Why do uneducated people homeschool?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have met a handful of moms in Florida who homeschool. I know for a fact they did not attend college. Their grammar is awful. I know I am not perfect myself but that's why I plan on sending my children to public or private school. Why do they homeschool? It seems so backwards. In my home country home schooling is not legal. We would see it as backwards.

(I have not read any of the other posts in this thread.)

The primary reason that people homeschool their children is to maintain control.

A secondary reason is fear of what their children will be taught in a public school.

All the homeschoolers I know (in the DMV, and they are a pretty well educated group of people so not comparable to what OP is talking about) did it for very child-specific reasons. Usually it's that there is something about the child that is not being well-served by the schools, or can't be well-served by the schools. Like we know one kid who is a virtuosic musician and has had opportunities to perform and study on their chosen instrument but it's not compatible with public school. They home school so he can do thinks like a 6 week intensive in a foreign country in the middle of the spring semester if he wants.

I know another family that chose to home school because their early elementary kid was socially immature and academically advanced, a problem that was compounded by Covid closures. As other kids returned to school and settle quickly back into their social environment, their child developed serious anxiety and regressions. At the same time, she was testing several grade levels above her peer group and was doing pull outs for multiple subjects to higher grades, which didn't help with the social issues at all. Moving to home school actually helps their kid socialize more because they are part of a homeschool collective and the environment is smaller and more approachable than a large public elementary school, and since everyone is on a slightly customized curriculum, there is less concern about needing to be in lock-step with same-age peers. It sounds like it's a good solution in their case.

And there are others. I'd say the main goal of these families was to find flexibility, not control. I don't know anyone who feared what their kids were learning in public school, though some families do worry that their kids aren't getting enough of certain things (outdoor time, arts education, writing practice, etc.).

Clicked on the Homeschooling thread by mistake, but fascinated by this specific question.

Why is it that so many of the well-educated folks that homeschool their kids are unable to grasp the theme of this thread? The OP specifically wanted to know why parents that only finished HS decide to homeschool their kids. She understands why highly educated parents (who ostensibly are qualified) might decide to homeschool their kids.

We all read the stories of the kids that are homeschooled (usually by highly educated, PhD parents or equivalent) and win the Scripps Spelling Bee and attend Harvard. However, I have a sister who completed one semester of college, became a religious fanatic and homeschooled her kids. Their outcomes, and as far as I can tell when hearing about their homeschool peer group, have been TERRIBLE. She is in the South, so don't know if there are any standards in the DMV area for homeschoolers.

She homeschooled for religious/morality reasons (to answer the OP's question) but honestly didn't have training or patience for it.

Why is it so hard to grasp that teaching an elementary kid (or a few) at home is completely different than teaching an AP high schooler?

Nobody needs more than a high school education to teach elementary kids. At least that’s the case if you graduated long enough ago that a high school education actually meant something.

At the high school level, most homeschooling parents, and certainly most of the less well educated homeschooling parents, use co ops and private tutoring for the difficult subjects.

There are really just a few religious nuts here or there who insist on educating their kids themselves even though they don’t know the material well enough. Personally, I’ve never met one of those, and I know quite a few homeschoolers.

Seems like if you are hiring tutors and using co-ops (which I gather hire or have access to qualified teachers), you are no longer homeschooling. When a child actor hires tutors, they don't say they were homeschooled... they were schooled in a non-traditional manner because they had to by necessity to fit their schedule. Maybe there needs to be a 3rd thread that focuses on parents that want out of the traditional education system, but acknowledge they can't adequately teach their kids and hire dedicated teachers/tutors.

It is still considered homeschooling, as the parent facilitates and supervises the education and the child is not enrolled in an accredited school.

That seems like a liberal definition, though I suppose that is what is possibly accepted. I believe to a layperson that if you make the statement that you are homeschooling your child, that person assumes that you specifically are teaching them. That could also be a source of confusion for the OP.

Your understanding is outdated. My kids have been homeschooled (liberally defined, but they fall under that umbrella as per FCPS) since early elementary. I have not taught them directly since around middle school. I am, however, in charge of assembling highly customized selections of synchronous and self-paced courses through a wide range of providers. I have very high standards. I’m really much more of a project manager and enforcer these days. Selective colleges seem to like it - my oldest is headed to Yale as well.

Ditto for me (well except the Yale part).

As a homeschooling parent, though, I have to say I'm appalled at some of the families I have met along the way. I've met many extremely religious families that are failing to educate their children. So many families I've met have "graduated" their children without putting much effort into it at all, and the kids are floundering. One mother I know recently told me that her 20 year old son "never really finished high school and all he wants to do is play soccer". It is quite concerning and I feel like it is unfair to the kids because they really didn't know any better and relied on their parents.

