Homeschooling... Pro or no?
Just curious on everyone's opinions.
Personally, I think it really depends on the parents and how well they can teach their child. The parent must be able to balance being a teacher and parent if they want their child to succeed. Its extremely easy for the parent to become too strict- too much of a teacher- so the child obeys and is hesitant to speak up about personal issues. On the other hand, its also easy for the parent to become too much of a best friend with the child to the point the child doesn't learn anything. Either case often leads to social isolation... its up to the parent to make sure the child has social outlets and "real world" experience.
I just think the responsibility for educating children falls on the parents. Whether they send their kids to school or homeschool them, the primary responsibility rests with them.
Personally, I don't homeschool my kids, because I think the idea's nuts. There's no way that I or they would have the patience or tolerance. Sort of the same reason a lot of parents that play instruments are reluctant to teach their own kids how to play them (i.e., it would be less effective than having someone without all the baggage of a parent-child relationship with the student to teach the student!).
That said, I know parents that take homeschooling quite seriously and seem to do well. However, I've also known the socially awkward homeschooled students that are the products of such an education mentioned here. So, they certainly have the right to homeschool their kids, but how well they do seems to be vulnerable to more risks. More power to them, I suppose.
Still, in my experience, education qualifications are secondary in importance to how a person actually performs in a job interview (i.e., the education qualifications are a check mark on the application that leads to one getting the interview, but the interview and not the degree leads to getting the job), so the laser focus us Americans put on education seems a little misguided (i.e., academic achievement at the cost of everything else). As we say so often, it's not what you know, but who you know, and if you don't know anybody because you lack social skills, the American workplace shows little mercy.
Anyway, also take those on here that have mentioned that their public schools are not up to snuff and therefore opt to homeschool. Part of me would actually rather have my kids go to some mediocre rural school where they can be King and Queen of the Pinheads. Since my kids would excel relative to their idiot peers (granted, since I also spend quite some time tutoring them myself, of course), colleges would view them as diamonds in the rough just waiting to be liberated (like my mother, who was valedictorian of her hillbilly high school in deep Appalachia and got a full ride to college). Scholarships would follow and all would be well. Compare their chances in their current hypercompetitive suburban public schools and the advantages of attending a mediocre school become apparent.
Good luck.
I think it really depends on the parents. I'm working towards my elementary education degree to become a highly qualified teacher. Currently I teach classes through a children's science museum. I work mostly with technology, and in the summer I teach video game programming, 3D design, and robotics. I live in a state where many parents home school for religious reasons. They are very adamant about their faith and don't want the chance of their child experiencing anything that conflicts that view. Homeschooling in general I am okay with, that particular reasoning, not so much. By experiencing conflict with our ideas we learn to examine the world and make decisions for ourselves. I think this is an important quality to have.
Despite this I have met amazing students from both groups, and very poor students from both. I had a public school 11yo who was learning calculus once, and a home-schooler that was already writing their own computer programs. On the other end I had students who were unable to spell basic words like weight, height, length, or random (words that were used multiple times a day in the course of the camp). I had one home-schooler who had brilliant book knowledge, but could not even spell their own name at 12 yo. Clearly the above average students had their parents helping them and pushing them to try new things and excel, my other students did not have that (they were in no way learning disabled either).
I know that neither has guaranteed results, but it is up to the parent to be in the loop when it comes to their student's education. If something is wrong with the public school, they should figure it out and make some noise about it. If something is wrong homeschooling, well you know who to blame for that one.
I work at a private college campus and have met a handful of home schooled students. I can't think of a one that seemed different from non-home schooled students, and a couple are genius.
But my population is skewed, because they are students that want to excel, and the ones that see me for extra guidance. Typically, any student that comes to my department already holds their future to a higher priority than other students that don't voluntarily see me.
Also, I think it should be noted that I have never been home-schooled; I've been to both private and public school systems and have been told multiple times that I was weird.
I support a parent's right to decide on a child's education. Homeschooling, if done right, is a quite effective method. I've met a few homeschooled children, and yes, some of them were lacking some social skills, but others weren't. In fact there were many more that grew up to be happy, intelligent, adults, so I'm not entirely convinced that home schooling was the culprit with the others.
