home schooling

I have a cousin who is home schooled, but in a cooperative.

What do you think about it? What qualifications do your parents have to educate you?

I think you can often get a great education, while failing to get the most important thing out of school: the social experience.

Resilience

There are many ways to teach children by homeschooling them, and there are many ways to teach them in schools. I think the differences within each category dwarf the differences between the categories.

My personal experience of homeschooling is limited, and way too subjective to mean anything scientifically. It comes from times in my childhood when I was sick, classmates brought me our homework, and I figured out how to solve it, often with help from my mother. I found I learned better that way than I did in class.

My mother in turn, had a more extreme version of the same experience. One school year (I think third grade) she was sick more days than not, so was primarily home-schooled by my grandmother. She came out way ahead of her class.

So, from unscientific personal experience and my family folklore, I'm fairly sympathetic to homeschooling. The fact that it's unconstitutional in Germany is one of those needless authoritarian restrictions that made me apply for the American Green Card Lottery. And, who knows, maybe there will come a time when I'll be a stay at home dad homeschooling my own, yet-to-be-conceived kids. I imagine this to be both rewarding for myself and (sorry for bragging) a good education for them.

There are a number of factors involved here, the primary one being the motivation for the parents choosing to home school. If a child lives in an area with poor schools, home schooling may be a very positive alternative. A parent needs to have the intelligence, the time and the wherewithal to home school a child properly.

I am not too impressed by parents who wish to home school because of religious reasons. One of the things that a child needs to learn is that there are all kinds of people in this world, and that one needs to understand and deal with differences.

By shielding their children from interacting with other people with differing viewpoints, IMO the child develops a narrow view of life, which will not bode well for him when he is an adult, unless he plans in only interacting with people of like viewpoints. As someone else has said, just the simple interaction with other kids is an important learning experience.

I certainly believe that a parent has the right to homeschool his child if he chooses, but personally, except in some instances, I don't think that it is a very good choice.

As a public school teacher I probably don't have an unbiased opinion as some might. I have seen some very well educated home schooled children and some who have been done a great disservice. My neighbors home school their four children and have had me do their end of the year assessments to show progress each year. They are very well educated, well above the public school standards academically.

My concern is more with the social aspects of home schooling not just the academics. I don't mean friendships, homeschooled kids can make friends. I mean learing how to "do school". How to function as a group, as a community. To learn how to wait turns, take turns, share thoughts and opinions, actively listen to the opinions of others. There are so many skills that are learned in a group situation about how to function in life that are hard to replicate in isolation. It's nice to be smart in todays world, but it's also important to be able to function in group situations.

On second thought, I don't think I have answered your question -- partly because I'm not sure I understand what precisely your question is.

Are you asking whether I form opinions or judgments about you based on the fact that you're homeschooled? If so, the answer is no.

Are you asking me for my opinion of the institution of home-schooling? In that case, I'd have to go with littlek's response. You tell us! You're the one who experienced it. Most of us have not.

Social experience? There are many aspects of my school years that I would like to live. I don't care to relive the social experience of it.

My first 'first hand' experience with homeschooling was with my great nephew. I had considerable misgivings when my nephew and his wife announced they were going to homeschool their youngest--the two older boys were educated in public schools. My nepthew and niece-in-law did not have college educations. My misgivings were put to rest within a year. Little "Johnny" progressed so much more quickly than his brothers and the other young ones of his generation, I was quite impressed. He adapted well to the pretty rigid schedule of instruction and 'homework' and his formal education was completed in about 3 or 4 hours each day leaving him the rest of the day to pursue other things.

When he was ready for highschool, he was to attend public school. Within a couple of weeks he was begging to go back to homeschooling. They wasted so much time in school he said, and he was so far ahead of the other kids he was bored out of his mind.

Socialization came through scouting and rodeo and church and hanging out with friends made in those activities. He achieved Eagle Scout rank and was recently named the NCAA calf roping champion (NM State University.) He is a fully socialized, well rounded, intelligent young man who was spared most of the worst of peer pressure exposure to drugs, booze, and sex that kids in public schools deal with.

In looking more closely at the whole thing and now seeing how other kids are reacting to home schooling, I am definitely a fan.

I think it depends on for what reason folks choose to home school.

There's a saying that the best school is a log with a teacher at one end and a student at the other. I would certainly agree with this.

On the other hand, I've known folks who choose to homeshool based solely on religious reasons, and the "schooling" is mainly brainwashing.




My oldest will be of age to start Kindergarden next year. We're strongly considering homeschooling for at least that year because our school district does not offer half-day Kindergarden.

And trust me, she is not lacking for social contact.

I was skeptical myself until my sister decided to home-school her 4 children. Oldest switched to public at the high school level, will be graduating valedictorian and it would appear he'll be attending Harvard after that. All 4 kids breeze through the public system now that they're back in it, and Sis is contemplating pulling the younger children back out so as not to deny them the education the older kids got. They have always been heavily involved in extra-curricular activities with the public school kids and are at least, if not better, adjusted for the social scene than average. I'd say it has everything to do with the parents.

Interesting. The Ayn Rand disciple was the skeptical one about homeschooling, and his liberal sister was the one who turned him around.

You may also find it interesting that the soon-to-be Harvard boy read Atlas Shrugged before he was a teenager. (What, I only offered $100 for the feat. )

Good, Objectivist incentives. But be careful what you wish for. When he graduates from Harvard Law, he'll sue you for much more in pain and suffering.

Littlek, when I first read this post, I kind of nodded and moved on to the next post. Now, on second reading, I'm no longer sure I know what you meant. Can you expand a little?

I think I'll be pretty safe. His current plans are to study Swahili, do a couple years in the Peace Corp and then look for a job with the foreign service... as he builds his Presidential Resume. He was never much of a Rand Fan… though, dare I say, I think it may have helped hone his already intense focus. The whole richest continent with the poorest people thing has troubled him since pre-teens. I think he’s planning on fixing that. (By that; I mean Africa in general )

I fear that home schooled children do not face enough diversity or challenges to develop a solid resiliency to further challenges. If a child doesn't learn how to deal with an obnoxious classmate, how will they know how to deal with an obnoxious coworker as an adult.

Homeschooled Sheltered. I thought the same as you until my Sis (and four shining undeniable results) proved otherwise. What I learned is that, as usual, sweeping generalizations just don't work very well.

My nephew's favorite quote is Twain's "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."

But it was probably still good for your social development.