Homeschooling

I think homeschooling should only be used if you absolutely need to (too poor to afford travel, really bad cases of bullying, bad influence from other students, etc) but almost everyone that I've met that I can remember that has been homeschooled had been severely lacking in the.. human interaction department and petty, and I don't think it actually gives you as much ambition, drive, or educational influence as a regular school would. I think it has to do with the fact that whoever is doing the homeschooling needs to be a sufficient teacher enough to be a proper influence on the kid being homeschooled.
However, there is a small handful of people that I met who are homeschooled that are pretty brilliant people, but I am still a bit skeptical about the whole thing because it's dependent on the individual student and teacher. In some aspects, though, it may actually be better than regular school depending on the case of the student.

I absolutely don't agree with homeschooling 99% of the time. There are exceptions of course, but mostly I don't. It's because I feel that schools provide an experience and knowledge of countless of things that parents cannot provide for their child. I don't think that they are qualified to teach their child the necessary things and I don't like it when parents think they are. Children are homeschooled because parents think they can provide that information for them better than school can, or because they don't agree with the things schools teach. I don't see who they think they are to decide over that? They might be the parent, but there is a standard/basic/common knowledge that everyone should have.

It's this idea of keeping your child home, thinking you can provide for them what school does, which you just can't because home does not have the actual experience of going to school and meeting people, learning to interact with people and with authority, learning to work with the structure of a timetable and planning - almost all that stuff you learn at school. You just don't learn those things at home and you can't learn them without simply experiencing them. I think it's pretty ignorant if you think that your child doesn't need that knowledge, or that you think you are BETTER than school to teach them.

@Kura Yep! Totally depends on the situation of each student.

Well I have seen some receive appalling education from home school, while I have seen many others achieve high academic success from their home school education.

I personally knew a mother that had five kids from different men, she didn't work and lived off child support (not qualified for disability though, and has children who are all old enough to attend school), she neglected and abused her children, and finally she pulled her kids out of school after the school had filed several complaints. The eldest son attempted to go to college, but he scored in the bottom tenth percentile, and eventually dropped out after not being able to compete the many semesters of remedial courses that did not count toward his degree. Also, the younger children are well below their grade levels in all subjects. The parent was, and I assume continues, to not take an active role in the children's home school. She also is not educated to assist them with the difficult material.

On the other hand, I couldn't do both swimming and basketball in the winter semesters of high school, so I joined a non-school affiliated conference in the Fall. The local team consisted primarily of home school students. These students had very involved parents, who made sure that their kids were able to be involved with sports and the arts with other kids. These students were also well above their grade level in most subjects since their parents followed state guidelines and testing to obtain funding. These parents intended to take an active role in their children's education in their children's best interest.

It is not the children, it is the parenting that makes home school work or not work. In some cases the kids are provided poor, adequate, proficient, or exemplary educations at home.

I did homeschooling for about a year in what was supposed to be my sophomore year of high school. The only positive thing about it was the freedom and ease of mind that came with it to do your schoolwork whenever (in most cases) and not really having to worry about deadlines and things like that much. As long as I completed the entire course by X date, I was fine. But it took away so much of my high school experience and I regret doing it. It put me behind on my credits, it took some of my friends away (though I guess I should blame myself for that), and when I came back, I had some serious catching up to do. Homeschooling is okay for some people - and probably right for everyone if you have the right teacher, but there are things in regular school and private school that you can't really get out of homeschooling. Or at least not as easily.

Well, I'm homeschooled so here's my point of view on this subject;

It is rather relaxing, as long as I get my books done by the end of the year I'm fine, and even if I don't usually Mum doesn't get too annoyed.

Socializing is definitely NOT a problem, my family spent so much time socializing in the past few months we've gotten behind in school.

My homeschooling is not like sit down and talk to teachers over the phone and stuff, it's actual homeschooling, Mum actually teaches us (though in highschool years we have gotten more independent)

The only problem I have is that I'm not really sporty like most kids, but hey, that's really my fault for sitting on my butt instead of going outside to play or run or whatnot.

