There are secular options, you know. |
Love all the unhinged nutters on this thread screaming about how homeschoolers are weird. We're these PPs homeschooled? |
Intelligent, interesting, with unique passions is weird. |
Be an outliner in society including not recognizing that they are, and wondering why they aren't accepted by all people whom they have rejected. |
You only knew a few homeschooled kids growing up yet you judge all by your admittedly limited experience. Ironic, wouldn’t you say? |
I'm not judging all, I'm telling my personal experience, in which they were weird. Clearly many other people have had similar experiences since this trope or stereotype is not uncommon. |
My neighbor decided she was going to homeschool her kids until high school. She had 2 boys. Everyone just believed it was her way of justifying a stay at home mom position for herself. They had to sell their house and move into a condo. Her kids were well educated in tv shows and water pistols.
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Your "experiences" back in the 1990s are outdated and irrelevant, Karen. |
I think that it’s a stereotype that exists and persists because there used to be VERY few people who rejected traditional educational institutions in favor of homeschooling. Those people tended to have extreme views that led them to that conclusion. I used to go to Econ summer camps in high school and met a handful of homeschooled kids each time. They were weird (and I was weird enough to go to Econ summer camp, so, grain of salt). Spouse has many family members who were home schooled for religious reasons. They were always defending their choice to me. I couldn’t care less that they wanted to homeschool.
Now, there’s more people making that choice for much less extreme reasons. I know several, their children are great. But until the numbers reach some kind of measurable mass, you can expect that people will hold tight to the existing stereotype. |
Because I was homeschooled and there was an above average prevalence of weirdos. All of these families were comfortable making this non-traditional choice and they often make other non-traditional choices and often flaunt them.
"We don't own a TV" "Public school is indoctrination for capitalist worker drones" "I'm so proud my daughters want to grow up and be SAH homeschool moms and embrace our traditional family values" (not judging this if it's right for them but this quote is my brother and wife who are raising my nieces to be wives and mothers only and have no career of their own/basically be dependent on men as soon as they get married which will probably be right out of high school) These people exist in other places too but the prevalence is higher in homeschooling. I've met plenty of them. Obviously there are lots of normal "non-weird" people who homeschool. Homeschoolers are a huge group these days and not a monolith. |
Most are controlling and delusional, often extreme left or extreme right, often have several kids or one gifted kid who's world domination is family's top goal. |
Because the vast majority of American children are socialized in regular schools. It's where they learn to interact with children and adults that are not immediate family members, in all kinds of social situations and for their entire childhood, from age 4 to age 18. Good or bad, that is where they learn how to deal with other people in a social environment. Raise them in a different environment - like homeschool - and they are going to be different from other kids. |
To be fair everyone has a right to mess up their kids in their own special way, that's what parenting is about. As long as no abuse of any kind is happening, its not society's business. |
If you don't want public or religious schools, your options are very limited. Good privates are few and expensive, most are businesses. |
Having the confidence to think everyone else is more messed up than you is special delusion of grandeur. It intrigues me. |