<p>I am an example of a student who CHOSE to leave highschool to begin homeschooling. Fed up with the wasted time, "socialization" (ha!), and overemphasis on grades, I left my public highschool just after midterms in 10th grade. I was a good student, but I suddenly (I am not sure how) realized how messed up the public school system was, and I could not put the blinders back on and go through 2 1/2 more years of wasting my time and learning nothing. I now teach myself -- yes, teach myself, my parents don't teach me -- and take Community College classes (I will have 29 college credits before I go off to 'real' college). Moreover, without grades I have been able to dig deeply into what interests me: history, English, and psycholinguistics. I get plenty of socialization, with my old school friends, my church, horseback riding, camp friends, CC, and working. I am planning to go to St. John's College, with its unique Great Books program, and which is among the top U.S. colleges in producing Ph.D. students. The best part is the accomplishment I feel in having done all this myself. I wouldn't go back to highschool if you paid me. I won't say that homeschooling, especially the path I have taken, is for everyone, but don't slam homeschoolers in general because you clearly do not understand why we chose to learn this way. As for my children, whenever I have children, I am going to let them experience both homeschooling and public schools, and let them choose which they would prefer. This seems to me to be a fair way of deciding your child's fate. Let them experiment. That's how we learn.
~Emily</p>
<p>Just to add my two cents - all the home schooling kids in my area are deeply involved in community service. Many of the students have also been in other countries serving those communities as well. My sons did go to high school after being home schooled and I can tell you that only a handful of their classmates wanted or did anything to promote "community". One of the reasons we chose to home school was because we wanted our kids to become active responsible adults. Home schooling is not eroding our society. Parents (or non-parenting) is what will be our countries downfall not the choice to home school. That is what is great about America I have the choice whether to send my children where I want to.</p>
<p>Being a current college student who passed through some time of homeschooling, I have been reading this thread with interest. </p>
<p>Mr. Cydonian, with all due respect (and please do not think that I do not sincerely mean that), I find your views typical of the professors I encounter in college every day - professors who create any opportunity in discussion to further segregate this country into an idealogical struggle between "liberals" and "conservatives" ("liberals," oddly enough, always seem to be right, too), even when politics does not have the least relevance to the debate at hand. </p>
<p>Actually, I think the underlying suspicion of homeschooling has less to do with politics than with <em>religion</em>. </p>
<p>But, please - are these political jabs not beside the point?</p>
<p>When I was in middle school, I was extremely fortunate to attend a public school in rural New Jersey, a school in a town that could be described as a "village" by many standards (approx 3,500 people). The education was excellent. The facilities were up-to-date. The atmosphere was appropriate. The school, having only about 300 students, went from Kindergarten to 8th grade - ideal for true "socialization".</p>
<p>Unfortunately, however, this is quite simply NOT the state of public education in the vast majority of school districts, and I believe that I speak from some experience. I have, at different times, attended 7 different schools (including public, private, and parochial) on both coasts. As far as I have seen, "socialization" is a ridiculous euphemism for what goes on in most state schools. </p>
<p>In spite of my family's frequent migrating from here to there, I was a very well-adjusted child, comfortable with myself, and (while shy, I admit) comfortable in social settings with all types of people. My classmates at any of these schools would have described me as "popular". The reason I say this is so that I am not automatically placed to be out of the typical mold in which so many wish to consider home-schoolers. By the time I was 13 (or perhaps 14), I'd begun to take a certain advanced class offered to area middle-schoolers at the local highschool. It was at this point that I begged my parents to take me out of the system. It became apparent that everything I'd seen in previous years was, in fact, the norm for state education. My halcyonic, small-town middle-school experience was NOT normal. Public schools today are, for the most part (and I stress this), characterised by poor education, lack of personal attention, bullying, intolerance, and over-exposure to ANTI-"social" behaviour that is dehumanising and demoarlising. I find American public schools to be dismal places indeed.</p>
<p>The notion that parents should place their children in certain schools so as not to desert "the system" is one I find bizarre, and shows more of that tendency to give undue credence to the state (as a community solution) over the personal needs of family. </p>
<p>I have had more experience than I ever cared for with callous men who dictated that "education" included all sorts of things (e.g. - exposure to bullies) which were never intended by the architects of the system. Rather, I would prefer to look at education less as a way to assimilate into the majority than as part of a formulation to create well-rounded, unique, talent young people who are confident with themselves, know their value, and have something to contribute to society. </p>
<p>I would very much like to go into my personal experience with homeschooling, as well as its elaborating some of its awesome benefits, but I don't have the time just now. </p>
<p>For now, I just wanted to address this tendency to politicse something as basic and fundamental as the education of children. I personally do not believe that there is any educational system (and certainly not the government-instated one that we have presently) which is appropriate for all (or even the majority) of schoolage kids. I feel to dismiss homeschooling is to dismiss one of the most successful and promising movements within the educational sphere.</p>
<p>Regards,</p>
<p>Daniel,</p>
<p>First, I would like to commend you on your writing--it is excellent in organization and quality. But perhaps that bolsters my point in a way. What type of home-schooled students would find their way here to state an opinion? The best performing, I imagine.</p>