I also like homeschooling cause it means I can spend more time practicing my clarinet and sax and stuff like that :)

Also there's no homeschoolers that are really close to where we live, the closest friends we have are like 300kms away (we have some closer but we never see them cause my parents and her parents had an argument a while back, and it's a bit awkward now, but it's still ok)

So I see other homeschoolers now at least once a month, possibly more.
Also it's good that I was homeschooled cause I was like born with autistic tendancies (it wasn't too bad so I'm over it now but people used to basically be able to walk over me)

But I am probably going to an actual school next year so I'll be able to compare the two really well then

I think it just depends on how it is executed. I was homeschooled for a short period of time in second grade, and it was pretty great. I could wake up whenever I wanted, then I would do my schoolwork, and after I finished I'd be free to do whatever for the rest of the day! I liked the science lessons we would do, like each week my mom would take me to the library and we'd pick out books on a subject like space or bugs to study. But anyway, the best about homeschooling for me was just feeling relaxed and my parents making it fun.

But...that was when I was 6 years old. I went back to public school in third grade and stayed in until I finished. Although I didn't exactly like going to school, without it I wouldn't have my same friends and all the fun times we had together through school. In that way, I'm glad I was in an actual school instead of staying homeschooled (even though I was only homeschooled due to some problems with the local school in the area I lived at the time). My older cousin, however, was homeschooled for most of his life and he's doing just great.

So, I think that it just has everything to do with how the parents approach it and how it is pulled off. I don't think I would actually do as well being homeschooled, but some people just might, like my cousin, and some people may have to.

ETA: About parents homeschooling due to not agreeing with what the school is teaching, well, I think that's not a very good idea. I guess parents have a right to it, but...... I don't agree with it.

Kura said:

I think homeschooling should only be used if you absolutely need to (too poor to afford travel, really bad cases of bullying, bad influence from other students, etc) but almost everyone that I've met that I can remember that has been homeschooled had been severely lacking in the.. human interaction department and petty...

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I completely agree with Kura.
I don't think it is a good form of effective education if I am honest. Obviously, there are exceptions to this method and some people can only be taught this way due to x/y/z reasons. But taking away the classroom environment, then you under-develop so many important qualities a child needs.​

I kinda want to add something, since I do see some responses in terms of homschooling having a sort of feeling of leniency with some of these responses, compared to what I've experienced in school.

I wanted to say that while the whole "social interaction" thing may be an issue for some homeschooled children.. see "social interaction" in a more broad regard. For example, it's like children who are homeschooled may not know what to do, say, if a situation arose where someone who is higher up technically in position had a disagreement with you. (Like what if the teacher was adamant that you are wrong when you are actually in the right?) What would you do if, in the work world, the boss is extra strict on you because they have a different expectation on your job position? Or how you should approach a situation where your seniors want you to change something quickly or don't pull their weight on a project. Since in a homeschool environment, you are already on personal terms with your teacher, it would be completely different.

As much as I hate group projects (especially when no one else does anything in the group,) or "sudden test next week!" or "surprise 3 page essay due tomorrow!" it helps you cope with stress later on in life, and teaches you about taking responsibility or weighing consequences.

While being homeschooled can be definitely just as difficult as a public/ social school, I think that added element of others adds a ton to the learning experience. It's not just about "socializing" but rather, how to deal with unforseen circumstances regarding other people or projects.

Kura said:

I wanted to say that while the whole "social interaction" thing may be an issue for some homeschooled children.. see "social interaction" in a more broad regard. For example, it's like children who are homeschooled may not know what to do, say, if a situation arose where someone who is higher up technically in position had a disagreement with you. (Like what if the teacher was adamant that you are wrong when you are actually in the right?) What would you do if, in the work world, the boss is extra strict on you because they have a different expectation on your job position? Or how you should approach a situation where your seniors want you to change something quickly or don't pull their weight on a project. Since in a homeschool environment, you are already on personal terms with your teacher, it would be completely different.

As much as I hate group projects (especially when no one else does anything in the group,) or "sudden test next week!" or "surprise 3 page essay due tomorrow!" it helps you cope with stress later on in life, and teaches you about taking responsibility or weighing consequences.

While being homeschooled can be definitely just as difficult as a public/ social school, I think that added element of others adds a ton to the learning experience. It's not just about "socializing" but rather, how to deal with unforseen circumstances regarding other people or projects.

