How are homeschoolers....?

Question

How are homeschoolers exposed to diverse people and ideas?

Answer 1

They're not.  That is one of the major drawbacks to homeschooling.  Although a lot of parents feel that they are giving their children a multicultural experience, they aren't.  All they are doing is exposing the children to different people within their own culture and/or socio-economic group.  And, ideas within that group are largely similar.  It's a very limited way of educating children.

Answer 2

Omg.

If you homeschooled your children, would you really stay home all the time? If so, don't EVER homeschool your children.

Most homeschoolers are actively involved with things: homeschool activities, community rec centre lessons, other lessons, volunteering, working, etc., as appropriate to their age. There are also things called newspapers and magazines and tv which allow exposure to all kinds of different ideas that can be discussed.

Some might say that homeschoolers are all the same so if they're your primary social source, you won't get the exposure you need, but I beg to differ. We know homeschoolers who barely make enough to get by and rather well-off homeschoolers; we know atheist, Christian, pagan homeschoolers, in addition to other religious affiliations; we know homeschoolers who were originally from Germany, Central America, South Africa, England and the US (we're in Canada) and other places; we know homeschoolers who are very 'traditional' looking and others who like to have pink/green/purple or other hair... Diversity has not been a problem for us in homeschooling.

Answer 3

Well, to begin with all homeschoolers are horrible people because they lock their kids in a bedroom all day until the public school kids get out of school. Then the homeshool kids are allowed to do what other kids do after school such as sports, 4H, church, neighborhood friends, music, drama, dance, gymnastics, girl scouts, boy scouts, swimming, biking, skating, and going to parks but in all this there is no diversity at all!!!

Sorry....sick to death of this question! Why is it that people act like homeschoolers are aliens??? What was done before public schools started? Learning at home or homeschooling.

For us diversity isn't a problem as my husband is in the military...doesn't get much more diverse!

Answer 4

Yikes... NOT THIS AGAIN!

My kids are exposed to diverse people and ideas because we live in a fairly diverse community and I don't lock them in a closet all day.

We belong to homeschool co-ops that include different religions, different theologies, etc.

We go to Church, where most people believe about the same thing as us religiously, but that doesn't mean that they agree with us on EVERYTHING.

We have done volunteer work where we meet lots of different people from differing belief systems.

My oldest child has traveled out of the country on more than one occasion.

Etc.  Etc.  Etc.........

How are Public Schoolers exposed to diverse people and ideas?  After all,   all students in the school come from the same neighborhood, they all attend the same school, they all are taught the same curriculum, they are all exposed to only the thoughts that the school board and the government decide are politically correct...  ETC.     ETC.     ETC.

Answer 5

I generally open my front door, lead the kids out and go visiting different people and places.

I know it's a popular myth that schools introduce kids to diversity but if my kids were in school they'd be penned in with a group of 25 or so white christian kids who are their same-age peers and all live within a ten minute drive.

I wonder at how public school parents ever manage to introduce diversity!

Answer 6

I guess they are exposed to all these, and then some, because they live in the same world as everyone else, they talk with, interact with, work with, and socialize with people of all ages, back grounds, and walks of life.

Our children not only participate in many volunteer opportunities, are politically active, and attend church, but have friends who go to conventional schools, attend concerts, go to the movies, as well as a multitude of other activities.

They watch TV, listen to the radio, and henceforth discuss the same topics as everyone else.

Most important of all, because of their diverse involvement; unlike their peer segregated school friends; our children can think for themselves, and form their own opinions on many social topics because they are directly involved in them.

Their opinions, and ideas are based on practical experience so when they hear other peoples opinions they can separate fact from fiction.

Answer 7

usually through encounters outside of home.  sports leagues, church, field trips, going to the mall, people in the neighborhood, people on line.

Most people, you know, are not actually exposed to diverse people.

How many card carrying communists do you know (I know two), how many homosexuals do you know (I know close to a dozen, male and female), how many blacks are you close friends (I've had many), how many hispanics (I proposed to one and know many), how many chinese (I know many and one was my roomate and another designed my business logo), how many muslims you know (I worked for one), how many Jews you know know (all my friends when I moved to CA were jewish and I went to a Bar Mitzvah)

Most people THINK they are diverse, but they are actually quite conservative and keep mostly to those who think and act like them

You just think you're diverse.

I make friends with Hindus, Shiks, Buddhists, athiests, agnostics, born agains, catholics, muslims, jews, mormons, ba'hais, my friends range from the age of 19 to 75

the 19 year old is a Navy Seabee and the 75 year old is a retired optician.

I come from a family that was racist and my best friends are jewish, chinese, black, mexican and white.

Answer 8

Let's see there's church, home school groups, field trips, dance classes, Karate, Gymnastics, we're all exposed to strangers in grocery stores, department stores, neighborhood friends, soccer, baseball, football, need I go on. There is an endless list of things we can and do get our kids involved in.  Do people really think we keep our kids home and sheltered all their lives? Come on if I did I'd go crazy. I love home schooling but I really enjoy those couple of afternoons a week where my kids are involved in a class or practice and I only have the baby with me for an hour or so.

Answer 9

Homeschoolers often travel much more extensively than their traditional-school counterparts. With open schedules, they can take advantage of cultural opportunities not only in their own communities, but well beyond their hometowns.

Many homeschoolers are also heavily involved in activities outside the home, from arts to athletics to public service organizations. They volunteer in their communities alongside other volunteers of all ages. (In Portland, Oregon, for example, teen homeschoolers volunteer at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry; great for their resume, great for OMSI.)