I'm hoping this situation makes people view homeschooling in a better light

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My half-brother’s cousin who is barely literate herself decided to homeschool her 5 kids because she thinks Zoom is an invasion of their privacy.

She’s right

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ummm ... it’s the exact opposite.

+1 Most parents are realizing that it's very, very difficult if not impossible to teach your kids everything they would learn in a school environment from real teachers at your house. I used to think that with enough effort (lucky) homeschooled kids could get all of the academics done, but would still miss out on socialization. Now I realize the academics are probably not getting done either.

I say lucky because I personally know several homeschool moms who brag every month or so about how all 4-5 of their kids got "All As Again!!" in grammatically nonsensical FB posts, so I don't trust that those kids have a shot in hell in the first place. But with an educated, dedicated parent, and fewer kids to teach, it seemed possible.

If this is true, you do associate with some oddballs. This is my seventh year homeschooling and I have never met one homeschooler who even gives grades, much less brags about them. On the other hand, my private and public school neighbors...

I know a few that use grades, but they’re homeschooling for 2-4 years to avoid issues in a particular school system (and they really don’t understand the concept of teaching for mastery versus teaching for a grade).

[Anonymous]

Like no offense, but my lived experience is that every family I know who homeschooled (and there were many in my Midwestern town) were kooky and socially backward. I realize that's not the case for everyone, I realize that's the best option due to special circumstances, etc. But I'm sorry, it's just that literally every family I know who homeschooled was very odd in many ways.

[Anonymous]

I know 3 homeschool families. All three are conservative Christians. Two out of three seem to do a great job educating their kids (from an outsiders perspective). Very polite children. In every day conversation, there’s nothing that seems off. I know they both do testing to ensure their children are tracking grade wise, and I have seen some of their school work on their walls (like child-made posters about another nation, or posters about some science thing).
The other family main reason to homeschool is they love skiing and the beach and travel half the year. The mom tells me it’s more important for them to live life than read some book. Not sure how well that’s going to work in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be fair, home schooling was for a long time close to 100% freaks. I understand it’s gotten much better and is now more like 70%. And yes with mass migration to HS driven by COVID that number may go down to like 40% or 50% because of the influx of rich families that otherwise participate in society.

But let’s not pretend that in “normal” times HS doesn’t attract a wildly disproportionate share of extremists and oddballs of all stripes. Not all malicious or “bad”, though a good chunk of that as well.

This has been my experience as well. Although, I fully recognize that my sampling size is not huge.

The homeschoolers I have meet fall into 3 categories:

1. religious zealots.
2. crazy conspiracy kooks
3. people with a bunch of (like 5,6,7,8) kids. From what I have observed, there is NO way all those kids are getting their academic needs met in any kind of a rigorous way; but, it IS a great childcare setup.

I readily admit I do not have a high opinion of homeschoolers in general based on my experiences with these kinds of people. Im sure there are good ones out there, and some situations like special needs kids where it makes sense. I can honestly say I am not a fan or supporter and unlikely to become one, but it effects me not at all so carry on.....

I think literally the only normal homeschooling family I’ve known had pulled their kids from a charter school because of bullying. The local public was horrendous, and they couldn’t afford private or to move. They homeschooled for a couple of years until they had the means to move to a better school district, where they enrolled their kids in public. The parents and the kids were all pretty intelligent, and it seemed to work for them.

Every other homeschooling family I’ve met are conspiracy nuts/anti-vax. Every single one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like no offense, but my lived experience is that every family I know who homeschooled (and there were many in my Midwestern town) were kooky and socially backward. I realize that's not the case for everyone, I realize that's the best option due to special circumstances, etc. But I'm sorry, it's just that literally every family I know who homeschooled was very odd in many ways.

I think that being in school often helps children understand that they're not the center of the universe. Homeschooling does nothing to reinforce that idea

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like no offense, but my lived experience is that every family I know who homeschooled (and there were many in my Midwestern town) were kooky and socially backward. I realize that's not the case for everyone, I realize that's the best option due to special circumstances, etc. But I'm sorry, it's just that literally every family I know who homeschooled was very odd in many ways.

I think that being in school often helps children understand that they're not the center of the universe. Homeschooling does nothing to reinforce that idea

Each individual IS the center of their own universe. Definitely enrich your life by thinking of others, lend a helping hand and contributing to society. But, when it comes down to it, we do these things for ourselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there are very legitimate reasons for homeschooling. And I have no doubt that, despite the lack of professional teaching qualifications, the kids can get a good education academically given the numbers.

But to be honest, I still have the impression that there are a disproportionate number of people who home school who really shouldn't be in the business of teaching their kids, and who are doing their children a serious disservice socially and emotionally.

