Quote:
|
Originally Posted by yankeefan1970
Homeschooling really depends on the strength of the parent to act as a teacher, rather than a parent. I think it's extremely hard for most parents to separate those two "worlds".
|
Parenting is teaching. You're teaching from the moment they come out of the womb.
Quote:
|
This depends on the child's determination to learn, and the support they get from home.
|
Again, that's why I said "opportunity". There have been far more highly educated people coming out of homeschooled environments than public school systems. Even if you exclude the time before there were public schools, I would bet that the ratio of "highly educated" coming out of homeschool environments would be higher than that of public schooled children. Homeschooled children also have a higher average score on national standardized tests than public schooled children.
Quote:
|
If a parent chooses to participate in their child's life, they can watch all of this too. Even if the child attends school. Parents do not take enough time to get to know their own kids. They choose not to participate in their lives, or spend the time with their kids to help them grow.
|
Yes, homeschooling is the ultimate in parent participation. However, even a parent that is participating fully in their public schooled child's growth doesn't get the opportunity to see the little daily things that effect that child.
Quote:
|
A parent who values educating themself will teach this value to their child.
|
Yes, it could happen. But the fact is we put our children in schools that look more like prisons than fun places to learn. They are taught a curriculum that is geared toward the lowest common denominator. They are placed into a social situation that breeds a disrespect of authority for the sake of simply being disprespectful. And this goes on for 35+ hours a week. Even a fully involved parent has a small sliver of that child's time in which to teach the fun side of learning. And before he/she does that, they have to surmount all of the negativity that the child gets throughout the week.
Quote:
|
What's important to one parent may not be very important in greater society..../ ...What's wrong with taking your kid on a field trip on Saturday?
|
You keep pointing out that it's possible for the parent to take on some of these responsibilities themselves. Isn't this teaching? Doesn't it prove my point that public schools aren't the best places to put your child? If you are going to have to take the responsibility for figuring out what they won't teach your kid in school, and then teaching that yourself, wouldn't it be simpler to just take on the whole thing?
Quote:
|
Every parent should be having this conversation with their kids in the first place! It's no excuse not to talk with your own kids about sex, drugs, alcohol, violence. Supplement what the schools say. Ask your kids if they have questions on what they are learning. Teach them your own values!
|
Again, yes of course. My point is that public schooled children get bombarded by false information, even when the parent is fully involved.
Quote:
|
This sounds very much like teaching your child that they are valued. It's a good lesson, and certainly one that is easy enough for a parent to teach.
|
No, that's not what I meant. Think back to your own education. Did you feel like you were directing what you were learning or did you feel like you needed to learn what they were giving you before you were paroled? Think
Pink Floyd's The Wall and the assembly line of children going into the meat grinder. That's how I felt; here's what I need to learn and if I learn it I'll be set free.
Homeschooled children do not need to be taught that way. They can choose what they are interested in and the various disciplines are brought in to support that learning. They are their own instrument to finding out about their world, something they are naturally inclined to want to know anyway. Rather than suppress that natural curiosity by teaching them in an assembly line fashion, homeschoolers can direct their own education. The result is a greater retention of material and an understanding of how all disciplines interact.
Quote:
|
Actually, I think this is a very bad habit to teach a child.
|
Of course, to each his own. How long do you think your child's self-esteem will last when you tell him to dress for success in public school? If he doesn't wear the latest fashion he will be ostracized. Do you think the kids you see coming out of public school at 3:00 are dressed for success?
The point is, you create the dress code - not some failed bureaucrat or some gansta rappa.
Quote:
|
You can still do this even with a child in school.
|
My point is that it's easier in a homeschool environment.
Quote:
|
If properly applied by the parents, I would agree 100%. The problem is, most parents will simply slack off, or not teach their children everything they need to know.
|
That sentiment isn't borne out by the facts. If most parents who chose to homeschool simply slacked off then homeschool children wouldn't be scoring so high on national tests and college placement tests. Homeschool children also have a higher rate of acceptance to colleges than public schooled children.
Quote:
|
Social skills are a HUGE area that is lacking in homeschooling.
|
Again, this is simply not true, your personal experience notwithstanding. As I pointed out, homeschooled children are more active in their communities, politics, and have more stable and rewarding (according to them) personal relationships.
Walk through a high-school some day and tell me that this is a great environment for learning social skills. As a public school child your friends are most likely your own age. You are derided by those who are older than you and you harass those who are younger. Your society is the small clique of friends that you have, who have no better social skills than you.
Quote:
|
Kids who are home schooled NEED to have interaction on a regular basis with other kids. They can't get it from home, and this is a huge part of a child's education that is lacking in home schooled kids.
|
Why can't they get it from home? My kids get a lot of interaction with other kids. They have friends in the neighborhood, they have friends at the various activities they do. There are groups of homeschooled children that they get together with at various events (going to the museum, the zoo, a ball game). Are you under the impression that homeschooled kids are locked in their houses all day?
Quote:
|
Parents need to get back into participating in their kids lives. They need to take some of the responsibility for their education and growth. They need to be there for their kids. :thumbsup:
|
Absolutely, 100% agree. When did we stop participating in our kids' lives? When we agreed to hand them over to the state for the greater portion of their waking lives.