Homeschoolers Growing Nationwide

[John Titor]

Homeschooling Ranks Growing Nationwide

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Stanford University, and Duke recruit homeschooled.

 

[jedi]

Intresting read.
What I found was the social aspect that those kids (homeschoolers) are more social then the traditional school kids.

 

[in625shooter]

If I had kids that were still school age I would homeschool them now as well. I didn't read the whole article but other than the lack of parental guidance on other kids (yours become exposed to that on their first yellow bus ride) which causes distractions. Also in my county the school board/teachers have become a "Family Business" more than an educational system. They have refused to go to a 7 period day (too much more work they have quoted) than almost every other school corporation yet the amount of credits required has been increased and they wonder why there is a 25% non graduation rate. That and other political issues that take over a lot of small to medium communities.

Glad both my kids are graduated.

 

[HoughMade]

All 4 of my kids are home-schooled and always have been. We have them take standardized testing, and all do very well. My oldest just completed his ECAs for Algebra and Biology and got "Pass+" for both.

The "socialization" thing is now a joke in home-school circles. Whenever someone expresses an objection to home-schooling based on "but they won't be socialized", it's clear they don't know any home-schoolers or only know what they see on TV. The interesting thing is that many home-schoolers can walk up to an adult and carry on an intelligent conversation. Being socialized to only your own narrow age range is not very useful socialization. Home-schoolers are socialized differently, but it's not as if they're locked up somewhere all day. When my son was 13, he made up business cards and fliers for when it snowed and made a bundle clearing driveways. He then did the same for lawn mowing. He went door to door personally handing out his fliers and cards and went to local businesses to ask if he could post fliers.......yeah, he's not socialized.

Many home-schoolers (I can't speak for all) are very interested in preparing their kids to be adults. In many public (and private) schools, the emphasis seems to be more on indulging the narcissism of youth. Kids do not need to be indulged in their educational experience. They need to be educated and prepared for life.

People also frequently accuse home-schoolers of not valuing education. Again, laughable. I would wager i have more education that the average person, probably in the 90th percentile or above. The idea that I do not value it.....what I value is education, not warehousing and not subcontracting my children's future to the best the government can provide. College is not for all, but some kind of post secondary training to a specialty or specific skill is. I believe that parents are in the best position to know their own kids (or at least, should be) and to help guide them towards where they should head after high school.

That being said, home-schooling is not for everyone. I have no problem with people choosing a different path ( I attended both public and private schools, and was never home-schooled). After all, their kids are their concern. The most important thing is to be involved with your kids and not just leaving it to someone else to make sure they are educated.

 

[in625shooter]

If you really want to see the demise of our public educational system next time you are out and a young person is working the register pay them in cash. The simple task of counting money/change has been lost due to the educational system lacking and is sad that people are walking around and can not do that!

 

[mShu7]

Thanks for posting the article. We have two boys (a third on the way) and we plan to start home-schooling when our oldest turns 4 in a couple months.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Intresting read.
What I found was the social aspect that those kids (homeschoolers) are more social then the traditional school kids.

No surprise here. I have known several parents who homeschool (as I would be inclined to do if I had children), and the primary difference is that they pick and choose the people, activities, and settings for their children's socialization rather than throwing them in a cesspit with random individuals. Of course the .gov-educated sheep don't believe that it is possible to have a social life without a .gov school facilitating it. I would emphasize that these children tend to be involved in activities that build character, responsibility, and life experience rather than being pulled down to the lowest common denominator academically and socially.

 

[HoughMade]

....I would emphasize that these children tend to be involved in activities that build character, responsibility, and life experience rather than being pulled down to the lowest common denominator academically and socially.

That's another way of putting it. Very few of our 4H meetings end in binge drinking and vandalism.

 

[88GT]

Thanks for posting the article. We have two boys (a third on the way) and we plan to start home-schooling when our oldest turns 4 in a couple months.

You're homeschooling now!

Regarding the socialization: when someone asks me if I'm concerned about my children's socialization, I usually answer with this: "Yes, I am. Which is why I'm not limiting their experience with other people to 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, with the same peer group. My kids actually interact with people of all ages and personalities." When my then-six-year-old attended his first birthday party as a guest, the first thing he did when he got there was stick out his hand to the other kids, shake their hands, and introduce himself...to each and every one. Don't tell me my children aren't prepared socially.

I think we'll see this trend continue as more and more people realize that the results of government schools is abysmal by any standard. Politics of the Common Core aside, the standard is created, not for an excellence in education that competes in breadth and depth with the great minds of history, but for the punch-the-clock, employee-of-the-month knowledge base: basic reading skills and obedience to superiors. If our Founding Fathers had been educated in a public school, we would still be bowing to the monarch in Britain.

 

[mShu7]

You're homeschooling now!

True!

 

[Liberty1911]

Intresting read.
What I found was the social aspect that those kids (homeschoolers) are more social then the traditional school kids.

That's because you've bought into the statist narrative that kids can't be properly "socialized" unless they receive a government sponsored indoctrination.

