Why are people apposed to home schooling?

Question

If you have the freedom to choose your sexual orrientation, freedom to abort, freedom of religion, than why not freedom of education? I used to be homeschooled and you can learn so much faster and better on your own, plust there are alot less distractions. I know alot of kids who have been homeschooled and have gone on to college and been extremely succesfull. The whole thing about socialization really isn't true because you still interact with people at sports, church, and classes you take with other home schoolers. Its ironic most peole apposed to it have not experienced it and know little to nothing about what it is actually like. I think different form of education work better for different kids, my half brother had ADD and behvior issues and he couldn't read by 2nd grade, my mome homeschooled him and he learnded in a year. This is such a harmless and innocent practice so I don't understand why are goverment threatens to imprison parents who homeschool there kids.

Answer 1

because if your teaching your children the gov't doesnt have control over them.  school is just a way of getting the next generations to not be able to think for themselves so they always rely on someone telling them what to do.  i think im gonna home school my kids when i have some :)

Answer 2

Homeschooling needs a more descriptive title. The word conjures up the image of kids learning around the kitchen table, with mom helping with workbooks, similar to the public school model. Most people are much more creative than that in pursuit of a good education. We're never home! My kids take classes, practice sports, read, watch educational DVDs and TV, interact in the community and talk about what they're interested in with others. We have the freedom and the time to learn so much more than you can learn locked away with only your agemates and one or two adults.

It's unfortunate that most people do not understand that there are as many ways to homeschool are there are children. We homeschool for academic reasons. The public schools have been reduced to day care. There is very little actual learning due to 'teaching to the test', large class size, the NEA and many other factors. Most of the myths that masquerade as truth about homeschooling are still circulating due the ignorance of most of the people employed in the public school system, the NEA (a union that is only interested in the employment of it's members, not in the education of children)  and the failure of people to educate themselves.

This is the perfect example of misinformation:  "The bad apples ruined it for the good ones. Cults teaching their kids at home and they never see the real world." Complete mythology. The media emphasizes any incident that is remotely "weird" and blows it up to scare people. And they blame the "problem" on homeschooling, not on the fact that controlling, possibly mentally ill adults have  taken advantage of weaker people. Kids are abused every day in public school, church... wherever.... and almost all of them are in public school.

"her mom pulled her out to home school her from junior high through high school. I ran into her again in college. She was a shy, introverted nutbag." And you attribute that to homeschool, instead of anything else she experienced in her life?

Socialization:  Which is better? Having your 6 year old "socialized" by 30 other 6 year olds, or by people of all ages who're out in the world engaging in real life?

Learning:  It's a fact that people learn better when they're allowed to learn about the subjects they're interested in when they're interested in them.  They also retain the information and generally learn more in-depth. Public school systems arbitrarily decide when you'll learn each thing. There's no reason you can't learn all the subjects taught in school and many, many others when you're interested. One of my sons' learned to read at 3, the other learned at 8. They learned when interested and taught themselves... no programs required, no intensive teaching.  One son learned Japanese at 5, then moved on the Spanish at 9, and to other languages later.  No public school would offer or allow that.

Depth:  School is not the place to learn about anything in-depth.  Whatever they're teaching, it's just the very surface of what there is to know, there is no depth and every hour or so, you must stop, whether you're done with that subject or not, to move on to something else that you're usually not interested in.

Classroom size:  What could be better than one on one?

Time spent in school/homework:  The majority of the time in school is spent waiting for the teacher to get the class to pay attention, standing in line, wishing for the class to end, recess, going back and forth between classes, lunch, repetition, repetition and more repetition. Then after school, because the time in school (locked away from real life) is not well spent there are hours of homework, which is mainly "busywork".

Critical Thinking:  Not taught in school. Not appreciated. Actively opposed. If you can't think on your own you're easier to control.

Peer pressure:  Kids that are not so negatively socialized are not only kinder, but much easier to be around.

Resources:  Not everyone can homeschool, but anyone can. There are so many resources now, on the web and in our communities, many of them free.  We have access to tutors, mentors, homeschooling co-ops, professionals, professors, people happy to share what they know about subjects they love.

Read John Holt or John Taylor Gatto.

I was one of the people who thought it was weird when I first considered it, but I know now that it was the best decision we ever made for our children and our family.

Answer 3

I understand why people would be opposed to it- they assume that because kids aren't in school that they aren't "socialized" when in reality, HSers are out in the "real world" more then PSers are. Sitting behind a desk for six hours, all day, every day tends to remove one from the "real world" much more then doing what HSers do (doing sports, going to libraries, meeting with friends, ect) on a daily basis.

Answer 4

Because public school teaches you to spell the word 'opposed' properly.

Answer 5

The bad apples ruined it for the good ones. Cults teaching their kids at home and they never see the real world.

I knew of a family that home schooled because the dad's job moved them around a lot. It was easier to school from home and stay on track than it was to drop in a new school and new state.

On the other side. I knew a girl from girl scouts that went through elementary school and then her mom pulled her out to home school her from junior high through high school. I ran into her again in college. She was a shy, introverted nutbag. Not the way she used to be.

