Do you agree with homeschooling?

Answer 1

I think it depends on the parent, child and their relationship.

Some families do wonderfully with homeschooling, their kids entering college early and have very successful careers because their parents gave them such a solid foundation. An example is the author of Eragon, Christopher Paolini. He was home-schooled his entire life and graduated from high school at 15. You can tell by his writing that he is very well educated and well spoken.

And then other families to terribly, and need to be in public school. A family I went to church with in Florida home-schooled their kids because they felt the children would get too much of a worldly influence towards evil at public school. I felt it was a great disservice to these kids as only the oldest could read, and barely. The children under 12 couldn't hardly read two sentences. These children also had no social skills, and the older kids could not get and keep a job. It was very sad.

I think the best solution for both types of families is the system I saw as a teenager in North Dakota. The state allowed home schooling with some regulations. Basically, you could teach your kids at home as you saw fit, but the children were tested every few years. If they were falling significantly behind (especially in the basic areas of reading, writing, and mathematics) they were placed in the public school system. But as long as they maintained the school average or better, they were allowed to keep homeschooling.

I also think that when one does choose the option of homeschooling, one has to be very careful to give the child/children plenty of social opportunities. Families that I have seen be successful in homeschooling usually have their kids involved with community groups like sports & theater. They are also usually very active with their church and local playgroups, so that their kids get plenty of social interaction.

Answer 2

It depends on the situation. I do not agree with people homeschooling their children to shelter them or make sure they conform to their beliefs.
However, many people just homeschool their children to make sure they get the best education possible.
The main argument people use against homeschooling is the socialization aspect. In the past, this was an issue. Anymore, however, socialization is not a problem anymore. Many communities have groups for homeschooled children that provide extracurriculars, dances, field trips, and much more.
Others give examples of homeschoolers who had not been given any education. These are the minimal cases of homeschoolers. Columbia University did a study that showed that homeschoolers scored higher on college entrance exams than other students.
Ultimately, it depends on every family and student. If the child is in a younger grade, and the parents aren't able to dedicate themselves to their child's education, homeschooling isn't for them.
I personally think that having the child go to public grade school and maybe even middle school, and homeschooling them for high school is the way to go. However, anymore many middle schoolers and even grade schoolers in big cities (sometimes not even big cities) are getting involved in gangs, drugs, swearing, violence, and other undesirable traits.
As I have said before, it depends on every circumstance.

ADDED: O.K. so I have said this many times before, but I'm going to say it again. How many of you who had never experienced homeschooling would tell someone who had been homeschooled all their life who answered a question about public school or private school that they didn't know what they were talking about, so they did not have the credentials needed to answer the question? Take your own advice. If you have not experienced homeschooling, you would not know. Yes, you might have seen a few examples, whether good or bad. You might have "heard" about someone who was completely uneducated because they were homeschooled. But how many of these cases also exist in the public school system? A lot do exist. I was in the public school system for 11 years. I had a very good public school, but there were so many examples of kids who were just completely illiterate. Would homeschooling have worked for those kids? Maybe. As I said before, it depends largely on the entire circumstances surrounding the child.

Answer 3

I have changed my mind a lot about homeschooling. While I do see some big concerns with homeschooling, I do know that it has improved over the last few years. Especially on the socialization aspect.

However, I do see some big concerns that need to be addressed by parents if they homeschool their children.
1) Are you prepared to teach all subjects the kids need?
2) How will you ensure that your kids are learning the course materials?
3) What if your child wants to learn a subject you are not experienced in, such as a foreign language?
4) Do you allow your child to have viewpoints other than your own? A successful person needs the ability to see other people's viewpoints? How will you teach your children to respect other people's differences, even if they don't agree?
5) For those students who are not college material, what types of jobs can they do, besides being self-employed or working for a small business. The kids will need to have an accredited diploma.
6) Other than checking the answers in an answer key, how will you ensure that kids are maintaining adequate progress?
7) What about after they are out of high school? How will that student handle college in a dormitory situation and dealing with boyfriends/girlfriends when they have not yet experienced this and are away from the parents' influence. One student was unprepared to deal with this after being sheltered. The daughter could not handle being in a classroom with non-family members and did very poorly in college.
8) How will you teach your child to deal with social issues after they are out of the home. I'm talking about with people their own age in a social setting that is not part of your religious background.

