I can't say my public school experience was great, I was bullied and didn't really click with the popular kids, but being around a cross section of actual American kids in my age group (my school district mixed middle class with lower class neighborhoods) helped me shape my worldview and learn to deal with people who didn't look or talk like me. I frequently saw fights, so I learned that you just stay away and watch…
My kids are not school age yet, and I am not sure on if I will home school or not. But I do think its possible to get good socialization exposure while homeschooling. There is the neighborhood kids, you have sports and clubs kids can join, religious groups. Plus not all homeschooling is just a student staying at home all day. Some people "homeschooling" I know are groups of parents getting together to educate their c…
Homeschooling hits record numbers
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Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers
#632Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers
#633Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers
#634Earlier quoted context omitted.
15+ years ago, that might have been the case. Now, you might find some friends in the 3-8 year old range, but then the kids just...don't do things anymore. In both suburban neighborhoods I've lived in the past 10 years, there are basically zero middle school or high school kids doing anything except playing video games and messing around on their phones from the comfort of home. School is quite literally the only soc…
My cousin homeschooled her kids, who are now finished with college. I know they're capable of using phones (one's a programmer), but I've never seen them pull one out. They're social and love playing board games, and I suspect that comes from their parents. They also socialized with other homeschooled kids, because they were part of lots of homeschooling groups. The kids in public school are there by default; the hom…
Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers
#635Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers
#636Earlier quoted context omitted.
Define "real world".
The one that exists with problem children and opinions you don’t like. As a parent I get the impulse to remove my children from any potential harm but the real world has sharp edges. They need to be confident in that world not just smothered. And really as the person who used the term it’s really up to you to define what you mean.
Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers
#637My daughter is in college now, but we used a variety of private, part-time, and homeschooling approaches prior to that. One thing is that there are a lot of resources (e.g. independent teachers for subjects you don't know, co-ops for socializing, etc.), and the more people are doing it, the more true that becomes. My parents were both public school teachers, and yet we found ourselves home- and alternative-schooling…
Seattle schools have that issue. After covid a bunch of kids were moved to private schools, and SPS (the organism in charge of school) complained and blamed parents on having money and not wanting to mix with the riff raff and other bs. When they actually asked the parents why their children weren't returning after covid, it was because SPS decided to axe the advance/gifted programs they had for kids, among other edu…
I'd argue that most "gifted" students are inherently dumber since they uncritically believe and internalize whatever BS their parents feed them. It's understandable that parents have desire to how power over their children, but at some point the state needs to step in and recognize child abuse for what it is.
Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers
#638Earlier quoted context omitted.
The previous neighborhood I lived in, had around 100 townhomes, very secluded. I never saw kids outside other than walking from the bus stop. However my current neighborhood, which is a development of 15 houses, 11 of which have children. The kids are almost all doing things outside every day. Caveat: everyone in my neighborhood is college educated (mix of engineers, professors, finance, teachers, doctors, lawyers, a…
It's also a question of accessible public spaces. The US (especially the vast bulk of suburbia) is incredibly varied in quantity of these. Some areas have them. Ironically, for all their faults, Florida master planned developments do better than most, and the west has a surfeit of natural land. Others are an endless sea of kid-unfriendly private businesses and/or income-gated spaces, locked behind access to an automo…
Her and her friends never played outside. Me and my friends and my brother (7 years younger than me) and my other sister’s (4 years younger younger) friends lived outside in the summer.
Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers
#639Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're straw-manning the worst public school experience against the best possible homeschool experience. > They are the most socialized kids in the US. Bullshit. You know how I know? Because on average parents are terrible at exposing their kids to Things Not Like Them and Things They Don't Approve Of. There are great homeschooling parents and crazy ones, but maybe it's not the worst idea to give kids a few hours a d…
> Bullshit. You know how I know? People should be able to bypass public schools if they want.
Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers
#640Earlier quoted context omitted.
not the school administration, other students.
So, good training for exactly the same pressures they'll face as adults?
Kids are assholes in a way that would get most adults fired or imprisoned.
There are social pressures to conform, but you don’t get called names for wearing off brand shoes the way kids were when I was in grade school.