Homeschooling has become popular over the past years. What are your thoughts about this trends?

Question

Homeschooling has become popular over the past years. What are your thoughts about this trends?

Answer 1

I am a homeschool mom who majored in Secondary Education, but instead of teaching in a public institution, I chose to homeschool. I think that the general public is very uninformed about homeschooling today, and still relies on the old stereotype of the "shy unsocialized hermetic homeschooler" who never leaves their home and has no friends. It is so inaccurate. My kids are very social and anything but shy! We live in a suburb of Kansas City, and there are hundreds, maybe thousands of other Hschoolers in our small area. Nationwide, there are millions of us. We are active members of several local groups for homeschool famlies, and we take part in at least one social activity every day, outside of our home. Activities are set up and organized by moms through yahoo email loops. Our local homeschool groups offers the following activities to name a small few; Girl and Boy Scout troops, 4H, campfire, bowling, gymnastics, swimming, horseback riding, art, choir, and gym classes, holiday parties, book clubs, a 2 hour long recess time every week, plus park days, field trips, picnics and academic fairs. These are just a few of the many things we do while everyone else is in school). When we are not doing our lessons, we are always on the go, and it is ironic that we call ourselves homeschoolers since we spend so much time away from home! Homeschoolers have the advantage of one on one personalized attention educationally, and we also dont have to waste a lot of time on discipline, paperwork, and busywork. We can get our lessons done in a couple hours each morning, and then get on with enjoying our hobbies and friends. We also have the advantage of making closer more meaningful friendships because our kids have the time for more playdates and outings, instead of sitting, bored and institutionalized behind a desk all day. I find it ridiculous that public schools are thought of as a great place to socialize! How can kids socialize when they have to sit silently and listen for 8 hours a day?? Homeschoolers have the time to learn at their own pace, to spend time with friends, and just be kids, without the pressures and negative influences of public school. Homeschool kids are not hermits and they are not freaky nerds. They are just really lucky kids who get to enjoy life and learning every day. No child is left behind in a homeschool, and socialization is the best reason to homeschool. Public school creates a harsh artificial society where children are raised by their peers. Homeschoolers live and learn in the real world. For more info, read the book; "The Well adjusted Child; The Social Benefits of Homeschooling", by Rachel Gathercole.

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Source(s):

The Well Adjusted Child; The Social Benefits of Homeschooling, by Rachel Gathercole

Dumbing Us Down; The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, by John Taylor Gatto

Answer 2

It can go both ways.  I home schooled my 5 children in Texas due to things out of control in the public schools with the mexicans & gangs etc.  Then I home schooled in the middle east due to my children not liking to hear 'death to Americans' chanted at them all day long!  Now as long as the adult is teaching & not using the kids to clean & do chores all day it is great.  My children came back to the states & scored well up in the 90% when they were tested before entering the Thousand Island school district in up state New York.

Answer 3

from the above responses I see the same old, tired, unfounded, and blatantly false argument of socialization as the reason not to homeschool...it is actually because of socialization (and poor academic standards in the public school system)  that many parents choose this viable option.

first homeschool is hardly the best word as many homeschool parents and kids will testify that so much time is spent in homeschool groups and labs, sports, music, field trips, volunteering, and playing with their neighborhood friends when they return home from school! Socially homeschool kids are at an advantage because they get to interact with people from all ages and learn to not segregate based on age. They do not have to contend with the intense sexual, drug and other forms of negative peer-pressure of school peer groups (although homeschoolers are hardly sheltered to not know about the dangers of the world but these dangers are presented in age appropriate ways and with a loving parent there to help explain and guide) homeschool kids get to truly express their unique personalities and discover who they are without being forced into the stereotypical cliques at a school setting just to fit in.

Schools are not reflective of society and do not prepare children for the real world....( where else but in a nursing home will you be forced into age segregated groups with no choices and no chance of escape!!!). In the real world you have to be able to communicate with various peoples, not just other 30 year olds that will not like you if you are not wearing your hair the same as them or if you have freckles etc....The idea that school socialization is ideal is false. In school it is rank and file by age, do not talk or communicate except between class and at lunch (recess if it hasn't been taken out). Schools rarely allow individual thinking and most classes are teaching to the lowest ability child. I was a gifted child bored and uninterested in public school and want better for my children. I was also teased and picked on physically  a lot because I was skinny with freckles and moved a lot...teachers rarely helped and often did not know what was going on because of the sheer numbers of children to adults. So many times I had punishment for be being in fights that honestly I was only trying to protect myself and in the real world I would have recourse but in school you learn there is no real punishment for the bad kids. This goes on all over the nation with schools even more violent than before. More and more schools are under scrutiny from s*x crimes starting as young as kindergarten and how many more times do we have to hear about a deadly shooting before we decide to change the broken system.

Across the board homeschooled adults are more well adjusted, more entrepreneurial, do well in collage and more than not escape many of the destructive habits of young adults trying to "figure it out".

Because homeschool children learn to think for themselves, have time to pursue hobbies and academic interests, and have loving guidance you will find many business owners and above averaged talented athletes, musicians, artists, writers etc... All this from mothers and fathers teaching their children.

So many parents, mostly publicly educated themselves, are embracing this old method because they have lived through the system and see it getting worse. Most homeschool parents are as qualified to teach their children as any certified teacher, often more so because they can account for their child's individual way of learning and special interests. They teach their child real lessons for learning not just to pass a state mandated test! Homeschool parents I are not lazy and put much time into learning the subject matter and lesson plans as any other teacher...but instead of for the reward of a paycheck it is for the reward of seeing the child(ren) they love blossom and grow into intelligent, well adjusted adults capable of making sound choices and not only surviving but hopefully having a positive effect on an increasingly competitive, cruel world.

