Home school vs public school?

impyimpyaj

I think it's clear from my previous posts in this thread that I support homeschooling. I also support public schooling, and private schooling. I'm pro-child. I've come to this conclusion through my own studies as I work toward my teaching certification in Language Arts, as well as my own experiences and those of people I know. Homeschooling isn't for everyone. But neither is public school. Most homeschoolers I know give their children a well-rounded education, in some cases exploring more topics than can ever be covered in public school. Some don't. Some public schools are AWESOME about looking out for the individual needs of the students. Some aren't.

The bottom line is that kids can get a fantastic education either at home or in formal schooling. What's important is the child. What does the child need? Where can the child thrive and learn best? What resources and support are available to the family? I don't see a problem with pulling a child out of school if she has severe social anxiety. Those anxieties CAN be overcome in a homeschooling environment, sometimes more easily than in a public school one. Sometimes it doesn't work. But if homeschooling doesn't work out, the child can always go back to public school, just as a student who's struggling in public school can always make the switch to homeschooling. It's not a "vs." thing. There's no fight to the finish. The ONLY important thing is the child. Making sure that child gets a good education in the safest environment possible.

impyimpyaj

I'd also worry that the parents would let their bias color their education.

Teachers can do that too though, and frequently do, sometimes inadvertently, and sometimes quite intentionally. Schools are run by humans, with real human failings. Public school is not perfect. Neither is homeschooling.

susannamarie

My gut instinct is to worry they wouldn't be socialized enough, however each kid is different.... However I've had several friends in college who went from homeschooled to a large state university (like the size of Notre Dame, Purdue, etc) and did not adjust well at all.

I'd also worry that the parents would let their bias color their education.

I always wonder why, if a homeschooled child doesn't adjust at university, we say 'Aha! It is because they were homeschooled!', whereas if a public schooled child doesn't adjust at university, we blame something else.

I've known plenty of students from all backgrounds who didn't adjust well at university.

Note -- this isn't saying that you can't mess up homeschooling. You can. But statistically, a fair percentage of *all* students don't adjust well.

susannamarie

I think it's clear from my previous posts in this thread that I support homeschooling. I also support public schooling, and private schooling. I'm pro-child. I've come to this conclusion through my own studies as I work toward my teaching certification in Language Arts, as well as my own experiences and those of people I know. Homeschooling isn't for everyone. But neither is public school. Most homeschoolers I know give their children a well-rounded education, in some cases exploring more topics than can ever be covered in public school. Some don't. Some public schools are AWESOME about looking out for the individual needs of the students. Some aren't.

The bottom line is that kids can get a fantastic education either at home or in formal schooling. What's important is the child. What does the child need? Where can the child thrive and learn best? What resources and support are available to the family? I don't see a problem with pulling a child out of school if she has severe social anxiety. Those anxieties CAN be overcome in a homeschooling environment, sometimes more easily than in a public school one. Sometimes it doesn't work. But if homeschooling doesn't work out, the child can always go back to public school, just as a student who's struggling in public school can always make the switch to homeschooling. It's not a "vs." thing. There's no fight to the finish. The ONLY important thing is the child. Making sure that child gets a good education in the safest environment possible.

Thanks for writing the post I was going to write so that all I have to do is say that I agree 100%

CrazyTrackLady

So I know I said I was out, but I want to put in my opinion on the religion thing:

I'm Christian. If I homeschooled, we'd have Christian education. But we would also be learning about the other major world religions: Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, etc. We are European-American, but we would also be learning about the histories of other cultural groups in our country, and around the world. I understand that in our society, white Christians are the majority. But there are countless other cultures that our children will encounter in their lives. No, we can't cover them all. But if we cover as many as possible, they will be more open-minded and accepting of differences. It's important to give kids a multicultural education, whether in public school, private school, or homeschool.

Even though we used a primarily Christian curriculum (Bob Jones anyone.... and let me remind, this was before there were many decent choices at least for those of us living overseas (in the early 90s)) as we are a Christian family... we too also learned about other religions. We have always had (for as long as I can remember) a Book of Mormon, a Quran, the Apocrypha and other books and writings on other religions in our house as well. I myself was always interested in the pantheism of the Greek and Roman persuasion....

