Thoughts on homeschooling

[The Overlord]

Homeschooling is groing in the US, because education has often become less about learning the 3-R's and more about propagandizing students.

To successfully homeschool a child, and many parents have proven themselves very successful at doing so, it requires a lot of organizing and work. Unless you're prepared to do just as much work at home as you are going to do in any job situation, your kids are probably better off in school.

Having said that, if I had kids and found myself able to educate them at home, I would do so in a heartbeat.

Please, like a lot of these parents who home school their kids don't have an ideological agenda of their own.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Unless the school systems really start teaching something that I am really against, I don't think I would homeschool my kids. However, some of my best friends were homeschooled and they are some of the most friendly social people I know. There were things that I think they missed out on, but overall they were things that weren't important. (Though one was a little too sheltered and didn't know who Michael Jackson was until she was in about 11th grade, and this was about 5 years ago... we fixed that though )

 

[Mr.Webs]

Virgin?

Is that question directed at me?

 

[Odin's Lapdog]

What Would Be Something Taught At A School That You Would Be Against

Personally I Can't Think Of Anything I Would Be Against My Hypothetical Children Learning As Long As It Was Part Of The Curriculum.

 

[JewishHobbit]

What Would Be Something Taught At A School That You Would Be Against

Personally I Can't Think Of Anything I Would Be Against My Hypothetical Children Learning As Long As It Was Part Of The Curriculum.

Well, I know that there was something being pushed that they begin teaching sex ed. starting in first and second grade. I'd be very much against that. If they ever start teaching that the Big Bang Theory is actually Fact and not theory, I'd consider pulling them out, as it is really just a theory, and in that goes against my religious beliefs. Things like that. Basically, when they try to take away what I feel is important for the parents to teach, or if they try to pull the kids away from the parent's religious beliefs. School isn't the place for either of those.

 

[Calvin]

Is that question directed at me?

Sure.

 

[Mr.Webs]

Yes, I am. And? It is by choice, quite frankly.

 

[Calvin]

Was just curious.

 

[Odin's Lapdog]

Well, I know that there was something being pushed that they begin teaching sex ed. starting in first and second grade. I'd be very much against that. If they ever start teaching that the Big Bang Theory is actually Fact and not theory, I'd consider pulling them out, as it is really just a theory, and in that goes against my religious beliefs. Things like that. Basically, when they try to take away what I feel is important for the parents to teach, or if they try to pull the kids away from the parent's religious beliefs. School isn't the place for either of those.

you bring up a point here

you say that schools shouldn't pull kids from their parents beliefs..

however if a child learns through religious education to believe that they would be much more happier practising in a different religion to that they were brought up in, would the necessarily be a bad thing?

i mean it is their choice at the end of the day what religion they wanna be isn't it?

 

[Odin's Lapdog]

Was just curious.

liar, you were trying to be rude

 

[Calvin]

Virgin, what are your thoughts on home-schooling robbing kids from a varied exposure to different religuous or cultural paths?

 

[JewishHobbit]

you bring up a point here

you say that schools shouldn't pull kids from their parents beliefs..

however if a child learns through religious education to believe that they would be much more happier practising in a different religion to that they were brought up in, would the necessarily be a bad thing?

i mean it is their choice at the end of the day what religion they wanna be isn't it?

Yes, it is. I would go into a deeper thought in this, but I'm being rushed by my wife to get ready to leave, so I can't. But to cut it short, the public school system isn't the place to influence my child's religious beliefs, and I don't think they should be able to. If differant beliefs are taught equally and respectfully, then I'm actually not against it, but to focus on one thing that belittles others is something I'm definately against. Well, in school systems anyhow. Church, homes, and religious places can do that all they want, it's what they do.

 

[Calvin]

The thing about public schools though, is that it's not just the curriculum. It's that you're exposed to a lot of different people with different beliefs in an environment that is supposedly religiously and culturally neutral. That way they aren't sheltered, and can come to a more informed and less coerced decision on how they feel about religioun and culture in general. If you drill them with one belief or culture ideal, and don't allow to them ever come into contact with a varied assortment through unrestricted socialization, then they aren't really being given much of a choice at all.

