschooling might produce strong political doctrine believers and white supremacists.

That would by necessity involve several incorrect assumptions, so we don't need to worry about it. No insinuation is involved if you've read the post correctly.