I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.... (1 Viewer)

[AlleyCat]

homeschooled kids are fucking strange.

reminds me of The Family and the Exclusive Brethren and Scientology etc.

in theory i guess some parents are qualified, but the social skills children develop by being around other children, with upbringings and opinions different to their own, are a major aspect of schooling.

 

[loquasagacious]

In reply to your second point :
How is it that a homeschooled child is not able to be exposed to diverse viewpoints or be socialised?
Socialisation at school is not all that broad in actual fact. Nor is it likely that a diligent and responsible homeschooled parent would not consider the need for socialisation and make lifestyle adjustments accordingly.

Thoughout a child's schooling they are probably exposed to more than 50 different teachers and they are socialised for 6+ hours a day, 40(?) weeks a year for 13 years... I simply can't see parents being able to supply that diversity of view points or breadth and depth of socialisation.

Yes I'm sure that parents could expose students to 50 different philosophers but it would be 50 philosophers with one slant - the parents.

 

[loquasagacious]

homeschooled kids are fucking strange.

reminds me of The Family and the Exclusive Brethren and Scientology etc.

in theory i guess some parents are qualified, but the social skills children develop by being around other children, with upbringings and opinions different to their own, are a major aspect of schooling.

This is probably by biggest issue with home schooling.

Also interested in any stats people know of relating to home schooling?

 

[Iron]

I'm not sure if the social aspect is overstated. I mean, we know that for many kids, school is a crushing and humiliating experience. The pressing need to socially conform with the arbitrary values of the powerful ruling class of students can be very overbearing and ultimately result in bullying and other pressure which can drive kids to all sorts of harmful things, like substance abuse, self mulitation or even suicide! On the other hand, the family offers no such abuse, at least on a significant level. Rather, the child is taught to be firm in their convictions, not least of which is the goodness of the family unit. Spiritually and emotionally, having grown up in such a safe and responsible environment, such kids may be better equipped to face the world and all its torments. If the parents truely love the children and home-school for reasons which arent suffocatingly selfish, they can be supreme role-models for the child which equip them with much more than a scattered technical knowledge, but a psychological strength which is never taught in school. This would probably make them more social and better able to interact with strangers
imo

 

[absorber]

I dunno about high school, but primary school is a bad idea. Kids are too impressionable.
I have an extremely bright friend who was homeschooled in primary school, he did SDD in year 9 and got 88 for the course. Since then though, he's just become even more disrespectful of authority, and teachers in particular, than he was before; the reason being that when he was younger he was never taught to respect them, in my opinion. At this rate he'll either drop out or get an * for the hsc.

 

[*TRUE*]

i think social skills are better learnt in a school environment, you meet all sorts of people and learn things like how to share and tolerate other people's opinions

you don't want to be 18, go to uni, and then realise there are other people in the world who are different to you

but then again, i think it's the parents' right to decided whether to home school or not

Or turn 18, go to uni, come out of it and realise you've spent most of your life trying to confirm to the 'norm' in order to be accepted by a bunch of sheep -and have absolutely no idea who you are or what you think.
Diverse viewpoints at school my foot.
In a school environment a child is usually simply trying to SURVIVE. Few will wish to flaunt their originality or diversity.
For me, it was afterschool activities or visiting a friend in their home which brought to my mind cultural and societal differences.

 

[AlleyCat]

This is probably by biggest issue with home schooling.

Also interested in any stats people know of relating to home schooling?

dont have stats but when i was younger my mum used to bring kids from The Family over to our house and they all had hair down to the back of their knees and never swore and wore really high necked dresses.

they were really fucking stupid too.

i read a book later about how they dont get educated according to the syllabus but follow their cult leader david berg's teachings, which include never using more than one square of toilet paper at a time, and how to make your own menstrual cups.

/anecdotal evidence.

 

[danal353]

Or turn 18, go to uni, come out of it and realise you've spent most of your life trying to confirm to the 'norm' in order to be accepted by a bunch of sheep -and have absolutely no idea who you are or what you think.
Diverse viewpoints at school my foot.
In a school environment a child is usually simply trying to SURVIVE. Few will wish to flaunt their originality or diversity.
For me, it was afterschool activities or visiting a friend in their home which brought to my mind cultural and societal differences.

touche

 

[Riet]

*TRUE* is correct only if you went to a shitty school that doesn't encourage expression or excellence.

