Is homeschooling a success?

[patreiche]

It is not possible to brainwash a child? Please, who are you trying to kid.

Brainwashing is frighteningly simple. It appears that repetition of lies is all it takes. Make someone feel they are part of a superior group and give them talking points. This type of brainwashing occurs on conservative talk shows daily. So if you can be brainwashed this simple, what makes you think your innocent little children that believe every word you tell them can not be brainwashed.

Just look at what Hitler did. He easily brainwashed an entire country. In order to accomplish this an enemy must exist. Look at who profits from war. The Bush family and the Bin Laden family belong to same group of world leaders that were invested in war. If there is no strife, they do not make money. Can anyone imagine the group of world leaders belonging to the Carlye group that profit from war might want strife in the world? The cold war had ended. No one was profiting from war. A new conflict was needed. The new conflict is a text book repeat of Hitler. Hitler chose the Jewish religion as his target to accomplish whatever he wanted. Do you see any similarities yet?

The Commandment "Thou shall not kill" doesn't mean if you think you are doing a righteous kill and doing it honorably it is acceptable. It doesn't mean a different culture's righteous killings their way is worse then your righteous killing. Do you really think a God would find their way "immoral" and your way "moral"? Killing is killing. Stop the violence! Quit wasting valuable resources on war. Just think if all these intelligent people instead of designing weapons were solving the world problems of food, shelter, energy etc. what a wonderful place the world would be.

[marimari]

Hello Everyone

I didn´t homeschool my baby since she was born, only after a year, I worked with her physical skills and tried to make it better. Now, she is 3 years and she is also attending regular school, besides her homeschooling. I made this option, so that she needed a socialization, she had contacts with other kids. She is a kid who loves to play and in my home there are only adults and no kids to play with her. Now, here in my country there is a law which determines kids must start first grade when they are 7 years, here it´s impossible a student graduate before 16 years old. They have to follow stage by stage. And in your country? is it different? what´s your opinion about it?

[DadDude]

I love that!  Finished with school at 14!  Imagine, you could study to be a doctor and start working in your early 20's.  That is so awesome. ... One of my kids will graduate highschool at 15.  She will have plenty of time to finish college and begin a career by the age of 20.  I hate to think of my children wasting years of their lives in school when they could begin their careers.

Fascinating.  I thought I was still undereducated when I got my B.A., and I wanted to spend more time in school, because I thought that getting a general education--not being schooled--was so important.  While I'm sure we'll discuss this when the time arrives, I would encourage my boy to keep up his general studies and go to college at the normal age, even if he is ready for college before that.  This way he will be exposed to a broader range of the classics and get a more solid background in the sciences, math, languages, etc.  As I see it I'm giving him an opportunity to get a real education, a much better one than I had.

[sarahjean]

I would never think of NOT homeschooling as longs as we have the option. For us it's about making the best use of our time, excelling due to more specialized attention, having control over what is learned (we want MORE learning - MUHAHAHA! ), being together as a family, and a tad of choosing our children's social network.

As for your problems with homeschooling - like most, they can be debated!

The child will basically have one teacher all their life.
Not necessarily true - most homeschoolers have both parents doing some lessons, younger siblings learn from older, many homeschoolers participate in homeschooling co-ops of additional classes outside the home.

If the parent (teacher) is disturbed in some fashion this is all the child is exposed to and the child is likely to be disturbed also.
True whether they homeschool or not and could also be true of public school teachr (although much less likely!

Parent could be a  horrible teacher.
Definitely true of some public school teachers (I know from experience!).

If the parent's desire to home school is to enrich their child's life and expose them to a wide variety of topics then great, but if the parent's idea of home schooling is to brain wash their child and limit their exposure to other cultures and ideas then I am totally against home schooling. My nightmare would be a KKK person or NAZI extremist or Taliban or any other zealot home schooling their child. The risk to home schooling is brainwashing a child and not developing a healthy member of society. It is not the libertarian left teachers that bother me but the extremist right educators that concern me.
I do agree with you here - keeping children home to brainwash them is obviously bad news. However, I think it is still possible to have that effect on your children if when attending public school.

Anywho, I know you weren't really knocking homeschool but I just wanted to put my two cents in as well!

[Twinergy]

I love that!  Finished with school at 14!  Imagine, you could study to be a doctor and start working in your early 20's.  That is so awesome. ... One of my kids will graduate highschool at 15.  She will have plenty of time to finish college and begin a career by the age of 20.  I hate to think of my children wasting years of their lives in school when they could begin their careers.

Fascinating.  I thought I was still undereducated when I got my B.A., and I wanted to spend more time in school, because I thought that getting a general education--not being schooled--was so important.  While I'm sure we'll discuss this when the time arrives, I would encourage my boy to keep up his general studies and go to college at the normal age, even if he is ready for college before that.  This way he will be exposed to a broader range of the classics and get a more solid background in the sciences, math, languages, etc.  As I see it I'm giving him an opportunity to get a real education, a much better one than I had.

