Homeschooling is SUCH a JOKE!

Pre-College Issues Home Schooling and College
61

<p>Candace, I am involved with my local school, and am also a strong believer in public schooling. Never the less, my daughter chose to homeschool because it was a better option for her. </p>

<p>I find it understandable that homeschoolers would like to participate in school sports. Their parents pay taxes and support the schools, so why shouldn't they get some benefit? The attititude that school is some sort of a cult that you either join completely or be shut out of is very unfortunate. Why shouldn't there be different levels and styles of participation depending on individual needs? Why is it not considered legitimate for different students to have different needs?</p>

<p>In my daughter's situation, and for most homeschoolers I know, it was not a matter of the other kids not being good enough. Rather it was that the school situation was not right for her. It wasn't something that was going to change in time for her to get the education she craved, so she exercised her right to take it into her own hands. She had good friends who were in school, and a rich social life beyond them, including people of all different ages.</p>

<p>In answer to your question, homeschooling is not always religious based. In fact most of the homeschooling situations I know of are not.</p>

62

<p>you may think this is just another post telling you you are wrong, but i really want you to listen up.</p>

<p>i homeschool, and my parents are not the ones who teach me. i bascially work alone, with help from teachers who work for my parents' education center. i DO take state organized tests like the CAT6, and also some other tests i'm able to take because i homeschool! for example, when i was at school, i never had the time to think about tests that were comming in next few years, etc.</p>

<p>so if you don't know so much, don't talk about it.</p>

63

<p>
[quote]
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.

[/quote]

GracieLegend, it's important to consider that many students homeschool because they don't fit into the school environment. Of course there is a disproportionate number of homeschooled students who are odd in any number of ways, whether socially, intellectually, or creatively, and of course they will skew the numbers. </p>

<p>It would be great if schools always did an adequate job of challenging the gifted, facilitating the creative students, and protecting the odd students, but they don't. And when they fail, the students have a right to find situations where they can move forward in a healthy manner.</p>

64

<p>Candace.....You haven't done your homework :) regarding homeschooling.
Many choose it for their gifted students as the public schools sometimes cannot offer them the challenges they require. Often they are pushed aside and regarded as geeks who are misunderstood. Some parents choose to homeschool in order to give their child more time to explore EC's and also to pursue areas of special interest. There is a growing # of non-religious parents choosing this method. Check out yahoo's hs2col group. Also what's wrong with these kids participating in sports and even band at the local HS? Some districts allow this while others don't. Local legislatures are working on this to allow homeschoolers to join with their high school peers in these activities.
My wife and I became friends with the assistant superintendent of our district as we handed him the quarterly reports. My wife will be serving on the committee for gifted and talented students in the district. We should always have options in our children's education and we should not be made to feel guilty.</p>

65

<p>nan: Very true, and I agree that homeschooling is a great option. At the same time, many students that would be more well-adjusted socially are less apt since they were home-schooled instead of attending a private or public school.</p>

<p>Candace: It doesn't matter if your school is in the top 100 or not. The education they offer you still sucks relative to what you can receive studying at home. </p>

<p>My high school alma mater was considered top 5 in the country, and its courses were still laughable compared to any advanced homeschool curriculum.</p>

66

<p>You think the parents give the grades? I give the grade, and I don't cheat either. Yes, my GPA has alot of A's and a few B's, trust me, I earned them. But it also has a couple C's in math, I also earned those.
Okay, I exaggerate. I give myself the test grades, my mother, former English and chemistry teacher, grades my labs and papers.
Don't worry, colleges don't look at the transcripts, that's more of a formality. What they look at for us is SAT/ACT scores, proof of awards and EC's, and good essays. I earned every one of those, no one gave it to me. Trust me, I have mean parents, love me to death, but they would never allow me to get something I didn't earn.
Books like the ones in the Harvard classics weren't required, they taught me to love learning and I took off from there.
My biggest frustration with public schools is that is squashes learning. Because of the different physiological stages, kids learn different things at different levels. Some years they are all into history, other's it's all science, PS leaves no space for working with that. You have to "progress" at the same level. </p>

