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Homeschooling[W:199]

Homeschooling


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TeleKat

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Do you homeschool your children and do you think you think it's a viable option for other families?
 
Re: Homeschooling

No, I don't use it, I don't have children.
Yes. It's a viable option. Especially for those who cannot afford private schools. It is one of only two known ways to avoid Liberal/socialist brainwashing of the public schools.
 
Re: Homeschooling

My 3 kids go to public school. I didn't have any interest in home schooling them. They all do well in school and love being with their friends.

That said, I think home schooling is a great option for people and should be supported if it's the right thing for them and the kids.
 
Re: Homeschooling

You never met Wake?
 
Re: Homeschooling

It seems that homeschool is often the last resort of the deeply religious to keep their children from learning anything about the world around them, either in terms of science, politics, economics, sexuality, medicine, or human behavior, so that they can never make an informed decision as to whether to adhere to the religious precepts of their parents or not.

Or, you know, "avoid Liberal/socialist brainwashing of the public schools". Basically the same thing.
 
Re: Homeschooling

We have one home-schooled member on this forum that's (mostly) the exception to everything I'm about to say.

Homeschooling is mostly for the benefit of preventing children from learning things like evolution or any associated "liberal" ideas. The only way to achieve this is, sadly, to permanently dismantle any ability to demonstrate critical thinking, one of the results of which is that logical fallacies are not only to be expected but celebrated. While such home schooled kids tend to be superior in reading, writing and arithmetic, their lack of critical thinking and hostility to science (particularly, scientific concepts deemed to be threatening to their faith) results in something that is a heartbeat away from child abuse, in my opinion. Their permanently misshapen brains make them unsuited to interacting with the world outside of their tiny, religious communities.

Oh, ask a home schooled person their thoughts on history, and you'll get all sorts of crap like, "Christians invented law" or "The gays brought down the Roman Empire." It's a hoot.
 
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Re: Homeschooling

I was homeschooled. My honest appraisal of the experience is that it is a way of doing things which has its own benefits and draw backs just like anything else.

On the one hand, I was light years ahead of virtually all of my college classmates where basic academic skills, critical thinking, and work ethic were concerned. I could usually make As and Bs in my classes without even really having to try.

On the other, the social adjustment period when I moved away from home was a bit of a punch in the gut to say the least. I socialized with neighborhood kids and other homeschoolers while I was growing up (we even had a homeschool prom, believe it or not lol), but it wasn't anywhere near sufficient to prepare me for the culture shock of being introduced to people who had spent their entire lives clawing their way through the public educational system.

As if that wasn't already disadvantage enough, I had the bright idea to make my school of choice a military college with a bad reputation for extreme hazing and brutal behavior.

Sooo... Yea. Needless to say, I had a rough time of things that first year. :lol:

I wound up cramming nearly an entire public school career's worth of bullying, fights, and abuse into just two college semesters (while maintaining a 3.5 GPA no less), before deciding to say "screw that noise" after graduating to upperclassman status and switching over to the liberal arts college down the road. I joined the Army to help cover my expenses the next summer, and, as they say, the rest is history. ;)
 
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Re: Homeschooling

Every home-schooled person I have ever met is badly socially adjusted. I know parents who home-school who really try to involve their kids in outside activities to socialize them, however, many don't....and even those who do are not always successful.
 
Re: Homeschooling

I'm just going to sit back and count all the people that mention religion in this thread. At the moment we are up to two.
 
Re: Homeschooling

I'm just going to sit back and count all the people that mention religion in this thread. At the moment we are up to two.

You're welcome. 99% of the home schooled people I've interacted with online were home schooled because of religious and/or extreme ideological reasons (but yeah, mostly religious). If that entertains you then I hope you stocked up on extra popcorn.
 
Re: Homeschooling

You're welcome. 99% of the home schooled people I've interacted with online were home schooled because of religious and/or extreme ideological reasons (but yeah, mostly religious). If that entertains you then I hope you stocked up on extra popcorn.

Is there necessarily a problem with that?

It's hardly like our public educational system is "agenda free" either.
 
Re: Homeschooling

Both my boys were in public schools for the majority of their school years. My wife and I were heavily involved in all their schools and were known to their teachers very well. We were PTO officers and were usually co-President. We had a few lefty nutbag teachers (before you Dems jump, read the last paragraph in this post), but our kids weren't in their classes very long - except for one, because after a short but effectual meeting with me and the Principal one afternoon he decided to stick to the curriculum and stop the ideological banter.

