Do yo feel any pressure from homeschool? Why?

Question

You know children are under lots of pressure from school, homeschoo is very different from school education, but is there any other different pressure?

I also want to know,

What difference did you find between homeschool and school education?

Answer 1

Sure.

As a parent-teacher of a homeschooled high school age student, I feel the following pressures:

Planning and selecting a college prep curriculum - takes lots of research and sifting through misinformation.

Tracking and reporting grades and extracurricular stuff.

Preparing for college entrance exams.

Managing a very busy / hectic schedule.

Courses and extracurricular opportunities have to be sought out and researched.  They are not presented on a menu from which you can select.

Part of our plan is inclusion of residential summer camps (preferably on college campus).  I have asked questions here before seeking advice but have not gotten responses.  Perhaps we are fairly unique in this approach.

Occasionally dealing with self-doubt.

Dealing with nay-sayers.

Differences between homeschool and public school? Gosh - too numerous to list!

Answer 2

Well, for one thing, if your kid hesitates on something in math in real life, if they go to school, then others assume the kid is bad in math. If they are hs'ed, then they assume you are not teaching math well.  In general, one pressure is that my kids are expected to be knowledgeable in every subject and perfectly well-behaved, and just other things that it is hard for a kid to live up to.  They are held to higher standards in EVERYTHING.

There is also the pressure that others have mentioned of managing a home and busy schedule along with teaching, and the pressure once they get to high school age of recording grades and having a college prep program and choosing electives.

HOWEVER. The blessings faaar outweigh the pressures.  We are happy homeschooling.

Answer 3

The most pressure I felt wasn't from my parents or family but from family friends who were teachers in the public school system, and seemed to think that being homeschooled made you retarded.   I almost believed them, until I found out how bad their spelling was.

Answer 4

That completely depends on how you do it.

I'm in a pretty relaxed situation. I listen to a couple lectures, do some math, practice piano, and I'm done. Nice and chilled out.

I also know some kids who are taught by their father (they have lesson times and all that) and he's really strict. The whole family is very regimented and in to standards and grades and inflexible schedules. They're under more pressure. On the other hand, their 12-year old is doing pre-calc, so something's working.

Homeschooling is more efficient than public or private schooling. Think of what you do in an average school day. Time spent handing in homework, getting homework, classroom discipline, going to your locker between classes, reviews you don't need, explaining to the kid who doesn't get it, *being* the kid who doesn't get it and not getting a good explanation- it all adds up to being a lot of wasted time.

When you miss a decent chunk of time in school, they give you work to do to catch up. If you miss two weeks, do they give you 72 hours of work to do? (7 hours in school + 2 hours of homework * 8 days of school. Might be rather conservative because it doesn't count weekend homework, and my friends in school all have more than that.) Of course they don't. That in itself is proof that schools take more time than they need to.

The only homeschooling-specific pressure I can think of comes from always being held to impossible standards. If you have a more regimented school style, you're constantly stuck inside and will never learn to socialize. If you have a more self-paced school style, you're only running around with your friends and will never be productive. Every trait you have is a negative one, caused by homeschooling, that could be fixed by public schooling. No matter what you do, you fall short of the paragon of teenaged life that is the public high school student.

It eventually stops bothering you, but it really sucks when you try to be social, are made an outcast because you're homeschooled, and then end up with that experience being used as an example of your lack of social skills.

Answer 5

I know in our homeschool group, there are a lot of 'school-at-home' people who feel a lot of academic pressure to prove that homeschooling is better, that their kids are achieving more. Those kids are under unbelievable pressure to perform all the time.

However, in my unschooling group, we honor the child where they are at, and they are allowed to be who they are without pressure or fear from parents directing what they are and what they are learning. There really is no kind of pressure there, on either the child or the parent.

It really depends so much on the family, and the environment.

Answer 6

I never felt pressure on a high level, but there was always that thought in my mind that as a homeschooler I should be excelling in everything.  However, as a perfectionist I would have felt my own self-inflicted pressure in a public school too.  

