Is homeschooling a simple matter of academics?

Question

Is homeschooling a simple matter of academics?

Answer 1

Absolutely not.

It is a PART of why we decided to homeschool, but is one of MANY reasons-my children were being fed political opinion as fact, my children were being exposed to things that NO child should ever be exposed to. I am not talking about the simple "just say no" to drugs. No, my childrens LIVES were in danger each day, as other students were continually bringing weapons and the random violence was going through the roof-no child should feel in danger of their lives to LEARN. I don't care what anyone says, you PROTECT your kids lives. That is your job-if someone were about to punch your kid, you would not only step in, but if it happened repeatedly you would be certain your kid was no longer around that person, right? So we gave them an environment where they learn more safely and with less risk than they public school system could provide-not all systems are that bad, but where we were living was.

It was also a matter of getting my children into the real world-the longer they were in public school the more I realized that they were being SHELTERED-they had these ideas that everything should be fair ALL the time. They just were not seeing how the real world works at all. So in order to prepare them to be adults we decided to take them out of school which was fostering these innacurate perceptions of the world and put them into volunteer positions and other scenarios where they could see and be a part of "real life in action".

There was the question of a SECOND grader in my sons class whose parents were obviously ignorant and let their child listen to lyrics to songs that went something like "Yeah my N*ggas". I don't care how well I teach my kids, I don't want they exposed (at that age) to other kids whose moral upbringing is so questionable-I decided I wanted our family to be their moral grounding (in addition to the groups they were in that had HIGH moral standards), and not the public school and their "anything goes" policy. Oh well. I wouldn't let them watch a rated "R" movie either, so sue me

There are a few other reasons, and I am sure parents will add  their own

Answer 2

No, academics are easy to get.  Learning is limited by intelligence, motivation, and any special ability, given the materials (which can be just a book).  

Homeschooling is about who you grow up to be, not just what you know.  

Or should be.

Answer 3

No.

Academics wasn't even something we thought of when we first decided to homeschool--the social atmosphere of school (we are both teachers) really didn't sit well with us. Our daughter was still a baby and it wasn't until she was 3 that academics came as an additional reason.

Homeschooling itself now is a matter of raising children in all domains: academic, mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, social, etc. There are parents who think it's just about the academics and neglect parts. The bulk of the parents I know do consider the whole child.

ADDED: Oh good grief to the person who responded "no way,zero exposture,public movement of the child,understanding the external world will be lowwwww,kindly dont encorage that". We just spent the entire day yesterday with a group of homeschoolers. We have Christmas parties and field trips with others and playdates and skiing lessons coming up. Oh, and their swimming lessons. They have Christmas shopping to do. They have a large family to be spending time with. WE DON'T LOCK OUR CHILDREN UP INSIDE THE HOUSE!!

Answer 4

It is my main reason for homeschooling but there are many other advantages that go along with academics.

My son is a slow learner in most subjects.

It has helped us to be able to take our time to make sure one concept is learned before going to something else.  

We have grown closer as a family.  We are flexible with our schedules so we take advantage of extra time some days to make up for unexpected events on other days.

We work on snow days. (smile)

Answer 5

To a vast degree yes.

There are some advantages to team sports, recreational arts and individual sports.

While these are not academic they help build stamina, character, drive and artisanship.

Academics, however, is totally required for college and helps considerably with the business world.

EDIT--

I was astounded at the thumbs down.  So I guess homeschoolers and their parents aren't into academics and aren't keeping them home for an education!  Wow, the detractors are right.  It's about Xenophobia!  It's about not letting them mix with the riff raff.  

It's not about bad schools, bad teaching methods.  I'd about tieing them to the apron strings.

At least that's what all the thumbs down indicate to me when I say it's LARGELY about academics.

I thought the WHOLE reason to homeschool was to provide a BETTER education.

Like it or not, that's academics.

Homeschoolers without academics WILL NOT get into college because they WILL NOT pass the Alebra-Trig tests, because they don't have an academic standing.

So I can assume all the people here are opposed to academics and sports.  They oppose little league, Karate classes, gymnastics, dance, ice skating and hitting the books!