+1. I'm a long time homeschooler (15 years). I unfortunately have to agree with you, although it doesn't affect the way I educate my children because academic rigor is one of the reasons I pulled my first child out of public school 15 years ago. But I, too, am concerned with the education many many of the homeschoolers I meet are giving their children. This is not just local groups, but also online forums. So many of the people I "meet" are thrilled that their children get their work done in 2 hours, can go play and socialize the rest of the day, etc. It is scary, and so so unfair to those children.

[Anonymous]

I am a new to homeschooling mom. Here are my thoughts.

I have met various homeschooled folks over the years. Some of them were really odd, and that is definitely the stereotype. I can undersatnd a lot of people not into education but you find that in a lot of public schools too, and a lot of those don't serve the kids either.

One person I knew was one of the brightest students in my graduating law school class. She was a little bit off socially - just a tiny bit - but so were many people there, so I can't even attribute it to her homeschooling. She was so thorough and intelligent.

We had extremely religious homeschooling neighbors who did co-ops over the years. I got the impression from them that their kid's academics were not a huge priority, but in later years, they went on to competitive private schools and colleges and successful careers, and so I revised my opinion on it all.

I knew another really educated mom who homeschools her kids due in part to one of the kids's major health issues.

Now, we are loving homeschooling and I am so glad we have this "choice" - really a forced opportunity because DL was so bad for 2 of my kids. It helps that I have other really educated friends doing the same and helping me out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like no offense, but my lived experience is that every family I know who homeschooled (and there were many in my Midwestern town) were kooky and socially backward. I realize that's not the case for everyone, I realize that's the best option due to special circumstances, etc. But I'm sorry, it's just that literally every family I know who homeschooled was very odd in many ways.

I think that being in school often helps children understand that they're not the center of the universe. Homeschooling does nothing to reinforce that idea

I’m homeschooling twin k (very different needs) and a 4th. They were all aware the first day that there’s only one if me and they WILL wait their turn, because interruption means I move to the other child instead of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are very legitimate reasons for homeschooling. And I have no doubt that, despite the lack of professional teaching qualifications, the kids can get a good education academically given the numbers.

But to be honest, I still have the impression that there are a disproportionate number of people who home school who really shouldn't be in the business of teaching their kids, and who are doing their children a serious disservice socially and emotionally.

+1. I'm a long time homeschooler (15 years). I unfortunately have to agree with you, although it doesn't affect the way I educate my children because academic rigor is one of the reasons I pulled my first child out of public school 15 years ago. But I, too, am concerned with the education many many of the homeschoolers I meet are giving their children. This is not just local groups, but also online forums. So many of the people I "meet" are thrilled that their children get their work done in 2 hours, can go play and socialize the rest of the day, etc. It is scary, and so so unfair to those children.

I have k who do one paper or activity, then play 5 minutes before doing their next; I count about 2-3 hours daily. My 4th works about 25-27 hours per week, not including coding (her time), nutrition (discussion during meals), science experiments (wed and Friday evenings), pe (Park, bike, jump rope, obstacle courses, timed relay races, etc.), art (learning to paint and draw from YouTube videos, on their time), and piano (mornings before school).

I agree that older kids (2nd grade and up) can’t get an appreciable amount done in 2 hours.

[Anonymous]

Most homeschoolers I know have one commonality in that they are interested in segregating for a variety of reasons. Religion. Elitism. Social reasons. Special Needs. Whatever the reason, it is clear they want to be around less people and have more control over their children's lives. They aren't as interested in mixing with society. Whether that is good or bad is up to the interpreter.

[Anonymous]

Wow- where are you all meeting people?

The homeschoolers I meet are usually military families, or their kids are 2e so the current test-driven high-volume publiC school approach really doesn’t fit. I have only met 2 religious homeschoolers, but that was at a church I go fair so it was sort of expected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most homeschoolers I know have one commonality in that they are interested in segregating for a variety of reasons. Religion. Elitism. Social reasons. Special Needs. Whatever the reason, it is clear they want to be around less people and have more control over their children's lives. They aren't as interested in mixing with society. Whether that is good or bad is up to the interpreter.

I anecdotally agree with this.

When I was growing up, I knew an elite athlete who was homeschooled (she did co-ops in high school and extracurricular like the city-wide chorus). She went on to a full golf scholarship at a well-ranked and academically good school, although I can't remember her name.

Locally, I know a family or two who homeschool due to religious reasons and not being able to afford religious private school for all their kids. They are very nice, although a bit kooky when you start to talk with them. The mom is a former teacher and the dad works full time in a 'normal UMC job.' But very nice, and the kids are friendly and appear intelligent. An older one is in high school and takes classes at Montgomery College and apparently does well there.

[Anonymous]

I respect people who can homeschool their children well.

I don't really have any respect for people who are bragging about homeschooling their kids for 5 minute after work is over, it's not really making anyone look good.