Homeschooling

[berrygurl]

Hey looking to talk with any homeschooling parents. What are your pros and con?. What is your purpose in homeschooling? Does anyone school multiple grades? Ect.....Let me hear from ya PLEASE!

 

[REDMama]

Because if you are a good parent, with all the right kind of love, patience, knowledge to raise and care for a child, and to impart these things to them, instead of entrusting them to the school, where Lord only knows what can happen, REMEMBER!!!


Bullying, being taken advantage of, fights, stealing, then the child comes home and all the parent gets to hear is hurt, complaining, cries, because of the way the rest of the world is, and how other families do not raise and teach their children the same level of respect.

It is insanity.

I support homeschooling and if I had a little kid in my care, would homeschool if I had the resources, house, money, materials.

And then, when they get to be around middle school or early high school, if they start bugging you about going to public (regular) school, maybe think about and let them.

Just my view.

God Bless you for being a strong, caring mother.

And if you homeschool, you do not have to have shots, correct? Many mothers do not agree with vaccines. And they are required to be in school. But if you homeschool, I am not sure, you could probably get out of this.

One mother where I live, her baby son, about 4 months old, died because of a vaccine that his body and brain could not tolerate or handle. He had a seizure. Think of the pain, suffering, guilt, loss, and sadness, that might have been going on, or still going on in this family, because of a vaccine, of which most of these diseases do not even exist anymore?

 

[grace]

I do not homeschool my children.....but it is VERY popular around here. Even my neighbor homeschools.

Bottom line, my view is that as a parent you are responsible for the education of your child. I have chosen a christian school to come along side me and help me educate my children. It is my job to make sure they are receiving a quality education.

I admire you for being dedicated to the schooling of your children through homeschooling. Hope you get some responses to your questions.

 

[Forlorn-Hope]

Im against homeschooling. You keep you're kid in a bubble when they finally get into the real world the exact same stuff will happen to them. And I struggle to believe that a parent can give the same level of education to a child a teacher can, I mean my Dad could teach me Physics, mechanical engineering, technical drawing. Computing ? Chemistry ? No way, he'd have to learn the same 4 year course that I would be doing and then it would be a total mess if he didn't understand somthing or taught it to me incorrectly Im guessing the rules in America are different but in Britain I think you need to actually have a teaching degree etc... And in the case of the vaccines and stuff, it only takes one carrier to infect 10 people and those 10 people to infect 100 people and I dont feel I need to go on.

 

[Psalm2713]

I am against homeschooling too............. most homeschooled kids (not all)tend to be weirdos in school and college campuses. They just do really strange outrageous things. I would recommend a christian school( of any denomination)... is the better option. The kids must learn important social skills. ;-)

 

[Megatron]

Yeah the lack of socialization is the main reason I would never homeschool a kid. They need to be able to go out and interact with peers and the world around them. Its not like you would actually be protecting them from anything anyways, they still go ou tinto the same world eventually, just with no prior experience in how to deal. I mean homeschooled kids always tend to be the first inline for drug addictions, sex, and binge drinking each new semester at school it seems. simply because they dont know any better

 

[grace]

Well, I was hoping you would get some responses that you would be looking for....but it appears you only received very judgemental responses, and responses that stereotype in ways that are pretty harsh and unfair.

(on the flip-side, everyone is entitled to their opinion.)

 

[Sooner28]