Wow, that one blows my mind!

Because those were the items I was addressing as being somewhat important.

Each thumb down opposes academics and individual and team recreational activities.

That makes homeschooling a hermit existance of xenophobs who don't want to face the world as it exists.

So, fork over your $120 to H&R Block for without academics you won't stand a chance of doing your own tax return, because without academics you can't read, write or do math.

I am totally astounded about the people opposed to both academics and recreational activities.

That really says what homeschooling is about!

For what have you left once you remove ACADEMICS and RECREATION from a homeschool program.

Homeschool - (Academics + Recreation) = x

Answer 6

no way,zero exposture,public movement of the child,understanding the external world will be lowwwww,kindly dont encorage that

Answer 7

It's a matter of who you ask.

For one family yes.

For another it's about learning but not academics.

For another it's a family centered lifestyle.

For others it about kids facing a bad social situation in school.

For others it's about a kid with a compromised immunse system who can't attand public school.

For others it's about religion.

For others it's about being able to travel with their kids.

For others it's financial.

For others it's about the freedom to explore a child's interests.

For MOST of us it's a combination of many of those reasons and others not mentioned.

Answer 8

It's a lifestyle ;D

Answer 9

At first we started homeschooling for academics and physical health. (My daughter was being put on ever increasing doses of drugs at the insistence of her teachers and principals.)

  Now I realize that she is being raised free of the damaging effects of peer pressure that her public school friends are enduring. We'll never send her back to a brick school. Her best friend (age 11) is already desperate to have a boyfriend, not because she wants one, but because girls who are popular MUST have a boyfriend. And girls who aren't popular, get teased and bullied. She won't eat. She's sure she's fat. (She's pale and pencil thin.) She talks about her body in terms of individual parts and what is wrong with them. She does not like herself anymore.  I'm afraid she's on her way toward an eating disorder. A year ago this girl was a straight A student and one of the best basketball players in her school. What is going to become of this child next year when she gets to middle school and the pressure is worse?

   I shudder to think.

Answer 10

"no way,zero exposture,public movement of the child,understanding the external world will be lowwwww,kindly dont encorage that"

Well, if the academics our kids get are better than this, that's definitely a plus.  (My 10yo writes more clearly than that.  Good grief.)

Homeschooling, although it does (statistically) foster higher academic results, is really more of a life style.  Truly homeschooled kids (I'm not talking about those who come on here with "do you have the answer to Penn Foster Exam _______") live a life that's based around learning.  They love to really dig into whatever interests them and learn as much as they possibly can about it.  They also don't sequester "learning time" to "school hours".  Most kids have a certain time period in which they do their seat work, but it doesn't stop there.  Anytime can be learning time.

However, it's also a social world.  Something I've noticed about many homeschooled kids - again, the ones that are truly homeschooled - is that they accept others for who they are and don't feel the social pressure to conform.  Because they live a life where they are free to follow their interests, they expect their friends to do the same thing.  Yes, there are times that my son (10) has had a hard time "fitting in" with classroom schooled kids - but that's just because he's truly baffled at first about why they all want to be alike.  He's also a bit confused at why they expect him to like everything that they do, and play just like they do, and talk like they do.   He's just not sure he wants to follow the crowd and be a lemming, you know?  (He always manages to find some kids that he has something in common with and hang out with them for the duration.  He doesn't like it as much, but he plays well with them.)

It's also about exposing my son to the whole of society instead of letting him learn social norms solely from other 10yo's (who haven't learned social norms yet).  He helps in the nursery, plays with toddlers and preschoolers, reads to lower elementary kids, plays with kids that range from upper elementary to high schoolers, learns from high schoolers and college kids, talks intelligently with adults of all ages, and works well with senior citizens.  This is what social interaction should be - this is what society is made up of.  He knows how to function in pretty much any situation, whether he's being interviewed for a news program or article (he's done both), is giving a presentation to a president of a company (he's also done that), or is being respectful in a mixed crowd.  He can walk into a restaurant waiting area and help a frazzled mother corral her preschooler(s).  And he can walk into a group of kids he's never met and play with them.

