Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Poll: How many homeschoolers/unschoolers here? When did you start?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 38 posts

Re: Poll: How many homeschoolers/unschoolers here? When did you start?

#21

Post by ggchappell »

netsp wrote: post #12
ggchappell wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think home school is fine for primary school. once you get into middle and high school i am not as supportive. Interesting. My thoughts are nearly the reverse. We home-schooled one kid for one year (1st grade [U.S. terminology]), when we had some problems with the public schools, and then put them in public school for all the rest of it. We are considering starting up home-schooling for all of them some time in t…

I'd be interested to know if (your) reasons for home schooling are mostly related to peer or system influences?

We have a "special needs" child. One year we were not happy with the school district's plan for our child, and so we home-schooled for a year, while talking to the district about the plan for the next year. When we got something we were happy with, we went back to public school.

(I assume this is what you were asking about?)

Re: Poll: How many homeschoolers/unschoolers here? When did you start?

#22

Post by mattchew »

We homeschool our son (6) and daughter (8). We knew we were going to homeschool well before our daughter was near school age.

Reading and research is good. Carry on. :) You should read John Holt at some point.

I think homeschooling is easier the younger you start. Teens sometimes have a rough time making the transition.

Connect with other local homeschoolers. Interacting with other homeschooling families is good for kids and parents both. Helps you stay grounded and helps with the inevitable crises of confidence that happen from time to time.

Good luck!

Re: Poll: How many homeschoolers/unschoolers here? When did you start?

#23

Post by netsp »

ggchappell wrote: post #21
netsp wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be interested to know if (your) reasons for home schooling are mostly related to peer or system influences?

We have a "special needs" child. One year we were not happy with the school district's plan for our child, and so we home-schooled for a year, while talking to the district about the plan for the next year. When we got something we were happy with, we went back to public school. (I assume this is what you were asking about?)

Yes, that's what I was asking about.

Re: Poll: How many homeschoolers/unschoolers here? When did you start?

#24

Post by niels_olson »

frossie wrote: post #8

I read the question as the OP wanting comments from people who were homeschooled, not parents who are homeschooling. I think this is very wise. I am not trying to make any particular point for or against; just that what parents think worked with their kids, and what kids think their parents did that worked is not always the same thing.

you're right. The literature from parents is staggering. The literature from the kids is impressive, but I wanted to get a snapshot from a community with whose norms I'm familiar.

For example, I've found that any random drop into the homeschooling literature is likely to land in a spot that includes a Christian values emphasis, and teasing out the diff is not exactly as easy as, well, diff.

Re: Poll: How many homeschoolers/unschoolers here? When did you start?

#25

Post by curoi »

netsp wrote: post #11

With the growth of homeschool, I'd be interested to know if there is any reaction/support coming from the private school industry. The first thing that pops into my mind is 'Can't there be a hybrid?' A 10 hrs a week school or something like that. I'm not sure what exactly (if anything) would appeal to home schooling parents, but it seems likely that many of the trade-offs or difficulties would be overcome with a litt…

There are several avenues already in place, availability varies by geography of course. Some anecdotes from one homeschooled through high school:

- Many homeschool families will form study groups for some of the subjects less conducive to individual study (such as music or hard sciences) and will have a knowledgeable parent or outside teacher lead a class or two a week. In grade school I took a homeschooling drawing class taught by a former art teacher turned homeschooling parent. But that was my only experience.

- My local public high school had no problems letting me on campus for part of the day to take a couple classes. I took a lab science class, and was in the music classes every year.

- Some community colleges offer a "Running Start" program for high school students, and they don't care which high school you come from. So my senior year in high school I was at the local CC part time learning German, taking Chemistry and an English class.

There are also a wide variety of "official" homeschooling programs that have popped up recently. Either the curriculum is rubber-stamped, or they bring in certified teachers. I didn't take part in any of that as it wasn't required by law, and I/we didn't see a need.

So those are my experiences. YMMV widely by geography.

Re: Poll: How many homeschoolers/unschoolers here? When did you start?