I can bring some perspective to this topic because I was homeschooled from the 6th to the 8th grade, after going to a Christian private school from 1st to 5th grade. My mom believed what she was doing what right. However, I am against homeschooling in almost all circumstances, except in cases where it would absolutely necessary, such as a severe learning or physical disability.
1. People skills. When I went to highschool I was WOEFULLY unprepared for the world I was going into. I was extremely shy and did not talk to anyone. I did not even grow out of this until the end of high school. There is a certain amount of experience in this area that simply MUST be had on the child's own without the parent. High school basically terrified me because I had many misconceptions of what it would be like.
2. Knowledge. Due to the lack of a teaching degree, most parents are not qualified to be educators. Being in college for awhile now and getting a feel for how hard is it to study sometimes, it is not always easy to understand information for myself, let alone teach someone else a concept in a way they can understand AND do justice to all of the nuances of the subject. Public schools in theory at least have a curriculum that has basic standards that have to be met. With homeschooling, there seems to be little to no guarantee that this will even happen, and this is doing a major disservice to your child by not preparing them for the job market that awaits.
3. Problems. I've seen bullying, drugs, and sex mentioned in this post so I feel like I need to address those. These are real problems, but the solution is to deal with them head on and not just run away in isolation. Public schools DO need to be reformed, there is no doubt on this. This means that parents need to become more involved and teachers need to be held more accountable. A lot of young kids that do drugs and are bullies do not have great home lives. Our society basically needs to change, and it starts with the parents. People have to start informing their kids at a very early age it is not OK to demean another person and that violence should not be glorified but is only a last resort to any problem. These problems also do not disappear after one finishes high school.
On a final note, Jesus can also give us some perspective on this.
Jesus did not go into a bubble and disappear from the realities of everyday life. He went out and was among people, changing lives and preaching his message of love and salvation. While the disciples were Jesus' inner circle, he still hung out with prostitutes and alcoholics and did not ignore the hard problems of the world around him.

 

[grace]

I can bring some perspective to this topic because I was homeschooled from the 6th to the 8th grade, after going to a Christian private school from 1st to 5th grade. My mom believed what she was doing what right. However, I am against homeschooling in almost all circumstances, except in cases where it would absolutely necessary, such as a severe learning or physical disability.
1. People skills. When I went to highschool I was WOEFULLY unprepared for the world I was going into. I was extremely shy and did not talk to anyone. I did not even grow out of this until the end of high school. There is a certain amount of experience in this area that simply MUST be had on the child's own without the parent. High school basically terrified me because I had many misconceptions of what it would be like.
2. Knowledge. Due to the lack of a teaching degree, most parents are not qualified to be educators. Being in college for awhile now and getting a feel for how hard is it to study sometimes, it is not always easy to understand information for myself, let alone teach someone else a concept in a way they can understand AND do justice to all of the nuances of the subject. Public schools in theory at least have a curriculum that has basic standards that have to be met. With homeschooling, there seems to be little to no guarantee that this will even happen, and this is doing a major disservice to your child by not preparing them for the job market that awaits.
3. Problems. I've seen bullying, drugs, and sex mentioned in this post so I feel like I need to address those. These are real problems, but the solution is to deal with them head on and not just run away in isolation. Public schools DO need to be reformed, there is no doubt on this. This means that parents need to become more involved and teachers need to be held more accountable. A lot of young kids that do drugs and are bullies do not have great home lives. Our society basically needs to change, and it starts with the parents. People have to start informing their kids at a very early age it is not OK to demean another person and that violence should not be glorified but is only a last resort to any problem. These problems also do not disappear after one finishes high school.
On a final note, Jesus can also give us some perspective on this.
Jesus did not go into a bubble and disappear from the realities of everyday life. He went out and was among people, changing lives and preaching his message of love and salvation. While the disciples were Jesus' inner circle, he still hung out with prostitutes and alcoholics and did not ignore the hard problems of the world around him.

Sooner, I have to applaud you for this post. You responded to things from a personal perspective...a perspective that you lived in a christian school education, a home school education, AND a public school education. AND, you did it respectfully! Well done!

No form of education is going to be without flaws. That is why I said in my first post that it is the parents responsibility to educate their child. I do not feel qualified on ANY level to home school my children..so I have never made the attempt. BUT, it is still MY responsibility to make sure my children are educated in a fit way.
My kids attend a christian school, and it is not perfect.....but it is an alternative that I am VERY pleased with. My children are not in a bubble there.....but I do know it is not near as bad as it would be if they were in public school.