That is terrific too! I like to hear stories like this, because it puts me at ease knowing that there are people out there who can look beyond their Christian-centric beliefs and remain open and accepting of differences of something that is solely based on a series of beliefs.

jcstanton

My mom is thinking about homeschooling my eight year old sister. My sister is smart and nice, but she is socially awkward and has really bad anxiety (has meds for it) and this causes her to not want to go to school. My parents are considering homeschool, but I am unsure that it is a good idea. Does anybody have any opinions or experience with this? Thank you!

Academically speaking, when it is done properly, homeschooling can actually be better than a public school environment. There are less distractions for the child and they get more one on one time with their teacher/parent. I have several friends who homeschool, and I was homeschooled for much of my life, as well. Personally, I would pit my education against the average public school student's any day. Socially speaking, unless you are a part of a homeschooler's association, it can be more difficult for your child to develop social skills. However, since your sister has social anxiety issues, homeschooling might actually be more beneficial as long as your mom is part of a homeschool group/club. These groups get together regularly for field trips and other activities to provide social interaction for the kids. In this way, she would still get some social interaction, but it might not be as overwhelming for her, since she would be with a smaller group of children and it wouldn't be every day.

themommie

I homeschooled my children for 10 yrs then because of health issues I had to put the younger ones in public school. I really think it depends on the child also if you homeschool you have to be willing to put the work into it and do projects with your kids and do alot of hands on , discussions and field trips. We belonged to a homeschool group where we went on field trips together at least 2xs a month , we also had activity days where we would get together for sports, art, music, science projects, public speaking, etc. My kids also had their church activities, youth group and gymnastics classes. All of my older children went on to college and are doing really well. Infact 2 of my daughters went to college while still in high school and got double credit for it. So for us homeschooling worked.

krista896

To the original poster: It seems that the quality of education is not reasoning behind the the possible homeschooling decision, but your sisters social problems. I am not a proffesional nor a parent, but i can share my personal experiances. I was a very shy child, and dreaded going to any social function, and hated any group projects in school. But my parents continued to encourage me to get involved in school activites until i found a group of people I related too and was comfortable around to alow me to come out of my shell. By the time I entered middle school, I had lots of friends and no longer feared school or any other social functions. I feel for your sister but fear that maybe removing her from school will only be prolong a problem that could seriously affect her later in life. I also knew one man in college who was home-schooled and very socially awkward, he never developed the skills and knowlege needed to make friends and function in our classes. Good luck with everything.

please excuse all spelling errors, i know there are many.

CrazyTrackLady

I do not feel that Christian home schoolers should have to study the Quran, nor should Muslim home schoolers have to study the Bible. Since Christianity is the basis for Western Civiliztion, and the Bible is referenced in much of Western Literature, I think the study of both would be appropriate in public schools. Being a classics lover, I would also include study of the pre Christian classical world, particularly Greece and Rome. When I went to High School, fortunately, Classical Latin was required for the top academic track. I think understanding our civilization requires study of the most important books in our civilization including the Bible (but not the Quran - different civilization.) I certainly have no objection to the study of any religious text as a secular subject, but I would prefer the Bible since it is so basic to our culture.

I agree with this wholeheartedly.

Many of our words, morals, laws, etc... are founded off of the Christian faith. That's just how it works when you live in the Western world. It doesn't hurt to learn a little bit about what Christianity believes, even if you're not teaching children it's necessarily true.

It would also be nice to teach kids a little about the First Nations people and their faith systems as well though.

It also doesn't hurt to teach children about OTHER faiths, because it leads to acceptance, tolerance, and the willingness to remain open minded instead of coming across as judgmental and exclusionary. Not to mention sanctimonious and self-righteous.

Doesn't hurt but there's only so much time and room in a classroom and I should think the religions prevalent in our society would be the ones that should take pride of place in the educational process.

That's pretty much how North Korea educates their children - they only learn about their own culture, and to heck with the rest of the world. And we all know how well North Korea has accepted and gets along with the rest of the Western world.

