Honest opinions on Homeschooling?

Question

I am homeschooling my kids this year.

They are 5 and 7. Very outgoing smart kids.

My husband taught high school for 8 years.

We have a teacher who lives with us and teaches the kids and cares for them. She has her masters and is very good with them., they love her.

They get plenty of social time with others.

I am just curious of some honest opinions about pros and cons of homeschooling kids ...

I would prefer answers from people with some experience ...

Answer 1

I have a high opinion of homeschooling when it's done well, and it sound like you're doing all the right things, i.e. you've got someone qualified doing the teaching, you make a conscious effort to give them time with other kids.  The pros are that public schools waste a lot of time just on crowd management and trying to get kids to pay attention or shuffling them from class to class.  You can get the same amount of learning in about 4 hours with no homework that a group classroom setting takes all day on, and they have to teach to the common denominator.  Kids who need extra help don't often get it and kids who are more advanced don't get the extra challenges they need.  In a homeschool setting they can go their own pace and get tons of one-on-one attention.

The main con is that there is an important element of interaction they miss out on when they aren't in a classroom setting that can't really be replaced and might hurt them when they get into college.  There is a lot of value in learning to debate, to articulate their thoughts aloud, to learn how to deal with people whose opinions they don't agree to.  With homeschool they're in a more closed setting and aren't thrown into the mix with people of different value systems.  That's partially the point of homeschooling for some people, to shelter them from some of the corruption in the world until they're older, but eventually they are probably going to college and will need to be equipped for that.  

That doesn't HAVE to be a drawback to homeschooling, but it definitely takes extra effort on the part of the parents to prepare them for the real world.

Answer 2

The "They Won't Fit In" argument is totally bogus.  Yes, if you stick a homeschooled kid into public school, they aren't privy to the pecking order and cliques etc and the nonsense that is the school social scene.

But who cares?  Most kids in school hate the scene as well, and compromise themselves to fit in.

There are so many methods of homeschooling.  I see only pros.  If you had a conversation with my kids, you'd probably guess they were homeschooled, not because they're weird or stupid (they're neither) but because they speak directly to adults and don't have the Us vs Them mentality that most schooled kids have, and can't look adults in the eye.  I see it with my neighbor's kids and I think that is very sad.

My kids get along with all age groups, not just age mates.

Answer 3

Hello Sims,

I'm all for freedom, turning the clock back to a better era, & sheltering children from some of the ugliness of today. That being said, I'm not a fan of home schooling. To boil it down briefly. If you've a group of kids all learning something together. They'll bounce thoughts off one another, & learn more than just the subject. They'll learn the value of other perspectives. They may well learn more about whatever subject they are working on as well (The sum being greater than the parts). Closely tied w/this, is the academic hierarchy. We're not all Einsteins. That competition is important for young kids to learn about, & not solely for motivation. Socialization is the other main reason I don't like home schooling. You say your kids get plenty of socialization. Where, @the park? You don't learn all of your social skills in a recreational setting. We learn MANY important lessons about relating to others, by dealing w/people in all settings. We learn how we, & others, react to things (good & bad). If I only had to deal w/people socially. It's be a breeze. When many different people are forced together by work or school. A whole new can of worms is opened. Children need to learn all the nuances of those difficulties early in life. It's a wonderful & noble notion to think you can properly equip your children yourself, ala the little one-room school house of yore. That's a fallacy. It died many years ago, in a much earlier generation. Today's kids need to be prepared for today. I'm sorry if this sounds critical. It's not meant to be. You asked, right? Good Luck to you & yours.

Answer 4

I love home schooling and have seen first hand the success in kids who struggled in public school but excelled in homeschool.  That's great you are giving homeschooling a try, I love teaching my little ones, it really is worth it!

You will find many who are for it and many against it just remember that they are your kids and you know them better than anyone - do what's best for them, despite rude comments.  Good luck!

Answer 5

I am not a professional teacher nor is my husband.  And we are not uneducated.  We learn new things every moment that we are awake.  And so do our children.

We have home-schooled since the mid-80's.  Our children are now adults.

They are very outgoing smart kids too.  They are 25, 22, 19 and 17.  

Each one has been a student for 12 to 13+ years, plus a couple of college years.  The youngest has his last high-school level studies to complete and we will be *finished!*  All except for the grandbabies.... they are just now starting their home-school careers.

There are so many education resources available to families that it really does not take a college degree to teach our own children.

Reading, writing, and math can be mastered by the student without very much input from the parent.  We start them out by teaching phonics to them and helping them to memorize all of the basic math-facts.  Then we give them plenty of material to keep them studying for 4 to 6 hours every day.  They are supervised and encouraged, corrected and applauded.  