I do know some home school families where some of their children are, to say the least, are a bit awkward with some aspects of things. I do not think this has to do with the fact that they are home schooled....I think it is how their home opperates.
There is a family down the street from me, whose children attend public school. They seem nice enough, but are a bit different. Clothes that are a bit short or outdated, and the mom LOVES musicals, so her children love musicals. (she has 4 kids, 3 boys and a girl...the boys LOVE musicals more than the girl), don't tell me that this does not get them picked on in school?

Nothing is perfect. I just think to label ALL home school children as socially awkward and backwards, and unprepared for the world etc is just unfair and a bit mean.

Also, the owner of this site home schools his children. I am sure he would have a few things to say about people saying his children are socially awkward, and unprepared. lol (but far be it for me to speak for him...just saying that most any parent will defend their children and their way of running their households...including the home school aspect.)

 

[Sooner28]

I just want to clarify I was not saying all home schooled kids are socially awkward. It is just much more difficult to learn the people skills needed in life when a child doesn't have to deal with kids their own age on a regular basis and sometimes when there are home schooled groups the parents are ALWAYS there. That is not how it is in the real world. There will not always be a protector helping us like that. I also want to add I apply this to myself also. I am not qualified to teach history or math or English so I would not home school my kids if/when I have them because I would not be able to do the job.

 

[berrygurl]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts so far. A little history might help. I am a mom of 3 sons. 7yrs ago I inherited my 2 nieces and nephew. So now I have 6 kids. We have done public school up until 2 yrs ago and we were blessed for them to recieve scholorships to attend a very small private christian school. This place has been amazing as it is also a home for children who's parents are in prison. With only 42 students it was a nice small controlled inviroment and we go to church with the same families and my children are involved in all of their activities. With all that being said.....we are looking a move this summer to another area for my husband to take a better paying job. If this happens I CHOOSE to not throw my kids to the world system but I am looking for alternatives for them. We can't afford private school for 6!!! Homeschool is next best option. Socialization is NOT an issue for me because we are very active in sports, church, and different ministry outreaches. We keep them active and they make friends very easily. We are NOT the typical wierd family you think of. We are as normal as the next American familiy with the exception of we are desperatly trying to build their foundation in Christ as strong as possible. We are not super religous freaks who are trying to bubble in our children. TRUST ME....we are magnets to very screwed up people lol. Ex. Our neighborhood is full of children who are in worldly homes. BUT guess who's house they hang out at and guess who they respect? We are called to live in this world but not be a part of it. We are set apart for the glory of God. I love people and especially those the church has rejected. THEN as for being qualified...GRACE GRACE and more GRACE. I am not the smartest cookie but I am not dumb. I want whats best for my kiddos more than any public school teacher could. So I will do my best and let God handle the rest. That is why I trust HIM with my family. I might fail teaching them math but I want fail teaching them to love people to Christ. In the end...if my kids have college degree's I don't care as long as they are serving the Living Lord Jesus!

 

[dmdave17]

Im against homeschooling. You keep you're kid in a bubble when they finally get into the real world the exact same stuff will happen to them. And I struggle to believe that a parent can give the same level of education to a child a teacher can, I mean my Dad could teach me Physics, mechanical engineering, technical drawing. Computing ? Chemistry ? No way, he'd have to learn the same 4 year course that I would be doing and then it would be a total mess if he didn't understand somthing or taught it to me incorrectly Im guessing the rules in America are different but in Britain I think you need to actually have a teaching degree etc... And in the case of the vaccines and stuff, it only takes one carrier to infect 10 people and those 10 people to infect 100 people and I dont feel I need to go on.

Unfortunately, the very school system you support has already indoctrinated you into the type of thinking which home schooling is designed to thwart. The majority of teaching comes from textbooks, not the person presenting the textbook to you. Learning comes from within you, not from the person at the front of the class. If you want to learn, and you have a good foundation, the resources are now available to enable you to learn practically anything on your own.

Meanwhile, many parents do not want their children to be taught stuff like, "It is ok, even exemplary, to be gay". Or, "Just because you think something is wrong doesn't necessarily make it wrong". Or my favorite, "Everyone is just the same. We are all winners here."