 

[*TRUE*]

dont have stats but when i was younger my mum used to bring kids from The Family over to our house and they all had hair down to the back of their knees and never swore and wore really high necked dresses.

they were really fucking stupid too.

i read a book later about how they dont get educated according to the syllabus but follow their cult leader david berg's teachings, which include never using more than one square of toilet paper at a time, and how to make your own menstrual cups.

/anecdotal evidence.

Which is why Homeschooling ought to be regulated. Registered homeschoolers are regularly inspected for progess, etc..
I don't mean to be rude, but imo the 'weirdness' is much more likely to be attributed to the cult than the homeschooling.
I know some homeschoolers, they're awesome, very high achievers, well respected and they seem to have plenty of friends.
oh just noticed something, haha... - I don't swear ( I don't feel the need)and while I have a strong dislike of high necked dresses, I also have fairly long hair ( i think it's pretty).
I guess I'm odd Happily so, however.

 

[*TRUE*]

*TRUE* is correct only if you went to a shitty school that doesn't encourage expression or excellence.

I think most schools are crappy - and at the end of the day, it isn't neccessarily the fault of the school's administration, it's more the result of lumping impressionable, competitive and insecure young people together in a group for most of the day, five days a week.

 

[loller]

my sisters did like half a year of home schooling

same social life as before, they went to friends houses, played sport etc it was just like a long holiday with some homework

only reason it didnt work is because dad doesnt have any patience at all and these 2 are dumb as a stick

 

[kiki_koala]

i coach gymnastics. There are 3 home schooled kids...one is completely fine, the other two don't talk and dont socialise with anyone else there.

 

[Empyrean444]

I'm not sure if the social aspect is overstated. I mean, we know that for many kids, school is a crushing and humiliating experience. The pressing need to socially conform with the arbitrary values of the powerful ruling class of students can be very overbearing and ultimately result in bullying and other pressure which can drive kids to all sorts of harmful things, like substance abuse, self mulitation or even suicide! On the other hand, the family offers no such abuse, at least on a significant level. Rather, the child is taught to be firm in their convictions, not least of which is the goodness of the family unit. Spiritually and emotionally, having grown up in such a safe and responsible environment, such kids may be better equipped to face the world and all its torments. If the parents truely love the children and home-school for reasons which arent suffocatingly selfish, they can be supreme role-models for the child which equip them with much more than a scattered technical knowledge, but a psychological strength which is never taught in school. This would probably make them more social and better able to interact with strangers
imo

Their convictions or their parents'? And should not parents already impart the kids with their own wisdom regarding these important things, regardless of how the child is schooled? These aspects are certainly important, but they are a compliment, not a substitute for school. And might not the challenges of school present the conditions in which the child's psychological strengths - which are initiated via the 'teachings' of the parents - could be honed and reinforced?

On a general point, i think the bottom line is that is easier to regulate schools than homeschoolers. Moreover, while parents may be able to provide the necessary myriad of opinions and socialising, the schools will generally be better resourced and have an easier time in performing these duties. For example, I think that it would be a lot easier in getting a guest speaker to speak to a room of 25 kids than 2 at home.

this is not to claim that schools are 'perfect', simply that, on average, they are probably better.

 

[Iron]

What? In their own convictions. I agree that they can and do operate alongside a non-domestic education, but i'm merely saying that such qualities mean that it could work just as well as the state system - perhaps better.

I'd say that children, by their very nature, are too weak to 'hone' their ability to stand up fearlessly for what is right, stick to their guns etc. The system of the public school demands conformity or it imposes alienation. I'm sure that the few strong hone their skills quite well - why, I know I did! But you cant ignore the fact that most of the less brilliant kids are done few favours by this system.