#26

Post by niels_olson »

netsp wrote: post #11

With the growth of homeschool, I'd be interested to know if there is any reaction/support coming from the private school industry. The first thing that pops into my mind is 'Can't there be a hybrid?' A 10 hrs a week school or something like that. I'm not sure what exactly (if anything) would appeal to home schooling parents, but it seems likely that many of the trade-offs or difficulties would be overcome with a litt…

We have thought about it. The private schools tend to use a home-room with many resource rooms model, and then major infrastructure (library, pool, etc). I would think the easiest hybrid models would be resource-rooms only or major infrastructure only.

Re: Poll: How many homeschoolers/unschoolers here? When did you start?

#27

Post by curoi »

bmj wrote: post #18
abossy wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Peer influences will inevitably be problematic and dangerous throughout the course of one's lifetime. If a teenager doesn't learn how to handle these influences in high school, then the dangers will invariably be exacerbated in adulthood.

This has as much to do with the parents as it does with the kids. Most of the home schooled kids I know (which is actually quite a few) are very well-balanced socially, as they've been involved in home schooling co-ops, sports, and other "after school" activities. In fact, I think many of them can deal with peer influences better than "schooled" kids, as they are more confident with themselves.

In my personal experience, we homeschoolers are as varied as "normal" kids. There were those incapable of dealing socially with anyone outside their immediate families. And there were those of us comfortable and capable of dealing with people of all ages.

Me personally, my social interaction outside sports was so varied I became much more adept at interacting with older and younger people rather than my own peer group. As a child, especially in middle and high school, I was often frustrated by the "rules" of peer groups. Dealing with people younger or older let me treat them as people - and vice versa.

Re: Poll: How many homeschoolers/unschoolers here? When did you start?

#28

Post by curoi »

spamizbad wrote: post #16

My parents faced the same decision, decided against it, and I'm glad. My ride through public school was a bit bumpy but overall I did OK, and made several life-long friends in the process. I was exposed to homeschoolers in college and while they were hard working and serious students, they just didn't seem to have the same academic chops as their public/private schooled peers. This was not because they were dumb, or…

Generalizations based on anecdotal evidence aside, I do have to agree with you on the lack of "institutional learning skills". Even with a bit of experience at public high-schools and community college, I wasn't prepared for the gaming, the time constraints, and the group participation required at the university level.

Quite often my freshman and sophomore years I'd end up pulling stupid hours because I got sidetracked on some tangent in a textbook rather than learning "what I was supposed to", or whatever was going to be on the test.

Learning for a very specific reason, and within a very specific timeframe wasn't something I was used to.

Re: Poll: How many homeschoolers/unschoolers here? When did you start?

#29

Post by niels_olson »

mattchew wrote: post #22

We homeschool our son (6) and daughter (8). We knew we were going to homeschool well before our daughter was near school age. Reading and research is good. Carry on. :) You should read John Holt at some point. I think homeschooling is easier the younger you start. Teens sometimes have a rough time making the transition. Connect with other local homeschoolers. Interacting with other homeschooling families is good for…

could you please elaborate on the "inevitable crises of confidence"? What about? How often? How severe?

Re: Poll: How many homeschoolers/unschoolers here? When did you start?

#30

Post by GHFigs »

abossy wrote: post #10
ggchappell wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think home school is fine for primary school. once you get into middle and high school i am not as supportive. Interesting. My thoughts are nearly the reverse. We home-schooled one kid for one year (1st grade [U.S. terminology]), when we had some problems with the public schools, and then put them in public school for all the rest of it. We are considering starting up home-schooling for all of them some time in t…

Peer influences will inevitably be problematic and dangerous throughout the course of one's lifetime. If a teenager doesn't learn how to handle these influences in high school, then the dangers will invariably be exacerbated in adulthood.

Few would disagree that a teenager should learn how do deal with peer influence, but many would disagree with the idea that the artificial social environment of high school is the best place to learn, or even a good one. It is not a microcosm of the adult world.
Post reply on HN