Homeschooling outcomes

[Anonymous]

My own experience in Warren County in the 1990s -- where there is a large homeschool community.

The Catholic (most probably think Vatican II wasn't necessary) homeschool kids were great. Polite, well-spoken, etc.

So my dad and I (who were helping at a community activity) had some other homeschoolers show up at our activity.

There were some fundamentalist Protestants who did homeschool, and those kids were wild for lack of a better term. The parents just sat and talked and the kids would run around, throw rocks @ each other in a public walkway, etc.

Or -- GIGO.

[Anonymous]

I think all too often it's an "ego" trip for the parents who want to be teachers and also have control issues. I have relatives who did this and sad to say that their kids have had a ton of problems post hs or whatever you call graduating in the home school world--I think the parents really wanted to have this cloistered community but the kids resented their isolation and now lost souls. It's sad.

[Anonymous]

I have a few friends who home-school their children, and I have one aunt who home-schooled my cousin. With my friends, one mom was a teacher, very bright, and the husband is a vet, so he covers the science stuff. her kids seem to be doing well and testing well. With the other, I worry more because I went to school with her and she wasn't super-smart. I'd be concerned about her trying to teach every subject. My cousin is now in her 20's and I feel like she would have benefited from more socialization with males growing up - she doesn't relate well to guys because she never went to school with any. (she went to catholic girls school after home-schooling.)

[Anonymous]

I think it totally depends on the family. I have a good friend who homeschools her kids through 8th grade then sends them to high school. Her kids are brilliant and have done exceptionally well in high school and college.

But on the flip side, the family down the street from us homeschools. And their daughter is creepy-weird. Like something you would see in a horror movie weird.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on the family doing it. My sister homeschools and does an AMAZING job with her kids. They are really smart, very social, and well-behaved. She often tells me that "home" school is the wrong name for it because they are almost NEVER home. They are on "field trips" to science centers, museums, and historical sites. Or they are doing sports, taking music lessons, or having lessons with her homeschooling co-op of other families near-by. Another thing to consider is that homeschooled kids who end up in public schools are often not the homeschooling success stories. Homeschooling probably didn't really work for them, so they ended up in the schools later. I think that can warp the feeling among many people (teachers included) that "homeschooled kids are weird and far behind academically." I am a teacher and have seen all ranges of the homeschooled kid - brilliant and well-adjusted to the weird, shy kid who is struggling to read. But I have also seen all ranges of the traditionally schooled child. I think it has far more to do with the parent than with homeschooling (in an of itself). The parents matter a LOT, as they do in traditional school environments as well.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if anyone that actually responded was ever homeschooled themselves.

I was.

I experienced public, private, and homeschool.

My thoughts on homeschooling would depend on personal circumstances and again what has been previously stated "the family"; however I would like to throw in one more, it would also greatly depend on the community.

I, personally, hated being homeschooled. I was extremely social, class SGA, lots of friends, one of few straight A students year round, and I was yanked out of school system because my parents felt they could do a better job. Someone mentioned "controlling" and "egotistical"; both are accurate words to describe a lot of homeschooling parents.

Academic achievement may vary depending on the curriculum used and the teacher (typically the mom). Most homeschoolers that I was acquainted with were extremely bright. Our mothers often enrolled us in exams to see how far advanced we were compared to our “public school peers”. This brings me back to the first point of “community”.

If you are going to seriously consider homeschooling as an option, I would strongly recommend becoming active in at least two homeschooling communities. I recommend two because one group may differ from the next. I was involved in two, and one group was socially awkward and sole purpose was academic advancement. The mother that ran this particular group was toxic even to the children. She placed her daughter on a pedestal, and made others feel like outcasts. Homeschooling is no different than public schools in some regards; however, your social pool is significantly smaller.

I am now 28, and most people I meet are surprised that I don’t fit into the “super religious” or “socially awkward/super intelligent” category. At the time of my homeschooling years, I definitely fit into the super religious category.

While homeschooling certainly strengthened certain skills (math), it weakened other areas where I felt behind once I entered advanced classes in public high school. (Creative Writing)

Even though over a decade has passed since I was homeschooled, I still resent my parents for taking the egotistical route, and homeschooling me for what I believe were selfish reasons on their part. If I was struggling academically, socially, or emotionally/physically bullied, I could certainly see reason for homeschooling. However, those that homeschool are not prepared to take on a well-rounded curriculum, and go the extra 10 miles to ensure their child is enrolled in numerous social and sports events that is typically not open to this student.

Please seriously consider your options. Best of Luck!

[Anonymous]

OP here, we decided to go with traditional schooling for a few reasons.
We knew that we could offer a much better math and science curriculum at home, but we would have fallen short with language arts, an area that can be difficult to fix later on. We considered tutoring to supplement those areas, but we were still unsure.
We are not thrilled with our kids schooling right now, but we have to deal with it. We do supplement very much at home, and that wears them out a bit.