I've seen some parents who don't see the need to do the actual teaching in a homeschool environment, including teaching the kid to read. Another parent refused to allow their child to learn Spanish because the parent didn't see a need to learn Spanish here in America! Another student was not prepared for college - academically yes, but not socially - especially when boys (in a Christian college) wanted her to "put out" for a date. The daughter was so unprepared to deal with guys who fed her a line because she had never had to deal with this and now she was several states away from home.

So, please make sure that if you are considering homeschooling that you are prepared to deal with these types of issues.

Answer 4

When actual "schools" started in the 1800's, they were 1 room schoolhouses where the teacher was able to give individual attention to various grades. Most of the time the teachers were from the church. They did not have degrees and did not get paid. It was a community service.

As it stands these days, the Federal Govt stepped in and said we can do better. They set standards for schooling and that was the begining of the end. The standards are so low these days that most high school grads, (85%) graduate with a 6th grade skill set.
When I was in school we had the ability of taking Trig as an elective in 10th and Calc as an elective in 11th.

Those days are gone. I won't say that I had to walk a mile uphill in the snow to get to school, because I'm not THAT old.

There have been several studies done and the newest studies state that homeschooled kids have several things going for them.
1. the lack of peer pressure is a big influence on how your kids are raised
2. the amount of individual attention that each homeschooler gets from the teacher is big in contrast to how much public shcool kids don't get from the teacher.
3. The actual lessons are harder and more focused in homeschool programs than public school.
4. the kids schoolwork is not set up so that the kids are taught just what they need to pass certain tests, so the school can get a good grade and more funding. The skill sets are actually what the kids need to get along in the world.
5. Colleges are really looking a lot harder at homeschooled kids now for what they need, because the kids are truly getting reading, writing and math skills.
6. Sat scores for homeschooled kids VS high school kids are almost 40% (39.3) higher than highschool kids. "Wall street journal October 2006"

2 years ago my eldest daughter took the Duke Preliminary Skills Set for college and passed with 91%. Colleges are already looking at her and she's only in 9th grade. She took the test in 7th grade! My 4 year old has the skill set of a second grader and my second grader is doing 4th grade comprehension and math.

Homeschooling is a great idea, if the parent(s) are willing to put as much effort into it as the children. It is not for everyone though, as it takes loads of effort to get the task accomplished.
The social interaction lost from not going to public schools is the only downside to the whole program.
As homeschooling continues to grow though, the number of programs will increase.
Yes, I am for homeschooling.

Answer 5

Not only do I agree with homeschooling, I homeschool my daughter. To those who are whinging about their answers getting thumbs down, its not because Im scared of your opinion, I really dont care one way or the other what you think of my choices, its because of the arrogant way you express your opinions and the rude way you assume you know my child or my reasons for homeschooling.

Answer 6

I agree with it if the family is stable enough and the parents are committed enough to make it really work. I don't mean by this that all parents have to have their kids sit down to work 5 hours a day or anything like that. I know some very committed unschoolers whose kids are doing wonderfully; I also know some unschoolers who are committed to their idea of unschooling and less to their children's education and the kids are suffering. I know some very committed parents who do spend 5 hours every day and the kids are doing great; but I also know some who are, perhaps, not quite 'stable' enough and too perfectionist and insistent and have a similar structure but may be asking too much of their kids. So, perhaps committed, but not 'over' committed.

