Homeschooling.

[beethoveN]

I would very much so like to hear the various opinions floating around the landscape of ninja robot yeti.

So, please post opinions of homeschooling, opinions of homeschooling vs. public schooling, opinions of other opinions, and all related subjects, whether they be on the matter of teachers, students, content, or any miscellaneous matters.

[T3chno]

I don't have much experience with homeschooling, or any rather, but it seems like it'd be missing the social experience you get from a public school.

Also, at a regional math competition a couple years back, the 4 of the top 5 schools weren't even schools, they were homeschooled kids. I'm just wondering, but do homeschooled kids move at their own pace? Or is it still based on a year round schedule similar to a public school?

[Scrivener]

i think i'd enjoy homeschooling for the ability to move at a much faster pace. plus it's not like i'm that social anyway. however, i do think i've gained a lot of important social skills at school, albeit private school, not the least of which are the ability to make friends and, especially, public speaking.

[Aldaric]

I like it. If your parents are idiots it would be bad because they might teach you incorrectly. Teachers went to college and studied to learn how to teach. Although, it seems like their are some pretty crappy teachers too hahaha.

[otters~1]

I know homeschooling works for several members of this community. However, supporters of the public school system are always trumpeting the social values and skills that being with several hundred other kids your age bring. Maybe they're right, but I'm still pretty sure you get a better education by homeschooling/private tutoring.

[capt_weasle]

I like it. If your parents are idiots it would be bad because they might teach you incorrectly. Teachers went to college and studied to learn how to teach. Although, it seems like their are some pretty crappy teachers too hahaha.

Er, homeschooling doesn't work like that. The programs homeschoolers take are similar to
online classes you take in college. Usually there is a teacher guiding a bunch of students through textbooks or some program via online forums. I believe students can go through lessons at their own pace and are given a lengthy amount of time to do things like homework and projects.

[unoriginal name]

I like it. If your parents are idiots it would be bad because they might teach you incorrectly. Teachers went to college and studied to learn how to teach. Although, it seems like their are some pretty crappy teachers too hahaha.

Er, homeschooling doesn't work like that. The programs homeschoolers take are similar to
online classes you take in college. Usually there is a teacher guiding a bunch of students through textbooks or some program via online forums. I believe students can go through lessons at their own pace and are given a lengthy amount of time to do things like homework and projects.

N... no, no, not always. This topic is in desperate need of someone who is actually homeschooled, cough.

Here's how it works: radically differently from home-to-home. Some kids work basically the same way as in a public school, except, of course, with less company. Others work the way Herr Captain describes. Some are taught from the book of Mormon in dark basements. Others, like myself, work within a very unstructured system, founded on the idea that children will naturally become inteterested in most subjects. This works great for me. It's an environment I've thrived in. I certainly wouldn't be the dashing rablerouser I am today if I had to adapt to public school. Public school works for some children, and so they should certainly be sent there. But, in my experience, homeschooling is a perfectly fine alternative.

[noops]

Dammit, gloomp beat me to it.

I am homeschooled, yes, and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it. It's sort of a mixed bag.

My setup is something like gloomp's, except, and I don't know if he has this, he didn't clarify, we have workbooks. They are something like what you'd get in a public school, although they really do allow you to move at your own pace, and they go into a lot more detail, and have much more depth to them. They actually take the time to fully explain things. As gloomp describes, this rabblerousery? All homeschooling, baby.

Incidentally, I think that I really am rather smarter than most of my friends. Yes, I have friends. But I seem to be on the same intellectual level as some of my college buddies, and even higher than some. And I don't mean the amount of knowledge (although I am pretty good at that too...) but I mean the sort of "common sense" that people talk about. Common sense is not so common, yadda yadda, yeah, that. My friends, they do stupid shit. They get mad for stupid shit. Get confused by stupid shit. And meanwhile I go "O_o" at the sheer amount of stupid shit. I suppose when I say common sense I just mean maturity, which aren't really the same thing, but are close, or something.

