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Ask HN: If you’ve considered homeschooling, what’s stopping you?

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Re: Ask HN: If you’ve considered homeschooling, what’s stopping you?

#221

Post by JackFr »

wccrawford wrote: post #177
jimhefferon wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> essentially no negative ones Negative interactions can sometimes be a help, or a part of life, or whatever is the right phrase. In Jr High one day after school some kids beat me and a friend up (for no reason that I could figure out). Of course, I won't say "it made me who I am today" or any baloney like that but it certainly helped cement a resolve to not be them. > nearly non-verbal Yes, for sure the individual k…

I still hate bullies to this day, but there's no denying that they made me tougher.

All my life I had been taught that bullies were dumb. Imagine my surprise when I arrived at college and came across the first bully I met who was smarter than me. Much smarter than me. Didn’t make me tougher, but it made me realize even as you become an adult there are simply people to be avoided.

Re: Ask HN: If you’ve considered homeschooling, what’s stopping you?

#222

Post by lern_too_spel »

JJMcJ wrote: post #192
scifibestfi wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went to public school and would argue it's a terrible place to be socialized. You are socialized by kids your age in an environment that's more akin to prison than the real world.

Public school socialization. Humiliated by teachers. Bullied by some people. Small circle of friends. Adults as the enemy. All the homeschooled kids I've met seem pleasant, polite, comfortable around other kids and around adults. Of course this is Northern California so elsewhere the story may be different. Oh, and homeschooling is forbidden in Germany, under a 1938 law. 1938. Get it? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, elbow…

Germany banned homeschooling in 1919. The 1938 law simply standardized the start date and penalties and excluded the disabled. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schulpflicht

Re: Ask HN: If you’ve considered homeschooling, what’s stopping you?

#223

Post by promhize »

jameskraus wrote: post #213

I was homeschooled and it was an isolating experience that set me back socially until I finally pleaded with my parents to let me go to public school. It took me a _while_ to catch up to my peers socially and it caused me a least a year of being a social outcast until I learned how to act "normal". Did I learn some topics ahead of other kids? Sure. Was it at all good for my development as a person? Oh god no. 0/10, w…

I wonder if growing up in an environment with a lot of other kids might have changed your experience.

Re: Ask HN: If you’ve considered homeschooling, what’s stopping you?

#224

Post by odessacubbage »

wussboy wrote: post #159
poulsbohemian wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We probably agree more than we disagree, but I'll just add my own daughters as data points. When they stayed home during covid, the oldest (not a good student) did better academically with the lack of peer / social pressures. My youngest (an exceptional student) did better academically too, which has since allowed her to jump way ahead in her studies and finally be recognized by teachers as an academic prodigy, where…

I think you're confused as to the point of school. We often believe the point of school is the academics, but I would argue it's the social. Studies indicate social skills are more important to future success than academics. A hurriedly-googled link: https://www.tcscholars.org/social-success/ And I would also argue you need excellent social skills to reach your potential academically. So, yes, your kids did better ac…

i can hardly think of a worse place to learn social skills than a classroom. all an intelligent kid really learns in public school is how to be cynical, detached and to maximally cheat the system.

oh and also how to sell drugs. public schools are great for learning that.

Re: Ask HN: If you’ve considered homeschooling, what’s stopping you?

#225

Post by copperx »

Getting buy-in from your own parents is a giant hurdle, because they need to dedicate a huge portion of their personal time to schooling you. That's not an easy undertaking.

I have not seen any efforts in developing materials that children, once they've decided they want to be homeschooled, can give to their parents to convince them that homeschooling is a good idea.

Re: Ask HN: If you’ve considered homeschooling, what’s stopping you?

#226

Post by troupe »

f154hfds wrote: post #56

As someone who was homeschooled through 6th grade and then private schooled and considering homeschool for early elementary (I have a 4 year old) I would say my main concern is actually in my wife's ability to maintain a parent/teacher balance right now. What I mean by this is simply wearing two hats in the household is a tricky business and can be overwhelming especially when our young students have younger siblings…

There are a number of curriculums designed to help when you have multiple kids. It is challenging, but amazing to see how well it can work. Regarding expertise in particular areas, there are many options for that including taking a few online classes for particular subjects. If you think working through Algebra II might be a bit challenging, find an awesome teacher teaching an online class for it and sign them up. You can still help them study, bit it gives your child some interaction with another teacher (and in the better online classes) other students.

While I'm sure you mom had a lot of experience she brought to the table, it isn't uncommon to have kids reading at 3 or 4 taught by parents who didn't have a background in education and simply did some research to find the best way to do it. True it might be harder than it was for your mom, but it isn't like a parent has to just guess. There are plenty of people like your mom making information available about what seems to work and what doesn't so you can find the best thing for your kids.

Re: Ask HN: If you’ve considered homeschooling, what’s stopping you?

#227

Post by lern_too_spel »

ElijahLynn wrote: post #108

Social needs. Children need to learn how to be in relationship with others, it is the most fundamental need we have and is so important for the future of our planet. If I were to homeschool, it isn't about the learning, that is easy, it is about providing an environment where children can learn to co-exist with others. That can still be done with homeschool, but it will need to be intentional with daily activities th…

Homeschooling itself is intentional. The only problem is when the intention is bad. It should be possible to regulate homeschooling properly to account for the bad apples.

Re: Ask HN: If you’ve considered homeschooling, what’s stopping you?

#228

Post by troupe »

somethoughts wrote: post #205
actfrench wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for these great thoughts and questions somethoughts. Awesome handle, btw Actually I think about homeschooling more as a movement and ideology of greater involvement in education than a replacement to school. In fact, I call it “modular learning” where families can choose a variety of modules to compose their child’s education including school ! The burnout factor is real but I think that when you give yours…

As some one interested in the space - I definitely feel providing tools to parents for home after schooling is a much, much larger total addressable market size and likely more profitable. The average after school math tutor probably nets $90-$120 per hour, where the average school teacher probably nets $50 per hour.

If you are willing to do stuff online, the cost for a math tutor is only a fraction of what you described.

Re: Ask HN: If you’ve considered homeschooling, what’s stopping you?

#229

Post by usrn »

ElijahLynn wrote: post #108

Social needs. Children need to learn how to be in relationship with others, it is the most fundamental need we have and is so important for the future of our planet. If I were to homeschool, it isn't about the learning, that is easy, it is about providing an environment where children can learn to co-exist with others. That can still be done with homeschool, but it will need to be intentional with daily activities th…

I mostly socialized at church, there are also homeschool co-ops.

Re: Ask HN: If you’ve considered homeschooling, what’s stopping you?

#230

Post by progman32 »

wussboy wrote: post #161
david927 wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please remember that not everyone has the same experiences, socially, in school and that for some, homeschooling is the vastly better option in that regard.

I would disagree with this. Those who do best on their own (let's imagine the stereo-typical nerd) are those who most need the social training of school to succeed in life.

Schooling only drove me further and further into hiding who I was, to great detriment. It was only upon leaving school that I got the "social training" I needed to succeed.

> Those who do best on their own

With respect, you said it yourself.

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