I homeschool -I’m normal. My child is gifted and has learning issues. He was bullied in his expensive private school and developed such severe anxiety, he was having breakdowns at the end of each day and begging to never go back.

We spent a long time trying to work with the well-intentioned yet clueless school but my eventually my son needed a break— he does need help with social, skills but regular school was making this area worse, not better and I began to fear that he was going to eventually harm himself.

This is a pretty common story among homeschoolers.

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Without homeschooling, some profoundly gifted kids, who could otherwise have made incredible contributions to the advancement of mankind, would be denied their only remaining opportunity at an education.

Without homeschooling and government aid, some learning disabled and other impaired kids would not be able to develop practical life skills and marketable competencies, and would become burdens to their family and to the nation.

Think before you post, OP. It's not all crazy people that are homeschooling.

I would probably have been considered "profoundly gifted," whatever that means. My IQ was 169 and my brother's was 183. We both went to public school. It was fine, nothing special. Parents supplemented at home. Both ended up at Harvard and contributing to society.

I don't see the need for homeschool, I really don't. A lot of homeschooling parents I know either suffer from anxiety or are fundamentalists. Even more of a reason why their children shouldn't have to be limited to them in seeking adult role models. We should be putting more resources into public schools so everyone can be served.

I know some "normal" parents who homeschool. They are not fundamentalists, they are just dissatisfied with the quality of public education at their local school (and rightly so). They take their kids to homeschool groups, go on field trips, do science camps, scouts, and intramural sports. These people also pay taxes that fund their local public schools, so I'm not seeing your concern here.

Paying taxes isn't enough. Having parents in the system, advocating and going to PTA meetings and school board meetings, makes a big difference.

I can absolutely see why someone wouldnt want to deal with that. I know a woman who homeschools. Shes a former teacher. Her kids are bright and well adjusted. Why should she bother to advocate when the majority of Anerucan parents out there just dont care?

Im not equipped with the temperment to homeschool and out public schools are not up to my standard, so i just sebd my kids to private. No meed to exhaust myseld at PTA meetings fighting for what should be a basic.

Yes, I know lots of teachers and former public school teachers that refuse to send their kids to public. I know one former middle school teacher with the worst stories I've ever heard - kids raping each other in the bathrooms, masturbating in class, students assaulting pregnant teachers, you name it. There's no way in a billion years I would send my child to that school, and no amount of my going to PTA meetings would solve the extreme problems there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I homeschooled my kids in the early years and glad that I did. They came into school two grades above grade level in all content areas and eight years later are still ahead. Yes, my kids missed out on some socialization, which may explain their shyness, but at least they are not getting into drugs, sex and alcohol, like many of their peers! They also learned to work independently and not wait around for some teacher to spoon feed them. This will serve them well in college.

Your argument would have been so much more compelling if you hadn't revealed that your real motivation for homeschooling was to ensure your kids didn't do the nasty.

This is my problem with homeschoolers. It isn't about education at all. It's about control. Which is really not so far from what the psychos in California did.

Homeschoolers in the Washington DC area are nothing like the stereotypical Christian fundamentalist, anxiety ridden, controlling, no socialization caricature many of you are imagining. The homeschoolers I know in this area have a wealth of opportunities and options for learning and socializing. Many students are part of co ops, sports teams and are enrolled in classes taught by qualified instructors. You can all relax, local homeschoolers are receiving a complete and excellent education.

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Anonymous wrote:
Without homeschooling, some profoundly gifted kids, who could otherwise have made incredible contributions to the advancement of mankind, would be denied their only remaining opportunity at an education.

Without homeschooling and government aid, some learning disabled and other impaired kids would not be able to develop practical life skills and marketable competencies, and would become burdens to their family and to the nation.

Think before you post, OP. It's not all crazy people that are homeschooling.

I would probably have been considered "profoundly gifted," whatever that means. My IQ was 169 and my brother's was 183. We both went to public school. It was fine, nothing special. Parents supplemented at home. Both ended up at Harvard and contributing to society.

I don't see the need for homeschool, I really don't. A lot of homeschooling parents I know either suffer from anxiety or are fundamentalists. Even more of a reason why their children shouldn't have to be limited to them in seeking adult role models. We should be putting more resources into public schools so everyone can be served.

I know some "normal" parents who homeschool. They are not fundamentalists, they are just dissatisfied with the quality of public education at their local school (and rightly so). They take their kids to homeschool groups, go on field trips, do science camps, scouts, and intramural sports. These people also pay taxes that fund their local public schools, so I'm not seeing your concern here.

Paying taxes isn't enough. Having parents in the system, advocating and going to PTA meetings and school board meetings, makes a big difference.

