I don't if it's for academic or other reasons than "society is evil so let's keep our kids' education super-Christian." There are all kinds of reasons people homeschool, and the old stereotypes don't hold as true anymore. I know or know about several people who homeschool their very smart elementary kids and the kids seems to be great. Social, articulate, intellectually curious, and well adjusted. I'm not sure there's ONE correct way to educate kids, and as a MCPS parent, I have to say that our MCPS elementary is academically damned disappointing.

01:17 - being in so many different schools could have been part of the problem. When you've spent more than a year or 2 at a school the administration gets to know your child better, and they get more comfortable at school and they'll do better. You really can't judge an entire school by a single teacher.

That said, even though my child is in public school, we spend a lot of time going to museums and events around town (the math fest for example). But my child's first year in school, granted it was PK3, the teachers said he didn't really talk to them until after spring break. Plenty of friends, got along with the other kids, but wasn't comfortable carrying on a conversation with his teachers. Over time, he's gotten very comfortable in class and will ask questions, knows all of the teachers.

Anonymous wrote:Nope. A family that takes education seriously will do well, whether HS or not. A family that doesn't take education seriously, won't. And I've met more socially awkward public school students than homeschooled.

Not a fair assessment. There are more kids who aren't homeschooled; the sample of total kids is far greater. That said, come on, how many truly socially awkward public school students do you personally know? I know a handful (as in, less than 5) and I'm in the public schools all the time; I'm guessing you're not.

Anonymous wrote:When I had no kids of my own, I looked down on homeschoolers. Nine years later my child is in the 4th grade. The child spent K-3 grades in public schools, but now in the 4th grade we started to homeschool. Why? My husband and I realized that public schools are not meeting our expectations. The child attended four different public schools (three in FCPS, one in a different state, all were highly ranked), as we moved several times. Only two had good teachers, the curriculum was terrible everywhere (it does include the AAP, although the AAP is certainly better than the non-AAP version). My husband and I taught at several top-ranked universities (STEM fields) in the U.S. for over a decade, and could not understand why our seemingly bright students had such poor knowledge of background subject matter, as well as an inability to think. Anything that went beyond solving elementary recipe-driven problems was impossible for them to do, but now we understand the causes behind this phenomenon better. We cannot allow our child to receive worse education than the one we ourselves got 30 years ago in a third-world country. We decided to stop waiting for schools to educate our child, so now we homeschool.

When we were growing up, we were lucky to have some amazing teachers at the schools we attended, who were not only experts in their fields but could also inspire kids to learn. I would like my child to have a chance to meet such teachers, if possible. This means that we will re-enroll our child in public schools periodically in the hopes of lucking out on a great teacher, [u]but, if not, we can and will give a much better education at home. Nor are we averse to hiring great private instructors or joining group lessons, when the teachers and subject matter are worth it, which makes it closer to a private school experience, but at a fraction of the cost and with hand-picked teachers.

A lot was said about socialization. Well... our child is doing sports (4 hours per day), plus a number of other enrichment activities (not to mention, playdates), which involve interaction with other kids, so the topic is moot for us.

It is ironic that, only 3-4 years ago, we were like many of you in your attitudes toward homeschooling. In reality homeschooling is amazing if (and it's a big 'if') the parents are educated and care about their children's education. But it could also be a complete disaster. However, staying enrolled at public schools can be a disaster too. Either way it's the parents' responsibility to give their child the best secondary education possible. As for socialization issues, forget it... teenagers are socializing through their smartphones these days, regardless of the schooling method.

You had a single AAP teacher if you pulled your child out by fourth grade, so you really don't know what the AAP curriculum is based on a single year. You do sound like one who will put a lot of thought and effort into homeschooling and you had me on your side (for your child) until the bolded part. That's just cray cray. You don't jump in and out (and in and out)...think of your poor child!

I also wonder why your child was in FOUR different public schools in FOUR years (k through 3).

When I had no kids of my own, I looked down on homeschoolers. Nine years later my child is in the 4th grade. The child spent K-3 grades in public schools, but now in the 4th grade we started to homeschool. Why? My husband and I realized that public schools are not meeting our expectations. The child attended four different public schools (three in FCPS, one in a different state, all were highly ranked), as we moved several times. Only two had good teachers, the curriculum was terrible everywhere (it does include the AAP, although the AAP is certainly better than the non-AAP version). My husband and I taught at several top-ranked universities (STEM fields) in the U.S. for over a decade, and could not understand why our seemingly bright students had such poor knowledge of background subject matter, as well as an inability to think. Anything that went beyond solving elementary recipe-driven problems was impossible for them to do, but now we understand the causes behind this phenomenon better. We cannot allow our child to receive worse education than the one we ourselves got 30 years ago in a third-world country. We decided to stop waiting for schools to educate our child, so now we homeschool.

When we were growing up, we were lucky to have some amazing teachers at the schools we attended, who were not only experts in their fields but could also inspire kids to learn. I would like my child to have a chance to meet such teachers, if possible. This means that we will re-enroll our child in public schools periodically in the hopes of lucking out on a great teacher, but, if not, we can and will give a much better education at home. Nor are we averse to hiring great private instructors or joining group lessons, when the teachers and subject matter are worth it, which makes it closer to a private school experience, but at a fraction of the cost and with hand-picked teachers.