I'm in NJ where there is zero oversight for homeschoolers which is fine for someone like me that truly wants a challenging academic environment for my kids, but allows a lot of kids to fall through the cracks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If homeschoolers are so uneducated, they'll fail in life and will pose no threat to you and your school-going kids.

Tim Tebow failed at football and baseball

Tim Tebow left college with a bachelor's degree, which is more than can be said of most elite football players.

Oh please you are kidding right?
Tebow took general math for god's sakes, freshman English for four years.

The man is not educated, fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because they are stupid OP. It's really this simple.

[phone]

[Anonymous]

They're hoping to learn something along with their kids.

[Anonymous]

Most public school kids here are effectively homeschooled first few years. We pulled out of public because our kid learned zero there, literally NOTHING, and I work a lot of hours - too many to homeschool at night. She told us all she did was color and talk about which pilgrims liked corn or whatever. Public parents used to always say "well it's the parents responsibility to teach, not the school." Parents taught their kids to read, gave them math workbooks, took them to Kumon, Russian math or spider math, coding, test prep, etc. That is homeschooling. Then, they'd boast how "gifted" their heavily homeschooled/prepped kids were and how excellent their public was, when everyone knew it wasn't organic IQ. Oh brother. If my parents put that much effort into my academics in the home, I'd probably be freaking Dougie Houser

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have met a handful of moms in Florida who homeschool. I know for a fact they did not attend college. Their grammar is awful. I know I am not perfect myself but that's why I plan on sending my children to public or private school. Why do they homeschool? It seems so backwards. In my home country home schooling is not legal. We would see it as backwards.

(I have not read any of the other posts in this thread.)

The primary reason that people homeschool their children is to maintain control.

A secondary reason is fear of what their children will be taught in a public school.

All the homeschoolers I know (in the DMV, and they are a pretty well educated group of people so not comparable to what OP is talking about) did it for very child-specific reasons. Usually it's that there is something about the child that is not being well-served by the schools, or can't be well-served by the schools. Like we know one kid who is a virtuosic musician and has had opportunities to perform and study on their chosen instrument but it's not compatible with public school. They home school so he can do thinks like a 6 week intensive in a foreign country in the middle of the spring semester if he wants.

I know another family that chose to home school because their early elementary kid was socially immature and academically advanced, a problem that was compounded by Covid closures. As other kids returned to school and settle quickly back into their social environment, their child developed serious anxiety and regressions. At the same time, she was testing several grade levels above her peer group and was doing pull outs for multiple subjects to higher grades, which didn't help with the social issues at all. Moving to home school actually helps their kid socialize more because they are part of a homeschool collective and the environment is smaller and more approachable than a large public elementary school, and since everyone is on a slightly customized curriculum, there is less concern about needing to be in lock-step with same-age peers. It sounds like it's a good solution in their case.

And there are others. I'd say the main goal of these families was to find flexibility, not control. I don't know anyone who feared what their kids were learning in public school, though some families do worry that their kids aren't getting enough of certain things (outdoor time, arts education, writing practice, etc.).

Clicked on the Homeschooling thread by mistake, but fascinated by this specific question.

Why is it that so many of the well-educated folks that homeschool their kids are unable to grasp the theme of this thread? The OP specifically wanted to know why parents that only finished HS decide to homeschool their kids. She understands why highly educated parents (who ostensibly are qualified) might decide to homeschool their kids.

We all read the stories of the kids that are homeschooled (usually by highly educated, PhD parents or equivalent) and win the Scripps Spelling Bee and attend Harvard. However, I have a sister who completed one semester of college, became a religious fanatic and homeschooled her kids. Their outcomes, and as far as I can tell when hearing about their homeschool peer group, have been TERRIBLE. She is in the South, so don't know if there are any standards in the DMV area for homeschoolers.

She homeschooled for religious/morality reasons (to answer the OP's question) but honestly didn't have training or patience for it.

Why is it so hard to grasp that teaching an elementary kid (or a few) at home is completely different than teaching an AP high schooler?

Nobody needs more than a high school education to teach elementary kids. At least that’s the case if you graduated long enough ago that a high school education actually meant something.

At the high school level, most homeschooling parents, and certainly most of the less well educated homeschooling parents, use co ops and private tutoring for the difficult subjects.

