OT - Homeschooling...

[rebster]

You are absolutely correct that you can find 12 other kids from public school with the same experiences. Honestly, I truly believe that home schooling and public schooling and private schooling can be equally good and equally wretched and it depends on the parents and the kids and other extraneous circumstances. Each person has to decide what is best for them.

 

[DawnM]

I totally agree with this statement. I am not anti-public school or anti-private schooling, nor do I think everyone should homeschool. But I do support everyone's right to not only choose but allow others to choose. I am not saying you aren't doing that, but these threads tend to get combative and I find myself defending homeschooling more because of that.

I worked as a public school teacher for over 16 years, so I am not in any way anti-schooling.

You are also very correct that it depends on the family and the kids themselves. In our family I actually have the conversation asking them what they want to do for the next year. So far, they beg to be homeschooled.

Dawn

You are absolutely correct that you can find 12 other kids from public school with the same experiences. Honestly, I truly believe that home schooling and public schooling and private schooling can be equally good and equally wretched and it depends on the parents and the kids and other extraneous circumstances. Each person has to decide what is best for them.

 

[rebster]

Unfortunately these discussions can get heated...especially online. I also agree that parents should have the right to choose how to educate their children. I was sharing my experience more to say that you must be vigilant to do the right things for your kids and not just assume that home schooling is the answer without supplementing their experiences. I think its awesome that your kids volunteer and are so involved. I'm sure they will really appreciate all the care and support you have put into their education and lives.

 

[shirleyb]

I've never home schooled, although I always said I could home school my oldest with my eyes closed, but my middle son and I would have fought all day if I'd tried to home school him.

Obviously, as a parent, it's your decision, but what does your DD think of the idea? When my kids were 5 they couldn't wait to start kindergarten. They'd have been devastated to find out that I was going to teach them at home instead.

As far as the socialization aspect, I think it really depends on the family. I know one family of 5 that homeschools, and their kids are all very nice and polite, but they're all just a little "off". I think that is due to parental influence, but because they get limited outside influence beyond their parents (other than church groups and scouts) that parental influence is stronger than it would be if they were public schooled.

I know other homeschooled kids though, that fit in great anywhere, so once again, it depends on the kid, the family and the situation.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[MrsPete]

I am certain there are similar examples of children who had been in public school their entire school career coming into high school and doing similar things to what you just described.
just because a child is in public school does not mean they have good social skills

True enough, but I wasn't making any attempt to draw a comparison. I was just reporting what I've seen. Since you bring up a comparison, here's what I can add:

I saw a greater percentage of homeschool kids were are overly withdrawn and don't have social skills, don't know how to relate to other kids. The previously-homeschooled kids I've seen personally are about 50/50 -- about half fit in fine, about half don't. On the other hand, I can't say that half of the public school kids are socially awkward.

As for negative behavior, I've only seen two homeschool kids -- ever -- who were badly behaved -- and they were brothers, so it was certainly a matter of what that family had taught the boys. And, of course, I've known way more public schooled troublemakers.

It's all about what the parents do, not whether the kid is homeschooled or not. But it IS a topic that potential homeschoolers should consider, not just something to blow off as unimportant.

I do think that in some cases you have a child that just may be different and that even if not homeschooled, they would still not have the social skills.

There's merit to that argument. People may choose to homeschool a child whom they believed would've had trouble socially in school, or they may pull a child out of school because he's having trouble . . . so that child will probably still have some social troubles regardless of the venue in which he receives his education. Which is the cause, which is the effect? I'd guess the answer varies widely.

A former student comes to mind: He was a public school student all his life (at least I think), but he probably would've benefited from homeschooling. He had a serious speech defect, and he was extremely shy. He didn't really have friends, and he didn't like school. I don't think he had much in the area of self-confidence. He'd only speak to me if I spoke to him first, and he had a whole host of self-defense mechanisms; he was an unusual kid. He's a kid who probably would've done better in a more private atmosphere.

The point: He would've had the same problems no matter how he was educated, but if he'd been homeschooled he might've built up more self-confidence. Then he could've faced the world later, as an adult.