If the education system kept its focus on education, not indoctrination, the need for home schooling would not be so great. But when it starts going beyond the "3 R's", it loses its right to claim that it is the only acceptable way to educate our children.

God bless all parents who home school. I did for six years and my daughter turned out well. And she has a fine character to boot.

 

[MissMaryMac]

Strange. Contrary to what everyone says here, almost every home schooled friend I have (I'm now 21), has excelled in high school and this has continued into university. In fact, many home schoolers I know are at the top of their classes-many even in med school. They're also the most respected, well rounded people I know. So.. I'm not sure where people are getting this socially awkward uneducated stereo type, as that's only something I see in movies.

 

[Ugly]

I do not homeschool, but my bestfriend has 3 children she's homeschooling. She actually Researched all the claims against homeschooling & found out the truth as opposed to just making presumptions based off of no experience of knowledge.
Socialization - This is only a problem under 2 circumstances. 1, the parents are trying to raise their kids in a 'bubble' & purposefully limit their kids exposure to others. or 2, Location. Some areas do not have a lot for homeschoolers & not many homeschoolers in general. But that can still be balanced by signing them up to community sports, or gymnastics schools, etc. My friends oldest daughter is a social butterfly with tons of friends.

Education - Again, this can vary with the individual parent, but overall most homeschoolers are actually sought after in colleges. They tend to have higher grades & be less trouble.

Weird - As far as someones claims that they are all 'weird'. well, thats very subjective & really has no founding in any sort of fact or anything proveable. Its a basically useless, unprovable concept someone is using to advance their weakly argued viewpoint.

Sheltering - Yes, sheltering your kids, to a reasonable degree is a good thing. I was 13 when i lost my virginity. Some are even younger. My bestfriend in my teens started drinking & getting high at 10. Bottom line kids are kids & should be allowed to be kids. Am i suggesting hiding them away so they never see anything bad? of course not. But there is a difference between choosing to expose your kids to certain things in a controlled environment at the appropriate age & with someone who's going to teach them from the beginning an appropriate attitude about it vs just letting kids learn whatever whenever from whoever & form their own misconceptions. So yes, protect your children from STDs, teen pregnancies, teen abortions, drugs, drinking, etc. If i have ever choose to have kids i will have them homeshooled.
Biggest warning i'd give to anyone considering homeschool is bear in mind, your time is NOT your own anymore. there are no 'breaks' while they go off to school for 8 hrs. So be ready to have kids around you a Lot.
This was rushed, so may not as well put together as i had hoped. Still, hopefully the gist gets across.

 

[grace]

I also wanted to add....that public schools have to offer things to your children that you are homeschooling if you need them. Such as phys ed., or music.
My neighbor takes her son to an elememtary school on tues. and thurs. for strings practice for his viola. It does not cost anything for them

 

[Sooner28]

I do not homeschool, but my bestfriend has 3 children she's homeschooling. She actually Researched all the claims against homeschooling & found out the truth as opposed to just making presumptions based off of no experience of knowledge.
Socialization - This is only a problem under 2 circumstances. 1, the parents are trying to raise their kids in a 'bubble' & purposefully limit their kids exposure to others. or 2, Location. Some areas do not have a lot for homeschoolers & not many homeschoolers in general. But that can still be balanced by signing them up to community sports, or gymnastics schools, etc. My friends oldest daughter is a social butterfly with tons of friends.

Education - Again, this can vary with the individual parent, but overall most homeschoolers are actually sought after in colleges. They tend to have higher grades & be less trouble.

Weird - As far as someones claims that they are all 'weird'. well, thats very subjective & really has no founding in any sort of fact or anything proveable. Its a basically useless, unprovable concept someone is using to advance their weakly argued viewpoint.

