What do you think of homeschooling (K-12)?

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NancyNGA

Well-known Member
Location
Georgia
I think it's also call home education in some places.

I've only known two couples who home schooled their children, so not much experience with it on a personal level.

I'd like to hear some opinions.
 

I never knew anyone who homeschooled, but I think I'd want my kids to have the regular school experience, which includes socialization, competition and friendship/relationships with other children.
 
My middle daughter was having an incredibly difficult first year of high school. I wouldn't let her entertain dropping out but it was still early in the term. I had the option to home school her for the year and I did. I was also working full time. I suppose for someone who is a stay at home parent and the child is in grammar school it would be easier.

But it was a heck of a lot of work for me. Good that I could assign books with special meaning to me that she could enjoy as well. But math and science for high school level is waaaay beyond what they taught when I was in school. She finally went back to public school in her junior year and it was better for both of us.
 

SeaBreeze, that is my knee jerk reaction also. But if a child is having trouble, maybe it is a good thing. Or maybe just extra tutoring at home would be a better compromise. Fureverywhere (love that name:)), I can imagine it would be a huge undertaking, and working full time too---Yikes!!
 
I think its a horrid idea. I do know of some friends kids who did it. The principle motive seems to be religious, and a fear of being contaminated by popular culture, and/or drugs in the public schools. There is truth to some of that, but a lot of these kids are being taught Creationism and not learning to deal with people holding other views. Sooner or later they are going to have to live in the real world.
 
I agree Nancy, if it's a special situation and the child needs to be homeschooled or tutored for a period of time, that's a different story I think. Fureverywhere, kudos for doing that for your daughter, sound like you did just the right thing as a caring and able mom. Glad she went back to school in her junior year and was better off for it.
 
There are a lot of Amish and Mennonites in our area, and many of them are homeschooled. We are good friends with a Mennonite couple in the neighborhood, and they have a teenage daughter they have been home schooling. She is very intelligent, and a real math whiz. I would think that she should have little trouble qualifying for entry into a university, should she want to....I doubt that her parents are teaching her any of this "common core".
 
That's a different ballpark, when it's people trying to shield their kids from the secular world. Then you know it can't end well.
 
There was a guy in my office whose kids were home schooled. He was Jehovah's Witness, who didn't allow his kids to watch movies or go to birthday parties either. I know of another family who home school their kids and do not allow them to participate in normal childhood activities, the father is very anti-establishment and strange and I don't think this is healthy for the kids. They also home birthed all their 5 children, the last one without even a midwife. I somehow think these kids have a bleak future as they are quite poor and seem like they will have limited opportunities in life.
 
I homeschooled my oldest for the first couple years, but she was such a strong-willed and argumentative kid that I finally sent her to school because it was not good for our relationship. Her motto was like that cigarette campaign, "I'd rather fight than switch/agree/do what I'm told....' I figured that maybe a stranger would intimidate her enough to get her through school.

And there's a young fellow in our neighbourhood whose single mom (she is a medical transcriber who works from home) took him out of school because he was having difficulties with being bullied and apparently it works really well for them and he's ahead of his peers on most of his subjects.....I think it depends on the parents and the kids involved. It works for some and not for others.

Most people who homeschool, in my experience, are members of churches and their kids are seeing other kids on a regular basis as they are involved in church activities or they are secular but part of a Homeschooling network and the kids participate in various activities as a group. So the fear about not being socialized isn't really an issue.
 
fureverywhere said:
That's a different ballpark, when it's people trying to shield their kids from the secular world. Then you know it can't end well.
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So we should all cheerfully let our kids march into the blender?

No thanks.

My wife and I home-schooled our eldest. From kindergarten to 7th grade. Yes, it was hard work, but it was rewarding - he's now working on his PhD at Georgia Tech, on a full scholarship.

Socialization wasn't a problem - not if you plan appropriate activities. "Shielding from the secular world" - that's not totally a bad thing.
 
Depends on who the "home teachers " (parents) are. Some may not be capable of teaching the kids anything useful.

Some parents don't know enough to come in out of the rain. I know of a few. I dare not reveal them here.
 
My son was home schooled for two years while we were living overseas, a temporary arrangement. When we came back to Canada he returned to public school and did much better than he had before we went away. Sometimes a break from the stress of the school system helps the learning process.
 
Many parents are homeschooling their children here. Some because of religious reasons, most because public schools are not giving students a good education. They have been dumbed down so that the least intelligent can get passing grades. The teachers are being made to teach to the tests. If you are qualified to teach at home, I think it would be a good idea.
 
IMO teaching is a skill... and teachers need to have knowledge in their areas and a degree in education.. What makes parents think they are qualified to teach? That would be like having your neighbor do you dental work because he has a chair and a drill.. I think it's a huge disservice to the kids and leaves them ill prepared to meet the challenges of being out in the real world.
 