I think it depends on the parent's level of committment, and the level of support within the homeschool community. At Christmas time, some of the local school choirs perform a couple of songs on a local radio station, and last year they had a choir made up of homeschooled kids. I once shared a ski lift ride with a woman who was chaperoning on a "field trip" for a bunch of homeschooled kids. I think that in at least some communities, there is a network of other homeschooling parents that can come together for activities and stuff that helps kids with their socialization.
I have often wondered about the parents level of expertise in some subjects. I for example, could teach English, Math and History, but I couldn't teach much in the way of Science (especially Chemistry), and I could never teach a foreign language. Perhaps they can link into some kind of Co-op where they can trade subjects with other parents more well-versed in certain subjects.
I know it can work, but it requires both committment and support from the community to raise strong, educated, homeschooled kids.
Please delete this post :]
Personally, I think that homeschooling should be downright illegal. My fiance was homeschooled and it has been a major setback in his life. He does not resent his parents for making that choice because he is a really good man who doesn't hold grudges, but he definitely believes it is wrong for parents to take this route. The bottom line IMO is that parents who homeschool their kids are robbing their children from their future. I'm not saying I think the traditional education system is perfect (far from it, in fact), but I don't agree with parents keeping their children at home and believing that they themselves are intelligent and diverse enough to adequately teach a child multiple subjects over many years that will truly prepare that child for the real-world. Part of becoming a contributing member of society includes overcoming hurdles, learning from your failures, learning to work with people you just don't like or don't get along with, learning to perservere and do work that you don't necessarily like or want to do, gaining confidence from hearing a teacher tell you good job, etc. I'm sure there are some parents out there who can try to prepare their kids for the real world by working on these learning experiences I listed here, but I think it is a necessary part of growing up to get that guidance from someone other than your parents. How else does a kid learn to respect authority but still think independently?
My cousin also lets his wife homeschool their kids, and I have to say they are the most socially awkward people I have ever met. Love the kids to death but if they were to enter the traditional education system, I have no doubt that they would be made fun of to the utmost degree. Let's not even get into all the social and emotional drama that entails at the fault of the parents. Fortunately, my fiance never went through that & he is not at all socially awkward.
Bottom line - I just don't see any possible benefit that a child could get from being homeschooled. I see benefits for the parents, but I see no benefit at all for the child.
Totally in favor, especially for elementary. I think that unless the parents are idiots or completely negligent, the homeschooled kid will fair far better academically than the public schooled kid from the same neighborhood. I think that even if the parents are lax about the lesson plan, the kid will still be better off and cover more ground. Kids spend so much of the day in public elementary schools, yet they accomplish so little. I personally don't think it's beneficial for little kids, especially boys, to be cooped up in a classroom for an entire school day every day.
We homeschool our little ones. We are not against sending our kids to school if it will be better for them, but the public school here isn't great...and though we don't always utilize it, the homeschooling community is. Still, we don't plan on homeschooling through high school, but primarily just because we are fortunate enough to live close to a couple world class Catholic high schools that we would like our kids to go to. But we take it one year, one kid at a time.
People really overrate the socialization kids get at school. I know I used to. But the socialization that kids get at most public schools is definitely not of the kind that will help them succeed in the professional world.
I don't think parents should be forced to send their children to a public school, especially if it's failing. So many public schools have problems and throwing money at them doesn't seem to help. If parents are capable and have proper support from a homeschool group, they can very effectively educate their kids. Many schools either fail to teach kids properly or are forced to "teach to the test." I've got a couple of friends who are teachers and they are always complaining about the "No Child Left Behind" requirements interfering with their ability to effectively teach. If they could eliminate some of these very serious impediments, public schools would stand a better chance, but until then, I applaud parents who take control of their child's education, as long as they are responsible about it.
A teacher has to go through 4 years of college and then get their license to teach. A parent doesn't have to do much of anything in some cases. My best friend growing up's cousin was homeschooled and her mother was well, a simple woman. Not say there aren't simple teachers, cause there are (I had an english teacher in the 8th grade that couldn't spell).