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Well, not talking about all homeschoolers, but certainly in my family's case, Mum pulls a heap of unforseen things on us. For eg; she's constantly changing programs. Sometimes she finds a test in a book we're doing and suddenly makes us do it, so the 'sudden tests' happens to us too.

Captain Fabio said:

I completely agree with Kura.
I don't think it is a good form of effective education if I am honest. Obviously, there are exceptions to this method and some people can only be taught this way due to x/y/z reasons. But taking away the classroom environment, then you under-develop so many important qualities a child needs.​

​

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Like.. ?
If you're talking about the social reaction, like I said before in my previous post, my family socializes so much we find it hard to fit in the school.
We are out most nights for musical reasons (band, choir, etc.) so we are meeting with people then. Not to mention there's Homeschooling camps, homeschooling groups etc. so it isn't quite that bad.
Not to mention that I spend every night I am able to online talking to my friends over the internet. Usually stay up till 10-11, sometimes past midnight.

voltianqueen said:

ETA: About parents homeschooling due to not agreeing with what the school is teaching, well, I think that's not a very good idea. I guess parents have a right to it, but...... I don't agree with it.

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In some cases though it would be good, right? Like here in Australia at the moment they're thinking of bringing in a 'universal course' type thing and that's basically everybody in every school all across the country learning the exact same things. And also since my family's Christian and religion is not going to be apart of this new course thing (or so I've heard) yeah.. that's one good thing I suppose.

Now not all homeschooling cases are like mine, I admit it, but most of the homeschooling families I know are rather like mine, they're out most of the time, they socialize heaps, and they get their school done and everything.

I was homeschooled for four years, and it was pretty great. There was freedom and ease of mind, not much worrying about deadlines and such, and the socialization problem was easily covered, too. But for those of you who tried it out and didn't enjoy it, you were either doing it wrong or it wasn't for you (homeschooling isn't for everyone). Here's a list of a few homeschooled people in the world:

• Albert Einstein
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Claude Monet
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Douglas MacArthur
• George Patton
• Thomas Jefferson
• Abraham Lincoln
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Theodore Roosevelt
• George Washington
• Woodrow Wilson
• John Wesley
• Blaise Pascal
• Winston Churchill
• Hans Christian Andersen
• Agatha Christie
• Charles Dickens
• Mark Twain
• Daniel Webster
• Andrew Carnegie
• Charles Chaplin
• Florence Nightingale
• Sally Ride
• Albert Schweitzer
• Leo Tolstoy
• C.S. Lewis
• Alexander Graham Bell
• Thomas Alva Edison
• Orville and Wilbur Wright
• Joan of Arc
• dragon456

tl;dr, homeschooling is awesome. period.

dragon456 said:

I was homeschooled for four years, and it was pretty great. There was freedom and ease of mind, not much worrying about deadlines and such, and the socialization problem was easily covered, too. But for those of you who tried it out and didn't enjoy it, you were either doing it wrong or it wasn't for you (homeschooling isn't for everyone). Here's a list of a few homeschooled people in the world:

• Albert Einstein
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Claude Monet
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Douglas MacArthur
• George Patton
• Thomas Jefferson
• Abraham Lincoln
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Theodore Roosevelt
• George Washington
• Woodrow Wilson
• John Wesley
• Blaise Pascal
• Winston Churchill
• Hans Christian Andersen
• Agatha Christie
• Charles Dickens
• Mark Twain
• Daniel Webster
• Andrew Carnegie
• Charles Chaplin
• Florence Nightingale
• Sally Ride
• Albert Schweitzer
• Leo Tolstoy
• C.S. Lewis
• Alexander Graham Bell
• Thomas Alva Edison
• Orville and Wilbur Wright
• Joan of Arc
• dragon456

tl;dr, homeschooling is awesome. period.

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Although I agree that homeschooling can be a viable choice, there is a significant differences in modern homeschooling opposed to homeschooling prior to the 19th century. In addition, public school was not an option much of the time.