There are really just a few religious nuts here or there who insist on educating their kids themselves even though they don’t know the material well enough. Personally, I’ve never met one of those, and I know quite a few homeschoolers.

Why do you have low emotional IQ?

There's 20 pages of posts here lady. Is it possible the homeschoolers were speaking to some of those comments? Think before you attack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have met a handful of moms in Florida who homeschool. I know for a fact they did not attend college. Their grammar is awful. I know I am not perfect myself but that's why I plan on sending my children to public or private school. Why do they homeschool? It seems so backwards. In my home country home schooling is not legal. We would see it as backwards.

(I have not read any of the other posts in this thread.)

The primary reason that people homeschool their children is to maintain control.

A secondary reason is fear of what their children will be taught in a public school.

All the homeschoolers I know (in the DMV, and they are a pretty well educated group of people so not comparable to what OP is talking about) did it for very child-specific reasons. Usually it's that there is something about the child that is not being well-served by the schools, or can't be well-served by the schools. Like we know one kid who is a virtuosic musician and has had opportunities to perform and study on their chosen instrument but it's not compatible with public school. They home school so he can do thinks like a 6 week intensive in a foreign country in the middle of the spring semester if he wants.

I know another family that chose to home school because their early elementary kid was socially immature and academically advanced, a problem that was compounded by Covid closures. As other kids returned to school and settle quickly back into their social environment, their child developed serious anxiety and regressions. At the same time, she was testing several grade levels above her peer group and was doing pull outs for multiple subjects to higher grades, which didn't help with the social issues at all. Moving to home school actually helps their kid socialize more because they are part of a homeschool collective and the environment is smaller and more approachable than a large public elementary school, and since everyone is on a slightly customized curriculum, there is less concern about needing to be in lock-step with same-age peers. It sounds like it's a good solution in their case.

And there are others. I'd say the main goal of these families was to find flexibility, not control. I don't know anyone who feared what their kids were learning in public school, though some families do worry that their kids aren't getting enough of certain things (outdoor time, arts education, writing practice, etc.).

Clicked on the Homeschooling thread by mistake, but fascinated by this specific question.

Why is it that so many of the well-educated folks that homeschool their kids are unable to grasp the theme of this thread? The OP specifically wanted to know why parents that only finished HS decide to homeschool their kids. She understands why highly educated parents (who ostensibly are qualified) might decide to homeschool their kids.

We all read the stories of the kids that are homeschooled (usually by highly educated, PhD parents or equivalent) and win the Scripps Spelling Bee and attend Harvard. However, I have a sister who completed one semester of college, became a religious fanatic and homeschooled her kids. Their outcomes, and as far as I can tell when hearing about their homeschool peer group, have been TERRIBLE. She is in the South, so don't know if there are any standards in the DMV area for homeschoolers.

She homeschooled for religious/morality reasons (to answer the OP's question) but honestly didn't have training or patience for it.

Why is it so hard to grasp that teaching an elementary kid (or a few) at home is completely different than teaching an AP high schooler?

Nobody needs more than a high school education to teach elementary kids. At least that’s the case if you graduated long enough ago that a high school education actually meant something.

At the high school level, most homeschooling parents, and certainly most of the less well educated homeschooling parents, use co ops and private tutoring for the difficult subjects.

There are really just a few religious nuts here or there who insist on educating their kids themselves even though they don’t know the material well enough. Personally, I’ve never met one of those, and I know quite a few homeschoolers.

Seems like if you are hiring tutors and using co-ops (which I gather hire or have access to qualified teachers), you are no longer homeschooling. When a child actor hires tutors, they don't say they were homeschooled... they were schooled in a non-traditional manner because they had to by necessity to fit their schedule. Maybe there needs to be a 3rd thread that focuses on parents that want out of the traditional education system, but acknowledge they can't adequately teach their kids and hire dedicated teachers/tutors.

It is still considered homeschooling, as the parent facilitates and supervises the education and the child is not enrolled in an accredited school.

That seems like a liberal definition, though I suppose that is what is possibly accepted. I believe to a layperson that if you make the statement that you are homeschooling your child, that person assumes that you specifically are teaching them. That could also be a source of confusion for the OP.

Your understanding is outdated. My kids have been homeschooled (liberally defined, but they fall under that umbrella as per FCPS) since early elementary. I have not taught them directly since around middle school. I am, however, in charge of assembling highly customized selections of synchronous and self-paced courses through a wide range of providers. I have very high standards. I’m really much more of a project manager and enforcer these days. Selective colleges seem to like it - my oldest is headed to Yale as well.

