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Homeschooling hits record numbers

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Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#91

Post by Brendinooo »

mcphage wrote: post #13
jmathai wrote: post #3

I do think Covid forced people to ask questions they hadn’t before. We have sent our kids to private, poor quality and top rated schools. We saw a stark difference between the poor quality and higher cost options. No surprise. But the reason we are considering home schooling our younger kids was surprising. It says something about a system dedicated to teaching children when parents think they can do as well or bette…

> It says something about a system dedicated to teaching children when parents think they can do as well or better. 6% of American think they can beat a grizzly bear in a fight. That says absolutely nothing about the bear, and says a lot about how misinformed people are.

This is why it's useful to look up stats when we have them.

For example, homeschooled students do better on the ACT than public school kids.

https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Info...

Obviously the schooling venue itself isn't the only factor here, but if you think homeschooling a kid is worth an analogy to fighting grizzlies, might be worth a reframe.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#92

Post by QuercusMax »

Aboutplants wrote: post #14
jmathai wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we could teach them as well as the school does. And more importantly, we can provide a better environment for them to mature socially.

“And more importantly, we can provide a better environment for them to mature socially.” Take it from someone who was homeschooled from pre-k through high school, you will absolutely not provide a better social environment. I was so unprepared to handle the social dynamics in casual, educational or professional that it took years and years of active work to put myself in a position where it wasn’t an absolute detrime…

I had the opposite experience. I was home schooled from 2nd grade through high school, but I didn't just spend all my time alone with parents. My family was part of a home-school co-op, I played in the local youth symphony, and I had a job working at the local university when I was 16 and taking college classes there. I also have a large extended family.

I didn't really have much trouble adjusting to living on campus at college, and I've never had issues with interpersonal stuff at work or school.

Your anecdote is not universal; neither is mine.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#93

Post by chasd00 »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #81
jmathai wrote: post #3

I do think Covid forced people to ask questions they hadn’t before. We have sent our kids to private, poor quality and top rated schools. We saw a stark difference between the poor quality and higher cost options. No surprise. But the reason we are considering home schooling our younger kids was surprising. It says something about a system dedicated to teaching children when parents think they can do as well or bette…

Is there an answer for athletics, music, robotics, and all the other after school teams? How does that work?

i'm sure many others will reply as well but there's lots of extracurricular options for homeschoolers as well as social engagements. It's kind of like a shadow school system, there's associations and groups and other organizations built around home schooled children. My wife and I considered it but we have managed to navigate our public school situation well enough without me, or my wife, having to quit working.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#94

Post by dkhenry »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #81
jmathai wrote: post #3

I do think Covid forced people to ask questions they hadn’t before. We have sent our kids to private, poor quality and top rated schools. We saw a stark difference between the poor quality and higher cost options. No surprise. But the reason we are considering home schooling our younger kids was surprising. It says something about a system dedicated to teaching children when parents think they can do as well or bette…

Is there an answer for athletics, music, robotics, and all the other after school teams? How does that work?

Depending on where you live there are many options. In my school district home school kids can join any club or team offered by the public school system where you reside. Additionally there are numerous non-school related clubs and activities all over the place. My kids could play music with the local school district, with a musical education non-profit that is prolific in our area, or ( where they do play music ) with private lessons that have group classes, bands, and performance opportunities.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#95

Post by jay_kyburz »

andrewstuart wrote: post #67

Group home schooling in a shared building is becoming a huge new trend in home schooling, far more resource and time efficient and pools the resources of the parents and allows the group to hire someone to do the group homeschooling.

I really enjoyed teaching my kids during covid, and they got a bug jump ahead compared to the kids who just played video games while the schools were closed. We only did 3-4 hours a day but it was fun, and I could really see the changes.

I don't mind the idea of teaching 10 kids, my way, and in and environment I can control. The thought of teaching 35 kids, mired in bureaucracy, is a nightmare.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#96

Post by csb6 »

csense wrote: post #7

Anecdotally, two factors at work here: - Schools have stopped educating in favor of test metrics, making sure the worst students pass, and pushing borderline indoctrination of controversial, left-ish values. - With remote education during the pandemic, people have more visibility into their school's day-to-day teaching. It's hard to fix the US education system by political means. If you have the ability to do so, it'…

[flagged]

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#97

Post by rahimnathwani »

rich_sasha wrote: post #52
jmathai wrote: post #3

I do think Covid forced people to ask questions they hadn’t before. We have sent our kids to private, poor quality and top rated schools. We saw a stark difference between the poor quality and higher cost options. No surprise. But the reason we are considering home schooling our younger kids was surprising. It says something about a system dedicated to teaching children when parents think they can do as well or bette…

I suppose there are few talented, hard working people who want to teach, and they command a premium. Education is expensive and underfunded. As a parent/carer you probably are much more motivated than an underpaid teacher who wanted to do something else anyway, and you don't have to motivate yourself with money. By extension, IME, motivated and talented teachers in any school (good or bad) can do wonders. There just…

  Education is expensive and underfunded.
Expensive yes. Underfunded depends on where you are.

San Francisco's school district has an annual operating budget that equates to $28k per student.

I've heard people in San Francisco say that schools here are underfunded. When I ask them how much we spend per student per year, their guess is usually less than half of the actual amount.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#98

Post by somanyphotons »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #44
estearum wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well it should, yes, given that socialization is the result of shared social experiences. Experiencing bullying is (unironically) one of those shared social experiences that create bonds with people (whether as victim, perpetrator, or witness) These are real social dynamics that actually exist in adult life, and I suspect people who are totally blindsided by them are maladapted

> Experiencing bullying is (unironically) one of those shared social experiences It also teaches you to deal with bullies. That said, we had homeschooled kids in my Boy Scouts troop. They learned how to deal with bullies just fine.

Kids (and teachers) generally don't deal with bullies well.

It really just results in them continuing to being bullied, or reacting badly and getting blamed themselves.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#99

Post by ribosometronome »

Brendinooo wrote: post #87
Yizahi wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We can actually. It's called theory of probability and statistics, which is probably "forgotten" by these amazing self-appointed homeschoolers. A few rare successes of homeschoolers doesn't mean this practice is good on average, and vice versa the rare failures of the public education system doesn't mean that it is bad on average.

Most times I look this up, I see stuff like "[t]he home-educated typically score 15 to 25 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests". https://nheri.org/research-facts-on-homeschooling/#Academic

Looking at the replies, I do not think the general complaint is that homeschooling is bad for test scores but social development and preparing kids for society outside the house. It definitely requires considerably more, active attention from parents. Perhaps some of these people here have both the time to be hold down a decent career and also tutor their child in multiple curricula that haven't been important to them in decades and ensure that they're maintaining an active social life but I think the difficulty of nailing that as you go-your-own-way is apparent.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#100

Post by in_cahoots »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #81
jmathai wrote: post #3

I do think Covid forced people to ask questions they hadn’t before. We have sent our kids to private, poor quality and top rated schools. We saw a stark difference between the poor quality and higher cost options. No surprise. But the reason we are considering home schooling our younger kids was surprising. It says something about a system dedicated to teaching children when parents think they can do as well or bette…

Is there an answer for athletics, music, robotics, and all the other after school teams? How does that work?

Of that list my kids' top-rated K-8 public school only offers music. Everything else is done privately.
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