Home school and schooled?

Question

Okay why is it that most (not all) parents that home school think that all home schoolers are automatically smarter then kids who attend public/private schools? And why is it that most (not all) parents who send their kids to public/private school automatically think all home schoolers are social outcasts and are not fully exposed to the outside world?

Some home schoolers are really smart, and other are not. Some public/private school kids are really smart and others are not.

Just because kids go to school doesn’t mean they are automatically "bad". And just because some kids are home schooled doesn't mean they are automatically "good"

What’s the point of making home schoolers sound better then schooled kids, and what’s the point of making schooled kids sound better than home schoolers?

Their all kids right? And all kids have their own personality. Their not robots, no ones the same it depends on the person. Why can't all schooled and home school kids be treated the same

Answer 1

You raise a very good question. I home schooled for a year with my children who were in 3rd and 1st grade at the time. My daughter who was in 3rd grade benefited tremendously from it. And it worked for her. My son who was in 1st grade at the time and was diagnosed with ADHD should have benefited from it but didn't. He didn't want to cooperate with any of it, and thought he was on vacation! They are both back in public school. While my son still has occasional problems, he enjoys school much more.
I know alot of home schooled children and public/private school children and I think it really depends on the home environment and the individual kids. A person that teaches school at home has to be really organized, and I wasn't. I think that all programs are great when the parent stays involved in their education whether it is home school or other schools. I don't feel one is better than the other and they should be treated as the same.

Answer 2

I'm not sure where you've gotten the impression that most homeschooling parents think that homeschooled are automatically smarter than kids who go to school. It's been said over and over again in this forum that a student's success in homeschooling depends on what the parents have them do. It's been said over and over again that homeschooling itself doesn't set up these things, but parental choices do. I have also seen repeatedly parents sharing that they feel homeschooling is better for their kids and then describing their own kids and not making blanket statements about homeschooling students being smarter.

Now, if this is a generalization from what you experience where you live, it really goes both ways: both sides stereotype a bit (or a lot) the other side. Plenty of public schooling parents think that homeschooled kids won't be as smart as their public schooled kids. So that's the point: to defend one's position. Very few of us are completely secure and psychologically, there's a need to make our decisions sound really good. You can see it anywhere with any decision. A teen who has decided to be a party-er puts down those who don't. Jocks making sports sound so much more important than school. Adults who automatically dismiss certain types of jobs for their kids. You get my point, I hope.

All this to say that it's an emotional/psychological thing and not a common sense thing. And add in a bit of misinformation. If it were a common sense thing, we wouldn't have blanket statements by anti-homeschoolers like those Mr. Z makes.

Answer 3

An option is doing homeschool and just sending your kids to either an extra curricular activity or a church youth type thing. That way, they could learn and have friends (: Im in high school right now and I've been on a public school my whole life. I don't think its bad at all. Yeah, there is peer pressure, decisions to make, and bad kids that bring drugs into school and kids who bully. But you can't just shelter your kids. I think it would be better to go to public school because it could teach important lessons and also gets kids ready for the REAL world. I think its all about a person's personality and how they handle situations. As long as the person makes good choices, they're fine. Let your [future] child 'live' . I hope I helped (:

Answer 4

We are home schooling this year for the first time.My son is 12 and wasn't making any progress in school.He completed grade 5 last year and couldn't read.Not that this was the total fault of the school.My son has a brain stem tumor.He was diagnosed with it at the age of 7.He needs intense one-on-one help in which public school couldn't provide due to limited funds.After being home educated for 3.5 months he can read at a Kindergarten level.While my son will never own a company of be the President of the US he will be able to do what every adult takes for granted.This will still be a struggle for him.
Being in public school was a huge struggle in it's self.When you are classified as different children can be unmerciful and with a class full of children the teachers sometimes forget that some children have special needs.He was often told to act his age.That 12 year olds should know how to do whatever particular thing it was,My some has an IQ of 49.Hard to act 12 if you have the abilities of a 4 year old.While home schooling is right for us,it isn't for everyone.

I don't claim my child is smarter that anyone else,but he is functioning better in home school.

Answer 5

I home school and feel that public school or private school is not right for our family. But I feel no one way of schooling is better for all. This is a CHOICE made by each family, sometimes per child. I do understand because I will take my children out and as soon as someone finds out that they are home schooled the person starts quizzing my child. I do not quiz public school children and they do not quiz public school children. So why should my kids be quizzed? I am teaching them.
Home schooling is a big part of my life so I will talk about it with friends and anyone who asks. I feel that each parent should be aware of the choices they have for educating the children. I am willing to share my experiences. A lot of parents think that they "can't do it". But don't we as parents despise it when our children say that they "can't do it" before they even try or at least research it a little.

Answer 6

Home schooled kids are not smarter than kids who go to school but the average scores on standardized tests are significantly higher for homeschooled vs. public school students because homeschooled students are taught one on one by the only people whose vested interest in the student's education is just as great as that of the student himself (or herself).

The idea that homeschooled kids are reclusive robots comes from a variety of misunderstandings.

1. The phrase homeschool leads some to think that homeschoolers are taught exclusively at home.

2. Institutionalized schooling leads to a herd mentality and many kids who attend institutional schools and their parents assume that homeschool students tendency to resist conformity as a lack of social skills.

3. Most people have forgotten that the best way to ensure that everyone thinks in a certain way is to put them all in a room together and teach them all the same thing.

Answer 7

Well, come on, don't say most parents. Only obnoxious parents; I'm homeschooled and never say a word.

People take pride in their system. The way I see it, homeschoolers are generally misunderstood and so start out defensive, which means they come across as saying, "My little prodigies are wonderful because I'm not raping their minds in school." People in school either take offense to that, expect someone to say that, or take a homeschooler's lack of participation in their system as a rejection and so defend their position.

The whole thing generally comes from insecurity and lack of real information. Right now there's a big divide between the methods that there really shouldn't be, so there ends up being hostility.

One thing I have noticed, though, is that school kids often feel that they have the rights and knowledge to judge every aspect of my life and find it lacking while I have no right to say anything about that. If I were a grudge type of person, that wouldn't make me see school in a favorable light.

Answer 8

I'm not most people, but I don't care what you choose for your family. I didn't like my choices of public school, so I chose to homeschool my children. (Private school is not an option that we can afford right now, as my husband is in school at this time)
I know that THERE are some public school kids that are smart. I was one of them, and I knew quite a few high achievers in public school. I also know that THERE are some homeschooled kids that haven't learned squat. THEIR parents have not done THEIR jobs. THEY'RE not much interested in making sure THEIR kids have a proper education. I know that THERE are homeschooled kids that are wall flowers, but THERE are also very many that are social butterflies. I know that THERE are a lot of social activities in public school, but I also know that THERE are social outcasts in public school. Who would the bullies bully if THERE weren't?

And MR.Z, many people I know that homeschool chose to do so BECAUSE they were public schooled and they KNOW what it's like there.

Answer 9

Why do you 'automatically' assume that 'most' ppl feel any particular way? And why should it matter?

There's an old saying that maybe you should think about. Live and let live.

Why can't all schooled and home school kids be treated the same? Because NOBODY should be treated like a cookie cutter clone.

Answer 10

I for one, as well as other home school parents at YA, are for the most part "to each his own". It is in fact the public school proponents that come and pester those here about how socially inept homeschoolers are...totally based on generalizations and complete ignorance.