Sheltering - Yes, sheltering your kids, to a reasonable degree is a good thing. I was 13 when i lost my virginity. Some are even younger. My bestfriend in my teens started drinking & getting high at 10. Bottom line kids are kids & should be allowed to be kids. Am i suggesting hiding them away so they never see anything bad? of course not. But there is a difference between choosing to expose your kids to certain things in a controlled environment at the appropriate age & with someone who's going to teach them from the beginning an appropriate attitude about it vs just letting kids learn whatever whenever from whoever & form their own misconceptions. So yes, protect your children from STDs, teen pregnancies, teen abortions, drugs, drinking, etc. If i have ever choose to have kids i will have them homeshooled.
Biggest warning i'd give to anyone considering homeschool is bear in mind, your time is NOT your own anymore. there are no 'breaks' while they go off to school for 8 hrs. So be ready to have kids around you a Lot.
This was rushed, so may not as well put together as i had hoped. Still, hopefully the gist gets across.

Socialization- can still be a problem if you are always in a controlled environment protected by an authority figure. This is not how real life works. People with different values and beliefs systems will be encountered and a person must learn how to deal with them without a parent always being there.

Education- This is very tricky to measure. It's hard to get a random representative sample of home schoolers across the country. There would need to be controls placed on the groups, such as if a parent has education, if a parent has hired a tutor, etc. So far what I have seen this has not been done. But you are correct that home schoolers do score well on standardized tests, but those are not always an accurate measure of success. I was referring in my post to an unqualified parent teaching. There are also curriculums that are designed to be self-taught, like mine was when I used ACE, so the parent actually isn't doing much of the educating at all. Is a parent who made Cs in high school qualified to teach a high school physics course or a calculus course?? I think the answer is clear. I don't think the weird was pointed at me so I am not going to address that. I looked at information from the Heritage Foundation(Heritage.org) and Education Week (http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/home-schooling/) if anyone is wondering.

Sheltering- Basically comes in under my response to socialization. If I am only exposed to people who believe the same way I am my entire life I will not know how to deal with people who have different values than me. If I am a Muslim living in a small Muslim community, and while I have a lot of friends, they are all Muslim too, what will happen when I meet an Atheist or a Christian? I won't know what to do. I also won't know how to deal with conflict with an authority figure is not present to "settle" it for me.
I also want to respond to your claim that I am in favor of letting kids do what they want. CLEARLY NOT. I never said that and If you were not talking to me I apologize. What I am saying is kids can be socialized and taught to be moral good human beings but you cannot be moral and good FOR them. They will leave the parents watchful eye and there are times when there is nothing that can be done but hope that the child remembers how they were raised. Pre-maritial sex and drugs are not anything that should be condoned but they are REAL problems that will be countered in life.

 

[JustxJeena]

I do not homeschool, but my bestfriend has 3 children she's homeschooling. She actually Researched all the claims against homeschooling & found out the truth as opposed to just making presumptions based off of no experience of knowledge.
Socialization - This is only a problem under 2 circumstances. 1, the parents are trying to raise their kids in a 'bubble' & purposefully limit their kids exposure to others. or 2, Location. Some areas do not have a lot for homeschoolers & not many homeschoolers in general. But that can still be balanced by signing them up to community sports, or gymnastics schools, etc. My friends oldest daughter is a social butterfly with tons of friends.

Education - Again, this can vary with the individual parent, but overall most homeschoolers are actually sought after in colleges. They tend to have higher grades & be less trouble.

Weird - As far as someones claims that they are all 'weird'. well, thats very subjective & really has no founding in any sort of fact or anything proveable. Its a basically useless, unprovable concept someone is using to advance their weakly argued viewpoint.

Sheltering - Yes, sheltering your kids, to a reasonable degree is a good thing. I was 13 when i lost my virginity. Some are even younger. My bestfriend in my teens started drinking & getting high at 10. Bottom line kids are kids & should be allowed to be kids. Am i suggesting hiding them away so they never see anything bad? of course not. But there is a difference between choosing to expose your kids to certain things in a controlled environment at the appropriate age & with someone who's going to teach them from the beginning an appropriate attitude about it vs just letting kids learn whatever whenever from whoever & form their own misconceptions. So yes, protect your children from STDs, teen pregnancies, teen abortions, drugs, drinking, etc. If i have ever choose to have kids i will have them homeshooled.
Biggest warning i'd give to anyone considering homeschool is bear in mind, your time is NOT your own anymore. there are no 'breaks' while they go off to school for 8 hrs. So be ready to have kids around you a Lot.
This was rushed, so may not as well put together as i had hoped. Still, hopefully the gist gets across.