If we had participated in every possible option that is available to home-school students we would have never had a minute to focus on academics!  So, we had to pick and choose. Studies of math, writing and reading (which btw: covers every area of academia -- science(s), history, etc..) are the first part of every day.

After the basic studies are complete the students are then FREE to follow their interests... Our lives include(d) 4-H horses, Equestrian team, baseball, football, woodworking, visiting nursing homes, raising pets and livestock, piano lessons, violin lessons, group choir practice and concerts, camping, hunting, fishing, snowboarding, skating, basketball, volleyball, Ultimate team "frisbee", plays, picnics, swimming, etc. etc. etc.... I could fill up 100's of pages with the list of all the things we have done.  The children have never been at a loss for interaction and activity with others.  They also know how to work very well on their own.

The pros of homeschooling are tremendous.  The cons... hmmm... so meaningless.... if you mean from within the family.

The cons to homeschooling include all of the guff that you get form outsiders -- like judges making blanket statements in California and ruling that home-schooling is not allowable.  

The worst cons to homeschooling come from those that don't know how great it really is.

As for the *real* world... OMGoodness -- we LIVE in the real world.  There is no such division of public being "real" and home being "fake".  LOL.

Do you know anybody that is living in a fake home?  My home is real, my family is real, my church is real, my friends are real, my children's friends are real, our extended family is real, my daughter-in-law and grandbabies are real, all of our jobs are real, our college is real, everywhere my children go is real -- they know real people in real situations....

What is YOUR real world?

Answer 6

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.

Answer 7

Well, I've been homeschooling for over nine years, and I absolutely love it. The pros are almost innumerable, and they range from being able to actually control what your kids are taught instead of having a public school decide, to keeping them away from narcotics. The only con that I can think of is that most people assume homeschoolers to be antisocial little miscreants.

Answer 8

My sister was home schooled and I do school by correspondance and I think its great. When my sis went back to face to face school she was ahead and she learnt a lot more at homeschooling although she probably needed a bit more social time.

Answer 9

I think it's a great lifestyle and wouldn't change it for the world.  But sometimes it does get tiring to hear prejudiced people hand out their ignorant views on homeschooling.  

Best of luck continuing your homeschool adventure :D

Answer 10

Overall, I would say that it has very little effect on children, as long as they can easily socialise with their friends and have activities away from the home. However, homeschooled children tend to have less coping skills for stressful situtations than others. Children in school, for better or worse, are exposed to stressful situations, from bullying to unpleasant teachers. While obviously not good, pupils in school learn to deal with these things. This greatly helos them in later life: they can more easily process a bullying workmate and can respond in an adult manner, rather than having a meltdown because its the first real case of bullying they've experienced.

Also, in later schooling, the experience of proffessionals is a great boon. While surely possible, it is unlikely that homeskilled children are going to be able to be taught by an expert in physics, an expert in mathematics and an expert in literature.

Answer 11

Even when they get enough social time with others, they won't fit in or i don't know what word to explain it, but they'll interact different, since they are not working in group projects.  Won't be used to public places as much as school goers.

Answer 12

I think Home Schooling is an awesome idea. There are parents who have the ability to Home School, but shy away from it. I am a retired teacher who home schooled my youngest son. He is a fine upstanding member of society and I am proud of him.

Answer 13

You see, I would LOVE to offer you my honest opinion since that is what you have asked for... but I see from your comments that you want one sided opinions.  I think that in your situation YOU aren't home schooling at all, but have a live in nanny that is teaching your children.  Also, I think that pulling your children from school because you had an issue with ONE teacher was a hasty and quite possibly selfish decision.

Answer 14

I had to home school my daughter who had problems. The school system had failed her. So me, not be very intelligent, had to do it anyway. But I liked learning as I taught her. But with her problems she had a real hard time staying on task. And  she didn't retain very well. I had to do what I did, but it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. She would not continue with homeschooling and the schools just really didn't want her and made it hard on us and her. If you have children without issues I don't see where you will have a problem. You know they condemned me and others for having a child with problems. They asked if I did drugs when I was pregnant even at the school. Which I did not. I would'nt even drink coffee, soda or even eat chocolate while I was pregnant and after I breast fed her. Giving her all the chances I could to be right. And the library was our favorite place to go. So it wasn't for a lack of trying with her.

Answer 15

Well I am a new parent to home schooling and loving it . I had to due to the public school failing my children I home school two of them and looking into home schooling my autistic child whom is in 8th grade and functions at a 2nd grade level ! So with an IEP and no progress or improvement  academically . Yet anyway it protects them from failure and lock downs at school due to shootings or bomb scares etc.. Ever since I heard of home school I was scared on if I could do it but was all for it and we are all doing great I am looking to many more years ahead...