Home Schooling

[Rydia]

How do you feel about parents choosing to home school their children instead of sending them to a school?

When I was younger I wanted to be home schooled because I thought I'd get to sleep whenever I wanted and do school work whenever. And I heard that these kids only had actual lessons for about 3 hours a day XD
But I am glad now that I attended school like most kids.

As for home schooling in general, I'm kind of torn about this issue. Really it does come down to the parent's decision, but it can also hinder a child's social life and development.

In some cases, the parents are trying to shelter their kids from the real world by keeping them at home and only letting them hang around other children that they deem fit. And this often goes on into the teen years and sometimes adulthood. I knew a family that did choose to home school their children because they did not want them "corrupted" and they even convinced all of them to attend a very private college where all the kids are monitored. <.<

Of course, there are situations, espeically in rural areas, where the school system is just awful and the kids would get a better education at home. I would fully support home schooling in this situation. Though I think the parents need to take responsibility to get their children involved in social activities with children their own age. A simular situation may be a child wiht a physical or mental handicap and the schools handicapped facilities do not work for them.

And in cases where a child is being bullied to the point that school is a complete nightmare for them, I could see home schooling being a solution. But I don't know how well that really solves it because the child is basically running away from the problem.

 

[Æon Flux]

Im kind of conflicted to...On one hand I realy wanted to be home schooled when I was a kid..But after seeing How some parents treat Home Schooling im kind of thankfull for schools...
Some parents dont realy teach the subjects the kids should be learning...They can warp a decent study in to something to their likeing....and I dont think thats right,such as in an example-useing the Bible as the school learning book or useing Brittany Spears makeup as a topic of an essay because shes pretty and why her lipstick line is flawless....
In regards to socialization I think its better for kids to go to school as opposed to home schooling it prepares you better for when you grow up and HAVE to deal with so manny varied types of folk.
In regards to bullying...honestly im also so so about this its a part of life and people need to learn to cope with it yet sometimes it goes way overboard and the school needs to be more effective in means of dealing with it Certain things just should not be accepted or tolerated and if the school is being to lax and unhelpfull i'd home school my kid in a second.
But now-a-days schools seem more deadly than when even I was growing up...My old highschool is on perminant lock down with metal detectors....I dont think that conveys "safety" or makes one feel comfortable for learning myself so in some cases home school might be safer...

 

[Kandy-Sugar]

I've never really liked the idea of home schooling.

It just seems like the child never really gets to experience being a child pretty much.

They seem to be stuck in their own home all the time and I wouldn't think they'd have to many friends seeing as it's hard to make friends unless your parents take you out to socialise.

If the parent is doing it to shelter them from the world, it isn't going to be very helpful for the child. When they finally get out on their own they're going to find themselves in situations they've never experienced before because they were never prepared for them.

I just think that sending your children to an actual school benefits the child more. They develop their social skills and yes they will be introduced to certain things like drugs, sex and that sort of thing. It's hard not to come across that sort of thing in schools these days, but in the end it's up to the child and how you brought them up and it would make them a stronger person if they were to learn from these sort of things earlier on.

If they get bullied or whatever just take them out of that school and put them in a new one for a fresh start.

That's what my parents did and there was no worries there.

 

[der Astronom]

I'm only really familiar with home schooling being used by parents who are extremely opposed to the idea of public school because of their religious views--they believe that their children should not be exposed to "heathen" ideals, and they don't like what public schools are teaching their children (eg, evolution). So they think they need to teach their own children from their own religious views. I'm not entirely sure why they don't consider religious schools then; they must really have extreme views. But there aren't too many people like that, thankfully.

 

[Rydia]

I'm only really familiar with home schooling being used by parents who are extremely opposed to the idea of public school because of their religious views--they believe that their children should not be exposed to "heathen" ideals, and they don't like what public schools are teaching their children (eg, evolution). So they think they need to teach their own children from their own religious views. I'm not entirely sure why they don't consider religious schools then; they must really have extreme views. But there aren't too many people like that, thankfully.

Hmm I went to a Catholic school and religion classes there were treated much like a literature course to be fair to students that weren't Catholic. It was made clear to us that if we weren't religious or didn't like religion, then we could treat the religious courses as just another class. (And most were taught from a third person perspective such as "Catholics believe...") When we went over the bible, the class looked at it like an English class would look at a work of literature. We were even encouraged to take a world religions class to learn about other view points.