DadDude,
This is exactly what my nephew did.  He could have graduated early but the didn’t.  Instead he continued homeschooling while taking a few classes at a local university.  He needed real lab experience in the sciences and that just can’t be done at home.  Anyway, he was careful to keep his total college credits under the cutoff to still be considered a freshman.**  Then when he was 18 he graduated with everyone else his age, took the SATs and ACTs and aced them.  Every school he applied to accepted him!  I don’t know why but he applied to a lot of schools.  I guess if your folks have the money for all those applications it increases your chances of getting into a prestigious school. 

** This is very important if applying to a highly competitive school.  Apparently they have very few slots for admitting upper classmen.  Those slots almost always go to returning students, not students who have a little of community college. 

[TheyCan]

I love that!  Finished with school at 14!  Imagine, you could study to be a doctor and start working in your early 20's.  That is so awesome. ... One of my kids will graduate highschool at 15.  She will have plenty of time to finish college and begin a career by the age of 20.  I hate to think of my children wasting years of their lives in school when they could begin their careers.

Fascinating.  I thought I was still undereducated when I got my B.A., and I wanted to spend more time in school, because I thought that getting a general education--not being schooled--was so important.  While I'm sure we'll discuss this when the time arrives, I would encourage my boy to keep up his general studies and go to college at the normal age, even if he is ready for college before that.  This way he will be exposed to a broader range of the classics and get a more solid background in the sciences, math, languages, etc.  As I see it I'm giving him an opportunity to get a real education, a much better one than I had.

Totally agree.  And with homeschooling...my kids won't be "wasting years of their life in school"!  There's a lot more time available with homeschooling - so they'll also be enjoying nature, serving others in the community, learning how to run a household, picking up extra hobbies etc.  I don't consider begining a career as the start of your life!

[patreiche]

 I found a site that tries to investigate the negative side of homeschooling. Here are some of their thoughts:

1. How does one provide a good range of subjects for a homeschooled child, a real curriculum? How does one teach the kind of science subjects that require a reasonably well equipped and properly maintained laboratory?

2. How can one (or two) parents teach every from World History and Spanish to maths and physics? (Teaching reading and writing is usually easier).

3. The child is already used to learning from others members of the family. At various stages in their lives, he or she will have to learn the art of adapting to the teaching styles of others. Is this something developed at school?

4. What is the *real* cost of homeschooling, making proper allowance for earnings foregone by the parent(s)? This must be included in any rigorous costing.

5. If a parent gives up a job or a career in order to homeschool, may he or she later feel resentful?

6. On the issue of socialization, we all heartily dislike bullies, arrogant, self-important people (whether kids or adults), BUT we also need how to learn how to deal with them. We need to experience some of the rough and tumble of life; we need to be streetwise to the extent of learning how to spot trouble and avoid it before it hits us.

7. We need to have a feeling for the demands of really high achievement across a range of areas, for competing and so on.

I'd expect home schooled kids to lead a sheltered life and not be very good at coping with the rougher side of everyday life ... I also wonder how they would handle people they disagree with, people with a fundamentally different outlook on key matters, or would they just avoid those who think differently?


Here is comments from a child that was home schooled:

I am a previous homeschooler and I can identify several negative aspects of homeschooling. Looking back on my homeschool years, I have now come to realize that I was depressed during the majority of it. I was homeschooled with two of my other sisters, and my older sister also suffered from depression. I never told anyone that anything was wrong growing up, because I didn't identify with people outside of my house well and just hid everything inside that I was feeling. I knew that how I was feeling was not right, yet just accepted it.

I remember being excited about homeschooling at the beginning of every year with the new books and everything, but gradually, life just became dull. I mean, lets face it, I got up, got ready, then studied every day. By the time I reached 3rd grade, I basically read the book then followed the directions. When I got to be in 6th and 7th grade, I was so depressed that I would just go into the basement and sleep.

Anyway, this is coming from a previous homeschooler and it is true. Homeschooling is not perfect. Just like any community that is in the minority, they will do anything to protect themselves, even lie. Don't let the Utopian outlook of homeschooling fool you. For the social and extroverted child, homeschooling is awful.

I could go on. I guess I will. I have home school friends that suffer as well. They might not admit it, but I know they do. I will talk about one in particular. She came from a large family and was the oldest child. Instead of learning very much, she spent the majority of the day babysitting her brothers and sisters. I know there is value in these skills, yet it did not provide her with a bright outlook on her future. It was like she became a mother as soon as she was old enough to help out.

Even more so, I think it strains family relationships. You are with your brother's and sister's all day long and of course you will fight more than usual. You have no life outside of the house, nothing to look forward to other than TV and video games. Going to swim class twice a week is not nearly the same as being with friends all day.

