re: Homeschooling?

Quoting Pregalicious [MAEK]:“ I was homeschooled from 6th grade to 12th grade... I HATED it... because I missed out on soooo ... [snip!] ... to be extremely shy I still really can't relate to anyone my own age. I get along so much better with older people. lol ”

I know EXACTLY what you mean. Kids do not get a chance to be kids, or be "normal"
I think it's super important too.

I've sorta been an adult since I was about nine. My mom was very sick (she died when I was eleven) I had to help take care of her and my baby brother. It got worse after she died. I have always been considered an adult in my house past then. It sounds aweful but my dad even went so far as to talk to me about major family decisions before my step mother .  

Kids need that interaction with other kids! We all need friends!

I was homeschooled for 2 years, 7th and 8th grade, and I finished high school that way.


In 7th and 8th grade, I absolutely HATED it, I was home all day sitting on my ass, and I never saw ANY of my friends.

There was no social interaction.

BTW, I was schooled on the computer, not by my mother or father.

Quoting ~(Breanna)~:“ I know EXACTLY what you mean. Kids do not get a chance to be kids, or be "normal" I think it's super ... [snip!] ... It sounds aweful but my dad even went so far as to talk to me about major family decisions before my step mother .  ”

Exactly I think I grew up waaay too fast actually...

Sorry to hear about you mother!! I didn't have to go through that but I understand where you're comming from I got treated like an adult dealing with adult issues at a young age...

the kids that I know that were homeschooled up until a certain point and then came to public school were always so awkward...like socially. I mean generally they were smarter, but they were just...well for lack of a better word, weird.

I don't see anything wrong with homeschooling, if that's your personal choice, but I wouldn't do it. I'd want my kids to be able to have the normal social interactions with kids at school and have that part of being a kid.

I would not home school my kids, but I will be very involved in their education. This starts with communication with their teachers and involvement in their activities.

IMO schooling is practice for a job in "real life." When a child grows up and gets a job, they will no longer go to school, but they will work during the day. Because I feel that way, schooling should mimic"real-life" in as many ways as possible. There should be diversity in race, sex, age, etc. They should be able to take direction from numerous adults (bosses) along with their different styles. They should be with others that are like them, too. Children learn a lot from each other. Schools have more resources and opportunities than I could realistically provide. I want my child to learn to function independently. I believe that this will give them confidence to be a productive, reliable, happy citizen of this country. There is more, but my baby needs me...

Okay, this is my personal opinion~ I feel a child gets more out of school than just an education. They get social skills & learn not only how to interact with kids their own age, but adults as well. I base my opinion on this~ My side of the family have all gone to public schools~ the school my daughter goes to has gotten an Excellant rating from the state for the past 5 years. My nieces & nephews on my husband side have been homeschooled~ I can see how withdrawn they are around everybody, but people in their family. They are behind & when put into a situation with kids their own age, they still tend to stick together & won't interact with the other kids. They may be educated on the book smart aspect, but when it comes to street smart/ common sense~ they tend to lack it. My daughter (who is 7) is more well rounded than her cousins on that side of the family (they range from 9-15) She's book smart, but also is more educated on life as well.

I had to travel the states with my family... so I had noooo body my age lol
we lived in hotels and campgrounds... they had a business and I had to tag along.

The thing is I basically had to teach myself... nobody cared to teach me and I was just a kid... my mom would try to teach me and then I don't know it just sort of got forgotten about... or maybe she was being lazy haha...

Quoting Pregalicious [MAEK]:“ I was wondering how everyone thought about homeschooling? Good Idea? Bad Idea?”

I was homeschooled from 7th grade on. The school system where I lived was crappy and I was so depressed because I was always being picked on that my mom was afraid I would end up killing myself. I still socialized with my friends and had a BETTER life than I had while in public school. Not to mention that homeschooling enabled me to start college at 14, which was a wonderful oopportunity for me. I have known kids who weren't properly educated due to homeschooling, but I have seen an equal percentage of children who have been failed by the public school system. If the parent doing the homeschooling is an intelligent, repsonsible person, I think it's great! Especially under circumstances where public school just isn't working for medical, educational or personal reasons.

IMO homeschooling can be good OR bad depending on the way the homeschooling is done and the amount of social time outside of that the children have. This doesnt mean the amount of time they spend playing with other children like at the playground. It means the amount of time the children spend structured with other children like in dance classes or other extra-curricular (sp?) activities.

Quoting Pregalicious [MAEK]:“ I had to travel the states with my family... so I had noooo body my age lol we lived in hotels and campgrounds... ... [snip!] ... my mom would try to teach me and then I don't know it just sort of got forgotten about... or maybe she was being lazy haha...”

Unschooling. I taught myself a lot. But I prefered it that way. I'm a self-starter and don't like people in my business. LoL

Quoting Baby~Jack's~Mama:“ Okay, this is my personal opinion~ I feel a child gets more out of school than just an education. They ... [snip!] ... than her cousins on that side of the family (they range from 9-15) She's book smart, but also is more educated on life as well.”

It's important for people who homeschool to socialize their children with others. There are lots of homeschool groups that have activities and play dates, etc... Dance classes, sports, scouts, 4-H, etc all provide great means of self betterment and socialization as well.

Quoting msplainjane:“ Since you are a teacher will you give us your reasons for not liking it?”

Sorry, I was putting my daughter down for the night......

Socialization is a big reason. I actually had a child in my class last year who was home-schooled kindergarten and first and had a horrible time adjusting in second. He missed out on all of those early interactions with others. He was very withdrawn no matter what anyone tried to do. He had a hard time with testing - both standardized and basic classroom testing.

It also depends on the ability of the parents and whether or not they are going to follow the academic content standards of the state.The child may excel at a particular subject that may be the parents' weakness. So how do they teach it then?Teachers go to school for at least 4 years (and that's only for a BA) to get certified to teach in a particular content area- that is for a reason. There are constantly new techniques and studies on how to best teach kids. Teachers are required to get a Masters degree and continue taking college classes throughout their entire career.What training do parents have?

Anyways, those are just a few of my reasons. It's untimately the parents decision as they know their kids best. I respect all parents no matter what they choose.

Quoting Ashley Nichole *Evil Bitc:“ It's important for people who homeschool to socialize their children with others. There are lots of ... [snip!] ... dates, etc... Dance classes, sports, scouts, 4-H, etc all provide great means of self betterment and socialization as well.”

I totally agree~ My X-SIL also lost a baby when he was 2 months old~ due to some form of pneumonia. Since that happened (about 5 yrs ago) she has all but stopped homeschooling, but refuses to send them to public school~ I feel bad for those kids we threatened to take the kids away & send them to public school!

Quoting Mommy2Aly:“ Sorry, I was putting my daughter down for the night...... Socialization is a big reason. I actually ... [snip!] ... reasons. It's untimately the parents decision as they know their kids best. I respect all parents no matter what they choose.”

I agree. My mother would get frustrated because she wasn't understanding something therefore I couldn't understand it either lol.

It takes alot of discipline on the parents part to motivate themselves to teach the child.

Also when I went to college I did really well except for tests. I was a horrible test taker. I eventually got over this but it was very frustrating.