I've known a number of boys (I was their Scoutmaster) that were home schooled. Some did great. Their parents were intellectually capable of providing an invigorating and intellectually challenging curriculum for them. Some on the other hand didn't do so great. The biggest drawback I saw with home schooled boys (can't speak to girls since I didn't interact with any) was their lack of interrelationship and social skills with other kids. This was one of the reasons their parents got them involved in Scouting, which is a great place for boys to learn these skills, as well as leadership and many other skills.

I support the public school system. I also support vouchers so that kids that are stuck in a bad school system have the option to choose another option. I also support home schooling, if that's what the parents want.

To me, the choice is that of the parents. The resulting education is what matters. If a parent feels that they can provide as good or better an education for their child at home, then they should have the right to do so.

As for me and my wife, we felt that teaching was the responsibility of the parent, by using all the tools available to us for our children. Some of those tools were very good teachers in the public school system, with extracurricular group activities that were not available in home schooling or even some private schools.

We tried private schools at first. We were not satisfied by the results after the first grade with our oldest and the same with our youngest (2.5 years apart). We found that the local elementary school was wonderful. The local middle school on the other hand was not, and we were able to get the boys transferred. The same was true for the local high school. We were able to get our oldest transferred and the youngest was lucky enough to get picked in the lottery for the specialty high school he wanted to attend.

Like I said, we were involved in our boys schools on an almost daily basis. We sat down with them to do their homework. We didn't do it for them, but we sat together in the den until it was done, with us reading some book and them doing their studies.

We believe that parents are the primary teacher, and that the teachers at school teach the basics, with the parents reinforcing and explaining for clarity and comprehension.

That is what's missing in our public school system... Parents. Not money, but parents.

Home schooling is fine, if the parents can provide the stimuli and interaction that a traditional school provides. Without it, your just teaching facts, without any practical application.

We live in a diverse society. Public schools provide a way for our kids to learn to live and function effectively within that diversity.

I do agree that in many instances, the public school systems are a breeding ground for liberal and progressive indoctrination. By having the parents involved though, like my wife and I were, that influence can be tempered and used as a teaching tool itself, by letting the child know, that there are competing ideologies and the parents have the ability, and the duty, to not only expose the child to other views, but to be there in the formidable years to help explain the truth from the ideological rhetoric - of both sides.

And don't get me started on "Christian" schools. We tried that once... ONCE. After a teacher told my oldest son "The Devil was in his heart" because he wouldn't stop asking questions of her during class (related to the damned subject she was talking about)... and the way we found out is because he had terrifying nightmares for a week thinking the Devil was in his heart and would come out and get him in his sleep... well...
 
Re: Homeschooling

Is there necessarily a problem with that?

It's hardly like our public educational system is "agenda free" either.

If the result is to inculcate a hostility to evolution and critical thinking in general, and to celebrate logical fallacies and rewrite history, then yeah that's a problem.
 
Re: Homeschooling

You're welcome. 99% of the home schooled people I've interacted with online were home schooled because of religious and/or extreme ideological reasons (but yeah, mostly religious). If that entertains you then I hope you stocked up on extra popcorn.

People home school their children for all sorts of reasons, and yes, many times those reasons revolve around disagreeing with the curriculum. It's kind of entertaining watching people act like what they want to teach children is somehow superior to what someone else wants to teach their children. I suppose that is what happens when government gets involved in education though.
 
Re: Homeschooling

If the result is to inculcate a hostility to evolution and critical thinking in general, and to celebrate logical fallacies and rewrite history, then yeah that's a problem.

You mean besides the fact that public schools are known to twist scientific and historical facts? :lol:
 
Re: Homeschooling

People home school their children for all sorts of reasons, and yes, many times those reasons revolve around disagreeing with the curriculum. It's kind of entertaining watching people act like what they want to teach children is somehow superior to what someone else wants to teach their children. I suppose that is what happens when government gets involved in education though.

There are of course legitimately awful schools that I can perfectly accept as being worse than being home schooled, but that's not the motivation I see to any statistically relevant degree. The motivation is almost always religious in nature, and yes, teaching science is superior to teaching evolution. Shielding children from critical thinking for the first eighteen years of their lives merely results in an eighteen year old idiot being thrown out into the world.
 