I can absolutely see why someone wouldnt want to deal with that. I know a woman who homeschools. Shes a former teacher. Her kids are bright and well adjusted. Why should she bother to advocate when the majority of Anerucan parents out there just dont care?

Im not equipped with the temperment to homeschool and out public schools are not up to my standard, so i just sebd my kids to private. No meed to exhaust myseld at PTA meetings fighting for what should be a basic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Without homeschooling, some profoundly gifted kids, who could otherwise have made incredible contributions to the advancement of mankind, would be denied their only remaining opportunity at an education.

Without homeschooling and government aid, some learning disabled and other impaired kids would not be able to develop practical life skills and marketable competencies, and would become burdens to their family and to the nation.

Think before you post, OP. It's not all crazy people that are homeschooling.

I would probably have been considered "profoundly gifted," whatever that means. My IQ was 169 and my brother's was 183. We both went to public school. It was fine, nothing special. Parents supplemented at home. Both ended up at Harvard and contributing to society.

I don't see the need for homeschool, I really don't. A lot of homeschooling parents I know either suffer from anxiety or are fundamentalists. Even more of a reason why their children shouldn't have to be limited to them in seeking adult role models. We should be putting more resources into public schools so everyone can be served.

I know some "normal" parents who homeschool. They are not fundamentalists, they are just dissatisfied with the quality of public education at their local school (and rightly so). They take their kids to homeschool groups, go on field trips, do science camps, scouts, and intramural sports. These people also pay taxes that fund their local public schools, so I'm not seeing your concern here.

Paying taxes isn't enough. Having parents in the system, advocating and going to PTA meetings and school board meetings, makes a big difference.

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Anonymous wrote:It should not be banned as it can be a great option for some kids/families but it should definitely be better regulated.

+1. This. There’s very limited supervision in most states for homeschools. There should be some occasional checks by the Government so they can verify kids aren’t being kept home to be abused.

Or to provide free labor for their family business or free childcare for their younger siblings all day in lieu of getting an education.

Agree. This is a far more likely scenario than people chaining their kids up.

Anonymous wrote:I homeschooled my kids in the early years and glad that I did. They came into school two grades above grade level in all content areas and eight years later are still ahead. Yes, my kids missed out on some socialization, which may explain their shyness, but at least they are not getting into drugs, sex and alcohol, like many of their peers! They also learned to work independently and not wait around for some teacher to spoon feed them. This will serve them well in college.

Your argument would have been so much more compelling if you hadn't revealed that your real motivation for homeschooling was to ensure your kids didn't do the nasty.

This is my problem with homeschoolers. It isn't about education at all. It's about control. Which is really not so far from what the psychos in California did.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Without homeschooling, some profoundly gifted kids, who could otherwise have made incredible contributions to the advancement of mankind, would be denied their only remaining opportunity at an education.

Without homeschooling and government aid, some learning disabled and other impaired kids would not be able to develop practical life skills and marketable competencies, and would become burdens to their family and to the nation.

Think before you post, OP. It's not all crazy people that are homeschooling.

I would probably have been considered "profoundly gifted," whatever that means. My IQ was 169 and my brother's was 183. We both went to public school. It was fine, nothing special. Parents supplemented at home. Both ended up at Harvard and contributing to society.

I don't see the need for homeschool, I really don't. A lot of homeschooling parents I know either suffer from anxiety or are fundamentalists. Even more of a reason why their children shouldn't have to be limited to them in seeking adult role models. We should be putting more resources into public schools so everyone can be served.

I know some "normal" parents who homeschool. They are not fundamentalists, they are just dissatisfied with the quality of public education at their local school (and rightly so). They take their kids to homeschool groups, go on field trips, do science camps, scouts, and intramural sports. These people also pay taxes that fund their local public schools, so I'm not seeing your concern here.

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Anonymous wrote:OP I don’t know how to put this gently but you sound like an idi*t. Should be ban school altogether? I know of many cases where children are abused in school? durrr.

If course this happens, too, but there are at least some checks & bskances in place at most schools that help minimize the chances of the abuse going undetected indefinitely.

Most states have reviews 2-4 times a year.

Do they drop by & check in on all homeschool families unannounced 2-4 times a year? I very much doubt it.

That’s definitely the case in CA where these kids were living for years and flying completely under the radar. But the WaPo noted the family was cited for having the weeds in their backyard grow too high. Priorities!

There’s an LA times article on this issue. California is one of 15 states that doesn’t require home schoolers to do anything but register their name as a homeschool provider with the state. No follow-up required. Not one bit. No reporting of outcomes or checks on the students. The article made he point that if those kids were in school, teachers would have noticed their emanciated bodies and reported it.

