No schools

[JustGeorge]

I have one in public schools, and home school one(there's also a toddler, who I plan on homeschooling).

Homeschool is not the proper avenue for my oldest. He needs to be out of his environment(away from his phone/electronics), or the temptation to use them is too great. Ask him not to, there's a tantrum. All those tantrums are not good for either of us.

School is not the proper avenue for the middle one. All school was for him was a place to rub glue into the carpet and to throw large items at staff. He was non verbal while in the school system; within a month of being home, he started talking. I can also focus on his interests, and 'sneak' in learning, for less behavior problems. Even his teachers had to admit he was doing better at home.

My elementary education was worthwhile. My middle school and high school educations were a waste of time. I didn't retain a thing, because I didn't enjoy what I was being taught. The only thing I figured out from socializing(from elementary and middle school) was that kids were mean. They had mostly matured by high school(I know that's not typical, but my school wasn't typical), but by the time I got there, my social anxiety was so high, I couldn't socialize normally anyways. I asked Mom to homeschool me; I'd have honestly taught myself(and would have been capable of it, school was easy), but she said no, she suffered in school, so I would, too. It was almost like a revenge thing.

I think both homeschool and public school get a bad reputation, and for no good reason. Both can makes shots at indoctrinating the kids. Both can cause problems, if proper attention is not paid. Not all homeschoolers are the same, not all public schools are the same. There are too many blanket statements made on both for them to be seriously considered.

 

[Clizby Wampuscat]

Certainly homeschool is better

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One thing to keep in mind is that public schools have to take everyone, private schools don't. On average the private school/homeschool parent is more involved with the kid and the kids are in a better situation to learn over a public school kid in my experience. The outcome of a kids education is mostly influenced by the parents in my opinion. Most of the kids I see struggling in school have a bad home situation.

 

[JDMS]

Homeschooling can be okay, but often people homeschool their children to "protect them" from other worldviews.... read as indoctrinate.

I was homeschooled from pre-school to sophomore year of high school. My widowed mother has serious mental illness and didn't work. We lived off insurance money and handouts from my father dying.

At home, if my mother left her bed at all, I would only be taught biblical subjects and writing/reading so I could understand them. I memorized entire books of the Bible. I never learned any math. What I learned about science was from kids books.

My neglectful mother neither watched me nor fed me regularly. I ate pieces of rotisserie chicken and left over Halloween candy for many meals. Either that or I'd visit my friend's house now the road so his mom would feed me.

I also got into all sorts of trouble during the day because again, my mother was neglectful and didn't stop me from going outside whenever I wanted. I got into some delinquency and theft at that point. I would steal shoes and outdoor furniture cushions to burn them.

My socialization was limited to church staff, my single neighborhood friend, and Bible study kids once a week. But I was bullied by the Bible study kids for being weird.... so I didn't get much from them.

Somehow my mom get away with only sending me to standardized testing once... which is a requirement to do it at several grades. Yet she got away with not doing so. So the system clearly failed me.

By the time I got sent to a private Christian school when my mother remarried, I had years of math to catch up on. I went from never having seen a fraction to doing algebra. It was miserable and humiliating. Luckily I got caught up.

However, since she made up grades for me for freshman year, when I was enrolled in the private school she gave me Cs and Bs in assumption I wouldn't be good at certain subjects. I got As in every single class. Never once did I get anything less than an A. Yet because she made up those low grades, my GPA was 3.9 instead of > 4.0 with my AP courses. She stunted my opportunities by assuming I'd be stupid and removing me from the education system.

Homeschooling is a evil tool of isolation when the intention is religious indoctrination, or if you are too lazy and unprepared to actually teach your child.

I resent my mother for what she did to this day.

EDIT: I should additionally mention that I was brutally physically abused, but because I was isolated, no one ever noticed the bruises. She'd just skip church/youth group on days where I looked rough. She couldn't have done that if I went to school.

 

[metis]

Certainly homeschool is better

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But socializing with others, including those that don't look like or act like us, is a BIG part of education.

The unfortunate reality is that both homeschooling and parochial & charter schools can feed racism, religious bigotry, and have serious consequences for the student and for society as a whole.

 

[metis]

One thing to keep in mind is that public schools have to take everyone, private schools don't.

Bingo!

On top of that, it's a lot easier for them to discharge any student who may be a pain in the dupa. And most of them, at least here in Michigan, do not have special education departments because they're costly to staff & maintain.

 

[metis]

I'm assuming for the most part these are comparisons of standardised testing results, and for the most part such tests are optional for home-schooled kids.

And that's true here in Michigan as well.

 

[JustGeorge]

The unfortunate reality is that both homeschooling and parochial & charter schools can feed racism, religious bigotry, and have serious consequences for the student and for society as a whole.

I think this is unfair.

And honestly, I'm tired of all homeschoolers being lumped in with fundamentalist right wing Christians. While I understand that some homeschoolers out there fit this bill, enough don't, and enough to deserve some kind of acknowledgement.