Maybe this is why those parents choose to keep their kids home because the religion in these schools isn't presented as absolute fact? The school had sex education courses (it was allowed because it was private) We also had science classes that discussed evolution and other subjects that fanatical parents would not approve of. Though I am sure that there are stricter and more traditional religious schools out there?

I've only met one family that home schooled because of religions reasons.

The other two families that I know that home schooled their kids did not like the school district and felt that their kids could not get a good education. (They lived in rural areas)

Apparently about two hours away from where I live, home schooling is very popular, but it's a group of parents that get together and teach several kids. Each parent takes a subject depending on what they are an expert in. My sister wanted to get in on that and teach math. I keep telling her that she should send her son to school because it's not like the education system is bad or anything where she lives. It just comes off as the cool thing to do there.

 

[DepecheMode]

Home schooling isn't bad but the downfall would be the social aspect. Although there are alternatives to home schooling but still remain very similar to the idea of home schooling. Since the internet has grown a lot in the last 10 years, just about every state in the US offers some sort of online school as well. The upside to online school is that they do stick to a curriculum that is very much similar to what you'd have in a public school. You are assigned instructors much like you would have in a public school, so the burden gets lifted off the parent(s). To my knowledge online schools generally aren't picky about time, so students can sleep in, since they work at home on their school issued computer. The downside though once again is that socializing would be an issue.

Growing up in city public schools most of my life, it has it's fair share of problems as well. I remember the police constantly doing drug locker checks everyday at my old Jr. High and High school and sometimes would arrest students. We constantly had fights, a few of which involved me fighting, not from bullying but from other problems. School staff would often get injured and sent to the hospital from stopping fights. I remember a couple instances where we had bomb threats at my old high school even, they had to evacuate everyone out and send everyone home. Then shortly the Swat team, police and fire department would show up. When I started in my 9th grade year, I started getting death threats but that was because of the people I was associated with. My advice would be to carefully pick your friends, I let my friends pick me and therefore got into a lot of trouble. Drugs in bathrooms was a problem at my school and so was sex. I remember when I started kindergarten, one of the 4th grade teachers who worked at my elementary school got in trouble with a student and then later was registered as a pedophile sex offender. Overall, I'd say there were two really good years I had, the rest of my school years I hated.

Overall, when it comes to picking between the two, if one is gonna go the public school route, research the school you're gonna send your kid to. Make sure that you feel comfortable as well as the kid would. That would be my big obstacle if I had a kid, because I do know how shitty public school environments get and the school staff sometimes isn't even aware a lot of the time, but I do know with the right school it can be actually be a pretty good experience as well, like my 6th grade year. Home schooling is always a viable option when things get too tough, but perhaps keep into mind some socializing activities like at a community center like YMCA or some other place might be good also.

 

[der Astronom]

Hmm I went to a Catholic school and religion classes there were treated much like a literature course to be fair to students that weren't Catholic. It was made clear to us that if we weren't religious or didn't like religion, then we could treat the religious courses as just another class. (And most were taught from a third person perspective such as "Catholics believe...") When we went over the bible, the class looked at it like an English class would look at a work of literature. We were even encouraged to take a world religions class to learn about other view points.

Maybe this is why those parents choose to keep their kids home because the religion in these schools isn't presented as absolute fact? The school had sex education courses (it was allowed because it was private) We also had science classes that discussed evolution and other subjects that fanatical parents would not approve of. Though I am sure that there are stricter and more traditional religious schools out there?

Ja, there probably are, which is what I originally thought all religious schools were like. If they teach religious school for everyone, regardless of religion, then I'm not sure it really needs to be called a religious school, unless it just has to do with who owns that particular school.

I've only met one family that home schooled because of religions reasons.

The other two families that I know that home schooled their kids did not like the school district and felt that their kids could not get a good education. (They lived in rural areas)

Apparently about two hours away from where I live, home schooling is very popular, but it's a group of parents that get together and teach several kids. Each parent takes a subject depending on what they are an expert in. My sister wanted to get in on that and teach math. I keep telling her that she should send her son to school because it's not like the education system is bad or anything where she lives. It just comes off as the cool thing to do there.

