Is Home Schooling a good idea?

Based on our respective miserable experiences in high school, where learning was actively discouraged, my wife and I have home-schooled our children. Homeschooling has definitely been the right choice for us.

However, homeschooling isn't for every family. One of my son's friends, around the same age, was also home-schooled. He doesn't know anything about history, can't do basic algebra, and thinks the apostrophe is used to make words plural. He's a bright kid, but he hasn't been taught anything. It's up to the parents to make homeschooling successful.
 
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It depends entirely on the parents.

If the parents are well-enough educated and have the time (and the money, though it needn't cost much money), absolutely.

On the other hand, there's a non-trivial number of homeschooling parents who do it because they're too lazy to get the kids up for the bus.

P.S. That said, the much more important issue is the student's own motivation and ability.
 
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r3volution 3.0 said:
If the parents are well-enough educated.
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Honestly it's crazy, but statistics show that even homeschooled kids taught by parents who never finished high school score better on grade level exams than the public school students' average
 
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Homeschool is a terrible idea!

If a parent is unwilling to teach their kid how to put on a condom or how to use drugs, how will that poor kid ever get out of his bubble? And what if a 5 year old boy wants to be a girl? How will he be able to undergo hormone therapy if there is no one around to let him explore? Who will be there to undermine the child's family structure and values if the government school is taken from the poor kid? How will the child understand "shall not be infringed" means something completely different?

I sent my kids to government school to be taught by communists and they came out communists but I don't know why?
 
Homeschooling isn't just a better choice for our two kids... it is the only choice. We have a 9yr old son and a 5 yr old daughter. My son is gifted/asynchronous, which means he comes with a whole host of issues to deal with that public schools (even private/charter schools) are ill-equipped to handle. We spend so much time with each of them that we truly KNOW who they are and HOW they learn best. Our method of instruction is completely different for my son compared to my daughter. We are free to rocket ahead in subjects that he has already mastered, just as we are free to spend as much time as needed on subjects where more time is appropriate. We spend a great deal of time outdoors and the only 'screen time' they get is ONE family movie on Friday nights... that's it. No phones or ipads. Nada. Teachers often say the 'key' to education is 'parent involvement in their child's education.' What could be more 'involved' than 'parent-led education'??

I would agree that some parents aren't up to the task, as it takes a serious deep dive into a world most of us have been indoctrinated out of. We've spent years unlearning the "public school" format and have had to learn how best to instruct from hundreds of books, videos, and different curricula. The good thing is there is a HUGE homeschool community both online and in most cities. We live in AZ where the homeschool community is vibrant and incredibly supportive, plus the laws here make homeschooling a very simple choice. Were we in a state like California or New York, the laws are so restrictive and demanding, that choice is more difficult.

If anyone has any questions about homeschooling, HMU! I have been doing it for 5 years now and have become a fierce homeschool advocate.
 
I was unschooled- which means my parents followed my interests. A parent doesn't have to be a "teacher" to do this- they just have to allow their kids the freedom to follow their passion. Once a child becomes good in ONE thing, they become passionate about many subjects.
 
This sermon by Voddie Baucham, as well as his book Family Driven Faith, are great resources if you are on the fence about homeschooling.
 
Home schooling depends on the choice of parents. As we know, looking for work needs a diploma from high school, college and university. In my thought, it’s better to study at shool than studying at home.
 
My youngest son is graduating with Electrical Engineering degree from RPI this May. He is still attending RPI for another year and will graduate May 2020 with Masters in Business analytics. He scored perfect on HS math SAT's. RPI gave him a scholarship of $48,500 per year. He graduated from public HS #2 and had over a year of college under his belt including Physics, Calculus, Trigonometry, Biology, Chemistry, English Lit..... He is very well educated. I could not have taught him the aforementioned. I taught him reading and math when he was small. He knows carpentry, auto mechanics, plumbing, electrical, drywall repair, roofing, siding, tree trimming, how to professionally paint an automobile, we raised and killed rabbits and chickens. This kid was homeschooled and went to school. With that said, I think the school system of today is very liberal and people are very crazy. Things have changed dramatically in the last 5 years. I don't know if my kids would have the same experience and advantages today as they had when they went thru the school system. All my kids went to gifted and talented classes and took AP classes. They were taught to be free thinkers and to use logic and reason. I am sure if you asked him or any of my 4 kids they would all say they are glad that they attended public school. I am sure the son I just spoke of would also say things are different today. I would give my blessing to him if he has children and home schools them. My oldest daughter who is also brilliant is or has in the past home schooled her 3 children. I would still say that if you are a confident young child with a huge support system at home and parents that are truly teaching you to be a free thinking, logical, rational, individual, it might be better to rub elbows and associate with the masses. My kids get along with everyone. I remember my son would often speak about a class when he was in HS where they would discuss issues. He was often the only person on one side of an argument. He was able to debate an entire class, stick to his principles, argue his point, and remain friends with his classmates.
 
Rothbardian Girl said:
While I don't have any particular reason to oppose homeschooling or unschooling, as some of the smartest people I've encountered were homeschooled (haven't met any unschoolers yet), I would like to speak up in defense of my particular experience in public school (who knows -- maybe it will add a little bit of variety to this topic!). My parents taught me to read at the age of two and packed me off to public school, and I did just fine. I tend to enjoy more institutionalized settings for learning foreign languages and math and science. I did hate my history and government classes, but I was able to laugh about them with my mom and dad at home.

In many cases, I don't think it's purposeful indoctrination so much as not being able to tell the entire story due to time constraints. Teachers aren't always evil automatons concerned with only teaching one version of something; typically, if I debated with them in a friendly and respectful way, they would respect my interest in the subject. There's a way to disagree with something without coming off as disrespectful. My American History I teacher in particular was able to present the Civil War in a very balanced fashion, and even got into the deeper, economic root causes of the war. A lot of libertarians like to caricature public education for, I suspect, dramatic effect, but these caricatures don't always approach reality. That being said, I am quite aware that there are a lot of issues with other public schools. I was fortunate enough to go to one of the top school districts in my state.

I guess I am playing devil's advocate here because I don't like hysteria coming from either side in regard to this issue. Kids that haven't been raised properly at home being made to go to school (or perhaps any other institutionalized setting) is a toxic scenario; I am seeing the proof of this statement with my cousin's daughter now, who just had to be enrolled in cyber school -- I certainly wouldn't trust my cousin to homeschool her children.
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I was "unschooled" and it's the only way to really learn. Coercion never stays in the soul- students in a forced environment are only regurgitating junk that someone else wants them to swallow.

Suck it in- burp it out and everything supposedly "learned" is completely forgotten.
 
Ender said:
I was "unschooled" and it's the only way to really learn. Coercion never stays in the soul- students in a forced environment are only regurgitating junk that someone else wants them to swallow.

Suck it in- burp it out and everything supposedly "learned" is completely forgotten.
Click to expand...

An awful lot has changed, for the worse, in just the five short years since she wrote that.
 
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