 

[Odin's Lapdog]

The thing about public schools though, is that it's not just the curriculum. It's that you're exposed to a lot of different people with different beliefs in an environment that is supposedly religiously and culturally neutral. That way they aren't sheltered, and can come to a more informed and less coerced decision on how they feel about religioun and culture in general. If you drill them with one belief or culture ideal, and don't allow to them ever come into contact with a varied assortment through unrestricted socialization, then they aren't really being given much of a choice at all.

well culturally schools in the west are never truelly neutral, this can be seen easily since everyone gets to go on holiday for christmas and easter, a general christian holiday (or at least they were) yet other religious festivals and celebrations are overlooked when it comes to giving time off.


true exposure is out there but personally, i wouldn't think learning something from a peer at that age would be enough to sway my religious identity, although it does occur for others quite a bit. I would be more inclined to perhaps find someone with a greater knowledge in that given field.

 

[tzarinna]

You guys have it all covered.

A friend of mine homeschools her kids, she says it was because her daughter was being teased because of her mixed race,white mother/black father. But this is the same chick that didn't have her son circumcsised to make him unappealing sexually.

Now that she's marreid she'll have to contend with how he wants to school the many kids he wants her to have and since he works for the public school system it should be interesting.

 

[Mr.Webs]

Virgin, what are your thoughts on home-schooling robbing kids from a varied exposure to different religuous or cultural paths?

That better not be my new nickname.

I find it that it all has to do with the parents. Quite easily, if the parents just cut off all teachings of other religions, then that's it for the kid. But, if the parent doesn't really care about their child's religion, then they'll let them explore for themselves and see what they like.

 

[Odin's Lapdog]

Yes, it is. I would go into a deeper thought in this, but I'm being rushed by my wife to get ready to leave, so I can't. But to cut it short, the public school system isn't the place to influence my child's religious beliefs, and I don't think they should be able to. If differant beliefs are taught equally and respectfully, then I'm actually not against it, but to focus on one thing that belittles others is something I'm definately against. Well, in school systems anyhow. Church, homes, and religious places can do that all they want, it's what they do.

belittling i think is actually illegal.

on the other side of the spectrum having a school that presents religious stories of creation (no matter which religion it deems from) as fact and belittling the other theories of creation and also evolution may also not be something that would go down lightly or is that different?

in these matters, i feel the schools should teach what is required in order to pass the subject so that is basically what is on the curriculum. When it comes to creation and evolution, the questions asked in exams should either state they are theories or require the students to mention it in their answers to retrieve marks, something along those lines.

if the discussion is taking place in a non science lesson, then i feel that a teacher should have the ability to present the kids with all or as much of the required information as possible from all sides and let them draw their own conclusions. they should also have a right to speak freely on their own views on the subject without feeling like they can't participate on the subject. i know some teachers have a large influence over soem students and their thought processes but i feel it's better to get everyone involved in such topics rather than having the teaching staff just covering their tracks and staying out of it. This DOESn't mean that they have to pass their opinions in a disrespectful manner.


even saying all this, when it comes to these discussions, it's inevitable that you may cross someone who doesn't agree with you, if it's bound to happen in life, why pull your child out of school for it happening then unless you may feel that your role as a moral compass for your child is under threat, surely if you are a good enough parent, it shouldn't matter what they are hearing or being listening to in schools

 

[Calvin]

well culturally schools in the west are never truelly neutral, this can be seen easily since everyone gets to go on holiday for christmas and easter, a general christian holiday (or at least they were) yet other religious festivals and celebrations are overlooked when it comes to giving time off.


true exposure is out there but personally, i wouldn't think learning something from a peer at that age would be enough to sway my religious identity, although it does occur for others quite a bit. I would be more inclined to perhaps find someone with a greater knowledge in that given field.

That sucks, in my high school, the other religions got to take days off for their religious holidays with no penelties.

It's not just about being swayed by a peer, it's about having exposure to different viewpoints, giving the child more intillectual choices. Virgin makes a good point, it's all good if you have parents that are wiling to teach you about a lot of different viewpoints. Maybe home-schooling should be subject to general curriculum quotas. It probably is in some places.

 

[Odin's Lapdog]

You guys have it all covered.

A friend of mine homeschools her kids, she says it was because her daughter was being teased because of her mixed race,white mother/black father. .

wtf, the teasing of half cast children, how very immature. what's worse is that instead of facing up to it, she decided to cower and let the bulllies win.