There must be a good mix before people stop dissing it. In general most people see them as sheltered people or super religious. Good for you and your good experience.

Answer 6

Keep in mind, that just like not all students do well in public schools, not all parents do well at home-schooling their children.  Some parents actually have no idea what they are supposed to teach and are not really interested in teaching their children.  Most states allow home-schooling as long as the parents take the children for yearly testing that shows that the children are making adequate progress.  When they don't, then many parents have to send their children back to brick and mortar schools, or at least switch them to an on-line public school over the internet.  The states aren't so much trying to take away our freedom as parents to decide which form of education is best for our children, but ensuring that we do provide our children with an education.  They want proof that the kids staying home, are learning.  They want the proof, because too often parents fail to do what they set out to do.  Last September a mother brought me her home-schooled 7th grade son for help in reading.  He was on a first grade level in reading.  She had kept him home illegally and done little or nothing for him for all of those years.  That's educational abuse.  If she had filled out the home school permission forms, followed the legal procedures, taken him for yearly testing, and followed the board of education's suggestions, then her son wouldn't have been six years behind in reading.  Denying a child education is an abuse just the same as denying them food, clothes, or housing.  For that reason, on-line public schools have popped up, so that now parents that don't want their children in brick and mortar schools, can keep their children at home, but still see that they get the education that they deserve, even if mom or dad doesn't know how to teach them.  It's a new compromise that is making many people happy.

Answer 7

I am all for homeschooling!  I know quite a few people who HS their children.  Their are successes, but, unfortunately, there are those who don't know what they are doing.  I know many parents who are intelligent, but don't know how to teach.  I also associate with a number of parents who don't realize or make excuses for their child's inability to read, thus placing an obstacle in the child's path.  HS-ing can be done, but people need to realize that it is challenging at times.  I know that for me, I want to get a degree or learn better how to teach my children because I know each one will learn differently, so I will need to teach differently.

I don't know anything about the government imprisoning parents just for HS-ing; maybe if they haven't followed up with the testing or if they haven't followed the guidelines.

Answer 8

I see where you're coming from....But.

I hate homeschooling, and I know other people have success in it....But if you saw it from my point of view....I think you'd have a different view of it....

Also, I don't play sports, and for teenagers in my town there's really no other places but high school teams for sports....

Chruch? Haha, well I did that for awhile....Haven't made really any friends, also I used to love going to church before I realized it was really a delusion of a imaginary friend up in the sky....

I have really no friends, nothing....I mean absolutely nothing, I wake up in the morning and I say "What for"? I have nothing to look forward to, no one to talk to....

You know when you get exicted just to go to the doctor, that you're life is just a boring, meaningless, waste....

And I see about the whole freedom to choose, but I just don't want other kids to end up like me....That's why when someone asks me about homeschooling, I tell them not to do it, or not to do it to their kids....

But of course they have sport, church, classes with other homeschoolers....

Yep, alot of help those are....

=/

Answer 9

Where are you hearing this?

Homeschooling can be good but it can hinder kids' ability to be social if they are not involved in the activities you mentioned on the side.

less distractions? Really? I would think being at home with all your toys and what not would be more distracting.

I'm not against this, but it does have downsides. At least kids won't get shot up while being home schooled.

Answer 10

Because of the negative stereotypes that some people have already expressed in their answers.  One example is the person who said that homeschoolers can't spell.  Well, if he was judging by the spelling in your question, it might appear that way, but he neglects the fact that a good number of national spelling bee champions have been homeschoolers.

Basically, people haven't heard a lot about homeschooling, so when they hear about one person or one family who has failed to give their children the most amazing education ever through homeschooling, they stereotype based on that example and think that ALL homeschoolers are that way.  In reality, homeschoolers cover a much broader range than public schoolers.  If it's done incorrectly, yes, homeschoolers can become miserable failures.  That, however, is NOT the norm.  Homeschooling provides many people with a greater chance than they would have had in public school, which you already know.  Some people just don't realize that the types of homeschoolers are as diverse in every aspect of the word as one can imagine.

Answer 11

Where did you hear this...

<< I don't understand why are goverment threatens to imprison parents who homeschool there kids.>>

Our government in the USA is not trying to put HS'ing parents in prison.  Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states.

People are just ignorant of a lot of things.  Many people who HS were once anti-homeschool, or didn't think they could do it.  There are many successful HS'ed students and adults.

You may wish to use your spell checker, though, because your spelling skills are going to give homeschooling a bad name.  It's "opposed", not "apposed"....there are many other errors in your post.

Homeschooling is not for everyone.  We are a "half and half" family - one of our children is HS'ed and the other is in public school.  We do what is best for each child.

Contrary to what people think, and have answered, most HS'ed children are NOT sheltered at home all the time.  We're away from home, out in the *community* (read:  real world) more than we are at home.

We do not HS for religious reasons, either.  That may have been a more accurate description back in the 80's and 90's, but no longer.  If fact, I know *more* people who HS for other reasons than I do those who HS for relgion.