I touched on this a little before, but there seems to be a... general myth about the social abilities of homeschooled folks v. public schooled folks. Granted, I am not exactly, ah, a "social butterfly", but I never was, even in the three years I had in the public school system. Mostly quiet. Kept to myself. My sister, on the other hand, was always social; she had ten+ "close" friends at any given time, always talking about them, or to them, etc. etc. And she's still that way. I'm not sure if that's because of the social skills she acquired there, or if she was just born that way, but she's like that. Actually, most people don't even believe my sister and I are homeschooled. The general reaction is "Oh, really? You're homeschooled? Wow, I had no idea!" And I suppose that's all well and good.

But as I said, it's a mixed bag. I am not at the current grade level that most kids my age are at, except for spelling, which I'm probably a few grades higher in, but who cares about that, right? My social skills really aren't as... "Developed" as other peoples'; that is, I am, some people would say, "weird". They say I have a certain way with my walk, or something, I dunno. Consequently, I don't have a girlfriend; I have girl friends, most of my friends are, actually ( o_O ), but no girlfriend. I'm still a virgin (But that's not really all that surprising, regardless of what kind of school I go to). I've never been to a "party" in the traditional sense, red cups and kegs and all that.

So yeah. Mixed bag. Maybe I'm the exception to the general rule, maybe not, but the fact that most people think that homeschooled kids are socially retarded, that they piss their pants whenever a stranger talks to them, I think, is complete bull.

[/rant]

[otters]

I've been homeschooled out the ass. It's scholastically usually very advanced but often has the side effect of religion. The hours are also more flexible.

[Kablizzy]

Went to public schools my entire life, got accepted into the IB program, turned it down, kicked everyone's sorry asses in every subject ever, got stabbed once. Good life experience.

[beethoveN]

In my ongoing homeschooling experience, we do most of our things out of books, but my parents help me with stuff, and a lot of times my mom actually teaches, if not at a classroom, then by me asking her questions, (It helps that she is a certified teacher, my dad has some degree in science, and I can always ask my uncle questions about math, as he is PhD or whatever in it). I kind of go at my own pace, but not really. It certainly allows the freedom to work ahead, but lagging behind was never an option in my home. I wouldn't say that homeschoolers are socially inept, as (at least where I am) there are a few homeschooling groups with events and misc. Also, homeschoolers I meet tend to be at least a little smarter than public schoolers, but I don't really know, as I am not the social type, and don't hang out with them. Also, a common myth with people I talk to seems to be that we do nothing all day except watch television and play videogames. This is not the case in my home, in fact, this is not the case with most homeschoolers I know. The only thing that is like such a thing is a kind of schooling that allows people to move entirely at their own pace, and even then, (I know some people that do this), they tend to not just laze around all day, but instead strive for learning. The way my house works that may make people think we just laze around all day would be that, (and this seems to be common with the homeschoolers that I know), we take vacations when it is not vacation time, if a good opportunity arises, such as a good trip to washington d.c. and stuff like that, where we would technically still be learning. However, although we might do that, we do not take breaks when public schools take breaks, so it evens it out.

So there, my homeschooling experience. I don't know if it's common, or peculiar to us.

[capt_weasle]

I like it. If your parents are idiots it would be bad because they might teach you incorrectly. Teachers went to college and studied to learn how to teach. Although, it seems like their are some pretty crappy teachers too hahaha.

Er, homeschooling doesn't work like that. The programs homeschoolers take are similar to
online classes you take in college. Usually there is a teacher guiding a bunch of students through textbooks or some program via online forums. I believe students can go through lessons at their own pace and are given a lengthy amount of time to do things like homework and projects.

N... no, no, not always. This topic is in desperate need of someone who is actually homeschooled, cough.

Here's how it works: radically differently from home-to-home. Some kids work basically the same way as in a public school, except, of course, with less company. Others work the way Herr Captain describes. Some are taught from the book of Mormon in dark basements. Others, like myself, work within a very unstructured system, founded on the idea that children will naturally become inteterested in most subjects. This works great for me. It's an environment I've thrived in. I certainly wouldn't be the dashing rablerouser I am today if I had to adapt to public school. Public school works for some children, and so they should certainly be sent there. But, in my experience, homeschooling is a perfectly fine alternative.

