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I noticed some of you talking about homeschool in the phobia topic, and started to post there–only to realize that my rant had gotten, er, a bit long… and that I was dragging things off topic a bit too violently. 😆 So, as I am homeschooled, I thought I’d offer my own take on it.
My opinion on homeschooling is that it’s great for some kids and horrible for others. I hate it. My brother’s happier at home than at a public school–but I HATE HATE HATE being at home. I’m constantly worried about my education and stressing out over whether or not I’m doing as well as kids who have a ‘real’ teacher and go to ‘real’ classes. Also, I have extreme difficulties when it comes to concentration–there are sooo many distractions… and weirdly enough, I didn’t have that problem at all when I was in public school. And, speaking of distractions, I do miss the social aspect… being trapped in Hell with a bunch of sympathetic kids united against a common enemy just isn’t the same as being a girl scout. (Not that I ever was, but I’ve participated in a lot of extracurricular stuff.) Haha.
Anyway, sorry for the rant! I just go off on this subject a lot, because it annoys me somethin’ awful. My personal opinion is that it’s great to homeschool kids through middle school, but for high school and elementary, being in a classroom is important. Also, if you intend to homeschool through high school, be prepared to teach your student stuff that you don’t have a clue about… like precalculus. My mom is NO help whatsoever on the subject, and I’m left to flail around miserably by myself when it comes to being walked through an exercise–I have a precalc teacher that gives online lessons, but it’s not the same as having someone THERE standing over your shoulder as you work through something. Of course, if your kid is a whiz at math, this probably won’t be a problem. It just is for me ’cause I’m a doofus with anything that’s not English or History…
So anyway, that is my negative opinion of homeschooling. There are some great things about being at home, too, but in my case they don’t outweigh the bad. Or if they do, it’s not by much. And as I said, it works WONDERFULLY for some people.. and horribly for others. It just depends on the personality of your kid.
I dont mind the rant. I put that topic up to keep us occupied till the curlies came out. 😀 I doubt anyone else minded either.
I think that kids should be exposed to the outside world. If you are gonna homeschool, make sure you take your kid to a community playground, or something like that, very often. They need social skill to survive. I am not against homeschooling. So long as the child is getting an education, then whatever works is great. They just need to be socialized, too. I also feel that if they WANT to go to a public school, they should be allowed to.
Well, I’ll note that sometimes having a real teacher there doesn’t help any. I took precalc in high school and I still flailed about. The teacher was one of those guys who, when you asked him to explain something, gave you the same explanation he had at the beginning, in the same words. Which didn’t help at all, if I didn’t get it the first time!
I know nothing whatsoever about calculus. Happily this hasn’t impaired me much.
Shoot, my dad taught math at college and one on one lessons/help from him didn’t help my high school math out one bit. 😛
There is an odd society about public high school, but I would have rather stayed at home all day, gotten my school work done real quick (like you and Griff do) and spent the rest of the time goofing off drawing reading writing playing.
I don’t mind that things go off topic either. I definately agree about the social aspect of it. My friend was homeschooled in High school. It has made her not become picky about men that go after her. Now I am not totally saying it is because of she was homeschooled, it might be a factor of other things as well.
Hey, like I said, there’s some good things about being homeschooled! But lately I HAVEN’T been finishing my work early, and I have the added pain in the butt of not having any social contact, either. *shrug* I know a lot of people hate/d highschool and would rather be/have been homeschooled… that’s their problem. They don’t know the PAIN. ( 😛 Kidding!) Anyways… Yeah, homeschool=twice as much freetime. That’s the good thing. Also, a flexible schedule. But what people don’t realize is that school is school no matter how you deal with it–there’s still the stress of learning stuff. Not ALL the suffering of public school comes from peer pressure! You still have your parents and yourself to deal with. (My parents are cool, but they suffer from “our children are angels” disease… which they usually will acknowledge, but.. eh… I don’t like having my ego stroked when its not deserved. It’s always made me squeamish.)
Besides, there’s also the “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” deal. Being homeschooled can sometimes pave the path TOO well.
When I was in school, I wished I didn’t have to go. It was because of all the teasing that I got from other kids. They can be soooo mean. I am still around, so I guess it did make me stronger.
I love my boys with all my heart and soul, but I would go absolutely OUT OF MY MIND trying to home school them! Some people just aren’t cut out for that, it really takes a special, loving, PATIENT person.