<p>As for making everything 'political', I, myself, certainly do that, which is natural since I teach political science, though I pride myself on teaching critical thinking, not indoctrination; I never preach to my students.</p>
<p>For clarity's sake, I should state that I am an avowed atheist and liberal, which does make me typical of a good percentage of university professors (whether this type of person pursues higher education or whether higher education makes one this way is a matter of great debate).</p>
<p>As for homeschooling having to do with religion, I would most definitely agree. Home-schooling has always had a religious base. I have yet to meet a home-schooled student who came from a liberal or even moderate family who was "church-going" (a curious term in vogue these days since only about 35% of Americans ever go to a Christian church). Every such home-schooled student's family has been either conservative or very conservative and very religious (again, I personally care not in the least about religion of any sort--Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, etc.--so this makes no difference to me). My observations are well supported by mounds of empirical data.</p>
<p>So, as you see, religion and home-schooling are intimately related and do reflect on American society's current turmoil. To reflect back on my previous European comparisons, Europe as a whole has become largely secular (Finland, in fact, has essentially become religion-free, with less than 2% attending church). In Europe, home-schooling is usually illegal or tightly restricted. Only Britain allows it and even then only about 10,000 students of 16 million possibile students participate.</p>
<p>Home-schooling does certainly work for a minority of students, but go do your research. The majority do not benefit and are "taught" by unprepared parent-teachers (I remember meeting a home-schooled student's parent, who had served as teacher, and during our conversation, she repeatedly expressed ignorance of the most basic facts of geography, math, and social studies. Not surprisingly, her son did not fair well in the college).</p>
<p>Sir, thank you very much for your kind words. I really appeciate that, especially considering that my last post was written somewhat hastily. Thank you. :-) </p>
<p>I'm also intrigued to see that you are a professor of political science. That is my major! I will be a sophomore at NYU in the coming semester. Are you familiar with the writings of Professor Bruce Bueno de Mesquita? He is the chair of the department here at NYU.</p>
<p>Now back to the subject at hand - I am also not surprised that you are a liberal, or that you believe yourself to be an atheist, as this does seem to be the camp in which the vast majority of professors is situated (especially, as you may imagine, out where I am going to school). This is not, I would suggest, because profesors are properly "educated" into that view, but rather because university professors tend to be idealogues, somewhat out of touch with reality, and occupied with matters of theory, opinion, and research. It is also a fact that conservative views are largely unwelcome in academic circles. </p>
<p>From my perspective, most professors seem either completely oblivious, or even indifferent to the mere <em>notion</em> that half (or more) of the American people disagree with them on any number of issues (of which the professors themselves often have their own religious views). In courses in the humanities, it quite often seems to be the professor's way or the highway. <em>At the very least</em>, professors should come to understand that the scope and character of the United States is <em>far</em> different than it is within their own small community. I am not asking anyone to change their views. Just acknowledge that intelligent people might have others. </p>
<p>....And I, unfortunately, have had my own respectful views squelched by more than one jaded professor (by the way, I'm certainly not suggesting, sir, that you - or all professors - operate in the same manner). While it is one thing to give students a proper hearing out (if we're even that fortunate), it is quite another to have our views respected as legitimate, if contrary.</p>
<p>That all said...I would wonder if the fact that the overwhelming number of homeschoolers in the USA being from religious-conservative backgrounds is less indicative of some problem with/in the religious-conservative community than it is of an underlying problems with the system. If the educational system is not catering to families (and I am not, of course, suggesting that all families are conservative or religious), than to whom does it cater? Liberal idealogues? Social agenda-setters? </p>
<p>The implication (and it seems to be a common implication made by intellectuals) would appear to be that religious conservatives are stupid. This is not a fair assessment. Now, granted, are there many dumb religious conservatives? I have no doubt. ...but I am acquainted with enough people in many sectors to know that the moral majority-types do not hold a monopoly on ignorant people. While you have confirmed that the religious aspect is relevant to your views on homeschooling, you have not made it clear why that is so, or why, in your view, it is significant to homeschooling's worth that the majority of its adherents are religious conservatives. </p>
<p>As far as the opportunities available, there is a VAST array of curricula and material available out there. Much of it is Christian. Much of it is secular. There is a myriad of methods, techniques, and formats. If the parent(s) are motivated and resourceful, it would seem to me quite difficult for the child not to receive a wonderful education. </p>
<p>Now, I would agree with you that there are very many parents <em>not</em> qualified to "teach" their children (in this sense), and in my own experience, certainly neither of my parents was capable of working with me through highschool math and science courses (and I am a self-confessed victim of math-o-phobia). Nevertheless, I worked my way through the material and received very good marks. I had no problems transitioning to the math and science courses required here at NYU. </p>
<p>To my mind, this is evidence not that I am smart, or not even that homeschooling works, but that it <em>can</em> work, and that thousands of students locked into the system would benefit if their parents gave things thorough looking-over. If I really want evidence of educational failure, there is more than enough of it found in the educational mainstream for me to dismiss public education first.</p>
<p>Thanks for hearing me out.</p>
<p>All the best,</p>
<p>this is like a debate zone </p>
<p>a real intellectual one....with really long posts.