 

[Papper2]

wife just finished 25 years in the home schooling system--she wouldnt have taught anywhere else--anyone need christian based school books for home schooling ?? LOLOLOLOO

 

[j706]

We (my wife) home schooled our four until they were going into 7th grade. We were members of some homeschooling organization complete with field trips ect. All of our four entered 7th grade well ahead of their peers. It was exspensive but well worth the money and hassle. There is way to much stupid stuff in schools these days.

 

[Trigger Time]

When you look at public schools and what their true focus is on its no mystery why America is failing.
When fundraising and sports are more important than life training hmmm let's see.

 

[88GT]

What troubles me is that so many people who want to homeschool think they can't (not logistics, but ability). Or they limit themselves by keeping the paradigm of the brick and mortar government school as the model for their homeschool. We get a lot of requests for information and one of the common questions is "How much do the books cost?" As a society we have lost the ability to see what education really is.

 

[Trigger Time]

What troubles me is that so many people who want to homeschool think they can't (not logistics, but ability). Or they limit themselves by keeping the paradigm of the brick and mortar government school as the model for their homeschool. We get a lot of requests for information and one of the common questions is "How much do the books cost?" As a society we have lost the ability to see what education really is.

I'd say I sadly fall into this category. So what can I do to fix it and do something about starting my child in homeschooling? It truly kills me to send them to public school.

 

[IndyDave1776]

That's because you've bought into the statist narrative that kids can't be properly "socialized" unless they receive a government sponsored indoctrination.

Exactly right about the statist narrative. They operate on the principle that being 'socialized' means being turned into little socialists.

 

[88GT]

I'd say I sadly fall into this category. So what can I do to fix it and do something about starting my child in homeschooling? It truly kills me to send them to public school.

Start by changing your idea of education: learning doesn't have to look like "school". The following are good starting points. Of course, you could also just type in "homeschool" in amazon and take your pick.

The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child: Your Complete Guide to Getting Off to the Right Start: Linda Dobson: 9780761527886: Amazon.com: Books

Getting Started on Home Learning: How and Why to Teach Your Kids at Home: Rebecca Rupp: 9780609803431: Amazon.com: Books

The Homeschooling Handbook, 2nd Edition: Mary Griffith: 9780761517276: Amazon.com: Books

So You're Thinking About Homeschooling: Second Edition: Fifteen Families Show How You Can Do It (Focus on the Family): Lisa Whelchel: 9781590525111: Amazon.com: Books

Additionally, I recommend these books personally:
The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Edition): Susan Wise Bauer, Jessie Wise: 9780393067088: Amazon.com: Books


Amazon.com: 101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum (9780929320151): Cathy Duffy: Books
If you only get one book, this one is worth buying. You can get the others or their equivalent at the library. The reviews are good, but the real value in this book comes in the succinct and simplified manner in which she outlines the big picture of home education and the main philosophies/approaches. She also has a section on identifying the kind of learner your child is (auditory, visual, kinesthetic, etc) as well as the kind of teacher you are. And then she delivers the home run with a couple of self "tests" that you can use to figure out what path you should take in your home school. It's nice to know about all the philosophies, but there's no reason to spin your wheels on a Latin/Classical approach if you're more of an unschooling family. (I highly recommend brushing up on the history of education as we inherited from the Greeks and Romans, the Trivium and Quadrivium, the grammar/dialectic/rhetoric stages of learning. In homeschooling circles it's called the classical education. Beware of what I call the neo-classical model though. There is a movement among Christians to "highjack" the phrase "classical education" in order to distance it from the pagan roots, so beware. Not that it isn't good stuff, but they tend to revise history and attribute the methodology to God/early Hebrews. History says otherwise. I use the term "neoclassical" to distinguish the more modern Christian spin from the original Greek/Roman model but nobody else does, so if you do a search for classical education, you'll get a lot of both versions. If you want more info or recommendations here, let me know.)

But more than anything else, realize that you don't have to know everything. Not even close. I've heard the "My kids are learning X. I couldn't teach them that." Well, yeah, you could. But even if you chose not to, there are scores and scores of ways to make sure your student(s) learn it. You just have to love your children and want to provide them with the best opportunities to learn, to love to learn, and to want to continue to learn. That's the big difference between government schools and home schools. Government schools squash the desire all children have to learn. And the flexibility of homeschooling means you get to pick whatever works for your children. Even to switch something if it's not working.

Okay, I think that's enough. PM me if you have any other questions or concerns. Always happy to help in this arena.

 

[ziggy]

What skeptics call 'socialization' is really a process by which children become peer influenced, peer-dependent, and peer-approval seeking. We finished home schooling our three nearly 15 years ago. And we are truly blessed by how they maturing as young adults.

 

[IndyDave1776]

What skeptics call 'socialization' is really a process by which children become peer influenced, peer-dependent, and peer-approval seeking. We finished home schooling our three nearly 15 years ago. And we are truly blessed by how they maturing as young adults.

Precisely. Destroying individual initiative is a critical element in the process of converting rational humans into sheep.