I don't think the opposite of sheltering your child is to let them go crazy. I was not raised in a Christian home and I did not attend any private or home schooling. My mother still raised me to be a responsible person with good morals and values. I have been taught to make the right decisions when faced with them. I feel being in public schools has helped me become STRONGER in my faith and in myself. And as far as losing virginity, I know plenty of people who lost theirs at a young age to someone they dated from within the church. I just don't think homeschooling is the answer to these problems. Proper parenting and teaching children to be responsible for their own actions is more so the correct answer here.

 

[Forlorn-Hope]

Unfortunately, the very school system you support has already indoctrinated you into the type of thinking which home schooling is designed to thwart. The majority of teaching comes from textbooks, not the person presenting the textbook to you. Learning comes from within you, not from the person at the front of the class. If you want to learn, and you have a good foundation, the resources are now available to enable you to learn practically anything on your own.

Meanwhile, many parents do not want their children to be taught stuff like, "It is ok, even exemplary, to be gay". Or, "Just because you think something is wrong doesn't necessarily make it wrong". Or my favorite, "Everyone is just the same. We are all winners here."

If the education system kept its focus on education, not indoctrination, the need for home schooling would not be so great. But when it starts going beyond the "3 R's", it loses its right to claim that it is the only acceptable way to educate our children.

God bless all parents who home school. I did for six years and my daughter turned out well. And she has a fine character to boot.

I support the public system over homeschooling it doesnt mean I like the public school system I simply accept it as the better option in my oppinion, and Ive sure as hell never been "indoctrinated" by it. You have you're oppinions and as warped and twisted as I find them they are still you're oppinions and I have mines. Lets leave it at that.

 

[berrygurl]

There is good in public school too. I have great teacher friends and christian at that who are awesome. Thank God we have educated children who can read and write. BUT still I feel the kids are exsposed to so much more than they should have to be there. No matter how much 1 teacher a room trys to do they simply can't see and hear everything going on. THe teen girls are hardly taught modesty, the boys have no respect for the girls nor themselves. Parents don't care what their kids see and hear on t.v. and internet. So then the kids bring alllllll their trash to school and puke it onto others. Why should my child be taught about porn because of another parents stupidity? Why should my daughter be treated with non respect because the guys think its cute to talk about her body. Or how can I ask my son to try and live a life of purity if the girls are putting it out there and holding nothing back. WHY do that to them? I think choosing to give them more time to mature and make wise decisions is a better option for my family. I was NOT raised in a christian home. I was a very wild young teen girl who could have been saved a lot of heartache if my parents had made wiser decisions. I like hearing all the feed back guys!!!

 

[G4JC]

I was homeschooled from Kindergarten to 12th grade. It was a LOT of work actually. While the 'unschoolers' of the local homeschool group were clowning around, my parents made sure I had plenty of bookwork. I even did some college classes. Overall though, I loved it. And it saved me from the public school system around here which at the time had one of the worst ratings in the nation. So I count that as win.

Here's some interesting articles and food for thought on why you might want to consider homeschooling (especially these days):
Brave New Schools - Index
Horror stories in your schools
'Get Our Kids Out' | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction
18 Signs That Life In U.S. Public Schools Is Now Essentially Equivalent To Life In U.S. Prisons

I suggest you do it for the sake of your children. Based on the people here locally, those who homeschooled did better off than the ones in public school. We kids might find it a pain that your making us work, but in the long one we appreciate it.
(Unless you either are an unschooler, or theistic-evolutionist homeschooler, I know one who even became Wicca after having had such a teaching)

Pro 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.