8 Questions to Never Ask a Homeschooling Parent

Started by Solar, July 12, 2015, 01:24:30 PM

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Solar

This really is a fun, funny short read, a must for all homeschoolers.

When I decided to homeschool my daughter Adi, I knew it would be challenging. What I didn't know was that the biggest challenge would be dealing with people who have problems with homeschooling. Once it gets out that Adi doesn't go to school (it doesn't take long) we are barraged with tons of condescending questions from strangers who really don't have any business meddling in the educational choices my family makes. It's really exhausting answering these questions ALL THE TIME. Do you know a homeschooling family?

Here are some questions to never ask them:

8. So, is this some kind of weird religious thing?

That's the first question I get from people. Every time. Like overcrowded schools, low standards, lack of art and music, and lunches made of mystery meat aren't good enough reasons to consider school alternatives. Is religion part of our lives? Yes. Did we learn about different animals using a Noah's Ark play set? Also yes. Is that any of your business? No.



7. But what about socialization?

Ah yes. Socialization. From what I understand, it's stuffing a bunch of kids who are the exact same age in a small room together and making them sit still all day for months on end preparing for a standardized test. All my homeschooler does to socialize is play with other homeschoolers in the park, and take various classes around the city with children of a variety of ages and backgrounds. We also have Girl Scouts and a Sunday school class involving that weird religious thing everyone keeps talking about. Yes, there are chunks of the day where it's just the two of us going over an academic subject, but there's so much more to homeschooling than that. So, to answer your question, no. We aren't engaging in forced socialization. Socialization is for dogs.



6. How will your child learn to deal with other people?

We live in a city. We shop in stores. We take public transportation. There are people all around us and they are all dealt with. Honestly, my kid is better at interacting with adults and other kids than her traditionally schooled peers. This is probably due to the fact that she deals with people all day instead of sitting at a desk staring at the clock waiting for school to let out.



5. But does your child know this? How about this?

If there's anything anti-homeschooling people love doing, it's quizzing my daughter on random facts and figures that their kids have to memorize in school. On what date was the first shot in the Civil War fired? Who was the 11th president of the United States? What's the capital of South Dakota? How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?

First of all, understanding why the Civil War happened is way more important than learning exact dates, James K. Polk was a mediocre president at best, we'll learn about Pierre, South Dakota, by actually visiting there, and the amount of licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop will be figured out later today during our math lesson.

Secondly, Adi isn't a computer or that weird guy from Jeopardy who won 4578978923 times in a row. Kids don't like it when adults assault them with random questions. They don't like the stress of being judged harshly for not knowing something perfectly. If I wanted my kid to experience that, I would put her in a public school with high-stakes testing and a fistful of Ritalin. As someone who grew up going to schools like that with enough Ritalin to make a cheetah sit still, I can tell you that my ability to remember the state fossil of New York is pretty useless and not worth the drugs. It's Eurypterus remipes, in case you're wondering.

Two pages, here's page two.

http://pjmedia.com/parenting/2015/07/08/8-questions-to-never-ask-a-homeschooling-parent/2/
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Dori

My niece was a teacher in public school, then left that and taught in a private school.  Now as a mom, she homeschools her kids.  Besides being on top scholastically, they also play the piano, the guitar, sing in their church choir, go on every kind of outing you can think of to museums etc.  They've had gymnastics, karate, swimming, scouting, etc, and as a family they camp every chance they get. 

I don't know what school you could send a kid to that would get all of that.  These kids have been exposed to a lot, just not the liberal idea of socialization.  They haven't been taught how to put condoms on bananas, or where to get your free abortions, or how to question your privilege, or see racism and sexism  lurking on every coroner. 
The danger to America is not Barack Obama but the citizens capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency.

Solar

Quote from: Dori on July 12, 2015, 02:32:07 PM
My niece was a teacher in public school, then left that and taught in a private school.  Now as a mom, she homeschools her kids.  Besides being on top scholastically, they also play the piano, the guitar, sing in their church choir, go on every kind of outing you can think of to museums etc.  They've had gymnastics, karate, swimming, scouting, etc, and as a family they camp every chance they get. 

I don't know what school you could send a kid to that would get all of that.  These kids have been exposed to a lot, just not the liberal idea of socialization.  They haven't been taught how to put condoms on bananas, or where to get your free abortions, or how to question your privilege, or see racism and sexism  lurking on every coroner.
Yep, and like the article pointed out, "stuffing a bunch of kids who are the exact same age in a small room together and making them sit still all day for months on end preparing for a standardized test."

How is that expanding ones social interaction, when all they see is other minds of mush their own age?
To me, it's stifling, kids need variety of age and wisdom to learn.
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keyboarder

Having subbed at our local high school and elementary schools, I have to say what I think is most disturbing about the experience is the lack of individuality the students are allowed to show and experience. 

There is something seriously wrong with expecting little boys to sit in a corner and color at every playtime or exercise time on the playground.  I was surprised to find out that little errs on the part of a student got him sequestered to the classroom during recess time.  I finally faced up to the fact that some teachers are too lazy to enjoy recess time.  So much for the public school offerings of teaching little boys to accept a more feminine role.  It has been in the works for years y'all. 
.If you want to lead the orchestra, you must turn your back to the crowd      Forbes

kroz

Everyone knows that I home schooled our kids and believe it got them off to an exceptional start in life.

Probably the most important aspect was #7 (socialization).  My kids never had any problem interacting with adults, looking them in the eye, and speaking articulately.  That has proven invaluable to them early in their careers!

