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My family’s unlikely homeschooling journey

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Re: My family’s unlikely homeschooling journey

#91

Post by whatshisface »

cjbgkagh wrote: post #40
thrown_22 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being raised by someone who has numerous medical issues to the point where they can't function in society any more will not lead to a well functioning adult. She's welcome to raise her kids however she wants. But you should keep in mind that this is very much not someone who you want to copy unless you're also basically an invalid.

It’s very common for very smart people to have autoimmune conditions, you have to take the good with the bad. Thankfully as medical tech gets better we can minimize the bad.

About 16% of the population has antinuclear antibodies, and it has been rising steadily from about 11% over the past forty years.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/autoimmunity-m...

Re: My family’s unlikely homeschooling journey

#92

Post by 8f2ab37a-ed6c »

jph00 wrote: post #70
8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey Jeremy, what sorts of apps have you found most useful with your daughter? You mention using a few math ones that you found to be a good fit for her. PS. thanks for the excellent fast.ai course!

I helped curate this list: https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/bestappsforlearning Glad you liked course.fast.ai :D

Thanks for sharing!

Re: My family’s unlikely homeschooling journey

#93

Post by gnicholas »

sfink wrote: post #89
gnicholas wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> tl;dr: don't homeschool. take it from a former homeschooled kid. send the kid to a good public school, please. This is a bit of a false dichotomy. Wealthy people can send their kids to good public/private schools because they can afford to live places with access. But less-wealthy people may not have the option. The social interaction piece is interesting, and may be addressed by the fact that there is massive grow…

Yeah, but it also requires some degree of wealth to homeschool. Two parents working full time, or a single parent working full time, are going to be hard-pressed to set up a decent homeschooling environment. You can rely on the "non-location based charter school"'s curriculum and staff quite a bit, but then (1) you won't be that different from traditional schooling, and (2) they can't provide all-day supervision or a…

Parents of rambunctious kids definitely have additional challenges. But I’d point out that even if the curriculum from a non-location based charter is the same, you can move your kid ahead (or behind) in whatever subjects. We’ve tried getting that flexibility in our public school (which is supposedly very good and in the heart of SV) and it has been incredibly challenging.

It made me wonder: how much more would my kid know if I’d spent all this time (that I spent talking to the school) just teaching her directly?

Re: My family’s unlikely homeschooling journey

#94

Post by froh »

ido wrote: post #30
8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #5

Not surprising that the kid of two extremely successful and intelligent parents -- at least technically and academically -- is suffocated by the pacing of public schooling. It's supposed to accommodate the needs of the general population and its standard deviations of nurture and nature. I wonder if this will become a more common pattern for the cognitive elite.

It’s not about the cognitive elite. The mass-education public school system is designed for an average with very little deviation that doesn’t actually fit that many pupils - it’s not a single int stat like in d&d, kids have different capabilities & interests and aiming for some sort of generalized lowest common denominator is going to be a bad experience for pretty much everyone. The only solution IMO is the expensi…

the solution actually is an inexpensive one: provide age appropriate self learning materials and make the teachers coaches in navigating those. Montessori schools work like that and we have a public school using that to accommodate both very quick and very slow learners and all those in between. the trick is that most students spend two years in that class, slow learners stay for three and the quick kids move on after just one year. individualized learning and mixed age groups. cheap and works like a charm.

Re: My family’s unlikely homeschooling journey

#95

Post by ReallyOldLurker »

rwbt wrote: post #11
lax4ever wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Homeschooling is not the isolation that most people think it is. In fact, the vast majority of parents who homeschool (myself included) join forces with other parents who homeschool for events, activities, and learning opportunities, all of which bring with them natural socialization while still allowing for a far more tailored learning experience than you can get in any classroom. In addition, homeschool kids typica…

I'm glad to hear first hand experience. Where does one find other parents who are homeschooling their children?

> Where does one find other parents who are homeschooling their children?

I suggest starting with your state resources (assuming you are in the USA). Here are a couple for Oregon: - http://www.ohen.org/ - https://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/homeschooling-in-oregon/

At the time that I was homeschooling my children, that was enough info to lead me to various parent and meet-up groups.

Something that isn't mentioned much - just like getting a tutor in college, its pretty easy for a parent group to pitch in for an occasional day of tutoring or lecture/review from an expert.

Negative concerns about socialization was never an issue in my experience or from what I saw with other homeschoolers, rather the opposite.

When getting started, make an honest appraisal of your teaching capabilities and home life. Be ready to admit where you have areas of weakness and stop when you reach the end of your capability and don't have support or a parent group to assist in those areas. Be ready to experiment with different learning approaches and look at it as an opportunity for yourself as much as for your child.

Like anything else in life, you and your child will get out of the experience what is put into it. Success takes effort. I think (just my opinion) too many parents let public school do the parenting. When I first started with my 3 year old (who was already reading and doing math by that age) I created a simple set of goals and a project plan and then reiterated through it as I learned more about homeschooling. By the time my second child started to read and write I had a solid sense of direction and a plan that I was able to loosely follow for the next dozen years.

One last tip: don't stick to the public school schedule. Life lasts all day long, all year long. Activities may change with the seasons, but learning doesn't need to stop just becuase summer came. Be flexible. Take lots of field trips. Have fun... OK, that was more than one last tip.