I accept that school 'on average' offers a better form of education, but there are valid exceptions in which the parent should retain the right to raise their seed as they see fit, rather than suffer the indignity of watching their children get destroyed by a failing system, with poor and negligent teachers, corrupting and evil youths, and a syllabus which is not only secular, but viciously anti-religion in its left-wing bias...

 

[Serius]

School isnt just about academic education. Alot of it is education about real world stuff, if you are only getting your "life education" from only one person who has lived through it, how accurate is that going to be? Learning from 20-30 or more adults is far better in this regard.

Socially, most homeschool kids are weird. It isnt their fault, but they havent had the sort life socialising with peers that normal kids take for granted and so they have trouble fitting in. My mums best friend had 4 kids that we played with sometimes, all nice kids and bright, but they had trouble socialising, they did and said weird things and they were a bit arrogant because all they have been told their whole lives is that they are fantastic and bright, instead of being brought back to earth by other kids in a school.

The other thing is that i would say the vast majority of home schooling parents dont do it because they think they can provide a better education, they do it because they are a fundamentalist wackjob that even most of the religious population would find weird and they want to instill those crazy beliefs in their kids. Also they want to "protect" their kids from the world because it is a scary place with people who want to kill you, rape you and bring you down. What a fantastic view to hold and pass on to your kids.

The fact is that even if your kid is exceptionally bright, and you are a genius and a fantastic teacher, well versed in multiple fields of study and can provide your child with a top rate [and unbiased] academic education[and honestly, how many homeschooler parents can say thats them?], it still probably wont be the best choice because your kids will be sorely lacking in real world and social skills. They are missing out on the best part of school.

 

[dieburndie]

I think the one of the problems lies in the question of why parents want to home school their children in the first place.

If they're religious, there are religious schools for every major faith. Homeschooling for religious reasons therefore often means the parents possess radically different religious beliefs to the majority of their fellow believers. This could be applicable to cult members, extreme fundamentalists and religious separatists to name a few.

Alternatively the parents could just be complete recluses, the type of people that believe society as a whole is corrupted and evil. Or they might just be overwhelmingly arrogant and think they are the only person intelligent/respectable enough to perform the role.

Either way, when it comes down to it, allowing parents to home school their kids for these reasons is effectively giving them a license to brainwash with crazy. For many kids with insane parents, school is the only relief they get from being indoctrinated by overbearing idiots. I can only imagine how fucked up I would be if my dad had decided to home school me. Having a single person educating someone throughout their entire childhood and adolescence can NEVER be a good thing in my opinion. I think the social development that only a real school can provide is an absolute necessity for functioning in the workplace and other environments that will inevitably be experienced by children later down the line.

The only acceptable reasons to home school children are practical (travel etc), and even then I think it should be limited to periods of a year or two.

 

[xeuyrawp]

I think the one of the problems lies in the question of why parents want to home school their children in the first place.

If they're religious, ...
Alternatively the parents could just be complete recluses,

 

[*TRUE*]

Mmm, I agree.

 

[loller]

I think the one of the problems lies in the question of why parents want to home school their children in the first place.

If they're religious, there are religious schools for every major faith. Homeschooling for religious reasons therefore often means the parents possess radically different religious beliefs to the majority of their fellow believers. This could be applicable to cult members, extreme fundamentalists and religious separatists to name a few.

Alternatively the parents could just be complete recluses, the type of people that believe society as a whole is corrupted and evil. Or they might just be overwhelmingly arrogant and think they are the only person intelligent/respectable enough to perform the role.

Either way, when it comes down to it, allowing parents to home school their kids for these reasons is effectively giving them a license to brainwash with crazy. For many kids with insane parents, school is the only relief they get from being indoctrinated by overbearing idiots. I can only imagine how fucked up I would be if my dad had decided to home school me. Having a single person educating someone throughout their entire childhood and adolescence can NEVER be a good thing in my opinion. I think the social development that only a real school can provide is an absolute necessity for functioning in the workplace and other environments that will inevitably be experienced by children later down the line.

The only acceptable reasons to home school children are practical (travel etc), and even then I think it should be limited to periods of a year or two.

Afaik most kids are home schooled in Australia due to isolation.