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Home schooling's rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education

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Re: Home schooling's rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education

#331

Post by stronglikedan »

lapetitejort wrote: post #137

I was home-schooled until high school. Long story short, it was a disaster. I bordered on having no education at all, on top of no socialization. I'm so fortunate I got at least four years of public school. I still think I suffer to this day. For parents who are thinking of home schooling your kids: best of luck to you. If you succeed, maybe your kids will be smarter. If you fail, you could be setting your kids up fo…

Sorry that happened to you, but thankfully you're in a small minority with that outcome.

Re: Home schooling's rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education

#332

Post by natpalmer1776 »

low_common wrote: post #263
torial wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% agree with this. Also, with the right community, it is possible to have plenty of "socialization" with other kids. My family participates in a parent-led co-op that allows kids to benefit from different strengths in different parents and to have lots of friends. As my kids are neurodivergent, I think this environment has been safer for them and allows them to focus on their passions. There is still some peer pre…

What the heck is neurodivergence?

Neurologically divergent individuals who do not adhere well to traditional expectations of behavior in social settings.

Given that this is a technical term that has gained colloquial usage, not everyone who is identified as (or self identifies as) neurodivergent is actually neurologically divergent in a literal sense, but behaviorally is close enough to be a moot point in non-academic settings.

Re: Home schooling's rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education

#333

Post by watwut »

akira2501 wrote: post #244
cycomanic wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> > The underlying problem is the completely unregulated nature. > I didn't need your permission to give birth to my children, why do I need your permission when deciding how I educate them? Because your children are not your property, they are your responsibility and we as society have decided that we want to make sure that the education is to a certain standard. As a side note I find it fascinating how people who f…

> Because your children are not your property, they are your responsibility I am their _guardian_. > and we as society have decided that we want to make sure that the education is to a certain standard. And what is that standard? Passing standardized tests? How do you account for the poor performance of American schools in general? How do you account for the differential performance across the country, let alone, wil…

> How do you account for the poor performance of American schools in general

Actually, American schools do not do badly in international comparisons. They are the number one, sure, but they are still pretty good.

Re: Home schooling's rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education

#334

Post by watwut »

brodouevencode wrote: post #29
303uru wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, that's one model. The underlying problem is the completely unregulated nature. Similarly, there is household in my neighborhood that home schools. The kids (all 8 of them) never leave the house. They have a 8ft. fence and 1 acre yard where I assume they get some outside time. No one visits. Only dad is allowed to talk to anyone and when he does it's extraordinarily weird.

For this anecdote I can provide you with about 20 anecdotes that are the complete opposite in nature. There is no regulation, but does there need to be? Homeschoolers take the same standardized tests as everyone else - that's about as regulatory as it needs to be (and even that's questionable).

Homeschooling famillies do not do the same tests. And especially families whose kids are less likely to ace those tests will avoid them when they are voluntary.

Re: Home schooling's rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education

#335

Post by efd6821b »

verisimi wrote: post #326
jandrese wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a huge spectrum, but back when we homeschooled (my wife wasn't yet comfortable sending the kids back to the classroom in 2021) we did a few events where local homeschool kids got together for various activities. Tree identification/nature trail at the park, visits to historic sites, stuff like that. Of the parents I met there was some variety, but 9 times out of 10 it seemed like they were mostly doing it be…

> religious indoctrination indoctrination is a given. Do you prefer your secular type, the religious type or the government type?

All education is intertwined with indoctrination. At least religious indoctrination is a known quantity, unlike other less self-aware forms.

Re: Home schooling's rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education

#336

Post by ImPostingOnHN »

xyzelement wrote: post #329
jandrese wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a huge spectrum, but back when we homeschooled (my wife wasn't yet comfortable sending the kids back to the classroom in 2021) we did a few events where local homeschool kids got together for various activities. Tree identification/nature trail at the park, visits to historic sites, stuff like that. Of the parents I met there was some variety, but 9 times out of 10 it seemed like they were mostly doing it be…

// other aspects of homeschooling were just a fig leaf over a whole lot of religious indoctrination I was raised totally secular but I now understand that religion is about fundamentally aligning yourself to the highest aspirations ("what kind of man does G-d want me to be?") and even w/o actual faith, I am starting to think that's preferable to the current mode of "anything goes, you can be whatever you feel like an…

The question ”what kind of person should I be?” could be answered by god, I guess, but the alternative would be to answer it yourself, and/or consult society, possibly friends and family. Not "anything goes".

Putting it in the hands of god means anything goes, and you just say that's how you thought god wanted you to be. You'd have to trust that society encoded the proper set of values and morals into the religion. Which sounds like "ask society" but with extra steps, and also you're asking the society of 1,000+ years ago instead of the society of today.

Re: Home schooling's rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education

#337

Post by jjav »

verisimi wrote: post #326
jandrese wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a huge spectrum, but back when we homeschooled (my wife wasn't yet comfortable sending the kids back to the classroom in 2021) we did a few events where local homeschool kids got together for various activities. Tree identification/nature trail at the park, visits to historic sites, stuff like that. Of the parents I met there was some variety, but 9 times out of 10 it seemed like they were mostly doing it be…

> religious indoctrination indoctrination is a given. Do you prefer your secular type, the religious type or the government type?

> indoctrination is a given.

Indoctrination is not a given and should never be acceptable in education.

What is indoctrination? Here's one dictionary definition:

    indoctrination: the process of repeating an idea or belief to someone until they accept it without criticism or question
Note "accept it without criticism or question". This is the polar opposite of what education should be, which is to encourage investigation, researching topics with a scientific method instead of believing without question.

Re: Home schooling's rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education

#338

Post by anon291 »

jeffrallen wrote: post #317
maxwelljoslyn wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Treating all these scenarios as a single thing that you can hold a single, consistent opinion about suggests to me a lack of familiarity with its wide spectrums along multiple dimensions. It's like passing a judgment on a person based on their race, country of origin, gender, etc. A huge +1 to this, from observing the many friends I have who do homeschooling. Judging by their results -- super-smart, super-well-beha…

Your children's future classmates wish you wouldn't keep your children from enriching their shared classroom. You might be just the kind of parent that the school needs to maintain a critical mass of involved parents.

My wife resents that her parents made her be this for the other kids in her class. This meant my wife had to do things like be the one to 'tame' the poorly behaved boy. Or she had to be the one to do extra work because the teacher would group her with the worst student. This is actually not preparation for adulthood. As an adult, when someone acts like a jerk, you ignore them and shun them and may report them depending on how bad it is. As a child, you're forced to interact. As an adult, I choose my colleagues so that they're intelligent and pull their weight.

A common complaint I hear from homeschooled kids is 'parentification', where their parents expect adult responsibility from small children. I fail to see how what you're asking for is any different. Children shouldn't be expected to do adult's jobs.

Re: Home schooling's rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education

#339

Post by watwut »

chasd00 wrote: post #250
n3storm wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Montessori is succesful with healthy wealthy beloved children.

Montessori was invented specifically for bottom income special needs kids.

Yes, but that is not how it is used today. Today it is used primary by wealthy heavily invested families.

Re: Home schooling's rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education

#340

Post by Animats »

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