As a former home-schooler, I do agree that there should be some checking in to make sure it's not a case of some abuser/sex trafficker/nutcase pretending to educate children. Maybe if the kids can check in by Skype to the local school district or the local police once a month, that could work. No matter how you slice it, it will add to the bureaucracy but maybe they could pay a required fee for the oversight.

Do you think someone who has a bowl haircut and keeps his kids chained up in the basement, some as old as 29yrs old is going to be sending these same kids to school?

Well, for some reason that guy with a bowl haircut registered his kids as students of the "Sandcastle Day School" and submitted forms about the school each year. Who knows what was going through that crazy head.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-ln-perris-home-school-20180116-story.html

Anonymous wrote:
Without homeschooling, some profoundly gifted kids, who could otherwise have made incredible contributions to the advancement of mankind, would be denied their only remaining opportunity at an education.

Without homeschooling and government aid, some learning disabled and other impaired kids would not be able to develop practical life skills and marketable competencies, and would become burdens to their family and to the nation.

Think before you post, OP. It's not all crazy people that are homeschooling.

I would probably have been considered "profoundly gifted," whatever that means. My IQ was 169 and my brother's was 183. We both went to public school. It was fine, nothing special. Parents supplemented at home. Both ended up at Harvard and contributing to society.

I don't see the need for homeschool, I really don't. A lot of homeschooling parents I know either suffer from anxiety or are fundamentalists. Even more of a reason why their children shouldn't have to be limited to them in seeking adult role models. We should be putting more resources into public schools so everyone can be served.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My opinion... not illegal, but certainly more regulated.

I think the point of regular school is that everyone should have more than one authority figure. Kids should be allowed to learn to think critically about their parents and their parents' beliefs and of course vice versa. It's not good for there to be too much power/influence concentrated in either the private sphere or the state. (Not a new idea... Rawls argues this in Theory of Justice.)

That's not the "point" of regular school.

Well, school has many functions doesn't it? Of course part of it is education -- no democracy without an education citizenry. But it also has a social function. If parents are neglecting or abusing their children, the school system provides another environment for observation in which the state can intervene. In the case that everyone's discussing here, it would have been very beneficial to the children for all kinds of reasons if they had been attending school. They probably would have gotten out of that hell much faster.

Schools have many, many problems. But the benefit of having an institutionalized space in which other adults can look out for our kids is real. Just as it would be a disservice to children to take them away from their families and put them only in an institutional space, I believe it's a disservice to them to keep them only in the home under the sole authority of their parents (past a certain age).

Homeschooling, if done correctly, can be a hand up for kids who need one, which is what my mother and I did for my son for three years before we enrolled him back into public school. He had a teacher with a degree in education to work with him every day, his own special schoolroom, his own schedule, he worked hard, overcame his setbacks, and when I enrolled him in August, he was allowed to skip a grade. Not everyone who does this is trying to hide. Some of us are truly trying to help our children to get over a hump. He's doing amazingly well, he's popular with the students and the teachers, and the transition back was really easy. It can be done if you know what you're doing. People who are trying to hide their kids should have already had some red flags, and therefore should have CPS showing up at their door as soon as they pull their kids out of school, in my opinion.

Anonymous wrote:Those people in California were not "homeschooling" their kids. They were abusing those children under the ruse of homeschooling them. Abuse is illegal. What they did is illegal.

Homeschooling was a guise. The only checks for homeschoolers should be education related.

These parents don't represent homeschoolers.

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Anonymous wrote:There is the story out of California about abuse and a few more local ones not as bad. Many cases I have seen of child neglect or abuse were homeschooling.without ongoing contact with the outside world people may not be aware of abuse. Should there be more regulation and cops or board of Ed checks? Should it be illegal.

Can students really be prepared for higher Ed or a career when many times schooled by a parent with no degree beyond high school.

Have you been following this case on websleuths as well? Lots of discussion on homeschooling there. To be honest, I've never known a "normal" family that homeschool. And I say that as someone with family who did it. However, weirdness aside, I do think homeschooling is a convenient excuse to keep kids home and away from mandatory reporters.

Your weird homeschool kid would be the victim of bullies in traditional schools. Many "weird" kids thrive with homeschooling.

Without homeschooling, some profoundly gifted kids, who could otherwise have made incredible contributions to the advancement of mankind, would be denied their only remaining opportunity at an education.

Without homeschooling and government aid, some learning disabled and other impaired kids would not be able to develop practical life skills and marketable competencies, and would become burdens to their family and to the nation.

Think before you post, OP. It's not all crazy people that are homeschooling.