See, that's actually a better reason to home school, and not because some ill-informed parents don't want their kids being exposed to things that they're going to see anyways. They're just way too afraid that if their children learned about evolution, they'd believe in it.

I find the notion that a parent has control over what their child chooses to believe in absurd. Just because you're in the same family doesn't mean you have to have the same beliefs; people should get over the fact that others aren't always going to agree with them, even if they're family members.

 

[Tom Marvolo Riddle]

I was home schooled when i was 9-10 years old due to the fact I was far too scared to go to school, I am disabled and I used to get bullied so bad I refused to go to school. My Mum taught me how to read, write and tell the time etc and I could even write my name by the time I was in nursery. When I was in secondary I refused to still go to school cuz i got bullied that bad I got beaten up and even had my hair set on fire.

 

[eye of the divine]

I was home schooled when i was 9-10 years old due to the fact I was far too scared to go to school, I am disabled and I used to get bullied so bad I refused to go to school. My Mum taught me how to read, write and tell the time etc and I could even write my name by the time I was in nursery. When I was in secondary I refused to still go to school cuz i got bullied that bad I got beaten up and even had my hair set on fire.

hun I am sorry for what happened to you I don't think anyone deserves the treatment you've recieved.

However I don't feel like home schooling is a good idea as such just like I do not agree with single sex schools because I think that people are restricted if you like.

In single sex schools you don't learn to communicate well with the opposite sex (I am not saying its true for everyone this is just my personal experiance).

I feel like home schooling does something similar however there are people like zell's hotdog who really do have problems such as bullying which are extreame because even when I was in school no one ever did stuff like that to kids.

So in essance I'm slightly confused I think. One the one hand I feel like it can hinder someone's life experiance in a social aspect at the same time I understand why sometimes people feel the need to home educate their children.

 

[Shu]

Here's my philosophy behind it, I don't like home schooling or the idea of it. The reason is because when a kid is growing up he/she is not only learning to become book smart, but also learning how to be socially prepared for the real world. More or less learning street smarts in the process of learning from a book.

Now I'm not saying all home schooled folks turn out to be weird and are socially devolved, but what I am saying is I don't think they are ready for the real world when they are done, unless they have kids they play with on a day to day basis.

If say Johnny wanted to date, but had never been around girls because of being sheltered, it's possible that he could either be a huge creeper, or just be entirely skittish. (the worst of two extremes) Skittish fellows often time are referred to these days as being gay. It sucks I know, but that's just the way it is in the "man kingdom."

If Susie from home school never had a date and was always accustomed to being alone, well she would automatically assume tendencies to be afraid of larger groups. (ochlophobia) So dating would be hard for her if her guy/girl was accustomed to hanging out with friends as well.

I'm just saying.. these are the "what ifs" In the end I just see it hard for a home school kid to get acclimated with his/her piers in the real world. Which makes it harder for the job markets as well if the person is not a good public speaker.

 

[Warrior of Light]

I can see why people home-school but except in rare cases I don’t really approve of it. There are too many pitfalls to home-schooling. Sure it keeps the kid from becoming “corrupted” and it probably does spare them excessive grief from other aggressive kids, but in the end the kid will still need to face the real world, and waiting to do so when they’re adults will only exasperate the problem of having poor social skills or lacking connections. Life in general is about social skills and connections and while we all have them to varying degrees a kid without any of these can easily become devastated by society when they are no longer sheltered.

In the cases of the student being disabled and the school being unable to meet their special needs I’d understand home-schooling, though involving them in at least some social activities would be a requirement.

 

[blakstang98]

I think for the aspect of sleep I would like home schooling (not a morning person). It would also be more personal, as it would just be you, one on one with the teacher. This can be very helpful as you can take advantage of a tutor-like figure without having to make special time to get tutored.

But from a social standpoint, being in school will teach you to learn things about life that can only be learned by experience. Learning about socializing is one of the most important aspects of life, even if you don't take the time to socialize much. At some point in life, you'll have to talk to a person that's a total stranger to you, and it would be much harder to learn that if you're sort of sheltered from it. Some of the ill effects like bullying and such are something that people have to see/experience first hand in order to learn from it. And in my opinion, this is better to learn when you're younger and in a school environment than in your adult life. But these are all things that you don't read in a book or see on TV. So best to experience it, and learn from your own success and mistakes then to be shut out from it. /old school opinion

 

[Koph]

I would say that humans should be given a choice in life... keeping one in a public school for 12 years is rather restricting. Personally, me being in school at the moment, I don't mind it, but I'd rather self teach myself. Unfortunately lots of people have the view that if you don't go to school or get some qualifications, you will not "succeed" in life, without defining succeeding, as that as a personal thought.