Except there is a difference between us and North Korea... we are multicultural, with many sociatal influences... we also provide (whether directly or indirectly) access to information that is outside of our culture and society... Whereas, North Korea is not and does not.

There is an analogy in there that says: "If a person focuses solely on one specific idealogy to the exclusion of everything else, then that is indoctrination, not education." If a person only teaches Christianity (or Judaism or Buddhism or Communism, etc) to the exclusion of all other religions, then that is indoctrination, not education. It sets the person who is being taught up to learn that "all else does not matter, because this is all you need to know". It fascinates me how people can claim to be Christian, yet not be willing to accept others' points of view. Technically, that's in direct opposition to Christ's teachings about loving others as He has loved you.

impyimpyaj

To the original poster: It seems that the quality of education is not reasoning behind the the possible homeschooling decision, but your sisters social problems. I am not a proffesional nor a parent, but i can share my personal experiances. I was a very shy child, and dreaded going to any social function, and hated any group projects in school. But my parents continued to encourage me to get involved in school activites until i found a group of people I related too and was comfortable around to alow me to come out of my shell. By the time I entered middle school, I had lots of friends and no longer feared school or any other social functions. I feel for your sister but fear that maybe removing her from school will only be prolong a problem that could seriously affect her later in life. I also knew one man in college who was home-schooled and very socially awkward, he never developed the skills and knowlege needed to make friends and function in our classes. Good luck with everything.

please excuse all spelling errors, i know there are many.

And there are just as many kids, like me, who were made to stay in school with social anxiety, and never outgrew. I'm glad it turned out well for you, and it turns out well for other kids too, but not always.

themommie

I think it's clear from my previous posts in this thread that I support homeschooling. I also support public schooling, and private schooling. I'm pro-child. I've come to this conclusion through my own studies as I work toward my teaching certification in Language Arts, as well as my own experiences and those of people I know. Homeschooling isn't for everyone. But neither is public school. Most homeschoolers I know give their children a well-rounded education, in some cases exploring more topics than can ever be covered in public school. Some don't. Some public schools are AWESOME about looking out for the individual needs of the students. Some aren't.

The bottom line is that kids can get a fantastic education either at home or in formal schooling. What's important is the child. What does the child need? Where can the child thrive and learn best? What resources and support are available to the family? I don't see a problem with pulling a child out of school if she has severe social anxiety. Those anxieties CAN be overcome in a homeschooling environment, sometimes more easily than in a public school one. Sometimes it doesn't work. But if homeschooling doesn't work out, the child can always go back to public school, just as a student who's struggling in public school can always make the switch to homeschooling. It's not a "vs." thing. There's no fight to the finish. The ONLY important thing is the child. Making sure that child gets a good education in the safest environment possible.

Thanks for writing the post I was going to write so that all I have to do is say that I agree 100%

From someone that has done both with my children homeschool and public school I agree. I think parental involvement plays a big role in it either way. What works best for one child might not work for another child we are all different

k8blujay2

So I know I said I was out, but I want to put in my opinion on the religion thing:

I'm Christian. If I homeschooled, we'd have Christian education. But we would also be learning about the other major world religions: Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, etc. We are European-American, but we would also be learning about the histories of other cultural groups in our country, and around the world. I understand that in our society, white Christians are the majority. But there are countless other cultures that our children will encounter in their lives. No, we can't cover them all. But if we cover as many as possible, they will be more open-minded and accepting of differences. It's important to give kids a multicultural education, whether in public school, private school, or homeschool.

Even though we used a primarily Christian curriculum (Bob Jones anyone.... and let me remind, this was before there were many decent choices at least for those of us living overseas (in the early 90s)) as we are a Christian family... we too also learned about other religions. We have always had (for as long as I can remember) a Book of Mormon, a Quran, the Apocrypha and other books and writings on other religions in our house as well. I myself was always interested in the pantheism of the Greek and Roman persuasion....

That is terrific too! I like to hear stories like this, because it puts me at ease knowing that there are people out there who can look beyond their Christian-centric beliefs and remain open and accepting of differences of something that is solely based on a series of beliefs.