 

[Odin's Lapdog]

That sucks, in my high school, the other religions got to take days off for their religious holidays with no penelties.

It's not just about being swayed by a peer, it's about having exposure to different viewpoints, giving the child more intillectual choices. Virgin makes a good point, it's all good if you have parents that are wiling to teach you about a lot of different viewpoints. Maybe home-schooling should be subject to general curriculum quotas. It probably is in some places.

the thing is that the kids are still going to have friends outside of their home (hopefully) and depending on how early the homeschooling starts and continues for, this could make the child in question more subceptible to what their friends are doing and also their opinions....

since they have less time during the day with their 'friends' the time they spend is more on trying to build strong affiliations and trying to fit in with the rest, so one can become more gullible to their ways of thinking because they are trying harder to fit in with the other children.

easier path to crazy thinking and gun crime/drugs etc in my eyes. At least if it starts really early and continues for a long number of years.

yeah i'm pretty sure there are standards that are supposed to be met, i'm not sure how often examinations take place and so forth. It's also harder to mark some work considering you are the parent, you can practically paint any picture you wish for your child's progress. you can easily be either overworking or underworking them and reporting their scores as you wish. I wonder how the governing bodies monitor everything.

 

[Calvin]

But think about the long term implication, if he doesn't get out there and mix it up, and learn to handle himself socially with others, when he does finally get too big for homeschooling, he'll be in for even more of a culture shock. It's the same reason a lot of people think the drinking age is out of touch. In europe, it's lower, you can ease yourself into it without as much pressure, and they have fewer problems of alcohol poisoning or drunk driving deaths etc. Here in the us, you're cut off until 21, and people have a tendency here to completely overdo it because they've been building up mental pressure for so long. I can imagine a similar effect for a kid that's suddenly dumped out into the world as a 21 year-old with the social skills of a 13 year old. He'd get chewed up, and probably be even more succeptible to peer pressure. The people you see going crazy all at once are usually the ones that haven't been exposed to general socialization as much, and haven't developed the necessary know-how and cynicism. Then coming out of their shell becomes a really dangerous thing because they've had very little development.

 

[pHat_aL]

Please, like a lot of these parents who home school their kids don't have an ideological agenda of their own.

Where the hell have you been the last 50 or so years? What do you think the school are teaching these days? Do you honestly believe it's the same as before? They only care about standardized testing--put a great emphasize on it (as if that will somehow give the students great careers) and worry only about their reputation. It's not about teaching the kids on life, but further bettering themselves. So they teach English (grammar, and vocabulary; not sentence structure, plot, character, theme or even mood) and Math vigorously, and let the rest--all the subjects that would galvanize the kids creativity--ashtray. Slowly there becoming bots, all the way down to kindergarden.

 

[Alpha and Omega]

what are the pros and cons and would you have ever considered it for yourself or will you perhaps for your future kiddies???

I homeschooled through grades 6-7; I wasn't hard to motivate so my mother usually left my assignments in the morning before she left for work, and it usually took me 5 or 6 hrs to finish during the day. If I had any questions, there were phone #'s available for ed. support. My cirriculum came from an academy that was in state, but a few hrs away from where I lived. I had to travel there several times throughout the year to take my Sol/exams, but I didn't mind it.

Pros: I had less distractions and better study habits. I finished my studies fairly early in the day, and I also worked at my own pace, so I finished months before children were let out of school.

Cons: For some kids, homeschooling is lonely. I wouldn't advise it if you don't have a lot friends. I liked the independency it gave me.

I went back to a private school in 8th grade, and it was an easy transition for me; A lot of the children who I played AAU sports w/ went there, so I never had any social disadvantages. It probably depends on the person.

 

[Calvin]

So they teach English (grammar, and vocabulary; not sentence structure, plot, character, theme or even mood) and Math vigorously, and let the rest--all the subjects that would galvanize the kids creativity--ashtray. Slowly there becoming bots, all the way down to kindergarden.

Heehee.

 

[Kritish]

Homeschooling is wrong. It's a great way for f***ed up, delusional parents to ensure that their offspring will grow up to be just as f***ed up and delusional.

Having been raised in Utah I knew many homeschooled kids. Their parent's motives were always disgusting and all of the kids I still know since we've all grown up are completely screwed up mentally and socially.

Agreed.