Would you consider starting a thread to list out some of those courses and providers you used? I know some might be old since it was a while ago but still might give us ideas.

[Anonymous]

Mark Jackson who played for NY Knicks, went to Final Four in College won the Olympics graduated St. John’s University in Four years with an Accounting Major and passed CPA first try. When drafted by NBA he was already a CPA.

The NY Jets recently had a player who was a MD. An actual doctor. He skipped 2020 season to work in hospitals to battle Covid and rejoined jets in 2021 season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most public school kids here are effectively homeschooled first few years. We pulled out of public because our kid learned zero there, literally NOTHING, and I work a lot of hours - too many to homeschool at night. She told us all she did was color and talk about which pilgrims liked corn or whatever. Public parents used to always say "well it's the parents responsibility to teach, not the school." Parents taught their kids to read, gave them math workbooks, took them to Kumon, Russian math or spider math, coding, test prep, etc. That is homeschooling. Then, they'd boast how "gifted" their heavily homeschooled/prepped kids were and how excellent their public was, when everyone knew it wasn't organic IQ. Oh brother. If my parents put that much effort into my academics in the home, I'd probably be freaking Dougie Houser

Coloring and pilgrim corn predilections...sounds like an eclectic school.

If I send my kid to train with a professional pitcher to work on his pitching mechanics (outside of his normal team), I don't say I "hometrained" him. Not sure how using 3rd parties where all the parent does is register their kid for the class is homeschooling.

Many of the top international school systems, Finland namely, don't spend a ton of time teaching direct educational skills until much later than in the US. Most kids in Finland don't learn to read until age 7. They actually spend a ton of time in the earlier years on group dynamics and social skills. Yet, they routinely have some of the best international test scores at the HS years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because they’re bigots.

I think we’ve found the real bigot.

Oh yes the "bigot" poster. Who has no idea what the word means. LOL

[Anonymous]

Homeschooling has a few camps

Meaning religious nuts not educating at all. To some parents who are highly educated source outside help and their kids head off to college.

I personally have never hired someone who was homeschooled and I would not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most public school kids here are effectively homeschooled first few years. We pulled out of public because our kid learned zero there, literally NOTHING, and I work a lot of hours - too many to homeschool at night. She told us all she did was color and talk about which pilgrims liked corn or whatever. Public parents used to always say "well it's the parents responsibility to teach, not the school." Parents taught their kids to read, gave them math workbooks, took them to Kumon, Russian math or spider math, coding, test prep, etc. That is homeschooling. Then, they'd boast how "gifted" their heavily homeschooled/prepped kids were and how excellent their public was, when everyone knew it wasn't organic IQ. Oh brother. If my parents put that much effort into my academics in the home, I'd probably be freaking Dougie Houser

Coloring and pilgrim corn predilections...sounds like an eclectic school.

If I send my kid to train with a professional pitcher to work on his pitching mechanics (outside of his normal team), I don't say I "hometrained" him. Not sure how using 3rd parties where all the parent does is register their kid for the class is homeschooling.

Many of the top international school systems, Finland namely, don't spend a ton of time teaching direct educational skills until much later than in the US. Most kids in Finland don't learn to read until age 7. They actually spend a ton of time in the earlier years on group dynamics and social skills. Yet, they routinely have some of the best international test scores at the HS years.

Baseball is not a school subject, so you're right, teaching a kid baseball is not like homeschooling. We aren't in Finland either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Homeschooling has a few camps

Meaning religious nuts not educating at all. To some parents who are highly educated source outside help and their kids head off to college.

I personally have never hired someone who was homeschooled and I would not.

Very few kids are homeschooled K-12. Curious if you quiz applicants on their grammar school or even their high school. Professionally, I have never been asked about those years in an interview, nor have I ever asked an applicant when I’ve been interviewing. I don’t care how they are educated, I look for talented people. Some of them, it turns out, were homeschooled.

My daughter homeschooled for a few years because she was doing a preprofessional ballet program. I encountered some religious families (I believe you termed them “nuts”), who didn’t have children in school because they didn’t care for the culture. However, these children were all well-spoken, doing challenging coursework. I did not share the same faith life as those families, but given the number of kids now in difficulty PhD programs and med school, those families were doing something right.

[Anonymous]

They don’t know what they don’t know. Matt Walsh was homeschooled himself, didn’t go to college, and homeschools his own kids (or his wife does).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They don’t know what they don’t know. Matt Walsh was homeschooled himself, didn’t go to college, and homeschools his own kids (or his wife does).

Agreed. I look at the state of education in many of our public schools. So little actual learning is being accomplished.