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Accepted at a top private but now prefer to homeschool
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Anonymous
Whatever. |
Anonymous
I dunno. If I were the rich parent of a mediocre student I'd certainly believe it was in his best interests to be in a private school. The worst case scenario in a private looks alot better than the worst case scenario in public school. Money buys a certain amount of protection in this case. |
Anonymous
| No one has a problem with that. |
Anonymous
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My question is - if you are interested in homeschooling, what are you doing on the private schools section of this board posting thoughts? Are you just trying to stir up stuff? Obviously, the parents on this forum that are dropping $30k+ per year to send their kids to top private schools are likely not going to actively embrace the idea of homeschooling.
I for one know very little about homeschooling - but it has always seemed like its chosen by parents who want to shelter and overprotect their kids. I wonder what the studies show of kids who were homeschooled/sheltered and then go off to regular 4 year universities? I'd be willing to bet some of them show up on episodes of "Girls Gone Wild". I went to a top NE independent school, a top little three and a top Ivy (all private). I did not know my thoughts are excluded or inappropriate for this board/forum. My apologises. Good luck! |
Anonymous
| Sounds more like "Animal House" or private schooling than homeschooling or "Girls gone Wild" |
Anonymous
I agree -- that's what strikes me as hypocritical. It's not just homeschoolers and religious people sheltering and (over)protecting their kids. |
Anonymous
So you're just posting here as an excuse to brag? |
Anonymous
| C'mon. OP is deciding on private school vs. home schooling. Someone who believes in home-schooling has every right to post here in response. And I can think of at least two reasons other than bragging why she'd mention her background. One is to establish that she knows private schools from the inside so has an experiential basis for comparison with home-schooling. The other is that questions have been raised by PPs as to whether parents are competent to home school. |
Anonymous
Fair enough -- my "brag" comment was too flip, so I do apologize for that. However, when I look at PP's comment from 16:48, her resume-posting seems gratuitous. But I appreciate your clarification about possible earnest motives she might have had. Thanks. |
Anonymous
| Ok, so for those of us who don't know much about homeschooling... please educate us. Assuming the answer is not financial (which I can understand), I'm very curious to better understand why a parent would choose not to enroll their child at a leading independent school and rather homeschool them. What are the specific reasons to do this? What do you perceive is wrong with or missing from these top independent school experiences or values? |
Anonymous
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Like many of the posters here, I too was woefully uninformed about homeschooling. After being waitlisted at the few schools which we thought were a good match for our child, we started to look at this as a possibility.
The term "home schooling" has negative associations with many (including me, before I learned about it) - I think mostly due to the religious fanatics and fringe groups that home school. But that sort of thing is not what we're talking about here. Instead of providing my own anecdotal experiences (which have been extremely positive, in fact, the last year spent teaching my child has been the best of my life) and debating those who haven't even looked into homeschoooling - I would like to suggest two books: Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense by David Guterson and Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book Of Homeschooling by John Holt and Pat Farenga These authors refute most of the negative comments made here, and I think those of you who are interested in learning about homeschooling will find these ooks illuminating... The bottom line for me is this - Homeschooling can be the best of all worlds for your child, but it is not for everyone.... |
Anonymous
| To go back to PP, it really does depend on the reasons, and on your priorities. Lots of home schooled kids are there because it leaves time to pursue something - sports, music - that takes so much time. Some of these kids get a lot of social interaction in these other endeavors. For some kids, the social interaction of school is damaging (bullying). For some, to homeschool for a year or two may be an oasis. There is a lot of emphasis on socialization of kids in this society, but that doesn't mean it is a great emphasis. Intellectually, for some kids school just doesn't cut it, and the "interactions" with other kids in the classroom isn't a bonus, intellectually. Homeschoolers tend to have a lot of free time, and avoid the repetitive homework that a lot of schools give (and is not useful for many kids). As with all these questions, there just cannot be one rule. You've got to look at your kid, the opportunity costs, what your and uyour family's values are, and make the independent judgment. Finally, the comment on audidacts just strikes me as ridiculous. Everyone has gaps in their knowledge, and it is not necessarily the case that schools provide better rounding than homeschooling does. We did not homeschool, and are happy with our school choices, for what it is worth. |
Anonymous
| sorry - typo in the above ... audidacts should obviously be autodidacts. |
Anonymous
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I have absolutely no horse in this race but can see both sides in specific cases. I do believe that whether to homeschool or not is really dependent upon the kid and his/her needs. I've seen a kid who got kicked out of a number of schools (social issues) thrive in home schooling. Another friend of my child's spent 1.5 years in home school - I believe that his great need to put social above all else when he returned to school, including academics, stems from his experience at home. He will do anything to be part of the group - often to his detriment.
I would also say that with SAT scores gradually being eliminated, colleges say they will depend more and more upon writing skills and interviewing. This means that all kids will have to boost their people and writing skills - something that I only see being achieved when there is a trained writer and social interaction involved. I marvel at the parents who can home school and do it well - and can give their child balance. It is a full-time job plus. I just hope that those considering it understand that it will be at least twice as tough as they imagine. |
Anonymous
| I haven't read all the posts, but I am wondering if the H1N1 flu predictions/hysteria has anythign to do with OP's inclination to homeschool. My husband and I were joking that now that our 3 year old is set to start preschool his school will probably be closed more than it is open this fall because of illness/fear of pandemic. I only hope things are not as dire as some public health people think it could be... |