I feel that the school system needs a makeover. For starters, we're getting taught to the exam, this is restricting what teachers can teach us, I remember my history teacher telling me that he'd rather teach us more interesting things but he can't because he needs to teach to the exam in order for us to do well on the exam, in turn, him keeping his job.

Society commonly, and in many cases rightly, believes that drop-outs have a lack of motivation and so they are not easily employed. But just because someone hasn't completed school does not mean that the person is an idiot. The argument can be considered to be against school. If completion of high school is not a completely accurate indicator of intelligence, then initially judging intelligence on completion of high school would be stupid.

Don't get me wrong, I'm pro-education, just not as much pro-school. Its a good idea, just, In my opinion, can be done a lot better.

 

[The Witch]

Here's my philosophy behind it, I don't like home schooling or the idea of it. The reason is because when a kid is growing up he/she is not only learning to become book smart, but also learning how to be socially prepared for the real world. More or less learning street smarts in the process of learning from a book.

Now I'm not saying all home schooled folks turn out to be weird and are socially devolved, but what I am saying is I don't think they are ready for the real world when they are done, unless they have kids they play with on a day to day basis.

If say Johnny wanted to date, but had never been around girls because of being sheltered, it's possible that he could either be a huge creeper, or just be entirely skittish. (the worst of two extremes) Skittish fellows often time are referred to these days as being gay. It sucks I know, but that's just the way it is in the "man kingdom."

If Susie from home school never had a date and was always accustomed to being alone, well she would automatically assume tendencies to be afraid of larger groups. (ochlophobia) So dating would be hard for her if her guy/girl was accustomed to hanging out with friends as well.

I'm just saying.. these are the "what ifs" In the end I just see it hard for a home school kid to get acclimated with his/her piers in the real world. Which makes it harder for the job markets as well if the person is not a good public speaker.

I'm home schooled...and a girl. The only bad thing about being home schooled is
1. Not having the average chance of having as many friends
2. People looking down at you because of it
3. No social activites like Prom, etc

But I can tell you right now, the good of being home schooled completely out-weighs the bad. For starters, the children don't have to under-go the abuse of other children(that at times, gets so bad kids kill themselves). Nor do home schooled kids have to deal with peer-pressure to do drugs, have sex, join gangs, steal, or anything else bad. Not only that, but we have to think about the problems from most teachers. In a matter of fact, in the U.S. schools and how(or how they don't teach)is one of our main problems.

I've met kids older than me that don't know or understand the simplest things. Some kids don't even know some of our greatest authors or some of the worlds best literature.

Then we have to think about teachers that could possible sexually or mentally harm the kids in the school. It's disgusting to think that a gym teacher is filming kids or a teacher is actually touching kids sexually.

And then there's the whole fact that certain schools force their beliefs on the kids instead of feeding them the information and allowing them to make their own opinions. Like in the state of California, the kindergartners reading list had a book about a gay couple(think it was about polar bears)THAT is something the parent has a right to judge whether or not their young child reads. Not the schools choice.

With home schooling, kids can actually be taught. Because when a parent home schools their kids, they actually have to go through tests to prove their kids are up to par with the rest of the world. In traditional school, teachers just let kids fail classes. But at home, the parents are going to know exactly what their kids are having trouble with. And so, the kids can be taught better and get more help with it. Therefor they end up having a better education than most kids.

Home schooled kids have a chance to actually focus on their school work instead of worrying about peer pressure from other kids.
Home schooled kids, I think, have much more confidence than a kid in traditional school. In traditional school, kids get told they're fat, ugly, poor, stupid, etc, causing their confidence to lower. But at home, kids can act, like, think, dress, and look what ever way they want without being told the're a nobody, so their confidence is left high.

Confidence can get someone a job, friends, and even love. But if a kid was picked on by the girl/boy they liked in school, that can prevent them from trying to find someone. If a kid gets told their ugly their whole life, they're not going to try and talk to someone.

