Is home-schooling a bad idea ?

Question

I've been thinking of doing homeschool, but I'd like to get other people's opinion ?

Answer 1

I have been homeschooled my entire life. You're kids will dislike you for their lack of friends, but if you do it right, they could get into college on scholarships. My two older sisters, have an almost free ride to college. A suggestion for curriculum is CLASS (Christian Liberty Academy Satellite System). This system actually the curriculum for a school in Chicago, but by homeschooling, you can remove your kid from a possibly unfriendly environment. Good Luck! I teach myself (I am an 8th grader) and I get mostly A's.

Answer 2

It depends on the child, the parents, and their level of commitment. Some kids will ever finish their work on time, and some parents leave 'history' to having tea parties and playing with American Girl dolls (which can supplement a cirriculum nicely, but should not replace is). On the other hand, most homeschooled kids are motivated and have no problem with doing what they need to, and it has the massive benefit of being able to learn at the child's own pace - the math cirriculum I took in 7th grade my sister took in 9th and my brother took in 8th. I was able to finish school a year early, even though I took quite a few more language, math, and science credits than were required, my brother is slightly ahead of the curve, and my sister is on track with her public-school counterparts in math and science but way ahead in English. I personally loved it, and would ever have got the opportunity to get exactly what I needed in a public school.

Answer 3

My husband was homeschooled his entire life, and it has caused a world of hurt for our family of five.  He has dropped out of college twice and took many jobs that paid well at the time just to get by.  He is now going back to college again to be a nurse.  He is a VERY smart guy - catches onto many things and has an impressive memory - however lacks the skills many non-homeschooled students have.

He has had to battle with not having the skills learned in public school, such as:

How to take notes

How to study

How to pace himself within the classroom

Setting career goals - mapping his life out

How to write papers (understanding the different "styles", grammar, spelling and other "rules")

Basic algebra

How to correctly complete a lab (for science courses)

Not procrastinating until one hour before a due date/time

Understanding that Professors do not let things "slide"

And many other things

He has also suffered socially.  But, I believe that is because his family has many social hurdles that have not ever been fixed.  If he had experience in a public/private/charter school setting, I believe the effect his family's social downsides had on him would have lessened, but would still definitely be there.

Answer 4

All of the empirical research indicates that it is a very good idea - both academically and socially (emotionally).

Homeschooled kids get into (top) colleges, are frequently top winners of national academic competitions such as the national spelling bee, do well getting National Merit Scholarships, etc.

It will give you an opportunity to move at your own pace and time to pursue things that really interest you.

Be sure to get involved with a local homeschool group.

Answer 5

In a word, yes! Bad idea.

Answer 6

I was considering home schooling too. After all of my research, I'm going to ask me parents now =)

It's not a bad idea if you want to move at your own pace or if you want to get into a good college. If you don't like your public school right now and think that you can be home schooled everyday until you graduate and think that you're motivated enough, then I'd say go for it. Good luck! =)

Answer 7

My friend was homeschooled for a while, he said it wasn't too bad because you have the space to do the work when u feel like it (lol) but you miss out the whole social aspect of school, but it is up to you :)

Answer 8

i have been home schooled my whole life as well, and most people say that we home schooler's get no socialization, but that is only if the parents don't give it. there is a whole world of different home schooling groups and activities to do during the week. i am a self teaching seventh grader and i enjoy it so much.If you are extremely busy, or work full time, i don't recommend it.

A good curriculum is ALPHA OMEGA LIFEPAC, a christian curriculum.

Answer 9

If you are dedicated and apply yourself it will work.

Answer 10

It is a bad idea if the one doing the teaching is not a teacher or educated.

Answer 11

It can be very good if

1. The teacher really sticks to it and makes the child study, adapting the curriculum to his or her strengths. It is serious work and a sustained commitment, and you have to think in terms of years, not do it on a whim.

2. If the student does not crave lots of contact with peers and friends.

3. If you are willing to negotiate all the special hurdles that colleges and other outside evaluators that life requires set up. It's not simple.

4. If your partner takes some role in it too. It shouldn't be all on one person.

Answer 12

Homeschooling is a bad idea if for some, and a great idea for others.  For my family, homeschooling was a great idea and all three of us kids loved it.  It allowed us to be involved in so man different things.  For one of my friends, it was a bad idea because her mom was not willing to let her participate in clubs/activities so she was bored all the time and ended up homeschooling for only three months.