I think it's better to go to a public/private school and supplement at home (my mother was big on this) because parents aren't trained to teach. I know some states make that a requirement and I think that's an awesome idea. I also think the material that is taught should be practiced through a set of... um (my brain is putty right now) rules. ie "Chapters 1-20 of Intro to Math, Chp 1-20 Intro to Science" etc kind of idea. All the same books, all the same chapters... and the testing should be done on a state level. So while the parents can quiz/test their kids, there should be state tests they have to take (or do they already?)
How do homeschooled children go about group projects and things like science fairs?
Original Post by cptbunny:
A teacher has to go through 4 years of college and then get their license to teach. A parent doesn't have to do much of anything in some cases. My best friend growing up's cousin was homeschooled and her mother was well, a simple woman. Not say there aren't simple teachers, cause there are (I had an english teacher in the 8th grade that couldn't spell).
I think it's better to go to a public/private school and supplement at home (my mother was big on this) because parents aren't trained to teach. I know some states make that a requirement and I think that's an awesome idea. I also think the material that is taught should be practiced through a set of... um (my brain is putty right now) rules. ie "Chapters 1-20 of Intro to Math, Chp 1-20 Intro to Science" etc kind of idea. All the same books, all the same chapters... and the testing should be done on a state level. So while the parents can quiz/test their kids, there should be state tests they have to take (or do they already?)
How do homeschooled children go about group projects and things like science fairs?
No offense, but it's not that hard, relatively, to get a teaching degree/license (compared to other degrees a parent might get). Just because someone did so, that doesn't mean they are what's best for your child's education.
That's not to say there aren't some really great teachers out there. Of course there are. But there are also some really bad ones, and there are a lot of overwhelmed ones. Regardless, no teacher can match the motivation/personal investment that a parent has in a particular student's success. Likewise, when they have 20+ students to tend to, no teacher, no matter how degreed, can match the personal attention a parent can give their kid.
Original Post by gotborked:
, relatively, to get a teaching degree/license (compared to other degrees a parent might get).
Can you get a teaching degree without doing a degree in the subject you teach?
Where I live you need a Master's degree and a teaching degree to be able to teach. And you can only teach what you majored in. A french teacher cannot teach philosophy. I cannot imagine someone teaching math at a 8th grade level without not knowing what they are teaching. Sure if the parents are knowledgeable and take the time to re-learn everything, and the kids are smart and pick up stuff without difficulty.
But can anyone say all parents do that? And if they don't, do the kids gets moved to public school? At least teachers get reviewed. Who reviews the parents?
Original Post by suzushii:
Original Post by gotborked:
, relatively, to get a teaching degree/license (compared to other degrees a parent might get).Can you get a teaching degree without doing a degree in the subject you teach?
You can. In Canada, anyway, elementary school teachers can have whatever degree they want (usually just the B.Ed.) while, to teach high school, you need a certain number of credits in that subject but not a whole degree.
This leads, unfortunately, to a lot of elementary school teachers who dislike/fear math and science and unintentionally pass that along to the kids (since the math/science-friendly education students are usually pushed to teach those subjects to the older kids).
With regard to home schooling, I would seriously consider doing it if my child was stuck in a poor school - but I also teach for a living (university level so no B. Ed. but ten years of doing that plus ten more of volunteer work as a Guide leader with various age groups gives me a plenty strong background) so I have no concerns about my qualifications. My biggest concern would be the social skills (and the fact that I adore my job), so I'd be making darn sure my kids got lots of organized and informal social interaction with other kids (playing with the neighbours is, IMO, just as important as joining clubs/sports).
For an elementary school teacher I would be ok if a teacher didn't major in the subject, after all, most of them teach everything to their student since it's at a basic level, but for parents to replace them I would be even more worried. Kids require a very specific type of teaching, and I don't think an average parent would be up for the challenges of teaching those basic concepts to kids.
