I have a friend who home schools her kids.....they are bright, well-mannered children but I worry about the fact they do not get the opportunity to interact with their peers as they would if they attended public or private school. (They also stand a better chance of NOT getting mowed down by a crazed gunman)
But, do any of you home school parents ever encounter problems with this? I'm just curious because my sister-in-law is considering taking her kids out of public school and home schooling. This concerns me because both my niece and my nephew are currently very involved with school sports and clubs and other school activities. My nephew is starting high school next fall and if his mom home schools...there will be no prom for him...not to mention the fact that he will no longer be able to play football, basketball and baseball for the school with all his buddies.
2007-04-26 19:03:56 · 9 answers · asked by katjam234 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Home Schooling
You would get more of a variety in the critera in an actual school. Parents, unless they are former teachers would not know everything kids learn, even at an early age. My son is in his first year. He has his normal teacher, plus a phys ed teacher, one for music, computers and science. Does the average parent know where to begin with all that, plus everything else.
I think kids need to be with other kids to learn social skills, and basically about everyday things involving other kids. Things such as friendship, trust, honesty, loyalty, and special bonds they have with other kids who are not their siblings
2007-04-26 19:16:44 · answer #1 · answered by sharkgirl 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
you might want to have her call the school district. you see as long as she's paying state taxes and school taxes her children are allowed to have access to EVERYTHING. lab equipment, library, gym etc. at least it's like that here in Texas. btw is your sis in law going to lock them up in a basement? because this idea that home school children don't interact with their peers is wrong. there are PUBLIC sports groups conducted by the city if I'm not mistaken. i know this because my children will be participating in them next fall. this year my daughter was in folklorico and my sons were in cub scouts. they will continue those activities but we're adding sports to their extra-curricular activities. my kids interact with their peers daily. it's up to the parents to make sure they do. however if I'm not mistaken i do recall constantly being told when i was a student in public school that i was there to learn NOT to socialize....ironic isn't it? and you'd be surprised how many public school teachers have a four year degree in other things other than the subject they're teaching. they are allowed to teach because they completed student teaching, not because they are competent in that subject. also there are wonderful chemistry programs that are available to homeschoolers. they come with all the fancy lab equipment and a dvd series. there are also local home school groups where you can get together and perhaps have a few same age students take these chemistry lessons together, to save the families money and to make it fun for the kids. if you've never homeschooled and all your info is here say, then why are you giving an opinion?? LOL
home school mom of four.
btw take a look at the link below, just so you can see the list of "socially deprived" homeschoolers that have changed our country and our world....heck take a look at mt. rushmore. there are four homeschoolers staring right back at you! LOL
2007-04-26 19:18:13 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
Your sister in law is making the most worng decision. If the kids were facing some problems then it would have been reasonable to some extent but otherwise this idea is very scary. My friend was home schooled for a year and then she came back to high school. The worst part was thats she couldnt deal with other stufdents even when she was away for a year. I think home schooling might save the kids from general fears that we have but if something has to happen it will happen anyways. I mean you cant really decide what will be your future and even if you take precautions you never know. I think your niece and nephew are on the right track and your sister in law shouldnt be doing this.
2007-04-26 19:10:56 · answer #3 · answered by miss_magic047 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
I laugh when I hear people say they want to home school their kids for safety reasons. WAY more children are killed at home by people they know in a month than at schools in an entire year. That is a fact. The truth is that if a crazy nut went into a school somewhere in the country once every day, the odds of your child's school being the one would be next to nil, let alone the odds of them ever getting hurt. The odds are better that they'll get hit by a car going out to get the mail.
That said, there is nothing wrong with homeschooling. You can get around the problem with lack of exposure to their peers, which is a legitimate concern, by making sure they are active in their community. Many home schooled children still participate in extra-curricular activities at school or church, or are involved with clubs. Talk to the schools, and many of them will allow homeschooled children to participate in sports and such outside of classes. I agree with you that parents that don't get their children involved with other children do their kids a big disservice. Not only do the children miss out, but they do not learn important social skills that are essential for success in the real world. But a good homeschooler will make sure this is taken care of.
The biggest problems with homeschooling are the ability and qualifications of the teachers. These children are subject to the parents' strengths, but also their weaknesses. Every parent is not a qualified teacher in all subjects. So you find that a lot of home schooled children are exceptional (often better than public school kids) at the subjects their parents excel at, but they are deficient in many other areas. This makes them unprepared to go to college, and many homeschooled children struggle with college classes (as well as with fitting in).
That said, if a parent is qualified to do it, and they train themselves properly and take all the right precautions, it actually can work out really well. It ultimately depends on the parent. If you think you can do it, then all the power to you! If you have your doubts, then your child is better off going to public or private school.
2007-04-26 19:20:59 · answer #4 · answered by Mr. Taco 7 · 2⤊ 3⤋
I'm not sure that its a bad thing that home schooled kids don't get to interact with their peers the same way as they do in school. Not all school interactions are good and there may be more to your SILs wishes to remove *her* children from school than you know.
My children are educated at home and they take part in lots of activities with other children as well as sports. They also have all the advantages of a 'one to two' education by somebody that genuinely cares about them and their future.
If you are concerned why don't you have a chat to her and ask her how she intends to go about it all, if you are interested rather than critical she is bound to be more forthcoming and who knows there may even be some way in which you can help?
2007-04-26 23:41:54 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Homeschooled children are still involved with sports, dancing , music and any other extra curricular activities that they wish. And when they join a homeschool group they have access to children not just of their own age group but children from birth to high school age. THAT is how they learn to interact with a wide variety of children(people).
It confounds me how it can be assumed that by going to school with children their own age they will be more prepared to go out into the world because when they get out in the world they won't just be interacting with people their own age but a wide variety of people of all ages.
When I was in public school I may have gone to school with 350 people my own age but my 'friends' I can count on one hand.
Children do NOT learn proper social skills from other children, if that is why they are sent to public school then that is the problem with public schools. Children should be taught proper social skills (how to act in public around other people) by their parents.
2007-04-27 00:40:24 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
My exwife is now home schooling my daughters. they seem to be doing ok with it. They have a group of home schoolers that they get together for social interaction. The only problem, is that with home schooling, if your child has special needs or needs courses like chemistry that requires lab time, you may run into a problem.
2007-04-26 19:14:20 · answer #7 · answered by ProLife Liberal 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
home schooled kids can get involved with other kids by joining the local ymca teams or church groups. A lot of cities have parks and recreation departments devoted to finding activities for children and adult to have fun. try those places
2007-04-26 19:39:35 · answer #8 · answered by fireeyedmaiden 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
the basic dis advantage of home-schooling is that your kids, even though they're bright, will have less friends and thus they wouldn't build up confidence which is i think unhealthy for kids because kids should learn socialize with their fellow age-group mates
2007-04-26 19:14:34 · answer #9 · answered by wolframite 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