Re: Homeschooling

You mean besides the fact that public schools are known to twist scientific and historical facts? :lol:

If you believe it comes down to evolution vs science, and you believe in the former over the latter, and you're home schooled, then your posts are a perfect demonstration of what I'm talking about.
 
Re: Homeschooling

There are of course legitimately awful schools that I can perfectly accept as being worse than being home schooled, but that's not the motivation I see to any statistically relevant degree. The motivation is almost always religious in nature, and yes, teaching science is superior to teaching evolution. Shielding children from critical thinking for the first eighteen years of their lives merely results in an eighteen year old idiot being thrown out into the world.

Do public schools teach critical thinking? I was unaware of that. :lol:
 
Re: Homeschooling

If the result is to inculcate a hostility to evolution and critical thinking in general, and to celebrate logical fallacies and rewrite history, then yeah that's a problem.

First off, is evolution even really necessary?

Sure, I believe in it. However, it's not like that belief impacts my day to day life in any way. There's no way it really could, unless I were to go into biology, paleontology, or some other related field.

Secondly, I haven't seen any evidence whatsoever to suggest that Christians are less "logical" or successful in their day-to-day lives than anyone else, nor have I seen any particularly egregious attempts on their part to "rewrite history."

They might try to skew the direction of the narrative a bit. However, literally everyone does that. :lol:

I don't see any reason to specifically single out Christians or Homeschoolers.
 
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Re: Homeschooling

Do you homeschool your children and do you think you think it's a viable option for other families?
I did not. I think it is viable for others, though. I have no issue with the concept, but it's not the hot-button issue for me that it seems to be for some.
 
Re: Homeschooling

If you believe it comes down to evolution vs science, and you believe in the former over the latter, and you're home schooled, then your posts are a perfect demonstration of what I'm talking about.

No, I'm talking about twisting facts or just leaving out details to push forward an agenda. I can remember countless examples of this from my years in public school looking back on it now.

The thing about history is that you can easily tell the story in a positive light or a negative light by what facts you present and how you present them. Oh and btw, those people were trespassing, not just sitting in doing something noble. See, details matter.
 
Re: Homeschooling

Do you homeschool your children and do you think you think it's a viable option for other families?

Awesome thread idea TeleKat. One of the few lately that made me think back and ponder the reasons behind our choices we made for our kids.

Thank you.
 
Re: Homeschooling

Do you homeschool your children and do you think you think it's a viable option for other families?

I do not, but it is certainly a viable option and if one chooses to engage in it, they should be free to do so.
 
Re: Homeschooling

Every home-schooled person I have ever met is badly socially adjusted. I know parents who home-school who really try to involve their kids in outside activities to socialize them, however, many don't....and even those who do are not always successful.

Have you seen public school? Badly socially adjusted there as well.
 
Re: Homeschooling

First off, is evolution even really necessary?

Is knowing that Antarctica exists really necessary? Is music or sports necessary? Is knowing about the planets necessary? Is knowing anything about what goes on outside of your town and the magical places those trucks come from that deliver your food and supplies really necessary so long as you get them? An education is mostly to functionally prepare a child for life, but it's also to expand their minds.

Sure, I believe in it. However, it's not like that belief really impacts my day to day life in any particular way. There's no real way it could, unless I were to go into biology, paleontology, or some other related field.

I'm not in the sciences myself, but I find evolution fascinating in thinking on the way animals behave and why, how the earth and our solar system formed, etc. It's broadening if nothing else, like any other knowledge expand our appreciation for the universe. Teaching a hostility of these things is limiting in a way I find sad, especially when you consider that there's no good reason for why any of these things should logically be opposed to religion.

Secondly, I haven't seen any particular evidence whatsoever to suggest that Christians are less "logical" or successful in their day-to-day lives than anyone else, nor have I seen any particularly egregious attempts on their part to "rewrite history."

I'm not talking about Christians. I'm talking about home-schooled people.

They might try to skew the direction of the narrative a bit. However, literally everyone does that. :lol:

You have a particularly good grasp of Ancient Roman history. Surely even you cringe when you hear someone claim that it was the homos that brought down the Roman Empire.

I don't see any reason to specifically single out Christians or Homeschoolers.

I'm not singling out Christians, I'm singling out homeschoolers.
 
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