goodluck to both sides.:)</p>
<p>Homeschooling has its good points and bad points...oh welll.....</p>
<p>Debate ON!!!</p>
<p>Daniel,</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the semester is a couple of weeks away, and I must prepare, so I will not be able to continue our reparte, though I must admit your level of intellectual sparring is good. A few parting remarks.</p>
<p>Any professor who grades on the "my way or highway" level is unfit to teach. Myself, I am proud to say that students of all political stripes earn good grades and not-so-good grades in my courses. I always tell the class that you don't have to agree with me, but you must convincingly make your point with proper documentation. I have failed liberals and given A's to conservatives (and visa versa).</p>
<p>Yes, I am very familiar with Dr. Bueno de Mesquita and his work. I'm sure you will do him proud.</p>
<p>I would like to suggest one work for you to read: Carroll Quigley, TRAGEDY AND HOPE. It's one of the most important single works you will ever read on the development of the modern political economy. It may even give you different perspectives than you currently hold...but then, that is education, is it not?</p>
<p>I wish you the best in your studies.</p>
<p>Don't some home schooled kids go to classes on monday and then get work to take home for the rest of the week?</p>
<p>technically if a person wanted to homeschool/independent study/unschool themselves, there's nothing that can stop him/her from learning anyway</p>
<p>i never knew much about homeschooling before i came across this thread. really, thank you all you intellectual people! i don't see homeschooling as bad at all, though in my country it's virtually unacceptable.</p>
<p>btw, whatever happened to gordon?</p>
<p>He dropped a bomb and fled:)</p>
<p>Your right it is a subject that makes me chuckle!!!!</p>
<p>Can you take honor classes and AP classes when you are home schooled?</p>
<p>Who teaches you anyway?</p>
<p>mbhamm4,
Yes you can take honors and AP classes when homeschooling. As for who teaches you, that can be a wide range of people, including yourself. Parents teach their kids. Homeschoolers also take outside classes through homeschool support groups, at local high schools, community colleges, and even universities, online, etc. They may do internships with businesses, researchers, etc. They may self-study some coursework. They may learn through travel and in the community. Each homeschooler is an individual and chooses what works best for him or her.</p>
<p>My son took his AP tests at our local HS where he became friendly with the head of pupil personnel (guidance) for our district. This really proved beneficial as he ended up advising us for college choices.</p>
<p>Home schooling is an interesting option. </p>
<p>On the one hand, a typical home-schooled student is unquestionably more prepared and educated for college than his or her public school counterpart. Similarly, some bonafide geniuses have been spawned from such an environment. </p>
<p>On the other hand, it deprives many of these students from interacting with others and becoming more adept at dealing with life's obstacles. I've seen a fair number of home-schooled students, and while some are well-adjusted and normal, a disproportionate number fail to adequately deal with their surroundings and environment. </p>
<p>Ultimately, I think the option of whether to be homeschooled or not should be based solely on the individual in question.</p>
<p>I have also met a number of home-schooled kids and I found them lacking in social skills. I guess we are lucky that our high school is ranked in the top 100 and is a fantastic school. I can't imagine getting a better education at home. Also, I find it interesting that home-schooled kids are anxious to join our high school sports teams. I guess you can't replace that at home. I guess the kids are fine to play sports with but not to go to school with. Hum! Is home-schooling always religious based. Just wondering. I am a former teacher and would never home-school. I am a strong believer in the public school system. Why not get involved and try to change what you find so heinous instead of just droppping out? Just my opinion.</p>
<p>you can take the boy off the farm but you can't take the farm out of the boy.</p>