Kids will always find other kids to play with.  There are plenty of opportunities.  Plus they took tennis lessons and piano lessons, etc.

Also, there is NO wasted time in home schooling.  ..... We could cover the material so much faster at home.  Every book was completed to the end.  When I went to public school we rarely finished the textbooks by the end of the year.

We did seven or eight different subjects every year..... including latin and greek. (for word etymology and expanded vocabulary).  We covered ALL of the sciences...... biology, physics, chemistry.....  plus advanced calculus.

Oh yeah, we took the books with us and traveled all over the world as a family.  Their "field trips" were awesome.

They graduated early and scored extremely high on the SAT.

I cannot recommend home schooling enough.

HOWEVER, permissive parents should steer clear of it.  You MUST have a disciplined home to succeed.

Solar

Quote from: kroz on July 13, 2015, 03:00:16 PM
Everyone knows that I home schooled our kids and believe it got them off to an exceptional start in life.

Probably the most important aspect was #7 (socialization).  My kids never had any problem interacting with adults, looking them in the eye, and speaking articulately.  That has proven invaluable to them early in their careers!

Kids will always find other kids to play with.  There are plenty of opportunities.  Plus they took tennis lessons and piano lessons, etc.

Also, there is NO wasted time in home schooling.  ..... We could cover the material so much faster at home.  Every book was completed to the end.  When I went to public school we rarely finished the textbooks by the end of the year.

We did seven or eight different subjects every year..... including latin and greek. (for word etymology and expanded vocabulary).  We covered ALL of the sciences...... biology, physics, chemistry.....  plus advanced calculus.

Oh yeah, we took the books with us and traveled all over the world as a family.  Their "field trips" were awesome.

They graduated early and scored extremely high on the SAT.

I cannot recommend home schooling enough.

HOWEVER, permissive parents should steer clear of it.  You MUST have a disciplined home to succeed.
Agree, which is why my neighbors have a group of 8 families sharing the responsibility.
So far all the kids are wonderful young adults.
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kroz

Quote from: Solar on July 13, 2015, 03:47:34 PM
Agree, which is why my neighbors have a group of 8 families sharing the responsibility.
So far all the kids are wonderful young adults.

I love hearing success stories like that.

The kids are the big winners!

Jarlaxle

I have to admit, my first question would probably be: "Don't you ever want a break from the kids?" :)
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kroz

Quote from: Jarlaxle on September 07, 2015, 10:25:10 AM
I have to admit, my first question would probably be: "Don't you ever want a break from the kids?" :)

No.  They are gone too quickly as it is.  We have such a short time to pour our hearts and minds into our kids..... no time to waste!

But, kids and parents have their own outside activities that separates them for a short while each day.  That is enough.   :biggrin:

tac

Interesting facts. The data are 5 years old.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/can-homeschoolers-do-well-in-college/



QuoteHere are some of Cogan's findings:
Homeschool students earned a higher ACT score (26.5) versus 25.0 for other incoming freshmen.
Homeschool students earned more college credits (14.7) prior to their freshmen year than other students (6.0).
Homeschooled freshmen were less likely to live on campus (72.4%) than the rest of the freshmen class (92.7%).
Homeschoolers were more likely to identify themselves as Roman Catholic (68.4%).
Homeschool freshmen earned a higher grade points average (3.37) their first semester in college compared with the other freshmen (3.08).
Homeschool students finished their freshmen year with a better GPA (3.41) than the rest of their class (3.12).
The GPA advantage was still present when homeschoolers were college seniors. Their average GPA was 3.46 versus 3.16 for other seniors.
Homeschool students graduated from college at a higher rate (66.7%) than their peers (57.5%).

kroz

Quote from: tac on September 07, 2015, 04:46:20 PM
Interesting facts. The data are 5 years old.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/can-homeschoolers-do-well-in-college/

Good stats, tac.  Home schooling is a superior education unless you have bad parents and undisciplined kids...... which is almost never the case.  I have only known of one.

My kids had extremely high SAT scores...... could have gotten into almost any school they wanted.   And they started college with credits for over half of their freshman year.

I recommend home schooling for anyone considering it.

Solar

Quote from: kroz on September 07, 2015, 06:36:23 PM
Good stats, tac.  Home schooling is a superior education unless you have bad parents and undisciplined kids...... which is almost never the case.  I have only known of one.

My kids had extremely high SAT scores...... could have gotten into almost any school they wanted.   And they started college with credits for over half of their freshman year.

I recommend home schooling for anyone considering it.
With out a doubt! :thumbup:
I think the biggest barrier for some parents is thinking they alone, will take on the full responsibility 5 days a week, when in truth, there are networking moms that share the responsibility with other mothers.
It doesn't have to be a life sentence so to speak, when they only have to do one day a week with 6 or more kids willing and wanting to learn.
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tac

Quote from: kroz on September 07, 2015, 06:36:23 PM
Good stats, tac.  Home schooling is a superior education unless you have bad parents and undisciplined kids...... which is almost never the case.  I have only known of one.

My kids had extremely high SAT scores...... could have gotten into almost any school they wanted.   And they started college with credits for over half of their freshman year.

I recommend home schooling for anyone considering it.


Congrats kroz.

kroz

Quote from: tac on September 07, 2015, 07:18:37 PM
Congrats kroz.

Thanks tac.  I cannot take the credit.  It was the kids that did the heavy lifting!   :biggrin:

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