Homeschooling hits record numbers • Hacker News Board

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#781

Post by gosub100 » Sat, Nov 22, 2025, 5:18 PM UTC

bgnn wrote: post #404

hereme888 wrote: post #234

The biggest misunderstanding I hear year-over-year is homeschoolers are "not exposed to the real world". Isolation exists for some, but my extensive interaction with homeschoolers is they are immersed in healthy communities, hand-picked by parents to keep away problem children. Who would plant a flower next to a sick or hostile one? Parents of healthy children should give 0 s*ts of societal/political pressure against…

What you define here is isolation from the real world. There seems to be a misunderstanding of your understanding of misunderstanding.

Children's world view is shaped early on. They shouldn't have to suffer just because poor, violent, should-have-been-aborteds are legally required to go to public schools. Children should experience carefree happiness at least once, in their formative years so they know happiness is possible.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#782

Post by rozap » Sat, Nov 22, 2025, 5:43 PM UTC

jhawk28 wrote: post #610

kylehotchkiss wrote: post #147

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…

This is the most common myths about homeschooling. In reality, the kids at public school sit at a desk most of the time. They don't get to socialize. Most activities are structured. Homeschoolers have CO-OPs, field trips, weekly PE visits, real interactions with adults, and actual free time. They are the most socialized kids in the US. The diversity in the homeschool relationships is quite large which you can see whe…

Growing up, homeschool kids were absolutely weird as hell. Sure, some turn out fine, but it's very hard to do right, and requires parents putting their kids outside of everyone's comfort zone, which is... uncomfortable, so it rarely happens.

The homeschooled neighbor kid from a super religious family absolutely went off the deep end at 18. Many such cases.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#783

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Nov 22, 2025, 6:01 PM UTC

synecdoche wrote: post #767

vel0city wrote: post #760

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree its not always "racism", but ultimately the main reason is still largely the same. They don't think their kids should mingle with the "others". Its the exact same logic of black school segregation during Jim Crow.

Sometimes for good reason. Observe what happened to people who tried to approach Sentinel island. That may seem extreme, but it's not my point. It's is that cultures are different and some are detrimental to the people of some other culture's wellbeing.

[deleted]

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#784

Post by bentley » Sat, Nov 22, 2025, 6:04 PM UTC

class3shock wrote: post #748

hereme888 wrote: post #234

The biggest misunderstanding I hear year-over-year is homeschoolers are "not exposed to the real world". Isolation exists for some, but my extensive interaction with homeschoolers is they are immersed in healthy communities, hand-picked by parents to keep away problem children. Who would plant a flower next to a sick or hostile one? Parents of healthy children should give 0 s*ts of societal/political pressure against…

If schools are problematic or have kids that are problematic, wouldn't it make more sense to focus on investing in them to make them better, adding resources to support difficult kids, to help parents who are not doing well? As opposed to disengaging from them?

If the school system is damaging kids, it’s good to work to improve it, but you won't see results (if any—effecting systemic change is hard) until after your kids have already graduated, facing irreversible damage in the process.

If you’re willing to homeschool well, the positive impact on your kids is immediate.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#785

Post by bentley » Sat, Nov 22, 2025, 6:14 PM UTC

simgt wrote: post #720

As someone from a country where public school is the norm, private school less so and homeschooling the absolute exception, these threads are always wild to read. It really shows how deeply individualistic and polarized the USA is. Sure, let's make homeschooling the norm, problematic kids will be the only ones who fill the ranks of public schools, gifted kids or the ones from religious zealots will all live in their…

> gifted kids or the ones from religious zealots will all live in their bubbles

If you’ve read this thread, then you know most homeschoolers dispute that they live in a bubble.

> Sure, let's make homeschooling the norm, problematic kids will be the only ones who fill the ranks of public schools

I don’t see anyone in this thread advocating that. But I did see several arguing that homeschooling should be illegal. And homeschooling is illegal in countries like Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Part of homeschoolers’ outspokenness against the usual tired stereotypes is because there’s real risk of governments prohibiting home education even in situations when it would be superior to the local public schools.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#786

Post by lanfeust6 » Sat, Nov 22, 2025, 6:15 PM UTC

bell-cot wrote: post #675

lanfeust6 wrote: post #587

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it is a cheaper alternative to private school That depends. Often it means one parent stays home to educate and watch the kids, otherwise, someone else has to, and that usually costs money. If a wife otherwise would bring home a decent salary, then it isn't cheaper.

Subtract the costs of daycare, summer camps, etc., etc. from that salary, and "decent" can become a pretty high bar.

https://www.childcareaware.org/families/cost-child-care/help... . In my country daycare is subsidized. Notwithstanding, it's not that high of a bar. Two-income households still bring in more net money despite expenses.

There is no "etc etc" in this context, we're talking about watching the kids while parents work.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#787

Post by jen20 » Sat, Nov 22, 2025, 6:16 PM UTC

biophysboy wrote: post #217

jen20 wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why would a parent think that their kid will never encounter political topics if they stay at home They probably imagine they'll never encounter political topics from a perspective of which said parents do not approve. And they're probably not wrong to believe that.

Yes, but then their kid will become an adult and feel like they were kept in a snow globe. Even if the parents are right, its a foolish strategy!

No argument from me there. I’m observing, not advocating ;-)

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#788

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Nov 22, 2025, 6:16 PM UTC

synecdoche wrote: post #767

vel0city wrote: post #760

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree its not always "racism", but ultimately the main reason is still largely the same. They don't think their kids should mingle with the "others". Its the exact same logic of black school segregation during Jim Crow.

Sometimes for good reason. Observe what happened to people who tried to approach Sentinel island. That may seem extreme, but it's not my point. It's is that cultures are different and some are detrimental to the people of some other culture's wellbeing.

[deleted]

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#789

Post by lanfeust6 » Sat, Nov 22, 2025, 6:17 PM UTC

deadeye wrote: post #593

lanfeust6 wrote: post #583

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Many are filled with kids that aren't there to learn. That's on the kid, not contingent on whether school is public. > most here report being bullied. Anecdotes like this are not worth much. What do the stats say? > There is really nothing intrinsically good about the average public school. Schools don't just socialize, though that is also important. Whether they succeed at educating well depends on more than one f…

>That's on the kid, not contingent on whether school is public. Yes and no. The interest of the kid to learn is on the kid/family, for sure. However, the fact that a kid who has no interest in learning is forced to go to public school is a function of how public schools operate. Again, free and required is a bad model. They should either be free and selective or, less ideally, available and costly.

You're assuming that school is decidedly negative if at the outset a kid doesn't "have an interest" in learning. I disagree.

Re: Homeschooling hits record numbers

#790

Post by youcancook » Sat, Nov 22, 2025, 6:21 PM UTC

kylehotchkiss wrote: post #147

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…

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