Homeschooling is wrong.

Thanks

Thanks for the help Brenda!

Ann Ingle

 

Ann,

Nice to meet you! That was a very nice and well put letter. Callowmix, I am sure was not prepared to meet up with the character of this message board, as well as yours, Ann. That is a perfect way to respond to adversity. Thanks for posting.

 

Ann, very nice written and said. Yes, welcome to the board. Hope to see more of you.

 

I just wrote my response and went back and saw a lot of what I said was just repeating others. There are already replies better than mine, but, since I've finished writing it, here it is.

Rather inflammatory opening paragraph. Hopefully not an indication of simple trolling rather than a desire for an intellectual debate, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt, assume you are sincere, and enter the conversation by simply replying to your support.

According to stats on homeschoolers' performance in comparison with public and private schooled kids, not to mention my own personal experience, the answer would appear to be -- yes!

Yes, and from the study I looked at recently, homeschoolers whose parents only have a high school diploma perform just as well as those whose parents have a college degree -- both groups performing better than most public/private schooled kids.

It does? Why? My mother completed a masters and all her course work for a PhD in history. My favorite subjects are math and science. I don't feel "limited."

Personally, I don't see why you have to be assigned group projects and class discussions to learn how to work with others (intellectually or in any other way). In my own experience I have felt a lot of peer-oriented projects I've had in college seemed more like a pooling of ignorance than productive learning. But I've always done fine working with others and usually enjoy the group interaction, even if the time spent doesn't yield much in the way of learning. I think having a healthy level of confidence and a good attitude is all you need to be able to work well with others.

Why do you think a child would learn more about these things in a classroom than as a homeschooler?

Do you feel that you have seen evidence or studies that indicate the average homeschooled child has less respect for people in charge than the average public/private schooled child?

I would like to see some evidence that it is natural for children to rebel against their parents. If it is natural, why are there children/teens who do not rebel against their parents and have a good relationship with them throughout their lives? I think this is a social thing, not a natural thing. Now, it is true that children will at some point (hopefully) seek independence, but that is not the same thing as rebelling (contrary to what popular teen culture would tell you).

Um, huh? How does it prevent the children from learning about different religions?

This view only makes sense if you believe that truth and morals are relative. And you seem to be assuming that parents attempt to prevent their children from being aware of the beliefs of others. This wasn't the case with my parents. And you're right; if children don't know anything about other world views, they may not be prepared for the real world and have their faith shaken.

I'm sorry you feel your parents didn't provide you a good education. But I think if you dig a little deeper you will find that your experience is the exception and not the rule.

Many homeschoolers have more time for social interaction than public/privately schooled children. Were you not involved in any homeschool groups, sports, etc? Do you have siblings?

I think this is partially because much criticism of homeschooling is not online; it's in real life. It's also a result of the fact that since homeschooling is still a minority method of education, it's logical that those who practice it feel they must defend it, because it is not the "normal" method of education. This is a natural outcome whether homeschooling has shown itself to be equal or superior to the alternatives or not.

 

Nice post, ChocolateBunny (oh and great name) but it seems that callowminx is not up or an intelligent debate. Or maybe she realizes she was wrong. Who knows. Why some people want to cause trouble, I will never know. Oh and I like your use of words in "pooling of ignorance", very cute.

 

Hi Chocolate Bunny,

I really liked what you said here...

I think the public school system has greatly contributed to this relatively new teen culture thing and the media (the movies and TV) just exasperates it. What else can we expect when our children are with one adult and 30 peers all day for all of their youth :!: It is not natural if we don't make it inevitable.

Anyway, thanks for the comment, I couldn't agree more.

And Kris and Ava, thank you for the warm welcome!

Ann Ingle

 

Maybe I should try to e mail the person to see if they will respond back to me.
To see what that person was trying to do.

 

You know, we're all in this kid's face over its post. What if callowminx is for real and she was gypped out of a good education by parents who maybe meant well but didn't do what they needed to do? What if they just needed a sitter for younger siblings and callowminx was convenient?