A lot was said about socialization. Well... our child is doing sports (4 hours per day), plus a number of other enrichment activities (not to mention, playdates), which involve interaction with other kids, so the topic is moot for us.

It is ironic that, only 3-4 years ago, we were like many of you in your attitudes toward homeschooling. In reality homeschooling is amazing if (and it's a big 'if') the parents are educated and care about their children's education. But it could also be a complete disaster. However, staying enrolled at public schools can be a disaster too. Either way it's the parents' responsibility to give their child the best secondary education possible. As for socialization issues, forget it... teenagers are socializing through their smartphones these days, regardless of the schooling method.

Yes

Nope. A family that takes education seriously will do well, whether HS or not. A family that doesn't take education seriously, won't. And I've met more socially awkward public school students than homeschooled.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. But I do wonder about their kids social skills.

I'm not sure I understand how sitting in a classroom with 30 kids of the same age does a better job of preparing children for the real world and social skills than that of homeschoolers who have much more free time to go out and participate in the real world by going to parks, libraries, museums, farms, rec centers, etc. and interacting with people of all ages.

Very few homeschoolers actually go out and do the things you're talking about.

Also, children interact with each other in very different ways than adults interact with children. Children will often not tolerate negative behavior in their peers (meanness, self centeredness, cheating, etc) while adults will often overlook that kind of behavior or turn a blind eye. To put it in a slightly negative light, kids can be brutal in (often necessary) ways with each other that adults can't bring themselves to be.

You must not have gone to the same middle school that I went to.

One issue I noted with home school kids in college and grad school is that they had difficulty realizing that the educational experience did not revolve around their needs and interests. That they were part of a larger community and their needs did not take precedence over other students and/or that their ideas were not all golden. Also some of the guys didn't know how to interact appropriately with women--e.g. Didn't know how to keep their hands to themselves. I think that their moms probably just didn't have the opportunity to teach them that.
I do think current homeschoolers seem to make more of an effort to engage their kids in group activities with peers (team sports, scouts, group art classes, etc.). I think that's really essential.

Anonymous wrote:True. As for the notion of undersocialized, awkward homeschooled kids...let's make a deal. I won't assume public schooled kids are giving BJs in the back of the bus and forgetting what they've learned the day after testing is over if you don't assume homeschooled ones are living in a cave, either grunting as they watch "Oprah" or being forced at gunpoint to study Analytic Geometry According to Jesus. Because the reality is, yeah-- those kids do exist, in both homeschool and public school. But most members of any group are far too sophisticated to fit an ugly stereotype, and believing that sort of thing is pretty limiting.

I am not one of the posters who thinks most homeschooled kids are awkward. The ones we know are not in any way like this. They may have other social issues (in my experience: clingy, yelling out inappropriately, not socializing with peers and instead hanging around adults during neighborhood get togethers or our kids' parties), but awkward isn't really what I'd use as a descriptive word. I think the bigger issue is the lack of discipline the main homeschooling parent (typically moms from what we have around us in our neighborhood and in my own family) elects to maintain regarding schooling. There is no 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week, 38 or so weeks per year but rather a much more loosey goosey type of "school day" in which all the work can easily be completed. Yep this is generalizing but since this is with all but one of the homeschooling families we know, I'm guessing this is the general rule, with a few exceptions sprinkled in (some much more strict and some even more lenient.)

Absolutely.

On average, homeschool students are found to be two grades ahead in one or two subjects, and behind in the rest. So yes, I have concerns.

True. As for the notion of undersocialized, awkward homeschooled kids...let's make a deal. I won't assume public schooled kids are giving BJs in the back of the bus and forgetting what they've learned the day after testing is over if you don't assume homeschooled ones are living in a cave, either grunting as they watch "Oprah" or being forced at gunpoint to study Analytic Geometry According to Jesus. Because the reality is, yeah-- those kids do exist, in both homeschool and public school. But most members of any group are far too sophisticated to fit an ugly stereotype, and believing that sort of thing is pretty limiting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. But I do wonder about their kids social skills.

I'm not sure I understand how sitting in a classroom with 30 kids of the same age does a better job of preparing children for the real world and social skills than that of homeschoolers who have much more free time to go out and participate in the real world by going to parks, libraries, museums, farms, rec centers, etc. and interacting with people of all ages.

NP here. Because in most classes, the teachers have a few group projects. So the kids are forced to work with kids who aren't siblings.

They also listen to other perspectives by hearing how those kids answer questions (especially regarding history, books).

They also have to sometimes patiently wait their turn if they want to answer or if they are working independently and need the teacher's help.

There are lots of ways being in a classroom with 30 non-blood relatives helps kids develop social skills and get a taste of living in the world with other people.

Kids in schools do all of the things you mention. For one, there are field trips, so they do those things (go to museums, farms, etc.) WITH other kids.

Not to mention, I think parents take their kids to parks and rec centers on the weekends. It's not like 8-3 on a weekday is the only time those things can happen.

The homeschool kids sometimes are okay on IQ but sub-par on EQ, not realizing what is socially appropriate or inappropriate.