As for the whole socialization thing, whether you get enough social time or not is up to you.  Here is a list of the homeschool activities I participated in, meaning, these things were run by homeschoolers for homeschoolers:

~Dance classes

~Choir

~Quartet

~Art classes

~Softball

~Volleyball

~Speech classes

~English classes

~Political clubs

Those are just the homeschool activities.  I am not even including the things we did at the community center, camps, workshops, and private lessons.  So as you can see, unless you live in a rural area, there is no reason you should have a problem with socialization.

Roger Lathbury said it is a good idea if  "If you are willing to negotiate all the special hurdles that colleges and other outside evaluators that life requires set up. It's not simple."  That's funny.  I wonder how many kids he's homeschooled because my family has never encountered any problems like that.  No problems when we were looking at different schools for my brother to attend, no problem with me taking classes at the community college, and no problem with either of us getting into multiple colleges with multiple scholarships.  Now, I am sure some people encounter problems, but guess what?  Kids that go to school may have to deal with the same things.  Getting into college isn't a piece of cake for anybody.  It's annoying.  But honestly, I am not saying this to brag, I had an easier time getting into college than my public schooled friends.  They were all so out of the loop and didn't seem to understand how to follow up with people at admissions/registration/financial offices.

And in response to the Patti Austin Fan, my mother and countless other homeschool moms I know have Homeschooled their kids K-12 and put them into college on a high school diploma.  Most of these kids received many scholarships or free rides to colleges like Harvard, Wheaton, and Oxford.  That's right.  Homeschool moms all over are putting their kids into the top schools with only a high school diploma.  Any study on homeschooling will tell you that a parents certification and education really has nothing to do with how their child will turn out.  Check out this study:

http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/comp2001...

All that said, homeschooling does involve hard work and lots of self discipline from the student and parent and is not for everyone.  But in general, it is not a bad idea.

Answer 13

for our family it was the only choice and turned out to be the best one for all 3 of my children.

Many people don't consider home schooling thier children, because they are afraid thier children will miss out on socialization. According to the U.S. Department of Education, it is estimated that 1.7 percent of all students participate in a home schooling program. A greater number of parents are turning to home schooling as an option for educating their children.

This concept once only included the idea of parents assuming the responsibility of educating their own children. Today, the modern home school has evolved to include the use of computers and other technically-advanced equipment. Although home schooling has the predominant form of education throughout history, many people consider it to be a new concept.

Why are parents choosing home schooling more and more? There are many benefits. You can customize your curriculum (just as k12 does). Home schooling enables students to participate in a curriculum that is tailored to their needs. They can focus on specific areas of interest or other areas that require extra attention. Your chouces are many. You can choose a free online charter school, private online schools, an online curriculum or text book based curriculum.

You can use different learning methods, so students don't have to sit at a desk all day. They might go on a field trip to a historical place, explore nature at a park, or visit a science camp. There are many free sites where you can learn about the things that you see on these kinds of field trips too. E Field Trips and National Park Curriculum is available for free to everyone.

Most home school based curriculum is self-paced, so if students require extra help on an assignment or want additional challenges, they can learn as fast or as slow as they choose. In a traditional school setting , the teacher can't always slow down and go over an area that a few students may not understand as well as the rest of the class. This is how so many kids today "get lost" and are left behind. A situation like this is easily avoided at home.

Having a flexible schedule is a great benefit. Home schooling provides students with more options than a traditional classroom. Students can set their own schedule and learn at any time. If they want to take a test at night, they have the freedom to do so. They are learning on their own terms. Many sites are free offering help for children in all subjects through free worksheets, games and activities.

There are fewer social distractions for children at home. Home schooling allows students to learn without the worry or interference of social distractions. They are not faced with the social pressures of regular school. They can focus on their work and not what another kid in the class might be saying or doing. You don't have to worry about bad influences that your child might have at school (drugs, alcohol, the wrong crowd etc). If you teach your child a certain set of morals and values, they will not learn something entirely different as they may have in a traditional school setting.

Home schooling enables students to get one-on-one attention from their teacher. Whether they are learning from a parent or online teacher, they can get immediate attention for all of their educational needs.

A home schooling program can provide students with choices. It gives them an alternative to the traditional classroom. Whether they choose home schooling for academic, safety or social reasons, they can be in charge of their education. It enables them to create an individualized learning experience.

For many children this is definitely a good option. A student needs to be self disciplined enough to do the school work daily. If a student is dedicated to being home schooled and can appreciate it, they can be successful !