Theoretically, I agree, QS, however, I remember my school years and most of the teachers were terrible. In fact in the 50s, teachers did not need a degree, just high school. An older friend of mine was a schoolteacher where I grew up and she did not have any degree or teaching certificate. She did, however, upgrade over the years. In the 50s there were so few teachers in more rural areas, that girls would easily take on that job.

Nowadays, people are allowed to home school, the school board provides the necessary textbooks and study guides. No problemo, I think, especially for elementary students.
 
Falcon said:
Depends on who the "home teachers " (parents) are. Some may not be capable of teaching the kids anything useful.

Some parents don't know enough to come in out of the rain. I know of a few. I dare not reveal them here.
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That's true. Here in PA the parent/teachers have to be "qualified" by the State - they have to have minimum educational requirements and be able to present a fully-fleshed-out syllabus - then prove that they followed it. I'm sure each state has different requirements.
 
Thanks for sharing your stories on this subject. I really appreciate seeing this from different perspectives.
 
I know several families who have home schooled. Most of the kids did great academically, but had problems socializing and fitting in. I think if you home school you should make sure your kids socialize with more than just your church friends. They will have to work out in the world, let them learn how to get along out there. Not all kids in public school are on drugs or having sex with anything that moves. I think it'd be a good idea to have your child volunteer for something or another that would put them "out there" so they don't turn into social weirdos. I KNOW all kids who are home schooled don't turn out strange or unusual but a lot of them do. Anyone here home schooled as a child? What is your opinion?
 
Linda said:
I know several families who have home schooled. Most of the kids did great academically, but had problems socializing and fitting in. I think if you home school you should make sure your kids socialize with more than just your church friends. They will have to work out in the world, let them learn how to get along out there. Not all kids in public school are on drugs or having sex with anything that moves. I think it'd be a good idea to have your child volunteer for something or another that would put them "out there" so they don't turn into social weirdos. I KNOW all kids who are home schooled don't turn out strange or unusual but a lot of them do. Anyone here home schooled as a child? What is your opinion?
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From reading the posts, I see that there are varied reasons for home schooling with some very successful outcomes.
My own opinion is that the majority of people who do this are the Evangelicals trying to prevent their kids from being contaminated by the real world.
I'm going to get grief for saying this, but I think its sad that being so consumed over being "left behind" in the "end times", their kids are being left behind in the present times. Just my own opinion, of course.
 
Lack of socialization opportunities is one of the most common complaints about home-schooling. Unfortunately it is largely untrue and is one that pushes my buttons.

First, there are countless opportunities to teach proper socialization skills as a home-schooling parent, once again if you take the time and effort to search them out. There are even home-schooling organizations that are devoted to this aspect. Scouting, sports, even field trips to museums all qualify as socialization.

What kind of socialization skills do you gain from your typical public school?

Yes, you learn to "get along". Many high-functioning students are held back, academically and socially, by this phenomenon. Not everyone is MEANT to just get along - they are so far beyond your normal child that attending a school like this cripples them.

And yes, it's true that drugs and promiscuity are not in EVERY school ... but if you know what's going on in your local hall of education - again, if you take the time and effort to find out - you might be surprised.

Not all teachers are 100% devoted to their charges - MANY are just there for the pensions and benefits and could care less about the students. Nowadays teachers are also very often hamstrung by teaching requirements themselves - they have to teach down to the lowest common denominator in order to get those averages up in order for the school to continue to get funding, so the high-achievers are short-changed.

QS had asked earlier what qualifies a parent to teach - parents have been teaching their children since the beginning of time. Public schools did not come along until the 1840's at the urging of Thomas Jefferson, and it wasn't until 1852 that the first compulsory schooling started in Massachusetts. Who better to teach their own children (given of course that the parent HAS the necessary knowledge and time)? Who cares more? Who has more invested in their own children?

A teaching degree doesn't make you a teacher - it only allows you to legally teach. It's like getting a black belt in martial arts - it really doesn't mean a thing.

Finally, yes, some of my own prejudices about socialization came into play when we were home-schooling my son. I saw the socialization banner as being one that advocated being like the rest of the crowd, never trying too hard to succeed, just being a slacker, just "getting along". It was training to become a sheep.
 
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I see no real problem with home schooling as long as there is some oversight by the state educational authorities to ensure quality.

Children living on remote outback properties in Australia have just two choices - boarding school or distance education via home schooling.
These kids do very well with the home schooling but there is a lot of support via the correspondence school or the School of the Air.
Socialisation is taken care of via TV/radio links and periodic camps with their peers.
 
If our Board of Education and government has approved home schooling and provides the necessary support and materials, then I don't see why we should see anything wrong with it. Socialization can occur outside of the schoolroom and does. Many children don't fit into the public school or private school systems, that are rife with strife and do much better learning at home. Private schools, although considered higher quality have been well known to produce many damaged and disturbed adults.
 
I believe it robs the child of the opportunity to operate in an environment of other children which imparts knowledge needed later to successfully deal with others in our society.
 

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