My sister in law happily home scooled her 3 kids when the oldest got in trouble in school for talking about Jesus. If she had talked about sex, drugs, or murder, it would not even have been an issue. Pardon me if I offend, but it is the honest truth. How sad! 🙁
Golddragon2, there was no christian schools or a religious schools near your sister? Wow we have one for every regular school in this city I think, and the muslims have one as well.
I was teased all through school for being over weight, but I hated the one year of home schooling i did. I never thought it would bother me to not be around that bunch of loosers, but it did, so i went back. I still have now warm and fuzzy feelings when I think about my classmates, but I am glad to have knowen the teachers i did.
Okay, time for a defense of homeschooling. 🙂 My parents pulled me out of public school after my first year there. I was constantly done early with work there, and so I got to wash blackboards. It was a waste of time. From there on Mom homeschooled me – and did or does the same for my four younger brothers. Now I’m about to take finals next month for the Matura (a high-school degree on a college level). Brother 1 is an apprentice in a leading electrical company, boss of his own building site after one year of work for them, and the top of his class. Brother 2 is lined up for college in the States. Brother 3 studies music at the Zurich Conservatory and is looking into an apprenticeship with an architect. And Brother 4 is only 7 so he’s still in the works, but he’ll turn out special too. Homeschooling rocks!
For several reasons: I wouldn’t learn anything beneficial if I’d hang around people who are – to be blunt – just as stupid as me all the time. Since classical education with emphasis on the great minds of history is barely existent anymore, public school is, as Ruff nicely put it, a collection of losers. Teachers have no real authority, abuse, sex, drugs and peer pressure rule. The students don’t get individual attention; bright minds are suppressed while laggards fall behind and never catch up, and system turns out nothing but mediocrity.
Personally I think the argument of asocial traits in homeschoolers to be very lame, especially coming from politicians. (We’re fighting them more or less right now.) Because I didn’t go to public school, I never learned to waste a lot of time and money on parties. I’ve never wanted to get drunk or do drugs, and now I’m strong enough to say no to all of it. I have no reason to keep up with the latest fashions – which saves me a lot of money for Windstones and weapons. 😀 Of course it’s good for kids to interact with their own – but not all the time, and especially not taking their peers as teachers. The principle that wise older folks teach the young has gone missing. People who party until they’re 25 never learned that life is really about work, and hyacinths for the soul aren’t the focus. What do they have to show after a life of partying, dragging themselves through something that supports the monthly minimal CC payment on a huge debt, not caring about what happens in the world outside even though it affects them the most? Nothing. As for dragoness’s example of the girl who couldn’t be judicial with men – that is clearly the parents’ fault. An education is only as good as the teacher, and if her parents didn’t bother to teach her about dating, its her loss and their shame. Me, I’m the other extreme. I have yet to meet my first date. But I wouldn’t say it’s because I’m not socialized. I’m just picky.
And finally, the fact that homeschoolers are constantly scoring higher than public schoolers in contests of every imaginable sort speaks for itself.
All right. Now I’ll clear the floor for the next speaker.I think that you can not say that for all school systems GB, the school my son is in has class sizes of 16-18 kids with 3-4 teachers and assitants to help. They have different groups for each subject so each kid is with a group of students at the same level as themselves. Not just two groups, 4-5 in some cases. My son goes to a reading group with grades 1 & 2. If the child is more advanced in a subject, they go to a more advanced group, not just given special assignments. And yes this is just a regular public school, it goes from kindergarden to grade 7.
I agree with you. I just think the kids should have friends. Our schools, esp in the states are lame. The test scores speak for themselves. And instead of putting blame on the people it belongs on… whoever that may be in whatever case… we lower standards. The result is morons who cant spell and somehow manage to graduate a highschool. Some of the words I get on paperwork are ridiculous. Maid when it should be Made, staid when it should be stayed. It makes me worry about my son!
There are a lot of schools out there now that offer these programs that try to give individual attention to each student. I guess they’re quite fine. But I still have no love for public schools – not for the curricula, not for the discipline. I know a lot of parents don’t have the patience to teach their own kids. I’m anything but patient by nature too, but I’ve decided that when I have kids, I’ll teach them myself, because I’ll know best what they need and I will want them to come out of school with a real education, knowing more than the reproductive procedure and the latest slang. Socrates and Aristotle aren’t always right, but they were great thinkers and I’ll want my kids to build on the shoulders of the great mean who went before. I will want my kids to know why Bismarck was important to world history, because those who know history won’t keep repeating it like the rest of the world. I don’t think education should concentrate on getting some stupid paper. Education is about dealing with life in every aspect, not just getting a certificate that should help you get a job.
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