Why Homeschooling?

[two feathers]

Originally posted by zyzychyn


I don't think it's a good idea to try to shield your kids from the world. It comes as a shock when the shield finally goes down....I think the social part of public school IS a big deal, it really is.

excellent point.

 

[seebs]

The biggest concern I have is, what happens if you run into something you're not good at teaching? Your kids could grow up having serious problems, and no way to know whether it's a learning disability, a problem with your teaching, or what...

 

[EJO]

Originally posted by I can eat 50 eggs
I agree those are problems, but how can parents be qualified to do homeschooling?

Hey eggs- start here to get some info, :
http://www.hslda.org/starthere/default.asp

they have a packet that they can send you that give some info on the comparisons to teachers homeschooling kids, vs teachers in publics schools, and the effectivness of that.

 

[EJO]

Also, here is a study that they have on there web site, here:http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/rudner1999/Rudner0.asp
if homeschooling works SO much better than public schools, than the college trained teachers must be doing something wrong, because the regular jo-blo mom and dad are getting better relults than the highly trained teachers.

 

[EJO]

The whole idea about socializing your kids properly if they are in homeschool is such a joke. They get social skills form their parents, siblings, kids a church, playing at the park. Going to swimming lessons, soccer, gymnastics. The kids that come out of homeschooling are so much better at having an adult conversation while they are still young, that they have a much better impact on society, when they are still young. than their peers do - at that same age.
All you have to do is go to any fast-food joint, or a 7-11, and have a regular student who is working there speak to you like an adult, it is unheard of. Try doing simple math skills, like getting the correct change. You have to walk them through simple subtraction.

It is truly sad. I am glad that we are homeschooling our kids, and they will be much better members of society because of it.

 

[Dawn Marie]

I was homeschooled since the start of high school - all that did was make me even more anti-social than I already was. And I had no motivation to do any of the work, cuz I wasn't scared of my mom... I knew I couldn't get in trouble with her, not like a real teacher. I know that's stupid but it's how I felt. I don't think it's a good idea unless it's absolutely neccessary...

 

 

[luckiecharms]

I think homeschooling is good for a kid because they dont have to worry about being picked on or bullyed at school. It takes alot of stress off of them if they can do school work at home instead of at school becasue that way if they dont understand something they could just ask someone to help them at home and the teachers might not get to them and move on. I also think there is bad sides to home schooling because they shouldnt be cooped up in the house all day they need to be around other people. They need to learn to deal with that kind of stuff.

 

[sunshine]

I echo zyzychyn's post. I too am a product of public school, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't believe in sheltering kids from the "real world", I cringe to think of all that I would have missed if I had been home-schooled. for one thing, I wouldn't be bilingual (I attended a french immersion programme). also, I wouldn't have learned the very valuable lessons that "life isn't fair" and "bad things happen to good people". I can think of countless times I had to struggle through situations like having an unfair teacher, an unfair test, a teacher who just wouldn't listen, working with a group of kids who wouldn't cooperate or do their share of the work.....the list goes on and on. no matter what you say, for a child dealing with a parent is different than dealing with another adult, in this case, a teacher. public school taught me so much about how to get along with others, how to stick up for myself, how to choose friends wisely, and how to respect other people's backgrounds and beliefs.

I don't see how things like buying food at a cafeteria, recess, attendance, detentions, etc impede on the learning process. to me, they are simply a different type of learning. not all that you learn at school is academic, in fact, a great majority is non-academic. if everyone here was entirely honest with themselves, we'd admit that we forget a great deal of the lessons we learned in high school, let alone further back. but I bet you still remember how you handled that school bully at recess, or that teacher that refused to listen to any excuses, or that person who said they were your friend only to copy your answers. it's all about the life skills.

a final thing that I learned at public school was that adults who were not related to me (teachers), took an active interest in my development and encouraged me to succeed. from having many different teachers with different methods of teaching, I learned how I learn best, and how to adapt when the style wasn't to my taste. I learned that the world does not revolve around me.

 

[sunshine]

Originally posted by EJO
All you have to do is go to any fast-food joint, or a 7-11, and have a regular student who is working there speak to you like an adult, it is unheard of. Try doing simple math skills, like getting the correct change. You have to walk them through simple subtraction. 

forgive me, but I don't think that's a fair statement.  first of all, who's to say that the kid standing behind the counter is in fact a public school student? do you know the kid personally?

also, it's really not right to make such a general statement.  I've been in plenty of stores where I've been served by a student, who has been pleasant, bright, and able to make change.  yes, I've also been served by the not-so-bright kids too (as well as not-so-bright adults).  point is, we cannot make judgements about a HUGE group of people (public school students) by the few that you happen to meet at 7-11 (again, assuming they are indeed public school students).  and as an aside, people do have bad days.  it's allowed.