Finally, I realize that what I lived for every day were the stories I invented in my mind. Since I had no life, I created a life in my mind. It is completely strange for me to not live there anymore, but I am gradually learning to tell people my problems and accept the love they give me. I used to be terrified of people, but not anymore. So, now if I have a bad day, I remember the life I used to live, and practically nothing seems bad compared to that. Even when life is terrible, it is so much better to actually be living it then not.


another note Just thought I'd add something to this. I went to school and not all public school situations are great either. I went to a small public school and was picked on. I didn't have many friends. Probably the best time I had was in the gifted program. I suffered from depression. The teachers were not the best and a lot of times added to the problem. I left school right before I turned 16. I got my GED and went to college. I never regretted my decision. I think my situation in school led me to feel inferior of others and I had no self confidence. I don't necessarily think you cannot have a good life and live everyday to its fullest if you home school. I think it depends on the situation, the parents, and the children involved. Sometimes the grass on the other side is not always greener. Thanks, Amanda

[patreiche]

Here is another site with drawbacks of home schooling:


      Inhibition of Social Skills
   1. One of the biggest criticisms of homeschooling is that children do not have adequate opportunities to engage socially with their peers. This problem is compounded when home schooled children are denied access to sports activities, bands, dances and other traditional schooling opportunities.
      Resistance From Children
   2. Effective homeschooling can be very difficult when children prefer to be in traditional classrooms with their peers. Building support and enthusiasm in children for the homeschooling process is critical.
      Inadequate Instruction
   3. It is difficult for most homeschooling parents to function as experts in every subject area. If the parent does not have the appropriate background knowledge for content areas, or is unversed in basic pedagogy and instructional methods, the quality of the child's education may suffer.
      Cost of Supplies
   4. The cost of curricular packages can range from $400 to $1,000 per year. The parent must also absorb the cost of basic supplies that are typically provided by school systems, such as a computer, internet access, printer, ink, photocopier, paper, writing utensils, dry erase boards, markers and more.
      Investment of Time
   5. Homeschooling parents must invest a great deal of personal time in order to plan, prepare, implement and assess quality lessons for their children. This process typically requires homeschooling parents to sacrifice their own careers and limit work outside the home.

[DadDude]

Is that the best that they could do?  Pathetic.

1. How does one provide a good range of subjects for a homeschooled child, a real curriculum? How does one teach the kind of science subjects that require a reasonably well equipped and properly maintained laboratory?

You buy some equipment (we already have); for more advanced & expensive stuff, in high school, you use the facilities at the local high school or college.  Fortunately, this is often now possible.

2. How can one (or two) parents teach every from World History and Spanish to maths and physics? (Teaching reading and writing is usually easier).

That the person asks this question shows just how little the person knows about home schooling.  One does not "teach" all those subjects.  One facilitates a child's learning, which does not require expertise.  When the child really does need extra help from an expert, you can get it from tutors and in the occasional class.  You don’t have to go to school to get such help.

3. The child is already used to learning from others members of the family. At various stages in their lives, he or she will have to learn the art of adapting to the teaching styles of others. Is this something developed at school?

I don't even see what the problem is.  Is the claim that being taught by just a handful of people will make it harder for a person to learn from other people later on?  Why think that?

4. What is the *real* cost of homeschooling, making proper allowance for earnings foregone by the parent(s)? This must be included in any rigorous costing.

Yes, of course.  The education of a child requires a sacrifice, especially if the mother is not a stay-at-home-mom (mothers are usually the home schooling teachers, although in my family, I do more than my wife does).

5. If a parent gives up a job or a career in order to homeschool, may he or she later feel resentful?

Oh, I see.  It's all about the parent, then.  Yes, if you are the sort of pathetically selfish person for whom it's all about him or her, for whom children are not an essential part of the meaning of life but more like an inconvenience, then yes: he or she may feel resentful.  But then, such people feel resentful of children, period, and they probably shouldn't be having them in the first place.

6. On the issue of socialization, we all heartily dislike bullies, arrogant, self-important people (whether kids or adults), BUT we also need how to learn how to deal with them. We need to experience some of the rough and tumble of life; we need to be streetwise to the extent of learning how to spot trouble and avoid it before it hits us.

One of the things often said in the context of the socialization of homeschooled children is that they are self-confident and natural leaders of groups.  No doubt there are many exceptions, but as a general rule, this makes sense.  From experience, I can tell you that having to deal regularly with bullies can make a child meek in social situations.  Living without bullies is more apt to preserve the child's conviction that such behavior is not done and is obviously wrong and cannot be tolerated.

Also, let’s not mix up different issues.  Tell me how going to a suburban school makes us "streetwise."  Am I streetwise?  I don't know.  Maybe not.  Should I be?  Must I?  I doubt it.
   

7. We need to have a feeling for the demands of really high achievement across a range of areas, for competing and so on.

Why?  Because a child who is not in the pressure-cooker situations of industrialized schools will not be able to compete later on?  Nonsense.  Just look at the test scores and college successes of homeschooled kids.

This only makes me more convinced that society's resistance to home schooling is based in ignorance rather than any principled stance.

[Krista G]

CNN reported yesterday that there will be all kinds of cuts in education.  Thousands of teachers will be laid off.  Summer school will be discontinued.  Classrooms will have more students with less materials.  That doesn't sound good for those depending on public school to educate their children.

[DadDude]

Yes, so you're doing a necessary public service by removing your children from public school, too. 

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