I don't think homeschooling is for everyone. But give it some slack. It isn't perfect, neither is regular school. I was homeschooled all my life. I won't give all my 100% support on it, but I will defend it. Because I was part of a homeschool provider, socialization was easy. We would regularly have events, and often met up several times a week. It was pretty lax, studying. I could study wherever I wanted, in my bed, in my study, in my dinner table, on the sofa, and even, yes, in the loo. Given all the extra time I had, I was able to grow into my array of talents. I learned how to write (my dad is an author), took up classical and rock music (I am currently part of an orchestra), i was in a swimming team, I learned tennis, and I would have art lessons every Friday. I wasn't forced to be in the groove, or follow my peers. I was able to develop my own personality. Also, studying wasn't cramped into specific hours. I could study on my own pace. If I wanted, I could study for only 2 days, and have the rest of the 5 days of the week free to do whatever. And also, because I had a homeschool provider, I was accredited by the department of education. I can go to any high school I want, though I opted to continue homeschooling. Note, my parents aren't poor at all, or live in a far away place (I live in the city in fact.) I could go to the most expensive private school in my area if I wanted (don't take it as bragging please -.-)

But in the end, I think if you have enough social activities, or if you're part of a homeschool provider, homeschooling is pretty cool. :) Well, that's just my opinion. Haters gonna hate. :P

I'm planning on homeschooling my son, as my husband is active duty and us moving around all the time would seriously disrupt his education. I personally feel like one teacher teaching 40 kids isn't effective at all, one on one is generally much more effective. We may not have teaching degrees, but why does that matter? Teaching degrees focus more on managing kids and less than teaching them actual material.

We're planning on being very interest led - say, for example, he ends up being fascinated by mythology. We could use this to teach critical thinking, math, science, history... the possibilities are endless. The elementary years should be very interest based, with high school years being based more on knowledge needed for college (such as writing academic papers). Homeschooling allows us to do that. Why should a kid have hours of homework in first grade? It's pointless. And, if I don't know something, the ease of looking up information has never been easier. With false knowledge and bad teachers running rampant in schools (at least where I live), I feel like the time has never been better for homeschooling.

In my opinion, socialization isn't an issue. When do you seriously socialize in school? Kids are told to be quiet and listen to the teacher. In my elementary school, we weren't even allowed to talk during lunch. I'm confident he won't miss any socialization during school, and sports, theatre, and other such activities will provide plenty 'socialization'.

Sure, there are some that give homeschoolers a bad name, and it requires a serious amount of effort from parents to pull it off successfully, but if you're willing to put in the work and have the resources, I see it as a great resource. =)

Tl, dr; Homeschooling is great if you're willing to put the work in, bad if you're not.

Jay_37040 said:

When it comes to religion, are you talking about religion in a historical or literature context? If instead it's bible studies, wouldn't that type of learning best be done at church rather than a school?

I am of the opinion that religion has no place in a secular school, unless discussing historical events related to religion, or discussing the bible (and other religious texts) as a piece of literature.

When it comes to homeschooling, it should always be permitted, provided the student's parents are required to teach the same curriculum as is taught in a school.

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Um... religion as in.. what it is, how to live it etc.. We hear verses from the Bible and stuff like that during Church, sure, but Mum and Dad still need to show us how to live our life right, there's so much we need to know, and just going to church won't cover it.

Exact curriculum? As in, even the same books? What's the point of homeschooling then?
In my family, my oldest sister had learning difficulties, I had (and still have slightly) social difficulties, and 2 of my younger sisters have difficulties with their eyes, so they are behind in school..
That's another advantage of homeshooling, you can pick different books to study from that suits the childs' needs.
My brother does a certain maths program, I do another. It's all good. We're both studying Geometry, and we're both getting through it, we're learning stuff from it.

fiOWNya said:

We're planning on being very interest led - say, for example, he ends up being fascinated by mythology. We could use this to teach critical thinking, math, science, history... the possibilities are endless.

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Cool! :D
Yeah, that sounds like a good idea (basing subjects around interests). I know it worked for me, when I was younger, back when I was completely obsessed with Pokemon (I'm not obsessed any more), Mum got this Pokemon Maths program, and it was awesome! Me and my siblings loved it! It is certainly a very productive way to teach/learn.