<p>All that aside, Tomas Jefferson was home schooled. I don't see anyone dising his work, he may even have turned out alright.</p>

67

<p>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.***</p>

<p>I'm don't know where you live, but around here there are several sports teams.
There is quite a large soccer group (several hundred members, can't give you the numbers for the others because our family isn't doing them), a good basketball team, softball, swimming, football, baseball and tennis. I also think that there is a bowling group. </p>

<p>We have a very large homeschool band, a marching band (complete with summer band camp), a recorder class, jazz band and a orchestra. </p>

<p>At a nearby college several parents have also set up classes for languages and science for those who aren't comfortable teaching/helping their kids. </p>

<p>Our family never needed the courses, both my parents are pretty good with science and we found mentors in our community to help with language, but I'm told that they are very good. </p>

<p><strong><em>I guess the kids are fine to play sports with but not to go to school with.</em></strong></p>

<p>I don't have a problem with public schooled kids, in fact over half of my friends are public schooled, it's the education available that is the problem.
My friend was homeschooled for middle school and then went back to PS for high school. She was so exasperated by the level taught (which she had already learned) that she continued to supplement her highschool education with her books from homeschool. She said that she didn't feel that the highschool was teaching enough. (She stayed BTW for the state scholarship) </p>

<p>I think socialization popped up earlier, usually does. </p>

<p>I attend several youth conferences each year, some are homeschoolers conferences, but the majority of the conference's have mainly public schooled kids.
I had no problem socializing with either group, they both had equal social skills. A few homeschoolers I have do have a few less social skills. But so do MANY of the public schooled kids. I think the percentage of socially awkward produced by each school is about the same, although PSed might be a little higher.
Actually, come to think of it, with the exception of 2 I can think of, all the homeschooled kids I have met who were socially awkward had recently (as in, in the last year and a half) been public schooled.</p>

68

<p>I am a product of the public school system, but because my parents valued quality education, they made sure to send me to one of the best public schools in the state. I had a good time, and wouldn't say that high school crippled me. My parents wouldn't have had the time to homeschool me anyway (Yes, I know there are other options available). Personally, I'd love to homeschool my future kids until at least the sixth grade. My younger sister is in middle school now and the level of difficulty is just below my expectations.</p>

<p>Fun fact: Two UC Berkeley alumni homeschooled their son and daughter. They now attend Cal. The son is majoring in Chemistry, I believe. And oh yes, they're 13 and 14 years old.</p>

69

<p>I know I will probably get bashed for this, but Dr. Phil said that home schooling is fine thru 8th grade. But kids need to go to high school for full benefits of socialization and independence. So there it is.</p>

70

<p>That all depends on the value you place on Dr. Phil then. I don't personally feel that he is quite the authority many claim. </p>

<p>I only say again - I have a friend, two really - we share the same birth year, and both of them went back to high school in 9th grade. (I am not even going to talk about education since you are discussing socialization). </p>

<p>Three years later, we have the most of the same friends and we go to alot of activities together. The only thing different this year, is I am doing 12th at a local college (one of them is also doing half of her classes there) and they are still in their respective high schools. We don't throw food, chew with our mouths open, sass our elders, or even <em>gasp</em> have a problem meeting new people. </p>

<p>Yep - I am one socially stunted individual. </p>

<p>Homeschool or public school - you are as social as you want to be. I happen to be very social, love people (and yes, I am best friends with my siblings, how socially backward of me :) ), and go to alot of activities. My friends are the same way.
My sister on the other hand, is less of a social butterfly. Once she gets to know you, she will open up, but not before. Her friend (public schooled) is the same way. Oh they get along with people alright, but with the exception of those who know better, they come off as very quiet. </p>

<p>I think you get the drift, people are people, throwing them in with other people is not necessarily going to make them change.</p>

71

<p>I am afraid that I do not see the correlation between public school and independence.</p>

