Homeschool (college, degree, public schools, pay)

[WriterGirl2887]

So every couple of years I like to make a thread on forums about Homeschooling. I like seeing the different arguments on both sides of the fence about the pros and cons of homeschooling.

What does everyone think of homeschooling?

Pros?

Cons?

Hypothetically if your kid wanted to try homeschooling, would you do it? Why/why not?

[lkb0714]

Many kids can excel in homeschooling. For those at either end of the spectrum and with poor public school programs they can be an excellent choice. But they are not perfect. Students and parents may skip some material. Twice now I have had excellent home school student enter our program as freshman and have huge gaping holes in material they should have covered as middle school students. Luckily they both were able to eventually catch up to their peers.

I think the "social" aspect is overstated for the elementary and middle school students and haven't seen any real evidence of homeschool kids being socially behind their peers.

I will say that for the truly gifted in STEM at the high schoo level that even the best homeschool programs cannot compete with the best magnet/academy programs. If you don't have access to a great magnet program than it is a non issue. And to be clear I teach in the best STEM magnet district in the country

[WriterGirl2887]

I agree, and having been homeschooled myself I can honestly say there were gaps in my learning as well. But! They were easily learned at a later time, and I feel no less educated than anyone else.

When I was being homeschooled there were two ways of doing it, structured and unstructured. Structured was when you bought a program that gave you things you needed to mail back in a timely fashion and you didn't skip much of anything.

Unstructured, what I did, was learned things at your own pace and in your own order. I preferred this. With that being said, our household was structured where even though I could get things done at my own pace and in my own order, it had to be done within that day unless it was specified or I was sick or something.

I think both public and homeschooling have pros and cons, and since I've never been to public school, I can't truly say one is better than the other.

[AnotherTouchOfWhimsy]

We've mostly homeschooled our kids. They attended a Montessori school for one year (they were in 7th and 5th grades, respectively), and my son is trying out high school for 9th grade this term. He will end up at home, though; it's really not a good fit for him.

I think the social stuff becomes an issue for middle-school-aged homeschooled children. Before that, they're generally content to socialize with the other homeschool kids in the area. Many families choose to send their kids to school after elementary, though, which makes the pool of potential friends a bit smaller. Also, children who go to school tend to have less free time around middle school, so afterschool get-togethers are more difficult. That being said, we've made it work with a combination of park/pool days and outside classes.

It's a balancing act, but it's just like anything else in life. People make the decisions that work best for their own family.

[StealthRabbit]

Homeschool worked for ours (now 10 yrs beyond College and still doing OK)

• Very social... (working with elderly and public schools 3x / week)
• Non-structured,
• Living international,
• Self employed by age 12 (with self directed ROTH IRA's)
• Practical training (from budgeting / travel / medical to designing (with CAD) & building their own homes from scratch, ages 13 - age 15)
• FREE Full Time college instead of High school (Available in WA and HI)

Doubt if they will homeschool their own, but... if they send their kids to G&G... they will be put to work, learning.

I see little purpose in school, but I pay dearly, and have for 50 yrs (1/2 of my $40/ day property taxes go to failed public schools)

I suspect one could determine that 80% of the purpose and value of current Public School System is to babysit / provide child care for double income families, (So they can spend more on taxes than any other expense). Of course the is supported and mandated by Public employees and politicians who have the most to gain from perpetuating an increasing income stream, and equipping an uneducated electorate. (Job security)

[Ginge McFantaPants]

We did it for about a year and a half and came to the conclusion I liked the idea of homeschooling more than the reality of it. In some ways it was fun, but taking our circumstances and individual dispositions into consideration... I'm much better at being a homework mom than a homeschool mom. They've been happy with their public school experience so far, and have some awesome teachers.

[Nicci6Squirrels]

I know one woman who homeschools her child and does a brilliant job. Her child is well-rounded and extremely intelligent.

Unfortunately, I know another family who also homeschools their children and they are ill-equipped, to say the least. They don't "believe" in science. The mother seems to have a very tenuous grip on the English language. For example, she doesn't seem to know the correct usage of "your and you're," and, "it's and its," which is pretty basic knowledge. "Supposed to" is written as "suppose to," etc.

I considered homeschooling my son at one point, but I knew my limitations: I'm not structured enough, I have virtually no math skills, and I wanted him to have friends with whom he could socialize, seeing as he's an only child.

I see nothing wrong with homeschooling if the family is able to do it. It's certainly not for everyone, though.

[WriterGirl2887]

Originally Posted by AnotherTouchOfWhimsy

We've mostly homeschooled our kids. They attended a Montessori school for one year (they were in 7th and 5th grades, respectively), and my son is trying out high school for 9th grade this term. He will end up at home, though; it's really not a good fit for him.

I think the social stuff becomes an issue for middle-school-aged homeschooled children. Before that, they're generally content to socialize with the other homeschool kids in the area. Many families choose to send their kids to school after elementary, though, which makes the pool of potential friends a bit smaller. Also, children who go to school tend to have less free time around middle school, so afterschool get-togethers are more difficult. That being said, we've made it work with a combination of park/pool days and outside classes.

It's a balancing act, but it's just like anything else in life. People make the decisions that work best for their own family.

My parents gave me the option to go to public high school and I honestly chose not to. I was doing really well in school and I didn't want to mess that up in any way. I felt like it would be too much of a culture shock - meaning I felt like I would get behind in my schoolwork whereas I had always been a good student and did my work on time.

I still don't regret not going to high school. Probably the only regret I have school wise was not choosing to go to college. Which I plan to at least get a degree in Business.

[pkbab5]

I would love to homeschool but it's too expensive for me to do it. Private school is cheaper.

[AnotherTouchOfWhimsy]

Originally Posted by pkbab5

I would love to homeschool but it's too expensive for me to do it. Private school is cheaper.

Oh wow. Private school is way outside of our budget, but homeschooling is doable. We pay more to have them home than we would/did/do with them in school, but not a whole lot more.