[Anonymous]

It seems to me there are two types of home schoolers:

* religious nuts

* highly educated women who find caring for their own children and husband wholely and completely satisfies them, and that really have absolutely no desire to go back to work. but for some reason they just can not accept this about themselves. so they use "homeschooling" as an excuse that they really don't need. If they are fulfilled being a wife and mother, they should accept and celebrate this about themselves (and be thankful that they found a husband they can trust enough that being a SAHM isn't frighteningly risky)

[Anonymous]

We use Thinkwell.com for Pre-Calc and Calculus. I loved Saxon thorugh Algebra II, but Thinkwell does a better job on the higher maths. It's an online program using hundreds of short (5-10 min) video lectures followed by exercises. They also have AP level Chemistry which words well IF you add your own lab. (It's really important to let kids break glasswear and blow things up on their own. If you don't need to evacuate and fumigate the kitchen at some point, you're just not doing Chemistry properly!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have heard mixed things about Saxon math. Mostly people say it is very tiresome and lots of looong assignments.

I disagree. We found it very well balanced and an excellent solution for building math skills. Each problem set contains review problems from previous lessons and the integrationof geometry into math and algebra early on is well done. We also found the "Mental math" exercises excellent skill-builders.

Each lesson has roughly 30 problems, most of which are review, so it didn't seem excessive to me. Of course, if your kids are coming out of public school they're not used to doing any real work so there'd probably be complaints.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know why the academic outcomes are so good?

Because the kids learn how to "teach themselves". I don't mean that in a bad way, but they usually have more time to figure out the way in which they learn best and are able explore ideas and concepts. A homeschooling parent is not going to be a subject matter expert in every area, so the child and the parent often learn together when exploring advanced subjects. I think these kids are usually more comfortable with learning new things.

In high school a lot of info is spoon-fed or just regurgitated on tests, but college is more "self-taught" and therefore I think that's why homeschoolers perform better in college (or at least adjust better to the acadmic setting better).

I was not homeschooled, but my younger siblings were and both are very social and high achieving. I don't plan on h/s my dd, but believe it can be a positive expereince for the right family.

Your first statement really nails it. My kids do well in homeschool because they've taken ownership of their own education. They don't want to be spoonfed, they know how to find information they want. That learning how to learn is probably the most crucial skill anyone can learn.

[Anonymous]

I homeschooled my son for the middle school years because he was floundering in 6th grade. He couldn't spell, he couldn't write in cursive, and he had no organizational skills.

It was a lot of fun, but more expensive than I anticipated, because we paid extra for swimming, fencing, Latin, etc.

After 8th grade, I set him free. He loved going to high school.

I don't regret any of these decisions.

Love Saxon Math!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems to me there are two types of home schoolers:

* religious nuts

* highly educated women who find caring for their own children and husband wholely and completely satisfies them, and that really have absolutely no desire to go back to work. but for some reason they just can not accept this about themselves. so they use "homeschooling" as an excuse that they really don't need. If they are fulfilled being a wife and mother, they should accept and celebrate this about themselves (and be thankful that they found a husband they can trust enough that being a SAHM isn't frighteningly risky)

You're kidding, right?

What about the many parents who homeschool AND work because they're determined to give their kids the best possible education?

Or the many parents who have just reached the end of their ropes in dealing with a failing public school system and don't WANT to put their kids into private religious schools? That's a growing number of homeschoolers given that few areas of this country provide ANY private schools that aren't religiously affiliated.

Or the many parents who want their kids to spend their days actually learning instead of being tested and tested and tested.... sucking all the joy out of learning.

There are many reasons for homeschooling. Yes, there are some religious nuts. But your insecure housewife theory is really out in left field....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2 thoughts -

By high school it appears that almost all learning falls into the "read the book, answer the questions, write an essay" type thing...

I would hate to subject any kid to that type of high school!

High school should include book learning, but also learning that is experiential, experimental, hands-on, auditory, creative, tactile, multi-media, integrative, etc. For example, high school history can include field trips, documentaries, plays, music -- even food. Sometimes thinking outside the box requires thinking outside the book as well.

If your kids' high school is books only -- run!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems to me there are two types of home schoolers:

* religious nuts

* highly educated women who find caring for their own children and husband wholely and completely satisfies them, and that really have absolutely no desire to go back to work. but for some reason they just can not accept this about themselves. so they use "homeschooling" as an excuse that they really don't need. If they are fulfilled being a wife and mother, they should accept and celebrate this about themselves (and be thankful that they found a husband they can trust enough that being a SAHM isn't frighteningly risky)

you're an idiot