It's also about keeping our family close.  We don't keep him at home all the time, and we don't limit his activities - he's very involved in competitive sports, church activities, Scouts, and volunteers each year - but we are a very close family.  I can't tell you how incredible it feels to know that my middle schooler will talk to me about literally anything.  At an age when a lot of kids are drifting away from their parents, homeschool kids look to their parents for guidance.  I know many homeschooled high school and college kids who are as independent as their age and financial situation allows, but can still talk to their parents about anything that comes up in their lives.  

And finally, it's about letting our kids develop into who they are wired to be - not who their age-caged "society" tells them they should be.  Every kid has giftings of their own and interests of their own; they should be allowed to grow in these, at their own pace and in an encouraging environment, in order to become who they are meant to be.  However, when they grow up in an atmosphere that tells them they must conform, those giftings and interests often die.  "Fitting in" becomes more important because that is how they gain acceptance.  Conversely, homeschooled kids gain acceptance with each other (and society at large) by being who they are.  They have confidence in their abilities and their worth, and are not afraid to follow what they love.

There's more to homeschooling, but that's sort of a nutshell picture of it.  Hope that answers your question :-)

Answer 11

Heavens no.  We actually did it so our kids would have better social skills and for the lifestyle.   Yesterday we spent the day at an Aerospace Musuem getting a tour from a WWII Fighter Pilot.  My son had a 1hour discussion with him about flying fighter jets.

My kids can travel with their dad and spend a lot of great time with their friends, something they can't do with their ps friends because their ps friends have WAY too much homework to spend much time with friends.

Academics is a great side benefit though.  My kids are doing very well and we are able to teach them in the way they learn best which means they actually retain whay they learn, rather then forget it as soon as the test is over which is what I used to do at at school.

Answer 12

No. Although I have to admit I would be bored to tears in school! I once spent 5 weeks at school in Primary 3 and about all I got from the experience was a deep sense of disappointment in (and betrayal by) the whole school experience; I couldn't believe that the teacher wasn't interested in teaching the likes of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner or Ulysses or Beowulf or anything by Shakespeare, Dickens, Chaucer or the Brontes to us 7 and 8 yr olds, choosing to believe instead that anything more rigorous than 'playing' was beyond kids of our age!!!!

(My 6 yr old brother can easily read and comment on the kids versions of many literature classics; even my 4yr old sister can handle such books if she's got someone to sit with her and guide her.)

I'm the kid who, at 7 yrs old, told the school principal that I came to school to learn, not to play...and, if I wanted to play, I would have stayed at home, LOL!

For my family, the decision to home educate is also heavily influenced by lifestyle; geographical location; parental opinion, politics and beliefs (as well as their own experiences of school); health concerns; the right of us kids to grow up within our own culture and community; and the finances needed to send 9 kids to boarding school at $25,000 per kid, per year.

Answer 13

For us it was a matter of health, our daughter has a disorder that attacks her immune system.  In the beginning we thought she would do chemo, get better and go back to school.  In the end, we never sent her back and chances are we wont.  Homeschooling provides her with opportunities and experiences that she could never receive in public school.  More importantly, my children think for themselves, they dont need an external source to spoon feed them information.  They are motivated and successful.  Truthfully, I know my children have the skills to succeed, they not only have the knowledge but the tools and motivation to continue learning for the rest of their lives.

Answer 14

No it was not, home schooling is all about family, and being able to raise your children as well as direct their upbringing.

Academics are only one component of this.

Home schooling is so much more, we can be here for a while if I'd explain what it is to us, but in one word it's a life style.

Home schooling is a natural extension of basic parenting, you just add the academics as they are ready, and proceed from there.

Daily living, and all the things that are part of daily life are a great part of their education; they get to live it daily without the constraints of an artificial environment that only tries to recreate it, and fails to do so, because learning was never meant to be that way.

Children learn much more, and mature in a much more positive way when they interact with people of all ages and backgrounds each, and every day, and work along side the adults that they need to learn from.

For young people to grow up to become the capable adults they need to be, they need to learn by doing not by merely reading about it in a book, and having to wait until they are considered old enough to be part of the adult world.