What is your opinion of homeschoolers???

Question

well, the title says it all.

Answer 1

First of all...St. Max.  We know it's just you, Unknown, with a new avatar and screen name.  Please, please get some help.

Now about homeschoolers...I love my three with my whole heart.  I just can't believe the stereotypical social regurgitation that still goes on.  Do people actually think we keep our kids locked in their rooms with only books as friends?  My kids have way more opportunities to experience other kids and in far better ways.  They haven't been thrown into the tank as guppies and told to watch out for the sharks.  Their friendships are based on more than just age.  They've made their friends at venues of common interest.  We only school in the morning, so our afternoons are used for sports, music, workshops, volunteering, play arrangements, swimming, field trips and just plain stuff.  Their afternoons are rarely spent at home.  On top of all that, they're loving their education because they get to choose most of what they learn.  They're not stressed out by some grading system created to keep kids in the same box as their age group.  So I can tell you what I think of MY homeschoolers.  They're intelligent, polite, compassionate, secure, confident, loving, responsible, capable, creative, a couple of grade levels ahead and HAPPY.

Answer 2

odd, smart, independent and socially sheltered.

Answer 3

It depends. Sometimes it is a very good learning environment and the child gets more one on one contact then they would in a school with teacher child ratio of about 1-30 or more sometimes. But on the other hand if you home school your child their entire life how will they know how to cope with peer pressure, how will they know how to respond and interact with other people. These are just some of the things that us as humans need to know to be able to function in a work or school setting or any type of setting that include one dealing with another. Although with crime rate and also all of these teachers molesting and doing whatnot to children is scary for some and they might not want their child to go to public schools, there many other options like private and so on. Maybe us as adults should do some more research about the schools and teachers before we place our kids there.

Answer 4

They are people, just like kids who go to school.

Answer 5

Thier avarage scores on the standard achevement tests are higher than public or private schools.

Answer 6

That they are individuals, just like everybody else.

I know homeschoolers who are into all the superficial stuff that I see is more prevalent among public schooled kids. I know very few homeschoolers who are like this, however.

I know homeschoolers who are gregarious and others who are shy. I know homeschoolers who are very far ahead in their studies and others who, by school standards, would be very far behind. I know average kids, smart kids, Asperger's kids, other special needs kids and more. I know Christian, Muslim, Unitarian Unversalist, pagan, atheist and other homeschoolers.

Homeschoolers are a diverse group! In *general*, they seem more easy-going and open about life and people and being with their families and all that. Most seem eager to learn and experience life. I know my kids have always been highly praised in their lessons (swimming, etc.) because of their behaviour and their enthusiasm. I hear this from other homeschooling parents, too.

Answer 7

What do I think of them?  Well, I am one, or, I was until I graduated.  I think for the most part they're great.  I've met one or two that were bad apples, but overall they're usually pretty friendly and respectful.

Answer 8

though u r independent u tend to miss out on d best part of skoolin - socialisin n makin frends......i wont say dat homeskoolers r all failures....but dey soon get distractd lose interest n bcom depressed n dejectd

Answer 9

My Niece was home schooled ,today she is a Doctor and an Officer in the United States Air Force. Sometimes I think regular school bores kids and takes away their natural interest in learning.

Answer 10

K, well I'm homeschool, and any one who says "we" are 'crippled' when it come to other ppl, ARE SOOOO WRONG!  We have tons of friends!  And it helps when you go to youth group, like I do.

Answer 11

Well home schooling would be SO MUCH EASIER to learn than normal school but i'm sure one would develop social deficienies.

Answer 12

When I see these kind of questions, I just get MAD!  Wanna know why??  Huh???  I AM A HOMESCHOOLER!  And FYI to all those jerks who say we are "socially-deficient," well, I have something to say to you.  At my birthday, we have over 20 people there, just kids.  Not counting adults!  Now to all those good parents considering homeschooling, I want to tell you this:

We are HAPPY with homeschooling; I love it!

I am an EXCELLENT speller, a vivid reader, great writer, and I am awesome at math!  Kids LEARN more at homeschooling.  You get 1-on-1 attention.  You get to be at home, with your parents, and NO homework!