Answer 7

as a homeschooled student i can say that yes there are less social events that i can go to but, i was in public school until i was in 7th grade. i have now been homeschooled for three years. i'm doing 10th grade science and 8th and 9th grade language and such. i can read and comprehend at a college level and have been able to read at that level since i was in about 6th grade. i believe that while not all that savory homeschooling is in the long run much more beneficial to the student. i can get all 5 of my subjects done in 2 to 3 hours. after that i'm free to do whatever i want. i also have ADHD (thats not just me saying that i was actually diagnosed by a doctor at a well known mental health clinic). in school i was failing because i could not pay attention to the droning of the teacher, because of all the whispers and such in the background of the classroom. as a homeschooler i have a very flexible schedule. i am starting voice lessons next week. (which i would not be able to take if were in public school because she has no other times available other than 1:30). because i still have friends from public school i stay pretty socialized. did u know that colleges are accepting more homeschool students than public school students? do u know of any public schools that allow u to complete 2 grades in one year? also in homeschool we are not pressured to figure out what we want to do by the time we are in 6th grade. its crazy. why should i have to know what i want to do for the rest of my life when i'm 11 or 12? homeschooling also allows me to do what i want as far as actual work goes. i don't do every subject everyday. i do 4 out of 5 subjects everyday. i can work and count it as school on the weekends. i believe that if put in the right situations a homeschooler will far exceed any public schooled student. as far as the slacker homeschoolers that is the parents fault not the child's. my best friend and her sister were "homeschooled", but their mom didn't make them do school. in the end it started hurting them. they wanted to learn so badly that they ended up going back to public school. the only reason i've ever wanted to go back is for the social stuff. but there are homeschool proms and the like and don't we go to school to learn? not to talk and gossip? i also love the time i get to spend with my dad when hes home b/c he travels so much. if i were in p.s. i would not get to see him as much. so far homeschooling has opened many doors for me. so yes. i do agree with it.


btw-i do know what i'm going to be doing as far as careers go. i wish i could just do the subjects that pertained to these careers.

Answer 8

I don't have anything against anyone that was homeschooled, but I went to a public school and I feel like had more fun in school than some of my friends that were homeschooled. I was able to get out of my house and be around my friends during the day. I think that children that go to school tend to be more social and outgoing than those that are homschooled, and I think that it is harder for homeschool kids to fit in when they get around others their age if the others go to school and they already have their social groups it is harder to let others join that they don't know.

Answer 9

Yes if the parents are committed to it. It is not dificult to home school. My wife is the teacher in our home school and she is in her 24th year as such. Our children have gone on to college and own several busineses enterd the military (Marines) and was a Presidential honor guard and served in the Middle-East, and one still in school. I walked by today and biology lab was going on and I got to see a frog being disected.

To home school was a conviction for my wife and I, not a preference. In the early days I was prepared to go to prison if necessary for this conviction and when the state saw that the constituion defended that conviction they backed off before it went to the Supreme Court. It was tough back then and some what scary. I'm sure there are people who abuse the right to homeschool that we and others fought for but the right remains none the less. If you want the state and governerment to be the significant influence in your children's schooling and are ok with that and the current cultural influnces that go with them, then I guess the public system is fine for you. It was not for us and we decided to educate our own children.

Once again I must say it is not difficult to teach your children with the numerous resources available today for home schooling. But it is a serious chioce and commitment must be there. And don't let anyone bring up the issue of lack of socialization. Just take them with you, go to the library, join the "Y", take them to Church and Sunday School, Youth activity, sponsor exchange students even if they (the exchange student) go to the local public school, go to summer camp, join public sports leagues, and most public schools allow joint activities for your home schooler. I can assure you that our children have no social dysfunction. ( And no dysfunction learned from the public system). Also when it came to high school we gave them the option to attend public school if they wished. Our oldest did his senior year and was on the Honor Roll and graduated in the top 10. I must add that this disturbed the school so much that later home schoolers were not allowed to be ranked out of "fairness" if they deciced to attend senior high, and could only earn certificates of attendance not a diploma, go figure. Our son did say that after the fact he wished he just homeschooled his senior year. We are a blue collar family and nothing special in my wife's or my background. You can problably see that in my writing skills. I attended Public School. I hope you may have gleaned some useful information from our experiences.

Yes, I agree with home schooling.

Answer 10

The child's need is what's important, so if home schooling caters to their needs then great, as long as there is a qualified teacher involved. One-on-one teaching helps to focus one the student's Strong and weak points. However, it does not teach the child the importance of competition with other students or how to socialize with classmates in a schooling environment.Sometimes the children become sheltered and are not faced with the reality of life and are not able to share their experiences with others nor learn about other persons experiences.