One of the biggest differences pressure-wise was lack of peer pressure.  I never had to worry about what other people thought of me.  All my friends were my friends becuase we shared common interests and we wanted to be friends.  Not simply because we were in the same classes or rode the same bus.  I was free to dress like I wanted, listen to the music I wanted, read what I wanted, and hang out where I wanted without comment from others.  And when you are a teen girl who has her own sense of fashion (ie no skirts that are only three inches long), likes to listen to classical music, and hang out at her own house (gasp!) it's hard to make it in this kooky world without being labled a prude or nerd.  It was nice to be able to discover who I am without comments from the peanut gallery of peers.  Now that I am in college I am surrounded by people that are trying to 'figure out' who they are.  Meanwhile they are always worried about where the next party is, who is going to be there, what everyone will wear, it's like their whole life depends on the decisions of others!  Not gonna lie, it's kinda freaky.  Sometimes I feel like I am surrounded by little kids.  Even the grad students are like this.  The other homeschoolers I have met at college though are (mostly) not like this.  They realize they are here to learn and are starting to officially move into the adult world that does not revolve around clubs, drinking, and themselves.  Just my observation.

Answer 7

I sometimes feel that because I'm homeschooled, people are very quick to judge me without knowing any better, and i'm pressured to prove myself to them, but I'm geting to a point where I'm not bothered by this anymore and realize that anyone who expects me to do more to prove myself than anyone else is just ignorant an doesn't know any better. I feel no pressure to achieve except for the pressure I put on myself. I want to do my best, and I think in most things I do. I think being homeschooled has actually helped me to handle outside pressure a lot better and with a lot more maturity and confidence.

Answer 8

yeah, I get 2 much pressure. cuz my parents always expect more from me than I can accually do. also the pressure comes from people who havent gotten they're kids homeschooled or that had they're kids homeschooled but couldnt commit 2 the learning. b'cuz since they're kids failed 2 learn @ home, they think other students aren't learning either. So they also pressure u when they see u studyin, & tell other people that homeschool is not effective. & they get pissed when they see ur grades, cuz they're kids didnt do well. homeschool makes u responsible.......so homeschooling has made me a better person. so I dont really care what people like that think or say. :)

Answer 9

I know my kids feel alot of pressure to be normally socialized so they don't seem weird. Were it not for outside pressure they would stay home every day, and not care about having friends. But I think there is a stereotype there that they try to avoid.

Answer 10

I think with homeschooling many times the pressure comes from the outside with people who don't understand or don't approve of homeschooling.  There can also be pressure within the family if parents choose wrong materials or push their children too hard.  Not every homeschooled child will win spelling bees or write a novel, lol.

Here are some of the differences I've noticed between homeschooling and public school:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

Answer 11

Homeschooling gives you the pressure of responsibility.  In public school, you have your teachers to tell you what to do and punish you (either by giving you a bad grade or by sending you to the principal, etc) if you don't do what you're supposed to.  When you homeschool, of course your parents are there to punish you if needed, but it's more up to you to do what you need to do.  Since you don't have to be at school by a certain time, for example, it's not going to be like "Oh, I was late, I missed history class, too bad."  Instead, history class is always sitting on the table, waiting for you!  So you have to take it upon yourself to resist doing other things and actually go and sit down and do your work.

As for other differences... they can be anything, because you can homeschool pretty much any way you want to.  Some homeschool parents make their homeschools almost like a public school, where you start at a certain time, do certain subjects, have timed tests, etc.  Then there are other homeschool parents who give their homeschools almost no structure, and the kids learn whatever they find interesting at the moment.  Some kids are involved in so many extracurriculars that they barely have any free time, and others are bored because they don't do anything but sit at home (which is a sad scenario that could easily be changed).  So homeschooling is whatever you make it....the differences can be almost none or almost all that you could think of.

Answer 12

THere is not any pressure in doing homeschool. In fact, with homeschool the child can take their time and learn any subject as long as needed.

The reason homeschool is different from public school is that in public school, they have to follow the NCLB law.

This law mandates that kids in schools have to take tests and the higher the score, the more money the schools get.

So, now the ONLY thing schools teach is what is on these tests. The kids are GIVEN the answers all year long so they can pass the tests so the school can get more money!!

Kids are spoon fed information like robots and can no longer LEARN anymore. This is going to be detremental to them and to their future.  Lots of people notice how kids are so 'dumb' now, well this is why!!

Thank GOD for HOMESCHOOL!

I think the only way there would be pressure in homeschool is if the parent pushes the child too much to do well.