So my opinion of homeschoolers is really high, we are great people.  And if any jerks say we are "socially-deficient," well, you are wrong.  Just wrong.  Your brain is twisted.  I don't care if I get thumbs down for this.  I am just stating the truth, unlike some people.  GRR.  

Sometimes these questions just make me mad.  Very, very mad.  I don't get how you can put us down like this, knowing very full well that some homeschoolers may be reading this.

I just do not like rude people.  There is nothing wrong with homeschooling.  Nothing.  Sometimes, yes, we may be a little shy...but have I news for you.



Homeschoolers don't drop out.  We can't.  We aren't bullys.  We aren't drug addicts.  We aren't bad-mouthing teenagers.  We are good kids.  Good, strong, smart kids.

Now, everyone who reads this, I want you to erase that urban legend that all homeschoolers are weird, freaky, odd, and twisted.  I hope I make a different opinion in your brain, and not that a crazy and mad homeschooler, but of a smart, and collected homeschooler.  

We aren't bad.

We aren't.

I promise you that.

Answer 13

uh, Sunshine, the best part of "skoolin" as you so sub-literately call it, is becoming educated. Really, you should look into it sometime.

Answer 14

Homeschoolers?

Everyone's different. I don't have a set view on homeschoolers.

Homeschool"ing" is a whole other ball game however.

Answer 15

I feel so sorry for public school kids.  So when I look at homeschoolers, I usually see them as loved and blessed, intelligent, curious, well-behaved, polite......

Answer 16

My son has home schooled his daughters for 4 years. His oldest is 15, would be at the end of her Freshman year in public school. By next spring she should be ready to start taking classes through the community college.

My husband is a math teacher. She spent 3 months with us last fall and completed Algebra 1 while she was with us, plus covered Astronomy and met some of her requirements for history, English literature and science. My son tried various forms of home schooling and has settled on a curriculum that he ordered because that's the one that works best for his daughters.

They have some problems with socialization, but it doesn't have to be that way. The opportunities are there for outings with other home schooled kids, community sports, organizations (like scouting, if one is inclined), martial arts, community theater, etc. Socialization really isn't a problem with most kids.

What my son doesn't have to worry about for his daughters is peer pressure, drugs, gangs in the schools or bullying. His daughters are well mannered, intelligent, attractive girls. (By the way, he isn't home schooling them for religious reasons as a lot of people do.)

My daughter, on the other hand, has three boys. The oldest is 14 and completing 8th grade this year. He has had problems all year. He was put into a math class that was far too basic for him because it was the only one they could fit into his schedule. He's bored and restless, and consequently has been getting into some trouble in class. He has developed an attitude, started smoking and has really been a handful for his mother this year. Fortunately, he has settled down in the past month. We hope it's not a temporary thing. He goes to a top rated school in our area, but there are still problems with drugs and gangs in his school.

So, is he better off than my son's daughters? Which one is really getting the better education? You obviously (from your comment "the title says it all") think that home schooling is inferior. Do your homework. Home schooled kids are out performing those in public education. I hate saying that because my husband was a teacher for 36 years. We hate what's happened to public education. It's a disgrace.

Answer 17

I think they're pretty normal kids who are allowed to grow up without the restriction of artificial norms that are found in public and private schools.  Many of them have learning styles that work better with one-on-one or small group instruction; they often also develop responsibility for their choices and actions at a younger age, since that is what is expected of them.

I think they deal with many of the same "growing up" problems as public and private school kids, but they are allowed to work through them in a safe environment.  They're not perfect by any means, but they are allowed to grow up on their own timetable, rather than that of "the popular kids" and MTV.

On the whole, I find that they enjoy learning, are respectful to others, tend to be more mature than their classroom-schooled age-mates, love to hang out with people of all ages, and have an inherent sense of responsibility that I don't see in kids very often outside of homeschoolers.  They tend to be attentive to the needs of others and willing to help.  (This doesn't apply to *every* homeschool kid, of course, but the majority.)  They tend to know what they want out of life, and they're willing to work hard and take advantage of "out of the box" opportunities in order to achieve their goals.

Answer 18

I was homeschooled and did very well in college and so far in life too. It is good for some and bad for others. It really depends on the effort the parents and children put into it.