Like I said, home schooled kids have their confidence and self esteem intact. But kids that have gone through so much tormoil from others in traditional school won't branch out to try and claim that job position or the person they like.

Being home schooled myself, I know very well what it's like to miss out on certain things but I also know the great deal of troubles my parents saved me from suffering through.

When you compare the pros and cons of home schooling VS. traditional school, home school is a much better choice.

And if I have kids, I'll most likely home school them.

 

[West]

I'd agree that non-home-schooled kids will usually have an edge when it comes to the social aspect. But that doesn't mean that home-schooled kids don't like to go out and have fun, too. They get out and meet people, they just go about it in a different manner.

Anyway, based on my limited experience with home-schooled people, I'd have to say that I'm impressed with how they turned out. They seem to be, on average, a lot smarter (or at least "book-smarter") than your average non-home-schooled person. Schools will teach you what you need to know, but they do so in a way that isn't ideal to actually learning to your highest potential, I think.

Anyway, both methods have their merits. If I could do my education again, I'd likely stay in school. But home-schooling is comparatively rad in my book.

 

[SaShman]

It's a tough call really. A friend of mine was home schooled right up until his first year of high school. If I remember correctly, he got really good grades during his first year of high school and he didn't appear to have any trouble fitting in.

As many people have suggested there is the possibility that children who are home schooled may be not have the opportunity to develop certain social skills. However, social skills don't have to be learned in the school yard. The friend who I mentioned still had friends to play with before he started high school. I think homeschooling at a younger age can be just as, if not more effective than regular schooling if it is done right. However, I believe it is important for children to interact with other children (even if this doesn't take place on the schoolyard).

However one thing that does worry me is the quality of education that a home schooled child will receive. It is largely dependent on the parent's teaching skills. But I think it should be noted that being home schooled would mean that the child would be consistently in a learning environment without disruptions that can be found in normal classrooms. In my opinion this is a huge advantage for home schooling, but again it is entirely dependent on how this advantage is utilized by the parent.

tl;dr: Home schooling can be just as/more effective than regular schooling providing it is done right. But I think It's important that the child still interacts with other children and the parent must have good teaching skills in order for home schooling to be effective.

 

[Shu]

Home schooled kids, I think, have much more confidence than a kid in traditional school. In traditional school, kids get told they're fat, ugly, poor, stupid, etc, causing their confidence to lower. But at home, kids can act, like, think, dress, and look what ever way they want without being told the're a nobody, so their confidence is left high.

Confidence can get someone a job, friends, and even love. But if a kid was picked on by the girl/boy they liked in school, that can prevent them from trying to find someone. If a kid gets told their ugly their whole life, they're not going to try and talk to someone.

By the way, excellent post Cali =), and also don't take my words for a grain of salt, because like I said I know some home schooled folks that are the coolest folks ever, but then I know the other extreme as well. I will return with this though on the confidence issue.

Let's say the age of 18 comes around or even younger depending on how long it takes for he/she to get through home schooling. The real world though isn't quite all ... hmm.. Rainbows is the best word I can put it. Meaning people will act even more cruel than they do in high school. Job searches are rough as well. I'm not some cynic, it's just the way.. things are. Social interaction is a HUGGGGGGGGGGGGE key to getting the edge on the job market. What I learned from say general high school, is how to make judgments off of psychological cues. As in I learned how to read folks better. That's all I'm getting at with all this. Aside from watching TV, and else wise, I'm just afraid without enough social interaction that the folks that attend home school don't have enough "prep" before they live on their own.

 

[Warrior of Light]

Home-schooling might prevent kids from seeing the ugly side of traditional schooling, but that's the problem itself. They need to be exposed to the ugliness of life so to prepare for the even greater ugliness of adult life. It's harsh, cold and unforgiving, and sheltering them while they're a child will not benefit them in the long run. If they can't handle it now, how will they handle it later? It generally does not get easier when you get older. I'm sure home-schooling has it's benefits, but in the end simply keeping a child from the bad stuff in life will only make them less able to deal with it when they're older and you can't shield them anymore.

 

[moogling]

If I had a child and had to make the decision, I would want to send them to school up until midway through high school. They would have had the opportunity to interact with other children, make a few friends, and see how they felt about going to school.