I forgot to mention that my view of homeschooling was taken from only one case, which would be based on one of my friends experiences with homeschooling.

[unoriginal name]

I forgot to mention that my view of homeschooling was taken from only one case, which would be based on one of my friends experiences with homeschooling.

Fair enough.

[Rose]

For the last year and a half of high school, I did online school, and it was the best period of my life. I don't know whether you count that as homeschooled, though.

but it seems like it'd be missing the social experience you get from a public school.

Some of us want to miss that.

but often has the side effect of religion

Not only is that wrong, it's insulting to those of us that do have a religion. Fuck you.

[otters~1]

Fuck you.

Says the Christian.

[lord_day]

I think he was implying that the religious side effect is one that is more imposed than one that is freely chosen. I don't think anyone here would disagree that imposed religion is bad.

[Rose]

I think he was implying that the religious side effect is one that is more imposed than one that is freely chosen. I don't think anyone here would disagree that imposed religion is bad.

Oh sure, imposed religion is bad, but in my experience that doesn't happen with homeschooling; that's why I began my statement with "not only is it wrong...". That online high school I went to was secular, so you have choices just like traditional school.

But for him to use a phrase like "side effect" is just stupid :/

[noops]

Uh. He's actually somewhat right, Maxson. Check yooself before you wreck yooself.

Ever heard of ACE? Stands for "Accelerated Christian Education". They have such gems as:

Q: What is the only book of complete truth?

A: The Bible

Q: By what standard should we set our lives?

A: The Bible

And there was a passage in there about how "if a certain book or piece of literature disagrees with Scripture, we, as believers, should reject it." And I'm not even joking.


I think he meant "side-effect" to emphasise the point that, as flag said, it is imposed. The child/ren have not chosen this religion. Their very learning experience is chok-full of it, the way they learn is heavily influenced by it. Hence the "side-effect" bit; when you take a medicine, it has side-effects, things that are imposed upon you, things that are out of your grasp. Now, that's not to say that the religious indoctrination is completely out of your grasp; I'm definitely not a hardcore Christian, but I'm very sure that the only reason I'm not a hardcore Christian is because I've been exposed to things like the internet. And Tsukatu.

[Rose]

So because of ACE, all homeschooling forces religion on kids? By that logic, all traditional schools also force religion upon kids due to the Christian schools I went to for ten years. I won't argue that ACE (if it is indeed like you described) is horrible, but homeschooling in general cannot be judged because of one program.

[otters]

Not only is that wrong, it's insulting to those of us that do have a religion. Fuck you.

I don't really care. And "side effect" doesn't even have a universally negative connotation. Jesus Christ.

So because of ACE, all homeschooling forces religion on kids? By that logic, all traditional schools also force religion upon kids due to the Christian schools I went to for ten years. I won't argue that ACE (if it is indeed like you described) is horrible, but homeschooling in general cannot be judged because of one program.

Often. Often. Not always. Not usually. Not "every time a child is homeschooled they get brainwashed." I said often because every single homeschooled person I know, except for--as of maybe two months ago--me, is religious.

[t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư]

Ever heard of ACE? Stands for "Accelerated Christian Education". They have such gems as:

Q: What is the only book of complete truth?

A: The Bible

Q: By what standard should we set our lives?

A: The Bible

If I were ever for some inexplicable reason forced to teach a theology class, I would be very tempted to make the course text be this.

[Tanner]

Attending Catholic school from grade 6 to 8 is one of the main things to which I attribute my no longer being a Christian. Just sayin'...

[Rose]

I said often because every single homeschooled person I know, except for--as of maybe two months ago--me, is religious.

Do you think the fact that over 3/4 of the world is religious might have something to do with that?

[otters]

I said often because every single homeschooled person I know, except for--as of maybe two months ago--me, is religious.

Do you think the fact that over 3/4 of the world is religious might have something to do with that?

Actually, that's what surprises me, because homeschooling isn't really that common.

[otters~1]

If I were ever for some inexplicable reason forced to teach a theology class, I would be very tempted to make the course text be this.

I would attend.

Tanner: I have heard that from so, so many people.

... as flag said, it is imposed.

I believe lord_day said that.