 

[Tami]

Originally posted by sunshine
I echo zyzychyn's post. I too am a product of public school, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't believe in sheltering kids from the "real world", I cringe to think of all that I would have missed if I had been home-schooled. for one thing, I wouldn't be bilingual (I attended a french immersion programme). also, I wouldn't have learned the very valuable lessons that "life isn't fair" and "bad things happen to good people". I can think of countless times I had to struggle through situations like having an unfair teacher, an unfair test, a teacher who just wouldn't listen, working with a group of kids who wouldn't cooperate or do their share of the work.....the list goes on and on. no matter what you say, for a child dealing with a parent is different than dealing with another adult, in this case, a teacher. public school taught me so much about how to get along with others, how to stick up for myself, how to choose friends wisely, and how to respect other people's backgrounds and beliefs. 

Parents can teach their kids to be bilingual.  Also, I teach my kids that life isn't fair and that bad things happen to good people from the minute that they're born so it doesn't take public school to learn that.  Also, kids can still learn how to interact with other kids and adults at church and there are also homeschool groups that they can get involved in.  Also, I think that some schools allow homeschooled kids to participate in their sports activities, so there is another opportunity to interact and learn how to get along with other kids and adults.  Kids who are homeschooled don't have to be cooped up in a house all day with no possibility of social interaction with other people besides their immediate families.

 

Tami

 

 

[Tami]

Originally posted by sunshine
a final thing that I learned at public school was that adults who were not related to me (teachers), took an active interest in my development and encouraged me to succeed. from having many different teachers with different methods of teaching, I learned how I learn best, and how to adapt when the style wasn't to my taste. I learned that the world does not revolve around me.

Parents can also take an active interest in their childrens' developement and encourage them to succeed.  It doesn't take public school to do that.  In fact, that's probably why most parents who homeschool do so, because they ARE interested in their childrens' development and want them to succeed, not to say that public school kids don't succeed because there are many intelligent public school kids.   Also, it does not take public school to learn that the world doesn't revolve around you.  I teach my children that the world doesn't revolve around them from a very early age.

Tami

 

[Wolseley]

I will do all in my power to make sure my kids do not attend a public school. I will send them to a Catholic parochial school if I can, homeschool them if I have to, but they will NOT go to a public school. American public school are nothing more than liberal brain laundries. I want my children to have a curriculum that does not include "Heather Has Two Mommies" and history texts that spend five pages on Martin Luther King, three pages on Joseph McCarthy, and two short sentences on George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. The "social" aspect of a public school is nonsense; children who take classes by radio in the Australian outback are socially-well adjusted, and they not only don't interact with other children, they never see other children.

Just my 2¢ worth.

 

[paulewog]

Homeschooling I think just teaches better than almost any school (public or private) at the moment. You don't have any other kids to annoy you, talk to you, disrupt class, etc... you can teach your kids all the Christianity you want ... the list goes on.

I've been homeschooled all my life - until last semester, I started goign to a junior college also. It's kinda funny how... not quite as studious most of the kids are. You can get through all of high school and barely know how to read

I odn't know, maybe they call it a "Reading disorder" now.

 

[I can eat 50 eggs]

Originally posted by EJO
Also, here is a study that they have on there web site, here:http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/rudner1999/Rudner0.asp
if homeschooling works SO much better than public schools, than the college trained teachers must be doing something wrong, because the regular jo-blo mom and dad are getting better relults than the highly trained teachers.

 

 

OR, it could be that those dumb old college trained teachers have to deal with 30 kids, instead of 1 or 2.  Or it could be that they have to address 3-4 different groups of kids (low functioning, regular, honors and "gifted")

 

[paulewog]

I was homeschooled. I go to a public college now. I had no problem switching. What's this about the anti-social thing?

As to sheltering your kids - when do kids learn the most? When they are young. Is it easier to pick up bad language, to get tempted to do drugs, to learn to talk back, etc., when you are in gradeschool or when you're in college? Kids learn a lot more when they are young... including all the bad habits. My parents tried to help form GOOD habits when we were/are young, not send us off to a public school where God is an offensive word and every truly offensive word is used as often as some people use the word "like" heh.

Oh, and both my brothers went to college, are doing fine - my oldest brother graudated from a fairly prestigous college, we've all gotten all A's in school - and my mom never had calculus, trig, physics, etc. You don't have to be really qualified to teach gradeschool! They don't have college professors teaching 4th grade, hehe. So I don't quite get that argument either =D

I might be so utterly FOR homeschooling because the public schools out here are pretty awful, heh.

HSLDA is cool.