72

<p>I guess I could not imagine not going to my prom, joining clubs, homecoming, cheering on my teams, getting my yearbook signed and all the joy I got out of high school way back in the 70s. Nothing, not even college days, can replace all that. What about graduation? My son was a speaker at his and I won't have missed it for the world. This year, my daughter attended her first homecoming and she had a great time. By independence, I mean being in an environment where you make choices. What classes to take, who your friends will be, what clubs to join and all the rest that a school has to offer. Like I said earlier, I guess we are fortunate to have such a fabulous public school, maybe I would feel differently if it was not. But, when we moved here 11 years ago, I picked the school system thru high school.</p>

73

<p>I went to prom, currently go to monthly dances of 70-100 youth (public and home schooled), could of gone to homecoming but had something else going on...
I've joined clubs, signed books and papercups, all that good stuff. We even have a high school graduation for homeschoolers here, several hundred usually do it each year. They have robes, speakers, band (homeschooled, pretty good to), diplomas, all that jazz. I could have, but wasn't interested in doing that before I started my college classes. Still could in the spring, but I probably won't. Never has interested me... </p>

<p>Football games, could go to those if I wanted, both homeschool and public, never been a football fan. I did go to one, loved the half time...</p>

<p>Trust me - I picked all my classes, Mom helped with the books, but I looked up what is required in a standard cirriculum, picked where I would concentrate and what extra classes I would do. </p>

<p>I also picked band, dance, soccor, church youth group, clubs, anything I wanted to do, all my choice. </p>

<p>And yes, I even picked my friends - from the above I don't think I have to explain where they came from. </p>

<p>I am really glad, I truly am, that you enjoyed your highschool years. I am not dising that. I will say that I truly enjoyed mine, and they did not in any way stunt my growth. I loved my highschool, I love college, and I wouldn't choose otherwise for ANYTHING.</p>

<p>I don't see how I am missing independence. Need a job? I have to go find one. Car? I had to buy one and get my permit before I got my license. Want to go to college? I choose where I go to college, and I work to get there. No one does it for me. Council's me? If I ask for it, but the choices were mine.</p>

74

<p>I am really glad that you had such a good experience. I guess that I have only known home-schooled kids that do not participate in many outside activities and seem painfully shy. So, I guess we will leave it at that. Good Luck to you in all your future endeavors.</p>

75

<p>Thanks - </p>

<p>Interesting, where do you live? </p>

<p>Our family is involved in several conferences and programs, and through these I have met hundreds of homeschoolers from all over the USA and parts of Canada. I can only think of 5 out of that number who were painfully shy. But that's probably a normal ratio in any school group...</p>

76

<p>" because of the older kids making fun of him. "</p>

<p>that is a form of education too. if ur child has never/rarely been made fun of, he/she will encounter trouble in the future.</p>

<p>im sure a lot of homeschooled kids are EXCELLENT both socially and academically........however, there;re some who are NOT. it happens in public schools too......it's not like one is clearly better than another
it;s like give ur child whatever suits him.</p>

77

<p>
[quote]
that is a form of education too. if ur child has never/rarely been made fun of, he/she will encounter trouble in the future.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>A major problem some people have with institutionalised education in general is that it is so often posits that bullying is acceptable and even a "form of education."</p>

<p>Too often this kind of thought is simply either a kind of pie-in-the-sky ideology, or just an easy way of not dealing with the issue.</p>

78

<p>Bullying not such a big deal at college as it is in highschool.</p>

79

<p>You're right, SweetestSith, I should have clarified that I was referring to school-age education.</p>

80

<p>"Some homeschoolers choose to be homeschooled themselves, it's not the parent depriving them of a high school experience"</p>

<p>No but it is. My neighbor is homeschooled and hes basically taught everything that his parents want him to know including religion and other stuff...he has absolutely no friends except his brother and hes a total nerd. </p>

<p>Parents who homeschool their children are indoctrinating them with more than any public school could.</p>

<p>Im sorry but it doesnt matter where your attending college its more about living a good life and homeschooled kids are screwed up...at least until they go off to college and learn how to be independent.</p>