Midway through high school, or perhaps the end of Freshman year, I would discuss it with my child and see if they would want to be homeschooled. If they really did not want to pass up continuing school, I wouldn't object. However, if they liked the idea, I would try it out. I personally would love to have the chance to teach my child aside from the obvious first words and walking.

Of course it all depends on how they liked it, how it worked out for us, and how well they were doing with school work. Now, I know that I wouldn't be teaching them for very long... he/she would have gone to school their entire lives up until high school. However, I still want them to have been taught in a public environment, and then I could see what they had learned and apply my own lessons on what they should know for the future.

As for myself, I went to public school my whole life. I never went to nursery school, so I suppose you could consider that I was homeschooled at that point in my life, but of course I don't remember what it was like. I'm currently in high school and I'm glad that I got to have the experience of public school. However, if I was given the option to be homeschooled for the rest of high school, I would jump at the option. I feel like at this point that I've experienced all that I've needed to experience, I've got friends, I know the community well, and am involved in out of school activities. I don't feel like being homeschooled would affect me at this point in my life.

Now for my views on other people home schooling. As I've said many times before, I don't really have concerns about what other people are doing, unless it affects me in some way. Though, I suppose I'll express how I feel about this subject applied on other people.

If the family is religious, conservative, and/or anti-social, then I believe homeschooling is the best option for them. They can teach their children everything that they need to know, and everything that their family wants the child to know. I know that in most cases, there will be legal obligations to be followed. As long as that is carried out, I see no problem with this situation. The student will be required to take yearly tests to see that the family is doing the job.

If the family is outgoing, and/or involved in the community, I see no problem with homeschooling here either. If it's really what the family wants for their child, so be it. In this case, I'm sure that the child will have interactions with other children, such as cousins and the parents' friends' children.

As for the social factor in homeschooling, as long as the family makes certain that the child has no mental issue such as anxiety, and that they have the child involved with other family members such as cousins and kids around the neighborhood, there should be absolutely no issue in the child's social ability.

All in all, I have absolutely no objections with homeschooling. I believe it's an excellent option that should definitely stay available to families.

 

[The Witch]

By the way, excellent post Cali =), and also don't take my words for a grain of salt, because like I said I know some home schooled folks that are the coolest folks ever, but then I know the other extreme as well. I will return with this though on the confidence issue.

Let's say the age of 18 comes around or even younger depending on how long it takes for he/she to get through home schooling. The real world though isn't quite all ... hmm.. Rainbows is the best word I can put it. Meaning people will act even more cruel than they do in high school. Job searches are rough as well. I'm not some cynic, it's just the way.. things are. Social interaction is a HUGGGGGGGGGGGGE key to getting the edge on the job market. What I learned from say general high school, is how to make judgments off of psychological cues. As in I learned how to read folks better. That's all I'm getting at with all this. Aside from watching TV, and else wise, I'm just afraid without enough social interaction that the folks that attend home school don't have enough "prep" before they live on their own.

Thank you, Shu. I understand where you're coming from. And you have a right to be worried that children have the possibility of not knowing the ins and outs of people. But, like what my mum and dad did, they taught me and my siblings the ins and outs of how people thought/acted in the "real" world.

My older siblings(three)were all in traditional school their whole lives, me and my younger siblings weren't. I literally got to see how the same family differed from being in traditional school and being home schooled. And there was a major difference. I remember my brother not being able to do school just because of how many people were bullying him. My sister, she was skipping school and my parents never even knew it because the teachers never informed them. My eldest brother was really the only one that survived through the school. So, I see it as a 1 in 3 kids will survive traditional school.

Me and my younger siblings we have/had a chance to concentrate on our school, which is the most important thing.

And honestly, me and my younger siblings all learned the ins and outs from our older brothers and sister. So, we actually do know how the outside world works. Not to say this counts for all home schooled kids, because not everyone has as big as a family as ours, but it shows kids can learn about the outside world other ways.

Online games, for example, that's interaction with competitive people. That can teach children how to be competitive--all right, that's not the best of examples, but it will do.

Like others have said, pretty much the only bad thing about Home Schooling is that kids don't have the same opportunity to have as many friends or take part in as many social activities.

But, speaking from the stand point of a home schooled person, whether or not I know the "dirty" side of the world is not really important. Because, I know how the real world works. My younger siblings know how the real world works. It's just something that comes to you.