More like tolerate... I don't accept anothers belief system... however I educate myself on it and I tolerate... tolerating and accepting are mutually exclusive concepts. Unless, that is, by accept you mean acknowledge that the belief system exists.

(sorry, I tend to go on rants about tolerance and acceptance because they always are painted as interchangable terms, when they are not)

CrazyTrackLady

Acceptance to me means: "You're Jewish and I'm fine with that, now tell me about your religion so I can understand it better." Not, "I accept you are Jewish and I want to be like you. Where do I sign up?"

k8blujay2

Acceptance to me means: "You're Jewish and I'm fine with that, now tell me about your religion so I can understand it better." Not, "I accept you are Jewish and I want to be like you. Where do I sign up?"

That sounds more like tolerance... and wanting to understand.

Monda

I have homeschooled my 3 kids for the past 6 years. My oldest went to public school until 6th grade and my youngest until 3rd grade. The choice to pull them out was the best decision I ever made. This topic brings out different opinions from different people. I don't think it is fair to just assume that kids will not have healthy social skills just because they are homeschooled. I did not need my 1 year old to be around another 1 year old in order to teach him and to encourage him to walk. I did not need him to be around other children his age to teach him how to love, respect, cherish, believe in himself, go after his dreams, love God and so many other things. In fact, it was taking him away from that environment, that allowed me to do just that. I could care less is my child scores an 800 on some standardized testing, just to feel accomplished in this world. Loving others, respecting others and living life to the fullest is much more rewarding for a child. My son graduates next year and people are always commenting on what a beautiful person he is. I did that ... not a public school. God blessed me to be his mother and his teacher. And I did not need a college education to doh either. So if homeschooling is something to consider, I welcome it always. I think it depends on what each parent feels their child needs. It should always be the parents choice.

impyimpyaj

That is terrific too! I like to hear stories like this, because it puts me at ease knowing that there are people out there who can look beyond their Christian-centric beliefs and remain open and accepting of differences of something that is solely based on a series of beliefs.

Um, of course there are. Christians are people too. Not all Christians are alike, just like not all Muslims or Jews or women or Asians or construction workers are alike. Some people are ethno-centric, and those people are found across all religions and cultures. And some people aren't, and THOSE people are also found across all religions and cultures. And there are closed-minded teachers who are mean to their students with differences, and there are open-minded pastors who accept people of other faiths at their table. I kind of don't understand why we talk so much about shunning stereotypes, but we still stereotype Christians. We're all just people, and we all do things a little bit differently. Which is WHY I believe in a multicultural education for all students. To break down those stereotypes and show people for their individual beauty, without making assumptions.

stormieweather

I was home schooled until high school, then private boarding school until I went overseas. I skipped grades and had a 4.0 all through college.

My children are in public schools. I am less than enthusiastic about their education, particularly my 1st grader. She is extremely bright and advanced, yet her teacher is trying to force her into the slow, plodding, dreary work being done in the classroom, day after day. After repeated conferences with her teacher to try to figure out how to keep from destroying my daughter's enthusiasm and fascination with learning, I have given up on this teacher and am proceeding with a separate educational plan outside of school. Like I actually have time for this with two jobs, two other children, a spouse, and 6 days per week workout schedule!! And yet, how can I not do as much as I can to keep her interested in learning? She was doing 2nd grade work before she even started 1st grade, and we are now on to her multiplication tables and fractions. The same thing happened to my son, but I wasn't wise enough or prepared enough to deal with it, so he dropped out of school from boredom in 9th grade. He is now going back to college to be an architect, thankfully.

Also, I don't think that most public high schools do a damn thing to help kid's social skills. They certainly teach a lot about bullying, cliches, gangs, alcohol/drugs, snobbishness, and peer pressure. If I had another doable option, my teenage daughter would not be in one. This experience is not making her a better person. I'm sure there are good schools out there, just not zoned for my area.

Beyond my personal experience-it's up to each family to decide what is best for their children.

Marla64

I have really enjoyed reading everyone's posts.

Great discussion, ladies and gentlemen.

for me, the bottom line is parental rights. It was an uphill battle in many states for the "legal right" for a parent to home school their child. By the time I started in '94 with my oldest child, it wasn't necessarily mainstream, but the battle for legality in New Jersey had already been fought, and it was smooth sailing.