At atoz there was a thread about this- parents using older kids to watch younger siblings so they could work, and claiming to be homeschooling to keep everyone happy. These kinds of parents hand the kid a workbook and not much else. Maybe callowminx is a victim here? Has she been back, even just to read? We've been pretty forward.. I'd stay away, too!

It's something to think about, because you never know..

 

Becky, that's what I like about you! You go against the flow in a good way! When everyone assumes the worse, you assume the best. And there are other times when everyone else is taking a person's side when you say NO WAY!!! and see things in a totally different light. This is the first I've posted here, but I have been reading. I figured nothing we would say would change her mind, so it was a waste of breath (or at least time it took to type, lol!) to respond.

 

I think callowminx is young and upset. I think maybe he/she was taken out of school in highschool and did not want to homeschool and never got over it. We don't really know why this person was taken out of school. I tend to think that everyone that homeschools are Christians, but I know that is not true. There was obviously something missing in this young person's life and schooling. I feel like prayer is the answer. Nothing we could say here will help.

I will say that I homeschooled my boys k-12. The oldest managed to get in just as much trouble as any public schooled kid could manage. He however still thanks me for homeschooling him and asked me to homeschool his son, which I am doing. My youngest is a Senior in college and will graduate cum laude. He, too, thanks me weekly for being homeschooled. They are both well-rounded, have many friends, love life, share their faith (which they worked out, they were not brainwashed), have minds of their own, are very in-tune with current events and politics. They are not perfect, none of us are, but they are making an impact in their sphere of influence. They thank me for not putting them into an atmosphere where only their peers opinions count. They thank me for sheltering them from things that could have ruined their lives. They thank me for allowing them to have their own opinions. They thank me that they are not like the institutionalized students and that they have a much broader worldview.

We need more homeschool graduates to post their opinions about what homeschooling has done for them (Please spell correctly since you will be scrutinized), how they adjusted to college/career, and how it has impacted all facets of their lives. Most parents that are in the process of homeschooling believe that it is the best solution, but are living by faith. The results are in and these successful homeschooled kids need to start speaking out for the world and callowminx to hear.

 

I agree but lets not judge them by there spelling. I know some time your mind thinks faster then her little hands can type. So, I hope more will post and let us know the out come of homeschooling through high school.

I know the homeschool group we belong to has alot of high schoolers and they talk to all the young ones alot. It's great.

 

Kris, you are right, I misspell words all the time and my fingers get tangled, too. I just wanted them to make an effort as many of us don't as we hurry on these boards and on emails. You cannot judge character by spelling.
~Liz

 

Let me clear something up because I'm the one who brought up the spelling. Callowminx was taking up for p.s. education and putting down homeschooling. I was saying p.s. must not have even taken the time to teach her how to spell. It doesn't matter to me how someone spells, and had she come back, I'd have emailed her an apology.

 

Thanks for the encouragement

Homeschool G'ma,

Your comments about your sons were very encouraging. My mom is always saying stuff like, "why don't you just put the kids in school?" and I just smile and say, "nope, not gonna do that". She's not really looking for the 'why', she just wants me to have a 'normal' life so I don't bore her with the details of 'why'. Your post is a good reminder 'why' to me.

Thanks,
Ann Ingle

 

Oh for goodness sakes! Someone DID leave the gate open. Whoever this is/was, he/she obviously has no life and is chicken because they didn't respond and they posted with such ignorance.

If you think about it, callowminx just completely proved all of our points right just by posting this, because none of us go on sites like this and try to stir up trouble for no reason. It goes to show you who the real adults are!!!

 

Kids sometimes pull this stuff at atoz, Jen, and I don't get that, either.

 

I know! Immaturity and stupidity! I've read the ones posted at atoz by teenagers who are angry at their teachers:roll: . Those are classy.

 

By the way...do you guys know the dictionary meaning of the word callow?

Lacking adult maturity or experience; immature

 

That makes it sound like an adult made that post, doesn't it? Maybe my boy RB is playing games again. Nah- that post was too clean!

 

I think callowminx is a troll, and you know what they say 'don't feed the trolls'!