In our area, there's a Christian homeschool group. But there's also a secular homeschool co-op that wants nothing to do with religious matters.

If I'm honest, my kid that is in public school picked up some racist thoughts... from school. And it wasn't lack of exposure; I might be in Iowa, but my city has a history of being home to people of all kinds. Unfortunately, exposure doesn't always mean kids get along well and he got bullied pretty bad at times, and picked out that his bullies often met a certain physical profile... It took a lot of convincing on our parts that he had been dealt a bad hand at school, and to show him all the people of different races we had positive relationships with in our family...

 

[metis]

I think this is unfair.

And honestly, I'm tired of all homeschoolers being lumped in with fundamentalist right wing Christians. While I understand that some homeschoolers out there fit this bill, enough don't, and enough to deserve some kind of acknowledgement.

In our area, there's a Christian homeschool group. But there's also a secular homeschool co-op that wants nothing to do with religious matters.

If I'm honest, my kid that is in public school picked up some racist thoughts... from school. And it wasn't lack of exposure; I might be in Iowa, but my city has a history of being home to people of all kinds. Unfortunately, exposure doesn't always mean kids get along well and he got bullied pretty bad at times, and picked out that his bullies often met a certain physical profile... It took a lot of convincing on our parts that he had been dealt a bad hand at school, and to show him all the people of different races we had positive relationships with in our family...

My points were not to be taken as being a stereotype, which is why I wrote "can feed...".

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Certainly homeschool is better

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It's certainly a way to shield kids from the idea that LGBTQ people should be treated with respect and kindness... at least for a few years.

 

[JustGeorge]

My points were not to be taken as being a stereotype, which is why I wrote "can feed...".

I think its only a thorn in the side because of how many problems the idea can cause. Or how many assumptions a person makes about you when they find out you homeschool. You might know this isn't always the case, but there's a lot who don't... There are even some religious homeschoolers who get genuinely confused when you say you're not doing it for religious reasons.

There are times when I have to say "we're non-religious homeschoolers" because people are talking to me with certain assumptions in mind, and get the wrong idea about who we are.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

One thing to keep in mind is that public schools have to take everyone, private schools don't.

That's right. Even if the quality of education was exactly the same at both schools, we would expect private schools to score better on standardized tests just because they can kick out the students who would score poorly.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Waste of time. People can learn how to write and do simple arithmetics in one month top. Everything else school offers is a waste of time.

Well it's an essential service. People need to learn and survive. Additionally, higher education provides society with the cream of the crop to handle more complex activities.

Imagine a president or official with nothing more than a basic education.

It would be disastrous collectively.

 

[metis]

I think its only a thorn in the side because of how many problems the idea can cause. Or how many assumptions a person makes about you when they find out you homeschool. You might know this isn't always the case, but there's a lot who don't... There are even some religious homeschoolers who get genuinely confused when you say you're not doing it for religious reasons.

There are times when I have to say "we're non-religious homeschoolers" because people are talking to me with certain assumptions in mind, and get the wrong idea about who we are.

It's not just a thought but a reality in some cases. Public schools and universities help to create an American "melting pot" by helping to create diversity that intermixed, which is one big reason why racists in the South strongly opposed integration, and we well know what that led to.

Homeschooling has its advantages at times, so I'm not saying it's all bad news. Nor do I think not allowing parents to do this should happen.

 

[JustGeorge]

It's not just a thought but a reality in some cases. Public schools and universities help to create an American "melting pot" by helping to create diversity that intermixed, which is one big reason why racists in the South strongly opposed integration, and we well know what that led to.

Homeschooling has its advantages at times, so I'm not saying it's all bad news. Nor do I think not allowing parents to do this should happen.

I really wonder the best way to combat the problem... I know the schools try; they really do. But it doesn't seem to be working.

I also think each region has its own personal boggle on the topic, and will probably need to address it differently. And I think there are certain regions who won't address it at all, and I don't know how to combat that, either...

 

[Kenny]

Let's be sure to apply what's best on average to all situations.

2 economists shoot at a target.
One hits far to the left of the bullseye.
The other hits far to the right.
He exclaims...
"Hey, on average, we hit the bullseye!"

LOL...

I'm not quite sure that fits the application.


Two economists shoot at a target 40 million times. If the average of one is still a bullseye, we make no bull about it.

 

[Revoltingest]

LOL...

I'm not quite sure that fits the application.

It shows that only considering the average
can mask the reality of what's happening.
Home schooling average results viewed
without detail could mask....
- Self-selection bias
- Socialization problems
- Embedding magical beliefs

 

[Madmogwai]

Waste of time. People can learn how to write and do simple arithmetics in one month top. Everything else school offers is a waste of time.

1 Month to learn to write, no, your wrong.

 

[syo]

1 Month to learn to write, no, your wrong.

How long then?

 

[syo]

See if you can learn 30 characters in
30 days.

How long then?

 

[Madmogwai]

How long then?

Many are in High School and cannot read or write well, giving them less time is hardly the answer.