Re: My family’s unlikely homeschooling journey

#96

Post by PebblesRox »

baud147258 wrote: post #84
watwut wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of those are rosy studies designed to be rosy tho. As in, many of those studies are are as independent as cigarette company paying for research on smoking and health. Also, a lot of effort goes into insulating religious homeschooling families from any independent sight at all. The elephants in the room he mentions is very real thing too. Fair amount of homeschooling is explicitly social/political project. It is…

Though why the fact some people might choose homeschooling with wrong goals in mind should prevent you from choosing to homeschool your own children, with your own goals and methods, which will be different from what other homeschooling parents would choose?

Yeah, I've noticed a trend in HN homeschooling comment threads where discussion on the personal choice of whether or not to homeschool gets tangled up with discussion about homeschooling on a policy/societal level.

There are some broad concerns about homeschooling that are not relevant to individual decisions. E.g. I don't care that some homeschooling parents use it as a cover for abuse/neglect because I'm not an abusive/neglectful parent. For my child, that's not a risk factor. And as you point out, it's the same for motivational factors.

Re: My family’s unlikely homeschooling journey

#97

Post by bearmode »

baud147258 wrote: post #81
bearmode wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In school we were socialising for 6+ hours a day, every day, plus any time after school or on weekends, alongside our school work. We also had hundreds of peers that we could make friends with if we wanted to. Compared to that I'd absolutely say homeschooling (even with occasional events and activities) is quite isolating.

> In school we were socialising for 6+ hours a day In school you spent 6 hours each day on recess/lunch break? Because I'd argue that in most classes, you aren't exactly supposed to be socializing, but rather, you know, following the class you're in

Classwork alongside your peers is still part of socialising. You're still sat next to other kids, engaging in class discussions with the other kids, working on projects together with other kids all through the day.

Socialising doesn't just mean unrelated chatter.

Re: My family’s unlikely homeschooling journey

#98

Post by YesWeWill »

bearmode wrote: post #97
baud147258 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In school we were socialising for 6+ hours a day In school you spent 6 hours each day on recess/lunch break? Because I'd argue that in most classes, you aren't exactly supposed to be socializing, but rather, you know, following the class you're in

Classwork alongside your peers is still part of socialising. You're still sat next to other kids, engaging in class discussions with the other kids, working on projects together with other kids all through the day. Socialising doesn't just mean unrelated chatter.

The problem with supporters of schools is that you have a very idealized view of what's happening there. I get it, you had it good - but you shouldn't ignore that there's a pretty significant amount of kids who don't fit into the system. Nobody wants to cancel schools completely - just different options for kids who aren't going to thrive there.

When I sat next to other kids there weren't discussions, there was fighting and stealing my stuff and teachers not reacting because they sat me next to the precious ones who couldn't do anything wrong so "they keep an eye on me" - and then punishing me for my missing stuff. When we had to do projects I was the only one working and the other kids ignoring me on purpose - but somehow that was my fault too and I got a bad grade because "it was supposed to be a team project".

Fuck schools. It's not my fault I was born with ADHD - and if you force me into the school then it's on you to learn to deal with it. But that's not going to happen - and thus homeschooling is the way for my children.

Re: My family’s unlikely homeschooling journey

#99

Post by bearmode »

YesWeWill wrote: post #80
bearmode wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In school we were socialising for 6+ hours a day, every day, plus any time after school or on weekends, alongside our school work. We also had hundreds of peers that we could make friends with if we wanted to. Compared to that I'd absolutely say homeschooling (even with occasional events and activities) is quite isolating.

Why is it so great to force children to socialize for 6+ hours with people they might hate and who might hate them? Especially in an environment where the adults are so undernumbered they can't possibly keep track of what's happening - and sometimes they participate in the hate towards specific children too? With homeschooling, the parent sees what's happening and can protect their child. Nobody will protect them at…

Yeah, and by 'protecting' them from uncomfortable social situations, how are they going to learn to deal with them? Growth comes from discomfort, trying to constantly protect them is harmful.

Re: My family’s unlikely homeschooling journey

#100

Post by YesWeWill »

bearmode wrote: post #99
YesWeWill wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it so great to force children to socialize for 6+ hours with people they might hate and who might hate them? Especially in an environment where the adults are so undernumbered they can't possibly keep track of what's happening - and sometimes they participate in the hate towards specific children too? With homeschooling, the parent sees what's happening and can protect their child. Nobody will protect them at…

Yeah, and by 'protecting' them from uncomfortable social situations, how are they going to learn to deal with them? Growth comes from discomfort, trying to constantly protect them is harmful.

Bullshit. One thing is uncomfortable - and that happens during homeschooling more than enough, so that's how you learn to deal with it. Another thing is leading a kid to suicide and/or homicide with the uncomfortable. That's way too much, and it's caused by the teachers not protecting the kids, since they simply don't care and sometimes it's fun to them too.

How is a kid supposed to learn to deal with the uncomfortable situations when everything they do is shut down and punished by a teacher but they don't care about the actual problem and it's perpetrators? How is a 7 year old kid supposed to stand up to the teachers?

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