 

[Beckijhn]

I like this topic <smile>! I homeschool my three children. They are awesome kids. I don't think I can even begin to address all the issues that were brought up here, but I will say that God gave the job of educating children to the parents (not the state). We can delegate the authority of teaching them but it will always be our responsibility.

My kids are very active in the church ie., my 14yodd is in 10th grade and is the youth pastor's secretary, she is on the publicity staff for our yearly revival, she is involved in a prayer group, the youth group, not to mention the activities she does like piano competitions, Learning club, and the social life she leads is about to kill me! Praise the Lord she gets a license soon!!!

My 12 year old is a listener for AWANA's, and involved in the nursery at church, our homeschool learning club, etc etc... My son is in 4th grade and working at a Jr high level. He is involved in all the stuff too (in the interest of space and not boring you I'll stop there.)

Each of my children are at least one grade ahead of their age group. All of them have awesome relationships with God (and with me) and two out of three are headed to the mission field. They are all very 'social' and interact with kids and adults better than most kids I know.

One teacher dealing with 30 kids and the different groups (gifted, etc) is a good argument for homeschooling. I recently started teaching another teen - he just came out of the public school system, there is a definite difference in how kids learn in ps and homeschool. I'm training him to learn. Once he learns to teach himself, the sky is the limit.

I don't have to teach my teen. She teaches herself. She needs me to grade tests but that's really it. We learn a lot together and some things she learns on her own!

The bottom line? There is no greater joy than to know that my children walk with the Lord!!!

 

[paulewog]

Praise the Lord she gets a license soon!!!

That was my mom's general response/anticipation too

I would completely agree with everything

Oh, I have a kinda funny story. A friend of mine, really close friend actually, went to a public ... hmm pre-school or kindergarten. One of those, anyways - they like gave him a horrible grade because he cut a circle the wrong way. you were supposed to fold it in half or something - he poked the scissors through the paper. hehe

 

[do21little]

&nbsp; &nbsp;I was homeschooled my last years of highschool and loved it! The years in Public school were absolutely terrible. I wasn't unpopular but because I loved to talk I got in trouble all the time. I did not want to learn what they wanted to teach me so I would barely pass every class. Public school would pass me through a class I knew nothing about and I'm still shocked today that I made it through so many grades without ever being held back. They would talk about it but never do it. It wasn't that I was dumb, but rather that I was stubborn and wanted to learn about horses or countries I wanted to visit not what they wanted me to be enthusiastic about. Homeschooling is not for everyone. I had a friend who was absolutely not ment for homeschooling. He was a true rebel and made his mother very unhappy. He would have been more happy in public school but I don't know about better.&nbsp;The reason I'm going to homeschool is&nbsp;for the reason I wanted to be homeschooled when younger. The teachers never gave me the attention I needed. They never sat with me to explain an&nbsp;answer that I just couldn't get no matter how long it took me to figure it out. They never put an arm around me when I was in a bad mood and comforted me and listened to my problems. See I do that for my kids. I don't at all want to shelter my kids. That is not my goal. Believe me my kids want lots of friends just as I did when I was younger but Public school does not allow you to talk with your friends whenever you want...Why? Because that is not what Public school is about. Why be social for 5 minutes when at most anytime of the day me and my kids can just pick up and go to the zoo or go eat when they are hungry or play outside when they want or go 3 or more times a week to church or a social outing with other kids for 2 to 3 hours on those days? They can arrive at their studies in their underwear or watch t.v. after reading books with mama. And still they are learning in their time and their space. Mary Hood taught and is still teaching all of her kids this way and her 2 oldest have graduated at the ages of 16 and are in very high class colleges and I think one of her children has already graduated and is now a scientist(I could be wrong though check it out if you can). People homeschool because they love their children and only want the best for their children. Sometimes homeschooling is not the best for the children&nbsp;and should be acknowledged. A child will only be tortured if we make them do something they shouldn't be doing. I know my sons and how they are learning unlike the schools I could put them in. See the sunday school teachers are gentle and not unfriendly as most public school teachers are(not all though.I did have a few kind teachers.But not many.) &nbsp;My kids love those teachers and look forward to spending time having fun and learning about Jesus and that is what I want. I want my boys to LOVE learning not dread it as I and my sister did. My sister was not popular at all but very very smart. Her life was threatened and she was picked on ALL the time. She would come home with bruises and she would cry everyday about how she hated school. Did she make all those friends that you guys say she would make in Public School? Of course not! Public school is not for everyone and also should be acknowledged. The reason most parents probably homeschool is to make their children become later better adults. To respect everyone and to acknowledge everyones needs above their own. To learn more about God and more about the world we live in and those we don't. To allow our children to fall in love with learning and embrace what they are supposed to do when they become adults.