Answer 4

Homeschooling has been popular for the past several thousand years - it's only in the past 150 that we've seen public schools come on the scene in any major way.  Almost all of our founding fathers were homeschooled until they went to college - and some remained self-taught through college.  Many ground-breaking scientists, educational reformers, politicians, writers, and other influential people were all homeschooled.

Homeschooling doesn't mean that a student receives every bit of their instruction at home, chained to the kitchen table, only hearing what Mom and Dad think.  It certainly doesn't mean that they are kept out of society.  What it means is that their parents have taken full responsibility for their education and make the effort to find classes, instructors, resources, and curricula that meet their needs.  

Many homeschool kids today are not home much more than their classroom-schooled age mates - they are in lessons or classes, volunteering in the community, taking part in co ops with other kids, and going on field trips.  I teach several classes for elementary-high school foreign languages (Spanish and Latin) for our local co op, and none of my 50+ students have any problem keeping up or relating with others.  Actually, in talking with friends who teach in local schools, the students I teach are well ahead of their age-mates in taking responsibility for their own education.  They have the option to take whatever classes interest them, and they can choose their instructors.  They take classes because they want to learn, not because their school board mandates that they be fed certain levels of information.

Homeschooling doesn't work well for everyone, just like public and private schooling don't work well for everyone.  However, it's not by any means a new concept - it's the oldest and most well-established form of education there is.

I will grant that there are people who shouldn't homeschool; they simply don't take the responsibility for it.  However, there are also teachers that really shouldn't be teaching - yet they'd pretty much have to molest a kid to get fired.  (I'm a teacher's kid, I grew up around teachers and teacher unions...I've pretty much seen it all.)  Where's the accountability in that?

At the end of the day, I'm the one that is responsible for my son's education, whether that education happens in a classroom or not.  A teacher is not responsible for him - I am.  I don't take that responsibility lightly, nor do hundreds of thousands of homeschool parents around the country.

Answer 5

I agree with all of the above comments regarding socialization and home schooling.

However, there may be the extentuating circumstance where home-schooling is necessary. I am thinking specifically of medical situations. While the schools have procedures in place to address this it still may not be the better circumstance.

I know one mother who had a very bright son but severe issues with social anxiety and autism like symptoms.

She home-schooled him for awhile then slowly assimilate him back into public school. It was successful in this particular instance.

So, while I didn't homeschool my children and prefer public schools to the homeshool situation, I can see where there are instances it could be a better alternative, if even temporarily.

Answer 6

I have a number of thoughts.  What makes a parent think he/she is qualified to teach school/the subjects? I can see younger grades when it is 1 + 1 = 2. Why would a parent want to take away that socializing and learning to be with others away from a child? I understand in one hand, that some schools are lousy and can be dangerous, but on the other hand I think home schooling is odd.  I guess the bottom line is, it depends on the circumstances.

Answer 7

I plan on putting my daughter in elementary school so she can meet other kids but by the time she would go to junior high I plan on home schooling her.  I will make sure she is able to still keep in touch with her school friends so she's not lonely but I don't want to take the chance of her being shot to death in English class.

Answer 8

Homeschooling is not a trend.  It has been done since before the public school was put in place.  I for one home school my son.  He is in the 7th grade and the public school where the "qualified" (not) teachers failed in their jobs as teachers.  Not all parents that home school are (as the uninformed person at the top of the list states) not playing teacher so to speak.  I have a Bachelor of Science degree with double minor in psychology and sociology.  I am way more capable to teach my child than the teachers in our school system.  I guarantee you that.  So it is only an UN educated person that thinks it is just a bunch of hicks home schooling their children.  Parents that homeschool their children work harder than the teachers in public schools.  We have to think outside the box.  We don't just spoon feed the information in the children's head based on what books the school system has said to do.  I don't even think the teachers really have to teach anymore.

Answer 9

It kinda matters on the kid i have no problem sotimes the kids in school can be stressful and somtimes people just like homeschooling because you have difrent views from the school  and you can pick the kinda books and work you want

Answer 10

Personally I think that the parents who engage in it are control freaks. But even putting that aside, home-schooled children lose out on a lot of socialization skills which come with a public school education. Maybe they get together with other home-schooled students, and that's good, but the fact is that in the working world, you have to learn to get along with people who you don't like sometimes, and if your exposure to other kids is controlled so that you're only exposed to nice kids, you miss out. Then there are group activities that increase your team-building skills, things like intramural sports, band, Spanish club, etc.  You don't really get that being home-schooled.

Answer 11

*catches breath*

Oh, my sides ache from the laugh I just got! I'm laughing at all the "control freak" and missing out" comments. If any of these people realized what kids stuck in classrooms actually missed out on or exactly how much control the schools exercise over children, it would change their minds quick, fast and in a hurry.

My child can choose her own books to read, the subjects we study day to day, when she eats and what she eats. She chooses her company, rather than being told who she will sit next to or who will share her locker. She does not have to publicly request permission to urinate or void her bowels. She has not been trained to jump and run at the sound of a bell. If she is tired, she rests. If she has extra energy, she rides her bike or jumps on her trampoline. But I'm a control freak? That's hilarious!

*flexes hand with steel grip*

She misses out on what? She's learning sign language, takes music class with a community arts program, studies a variety of martial arts, has been in arts classes, theater classes, gymnastics and ballet, over the years. She even danced with the Moscow Ballet. It was phenomenal! She sees her friends throughout the week. It is not as though the child has been hermetically sealed and stored in a locked closet. There is a world outside of school and that we have adults on here who cannot accept that is both mind boggling and perversely entertaining.