I'm Against Home-Schooling, Basically Because......

[THUNDER HANDS]

I want kids to be just as miserable as I was in junior high and high school.

If I had to get picked on - they do too.

If I had to struggle to socialize with girls - they do too.

If I had to have a crappy teacher who I hated - they do too.

If I had to wake up at 6:30 a.m. every morning - they do too.

If I had to go out in the pouring rain/snow/hail - they do too.

If I had to catch the chicken pox/flu/cold - they do too.

If I had to go on lousy field trips to the toenail museum - they do too.

If I had to eat the brown/grey piece of meatloaf - they do too.

If I had to change my clothes in front of 50 other boys - they do too.

No way should anyone's learning experience be more pleasant than mine. They should learn to put up with shit early in their lives. I did, look how happy and well-adjusted I turned out. :)

[mark414]

1. different strokes for different folks

part of life dude

[vi5]

2. School is 50% socialization and 50% education...

..I don't care how many outside groups your kid belongs to, if they don't learn to interact and fuction and thrive in environments where there are people with different needs, wants, and priorities then it is my opinion (yes, opinion) that they are going to suffer later in life. Yes, parents need to augment that education and socialization in any way they can but in the real world as adults we don't always have the luxury to take our ball and go home and play by ourselves when we don't like what we see around us.

[expatriot]

3. I'm against homeschooling because it weakens public education

If I had my way, all private/parochial schools would be banned and public school education would be compulsory.

[tigereye]

14. well

that's a little extreme.

[WeRQ4U]

4. My reason goes more like this....

I received a good educational experience, although often accompanied by the general tribulations suffered by many young people, and find that while public education may not be "ideal", I am not an appropriate "educator" for my child... I'm a lawyer, not a teacher.

But if you CAN provide your own child with the educational and social experiences he or she needs to grow, then more power to ya.

[MostlyAmused]

8. Why we homeschool, and why I'm an Independent rather than a Dem

We homeschool because we care about personal freedom. We're free to learn what we're interested in when we're interested. We control our own schedule. Everyone in this house can go to the bathroom whenever they want to, without having to get permission. We can eat what we want when we are hungry.

We homeschool for many of the same reasons I run my own business rather than working for a corporation.

We started homeschooling because my eldest was a clingy child, not emotionally ready for kindergarten, and had already taught herself to read fluently at 3, with help from Sesame Street and naturally evolving word games. My other children were "late" readers, lest you think we're a family outside the norm. We continue to homeschool because we're generally satisfied and because none of the children have so far opted for school when I raise the issue every year just in case. They are used to making their own decisions, to charting their own course, and I appreciate that. I think it will stand them in good stead, and I think independent thinkers benefit community.

Social interaction is the biggest challenge, but fortunately there are ways to address that problem. I freely admit this is our biggest struggle as a mostly introverted homeschooling family.

Freedom, personal responsibility, family values. Yikes. Those reasons make me sound conservative, though I've never voted Republican except for once when I was too young to know any better. The homeschooling issue above all others, keeps me from completely identifying as Democrat.

We do not homeschool for religious reasons or to limit our children or narrow their world. We do not homeschool to hurt public education. I come from a family of educators, and I believe a strong public education system is vitally important.

We do not want or expect to participate in public school activities. We've opted out of the system and don't expect it to cater to us. I'm pleased to have my tax dollars go for education but don't want a piece of the pie.

I'm quite liberal on most issues, and I don't see any conflict between wanting to have the freedom to educate my children as I see fit and my progressive values. Unfortunately, homeschooling is a strong issue for Republicans, and it is used effectively in local races as a wedge within the segment of people who feel strongly about their right to opt out of the system, and who don't want restrictive laws.

Genie

[WeRQ4U]

10. Like I said....

If you are capable of providing for your child's educational, social and emotional needs, then more power to you. I would not be capable of teaching my child, nor do I know any non-teacher parents that would be able to either. Not at the level that a regimented system can provide.

[MostlyAmused]

15. I'm not trying to recruit anyone to homeschooling,

and I'm not here to argue about it.

Fortunately, even a homeschooling parent doesn't have to teach a child everything. There's a wide world out there, full of experiences, people, and plenty of structured classes as well... yes, even outside of public school.

[LeftyMom]

18. I agree wholeheartedly with your post

Except that I am a dem, even though dem positions on homeschooling generally leave something to be desired, especially at the state level.

PS, We do have a homeschooling group at DU. I think you need a star to post, but you should be able to read now.

[BeTheChange]

5. Then you should have went to my school system

in 9th grade, I saw a boy die on the floor of the hallway right in front of me after being stabbed in the heart with a paring knife.

in 10th grade, some wanna be gang members decided to go through the covered area where student congregated after they got off the bus with tire irons and metal pipes hitting people discriminately.

in 11th grade, the "gang members" decided to have an all out brawl on the last day of school and one child got thrown off the second story of the commons, paralyzing him from the waist down.

I tested out of my Senior year and went straight to college.

And no. I didnt live in the inner city. I went to HS in the land of Texas A&M.. in the middle of BFE.

Our children will not go to public school unless we manage to get settled in a small town in the Pac NW with a great track record.

Im not a huge fan of homeschooling, however, I am a huge fan of being involved in a school environment where parents actually parent. If that ends up being homeschooling, so be it.

[distantearlywarning]

7. Sounds like good "socialization" to me.

Just imagine what a fucked up person you'd be now if you hadn't been exposed to all those wonderful socialization experiences in your public school system.

Err...ok. Maybe not. :eyes:

Just for the record, I think this whole "socialization" argument is a big steaming pile of horse crap. It's more than possible to be exposed to lots of different viewpoints and become a well-rounded, normal person without having to witness violence, be a victim of bullying, have your love of learning sucked out of you by apathetic teachers, and put up with all the other bullshit that goes on in public schools.

:rant:

Now, the argument that homeschooling weakens public schools sounds like a better one. I'd like to hear more about that...

[Tsiyu]

6. When you put it that way

I completely understand. Misery loves company and all that rot.

[Catchawave]

9. I'm against homeschooling because of four words.....

Randy and Andrea Yates.

[BeTheChange]

11. Im against democrats because of 2 words...

Zell Miller..

Come on now... can you see how silly that is?

[Catchawave]

12. LOL....Homeschooling "personally" creeps me out....

...like Zell Miller. That's my personal opinion, no offense. I raised 3 kids, one of each, (one is "mentally retarded" if you didn't get my razzin'ya)....Good parenting is dictated, imho, how selfish you are to take care of your own personal needs. Having Mommy and Daddy available 24/7 is not normal. Sorry, but we need to agree to disagree on this one. Quality, not quantity.

Go back to my FOUR WORDS.

[MostlyAmused]

16. And I could say I'm against public school because of one word...

Columbine.

But I don't really paint all public education with the brush of one extreme example.

[Modem Butterfly]

17. Yeah, but then you'd be exposed as an idiot

[paula777]

13. Your post makes me realize that it's just taking a really long time to die