Personally, I'm never a fan of the government telling a parent how to parent a child in any way, shape or form. Whether it be education, seat belts, bike helmets, immunizations-- back the heck off, government.

If I don't want to put my kid in a car seat, what's it to you?

If I'm comfortable with my 4 year old learning to ride his bike without a helmet, what's it to you?

If I don't want to inoculate my children against measles, why do you care?

And if I want to home school my kids, what's it to you what they learn??

Seat belts and helmets are now law-- punishable by fine. How is that constitutional? How did our nation of parents fall asleep at the wheel and let big brother in and start telling them how to do their job??

Make no mistake-- my kids wear seat belts... My 4 year old IS wearing a helmet to learn to ride his twp-wheeler, and I DO immunize my children..... I do these things because I WANT TO. I do them because I feel it's in their best interest. However, it is not the state or federal government's place to tell me how, when, why, where, what to do with my kids, ever. Period.

okay-- my rant now over.

VegesaurusRex

Doesn't hurt but there's only so much time and room in a classroom and I should think the religions prevalent in our society would be the ones that should take pride of place in the educational process.
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That's pretty much how North Korea educates their children - they only learn about their own culture, and to heck with the rest of the world. And we all know how well North Korea has accepted and gets along with the rest of the Western world.
[/quote]

I guess you are not a history teacher. That is how they've done it in this country for most of its history, and in every other European country. American exceptionalism has been the rule for over 200 years. And if you think that the British, say, were any different, you should read Rudyard Kipling. I personally think it is a far better idea to understand your own culture before you try to understand someone elses. In fact, I will say you have to understand your own before you can understand another.

penrbrown

I do not feel that Christian home schoolers should have to study the Quran, nor should Muslim home schoolers have to study the Bible. Since Christianity is the basis for Western Civiliztion, and the Bible is referenced in much of Western Literature, I think the study of both would be appropriate in public schools. Being a classics lover, I would also include study of the pre Christian classical world, particularly Greece and Rome. When I went to High School, fortunately, Classical Latin was required for the top academic track. I think understanding our civilization requires study of the most important books in our civilization including the Bible (but not the Quran - different civilization.) I certainly have no objection to the study of any religious text as a secular subject, but I would prefer the Bible since it is so basic to our culture.

I agree with this wholeheartedly.

Many of our words, morals, laws, etc... are founded off of the Christian faith. That's just how it works when you live in the Western world. It doesn't hurt to learn a little bit about what Christianity believes, even if you're not teaching children it's necessarily true.

It would also be nice to teach kids a little about the First Nations people and their faith systems as well though.

It also doesn't hurt to teach children about OTHER faiths, because it leads to acceptance, tolerance, and the willingness to remain open minded instead of coming across as judgmental and exclusionary. Not to mention sanctimonious and self-righteous.

Doesn't hurt but there's only so much time and room in a classroom and I should think the religions prevalent in our society would be the ones that should take pride of place in the educational process.

That's pretty much how North Korea educates their children - they only learn about their own culture, and to heck with the rest of the world. And we all know how well North Korea has accepted and gets along with the rest of the Western world.

Except there is a difference between us and North Korea... we are multicultural, with many sociatal influences... we also provide (whether directly or indirectly) access to information that is outside of our culture and society... Whereas, North Korea is not and does not.

There is an analogy in there that says: "If a person focuses solely on one specific idealogy to the exclusion of everything else, then that is indoctrination, not education." If a person only teaches Christianity (or Judaism or Buddhism or Communism, etc) to the exclusion of all other religions, then that is indoctrination, not education. It sets the person who is being taught up to learn that "all else does not matter, because this is all you need to know". It fascinates me how people can claim to be Christian, yet not be willing to accept others' points of view. Technically, that's in direct opposition to Christ's teachings about loving others as He has loved you.

I'm fairly certain no one has said that teaching children about other religions (when in context) should be excluded so this is a moot point anyway. What was stated is that the stress should be on the religion that is dominant in that culture (whichever culture you happen to be a part of).

Putting a stress on one thing does not mean excluding all other things.