And really? Just some credits? That's crazy. How can someone who did a few credits of math, teach something like integers and second degree functions, and chemistry concepts and all the stuff you don't know unless you learn them for years.
Original Post by susiecue:
Original Post by suzushii:
Original Post by gotborked:
, relatively, to get a teaching degree/license (compared to other degrees a parent might get).Can you get a teaching degree without doing a degree in the subject you teach?
You can. In Canada, anyway, elementary school teachers can have whatever degree they want (usually just the B.Ed.) while, to teach high school, you need a certain number of credits in that subject but not a whole degree.
This leads, unfortunately, to a lot of elementary school teachers who dislike/fear math and science and unintentionally pass that along to the kids (since the math/science-friendly education students are usually pushed to teach those subjects to the older kids).
With regard to home schooling, I would seriously consider doing it if my child was stuck in a poor school - but I also teach for a living (university level so no B. Ed. but ten years of doing that plus ten more of volunteer work as a Guide leader with various age groups gives me a plenty strong background) so I have no concerns about my qualifications. My biggest concern would be the social skills (and the fact that I adore my job), so I'd be making darn sure my kids got lots of organized and informal social interaction with other kids (playing with the neighbours is, IMO, just as important as joining clubs/sports).
You can in Washington also. All you need is a B.A. in anything and a post-grad teaching certificate that takes 6 months to get. A friend of mine holds a degree in history but spent his entire career teaching high school physics.
I suppose a parent with a college background would be ok to teach. I'm thinking more along the lines or parents with high school educations or less.
Do you know how many parents I've spoken to online (in other forums) that didn't know Rhode Island is a state? It's those kind of parents that exist that I worry about teaching.
And in RI you can get a BA in education to teach. If you want to teach in a high school you need a BA (or BA in education with minor in your subject or vice versa) in your subject. If you want to teach in college you need a masters, AFAIK.
I suppose I also worry that parent's want to brainwash their kids with stuff only they want them to know. Closet them, if you will. That's why I think a criteria should be followed and it shouldn't be state-to-state because some states, like mine, don't make it difficult to homeschool and a dim-witted parent could easily homeschool nonsense.
Also, in RI:
Does my child receive a diploma at the end of the 12th grade?
No, but your child may take the G.E.D. test to receive a high school equivalency diploma. Instead of a diploma, some districts issue a “certificate of completion.”
That seems like such a bummer to me.
Our homeschooling system is very loose and I think it should be more strict. My friend's cousin used to brag that she never had homework cause she was homeschooled. I know she's probably not the only one. She later went to my high school and struggled. I know there are plenty who did well homeschooled, but I feel like they are the minority.
I feel like school teaches things likes responsibilities and dead lines, and learning how to split your time up efficiently for all your classes. Also learning to deal with persons of authority that isn't your mommy or daddy.
As I said before, my children are all "home-schooled". That doesn't mean that I personally teach them every subject! It means I find the resources that they can use to learn the subjects that they need and/or want to learn.
It is easy enough to teach the younger grades, but as they get older and their educational plans and interests start to vary- I recognize that they must get their instruction elsewhere (online, co-ops, community classes, college, etc.)
It has been my observation that home-schooled youth have many opportunities that they would have to give up if confined to the same building for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Education should not be compartmentalized into set subjects for set times each day. It just isn't the optimal setting for learning.
I went to private school, and I'm glad that I did. The public school in my town was not particularly good. That being said, I think that how good your parents are matters more than where you go to school.
If you have good parents, they will contribute to your learning no matter where you go to school. If you have bad parents, then you will have to suffer from that no matter where you go to school.
Good parents homeschooling their kids is not a big deal because good parents will make sure their kids have the opportunity to socialize and will work to resolve any problems they are having education their kids. Bad parents home schooling their kids is terrible because the kids will miss out on the chance of getting a good influence/education in school (chance it's not guaranteed).
You should check out a book called "The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education". I read it as a freshman in a public high school and it completely changed my view of home schooling. John Holt has also written several thought-provoking books on education. My favorite is "Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling". I enjoyed it so much I read it aloud to my creative writing class. My teacher loved it as well.
